Forestry Crew Lead - Plumas NF (Mt. Hough)

Position Description Summary:

The Great Basin Institute, in cooperation with the USFS, is recruiting Forestry Crew Lead to perform timber sale-preparation, vegetation management, and restoration projects in the Sierra Nevada region Plumas National Forest (MT Hough Ranger District). These projects all serve the Basin & Range Forestry programs greater mission of helping the USFS in their critical goal of improving forest resilience in the face of worsening climate conditions and increased wildfire threats. Forestry Crew Lead work will directly improve the quality of these forests, helping ensure they continue to thrive for generations to come.

Crew Leads will support USFS Region 5s vegetation management and fuels reduction efforts, supporting initiatives for healthy, productive, and resilient forest landscapes and resources. Projects will vary across Forests and Districts, and include but are not limited to fuels reduction initiatives in wildland-urban interface (WUI) areas, in and around sensitive habitats for threatened and endangered species, and watershed protection. In addition, Crew Leads will be conducting reforestation surveys and gathering data within the North Complex, swapping between timber and silviculture (silv) tasks throughout the year. Crew Leads may also assist various USFS shops with additional tasks as needed.

Crew Leads will receive professional development opportunities and benefit from exposure to USFS processes, procedures, compliance measures, reporting, and technical experience.

Essential Job Functions:

• Timber sale unit boundary delineation and layout (GPSing, flagging, painting)
• Tree species identification
• Green and salvage timber marking and cruising
• Timber and biomass plot cruising
• Collection of stand examination data
• General silviculture data collection
• Identification of various resource concerns including hydrology, heritage, wildlife, and recreation
  Conducting reforestation surveys and gathering data within the North Complex
• Assisting USFS shops with various tasks

Crew Lead Responsibilities:

• Provide oversight of crew safety, coordination of daily tasks, and management of crew and project needs
• Offer training and guidance to crew members Communicate daily/weekly with agency staff to plan and assess crew accomplishments Communicate with GBI staff as needed
• Supervise a crew size ranging from 2-6 people

This position is a Temporary Special Assignment (TSA), hired for a specific temporary assignment with one of GBIs partners, with durations ranging from less than 52 weeks to 52 weeks or more. The position may be full-time (30 or more hours per week) or part-time (less than 30 hours per week).

LOCATION

Forestry Crew lead position is available with the Plumas National Forest MT Hough Ranger District.

WORK SCHEDULE

This position is seasonal, running from mid-March to mid-November, with start and end dates dependent on project and weather conditions. Forestry crew lead typically work four 10-hour days per week. TSA employees are eligible for holiday pay, subject to partner approval, and will follow the partners holiday schedule unless otherwise specified in the employment offer. TSAs working four 10-hour days per week will receive 10 hours of pay for holidays; those working five 8-hour days per week will receive 8 hours of pay for holidays.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

The position offers a competitive wage of $26 per hour, with overtime compensation at 1.5 times the hourly rate. This is a full-time role, averaging 40 hours per week.

In addition to a competitive base salary, the position includes company-paid, comprehensive benefits:

• Medical, dental (with an option for upgraded coverage), and vision insurance
• A $25,000 Life/AD&D policy
• Voluntary short-term and long-term disability insurance
• Optional Life/AD&D coverage for family members
• Mental health support resources
• Generous paid time off (PTO) accrual and paid holidays

Shared housing accommodations are provided for the crew members.

TSA employees who serve a term of less than 52 weeks, with a break of 30 days or fewer, and then sign a subsequent term that, when combined, exceeds 52 weeks of employment, will be eligible for benefits typically provided to full-time employees.

This exciting opportunity contributes to GBI's significant positive impacts in the fields of environmental research, education, and conservation.

Requirements/Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, employees must be able to satisfactorily carry out each essential duty. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Proficiency in navigation using GPS, topographic map and compass;
• Experience with cruising and marking techniques;
• Possess a clean, valid, state-issued drivers license with the ability to safely operate and maintain a 4WD vehicle on and off paved roads;
• Ability to work effectively in a team setting with USFS staff, GBI staff, interns, volunteers, academic, state, and federal partners;
• Ability to work safely and productively in remote field settings under adverse conditions. This includes occasionally overnight camping in remote areas for consecutive nights;
• Ability to understand, implement and adhere to established data collection, inventory, assessment, and monitoring protocols;
• Capacity to collect and maintain field data in an organized manner that is easily understood and accessible to other resource staff;
• Strong organizational skills and ability to work cooperatively as well as independently;
• Strong communication skills with diverse audiences, both written and oral; and
• Physically fit to work outdoors, carry up to 50 pounds of personal and/or field equipment, and withstand the rigors of a forested and/or high desert environment in all seasons.
• Experience leading crews in the field, including oversight of crew safety, communication, fidelity to methods and data quality;
• Familiarity with, and interest in, resource management issues of western states and the ecology of the Sierra Nevada ecoregion;
• Familiarity with the mixed conifer forests typical of eastern California, including common plants (woody and herbaceous), wildlife, geology and topography;
• Experience using ArcGIS to create maps;
• Experience identifying hydrologic concerns, recognizing forest entomology/pathology issues, identifying heritage sites and experience with fire/fuels assessments or related field tasks.

Education: Bachelors degree in Forestry (preferred), natural resource management or related field, with coursework AND one year of forestry related field work; OR

Experience: Three years of professional fieldwork experience.

TO APPLY

Please submit an up-to-date resume, a one-page cover letter that details your interest in the position, and any qualifications not fully outlined in your resume, and contact information for three

professional references to the unique application link. Qualified applicants will be contacted to schedule an interview.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, use hands, stand, walk, bend, and have specific vision abilities to include close and distance vision, and ability to adjust focus working with computer business equipment and other job/industry specific equipment. The noise level in the work environment is usually low.

NOTE: This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employees may perform other related duties as negotiated to meet the organization's ongoing needs.

Disclaimer: Although the organization has attempted to accurately and thoroughly describe this position, GBI reserves the right to change the same, including to change, add to or subtract from the duties outlined, within the sole discretion of the organization, at any time, with or without advance notice.