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NEPA Silviculturist (Fuels & Fire)

Great Basin Institute

Reno, Nevada

Job Type Permanent
Salary Details $70,000 - $80,000
Deadline Oct 18, 2024
Experience 2 - 6 years

Job Description

GBI, in partnership with the US Forest Service (USFS) and agency collaborators, seeks to expand its NEPA team with a NEPA Silviculturist (Fuels/Fires Specialist) to contribute to the team supporting the NEPA program initiatives. This highly dynamic position involves participating in the Institute’s NEPA interdisciplinary resource specialist team and managing sub-consultants. As a scientist/researcher and NEPA team member, the successful candidate must possess a working knowledge of environmental law, public land policy, and best management practices in their resources specialty.

Duties will be largely office-based (~80%), with some opportunities to support ongoing NEPA fieldwork (~20%). Office-related work may include data entry and verification, data organization and management, summarizing information, preparing figures, report writing, mapping critical habitat, and other tasks related to completing NEPA projects. 

Field assignments may be somewhat intermittent depending on project needs but could involve monitoring; pre- and post-treatment inventory and assessment; model validation and ground truthing; stem mapping; imagery ground truthing; fire history sampling and dendrochronology; tree coring, core mounting, and tree-ring analysis; and fire scar sampling, finishing, and cross-dating. In conjunction with USFS field and project supervisors, the NEPA Silviculturist (Fuels/Fires Specialist) will maintain the organization, integrity, and accuracy of project data. The successful applicant will also need the skills and confidence to make decisions and exercise independent judgment to safely implement office and field tasks according to established protocols. This position will be responsible for creating and reviewing specific NEPA document sections and developing guidelines, design features/criteria, and instructions for the implementation of projects. 

Essential Job Functions

  • Apply understanding of federal, state, and local regulatory requirements to determine the permitting strategy for projects;
  • Perform research, strategic consultation, and prepare sections of Environmental Assessments (EAs), Environmental Impact Statements (EISs), and other permitting documents;
  • Analyze environmental impacts from project activities and develop written descriptions of impacts for environmental documents;
  • Review and interpret highly technical reports on a variety of subjects primarily silviculture, forest resources/management, and fuels/fires (as well as air quality, archaeology, biology, botany, geology, historic resources, hydrology, public lands, recreation, soils, terrestrial wildlife, etc.) and summarize in non-technical language understandable to a layperson;
  • Manage sub-consultants and act as GBI’s IDT lead for a subset of the organization’s projects;
  • Contribute to partnership development activities, including client relations and proposal development for new project work;
  • Promote effective internal and external communication;
  • Provide cross-program/department support and
  • Perform/assist other program- or institute-level functions as needed.

Contract Timeline

Exempt, FT Regular Permanent

Location

Location: Based at GBI offices in Reno, NV. The city sits in a high desert at ca. 4,500 feet in elevation, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, along the Truckee River as it flows from Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake. Reno offers easy access to world-class outdoor recreation in the Lake Tahoe Basin and Sierras to the west; Yosemite and Death Valley National Parks, the Pacific Ocean, and California redwood forests are a 3-5-hour drive away.

Compensation and Benefits

Starting annual salary is $70k - $80k DOE. In addition to a competitive base salary, this full-time,

onsite position includes comprehensive medical (100% covered by GBI for employees: zero premium, zero deductible), dental, and vision insurance, as well as mental health support resources, 401(k) retirement savings with up to 4% GBI match, competitive PTO accrual, paid holidays (10 per year), and family leave. The total compensation package is $78k-$87k per year, DOE. This exciting role contributes to GBI’s significant positive impacts within the fields of environmental research, education, and conservation.

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 individuals 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-level.

The overall nature of the position is sedentary, requiring little physical effort and occasional light exertion. There is occasional exposure to environmental conditions such as heat, cold, and temperature changes.

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

All offers of employment are conditional upon completion of an acceptable check of the National Sex Offender Public Registry and federal criminal background check.

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

EEO Statement

We conform to all the laws, statutes, and regulations concerning equal employment opportunities and affirmative action. We strongly encourage women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans to apply for all our job openings. We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability status, Genetic Information & Testing, Family & Medical Leave, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We prohibit Retaliation against individuals who bring forth any complaint, orally or in writing, to the employer or the government or against any individuals who assist or participate in the investigation of any complaint or otherwise oppose discrimination.

Qualifications

Job Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must fulfill each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements below represent the required knowledge, skill, and/or ability. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Required Qualifications

  • Master’s Degree or a Bachelor’s Degree and a combination of academic and/or field experiences related to Forest Management/Forest Resources Management or Forest Resources Production and Management or Forest Sciences and Biology (with an emphasis on fuels/fires), or related field;
  • Knowledge of the principles of silviculture, forest resources/management, and fuels/fires to collect and work with forestry and wildfire data, maintain research databases, evaluate data for accuracy, relevancy, and importance, and relate the significance of the results to the higher objectives to which the activity is related;
  • Strong written and oral communication skills, including the editing, oversight, and preparation of technical reports;
  • Willingness to learn about and assist with analysis of spatial data (e.g., home range calculation);
  • Ability to work on several projects or issues simultaneously;
  • Excellent critical thinking skills;
  • Ability to work collaboratively with a team in a fast-paced and creative environment;
  • Ability to work independently with a strong work ethic;
  • Excellent oral, writing, communication, presentation, strategic thinking, and “people” skills.
  • Possess a valid, state-issued driver’s license and clean driving record with experience operating 4WD trucks on and off paved roads, including narrow, mountain forest roads – use of ATVs could be expected in some winter conditions (training provided).;

Preferred Qualifications

  • 5+ years of experience in silviculture, forest resources/management, and fuels/fires, successfully managing and preparing environmental document sections and associated technical studies;
  • Experience with and an understanding of the environmental regulatory framework, including applicable state and federal laws and USFS monitoring protocols for the Great Basin and Sierra Nevada region;
  • NEPA and CEQA Experience;
  • Experience in forestry, fuels/fires, or other related project for forest health and post-fire recovery;
  • Experience with Geographic Information Systems (GIS);
  • Experience in environmental consulting.
HOW TO APPLY

TO APPLY

Please submit an up-to-date resume, one-page cover letter and contact information for three professional references to the application link. Qualified applicants will be contacted to schedule an interview. For questions regarding this position, please contact mdemuth@thegreatbasininstitute.org.

APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED UNTIL 10/18/202

When you apply, please indicate that you are responding to the posting on Conservation Job Board.

Category Forestry, General / Stewardship
Tags Wildland Firefighter, GIS, Permitting