Placerville Ranger District, Eldorado NF

USFS, California

The Great Basin Institute, in cooperation with Eldorado National Forest, is recruiting a Reforestation and Timber Stand Improvement (TSI) Crew to work cooperatively with USFS and GBI staff to perform inspection of contracted vegetation management and restoration projects within forest/woodland areas. This work provides professional development opportunities in standard forest management practices while supporting USFS initiatives for healthy and productive forest landscapes and resources. The Eldorado National Forest has had numerous large fires and work will primarily be focused on restoration and fuels reductions. This position will begin with reforestation contract inspection in early spring. Technicians will complete inspection plots for quality control to ensure planting crews are following contract specifications for seedling spacing, seedling depth, and planting success. Following the completion of reforestation, the program will shift to chemical release and site preparation. Our herbicide program will begin with grass release and pre-emergent application in 2026 planted areas, then we will transition to site preparation for 2027 planting areas. Technicians will complete plots for quality control to determine adequate coverage, avoidance of tree damage, and adherence to riparian buffers. Following completion of reforestation work, the project will transition to timber harvest contract inspection for the majority of summer. Timber contract inspection will include ensuring contractors complete harvest and piling on all contracted acres, avoid resource protection areas, and meet the contract specifications. During the fall, a second herbicide contract will occur to prepare recently harvested areas for reforestation. Minor projects will include stocking surveys, regen surveys, reforestation layout, tree pruning, seedling nursery work, timber cruising, and other miscellaneous duties.

A Timber Stand Improvement (Contract Inspection) Crew, consisting of one crew lead and 3 technicians, will perform this work in coordination with USFS personnel. Please note that, for several consecutive weeks at a time, the work schedule of GBI crews aligns with the work schedule of contractors when the contractors are on site planting and applying herbicides. During these phases, overtime is expected (up to 12 hours (04:00 to 16:00 hours) of work per day, including travel from and to job sites, paid at 1.5 times regular wage for any hours over 40 in a work week) is expected. Contractors work Monday to Saturday and technician schedules will be aligned to ensure quality control is provided on all days. When performing work not related to reforestation and herbicide contract administration, the normal work schedule will consist of 4-10 hour days per week working from approximately 06:30 to 17:00 hrs.

Essential Job Functions may include the following:

Initial work will involve oversight of contractors performing landscape improvements on targeted areas on USFS lands. GBI Timber Stand Improvement (Contract Inspection) crews will conduct compliance inspections for various vegetation treatment projects including planting and herbicide treatments. In the latter half of the season, Crews will focus on contract inspection for timber harvest in high severity burn areas. Fall work will include collecting plot and regeneration data from reforestation treatments. Additional duties may include training in timber marking and cruising and the application of these learned skills on large timber sales areas. This work greatly supports the regeneration of forested areas, facilitates the restoration of landscapes affected by type-conversion and high severity wildfire, the management of  timber sales and contributes to the development and refinement of management techniques and operations.

Our tentative timeline is as follows:

• March: planting contract inspection
• April: planting/herbicide contract inspection
• May: Herbicide contract inspection
• June: Herbicide/Timber harvest contract inspection
• July: Timber harvest contract inspection
• August: Timber harvest contract inspection
• September: Timber harvest contract inspection
• October: Herbicide contract inspection

Main project tentative timeline:

• Spring planting contract inspection: 3 weeks
• Spring herbicide contract inspection: 5 weeks
• Timber harvest contract inspection: 12 weeks
• Fall herbicide contract inspection: 3 weeks 

LOCATION

Eldorado National Forest:

Project activities will take place on the Eldorado National Forest (NF), Pacific and Georgetown RD.

Located in the central Sierra Nevada, the Eldorado NF is bordered on the east by the Lake Tahoe Basin and the Humboldt-Toiyabe NF, and by the Tahoe and Stanislaus NFs to the north and south, respectively. Eldorado NF offers an abundance of outdoor activities including fishing, boating, hiking, biking, skiing and climbing. The forest is home to much of the American River headwaters and the stunning Desolation Wilderness, and is in the heart of California’s historic Gold Country. People travel to Eldorado National Forest for its rich prospecting history, diversity of outdoor adventure and even beautiful vineyards.

WORK SCHEDULE

This position will begin March 1st, 2026 and end November 1st with potential extension to December 1st. Season start and end dates are project and weather dependent and may change slightly. 

During herbicide inspection for roughly 6 weeks, April-June, crew members will be working 10 hrs/ day  M-F with around a maximum of 10 hours overtime hours. The scheduled working hours are approximately 0500-1500 daily.  The crew will be on a rotating schedule where there could be a maximum of 50 hour work weeks, but in general they will be working close to 40 hours. The remainder of the field season while working on other project work, crew members will be working M-Th 40-hour work weeks with no additional OT expected.

Temporary Special Assignment employees are eligible to receive holiday pay, if partner approved. TSAs working four (4) ten (10) hour days per workweek will be paid ten (10) hours for all holidays.  Same with other approved/allowable workweek configurations; these can be accommodated accordingly with Banked Holiday(s).

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Wage: $21/hour with overtime at 1.5x hourly rate. Full time, average 40 hours per week

In addition to a competitive base salary, this full-time,onsite position includes company-paid comprehensive medical, dental (with option to upgrade in coverage), and vision insurance, as well as $25,000 Life/AD&D policy. Voluntary short-term and long-term disability policies are available, and voluntary Life/AD&D policies for family members.  Mental health support resources are employer provided, competitive PTO accrual, and paid holidays. This exciting role contributes to GBI’s significant positive impacts within the fields of environmental research, education, and conservation.

Requirements/Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Associate's degree in Forestry or a closely related field, plus applicable field experience in techniques for timber stand improvement;
• Knowledge of the mixed conifer forests typical of westside-Sierra California, including common tree species, plants (woody and herbaceous), wildlife, and/or geology/topography;
• Profieciency completing plot inspections or vegetation surveys 
• Ability to communicate effectively, both written and orally, with a diverse audience;
• Ability to navigate and collect data using handheld GPS units;
• Proficiency using a compass and topographic map to navigate;
• Possess a clean, valid, state-issued driver’s license with ability to safely operate and maintain a 4WD vehicle on and off paved roads;
• Ability to live and work in rural and remote field and office settings;
• Physically fit to work outdoors, carry up to 50 pounds of field equipment and personal gear, and withstand the rigors of a forested and/or high desert environment in all seasons;
• Willingness and ability to work extensive overtime hours for several consecutive weeks multiple times during the field season;
• Experience using ArcGIS, Fieldmaps, or Avenza to create points or polygons is preferred.
• Familiarity with best practices for field safety and Leave No Trace principles; and
• Willingness and ability to consistently enact high performance standards and a strong work and team ethic in support of the mission of GBI and the goals and objectives of the USFS.
• Experience in reforestation and herbicide application and/or experience in timber/arborist contract inspection.

Acknowledgement: This position is entry level and we do not expect applicants to have experience in each program area but any work experience is appreciated and preferred.  

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. Qualified applicants will be contacted to schedule an interview. For questions regarding this position, please contact

bcarlile@thegreatbasininstitute.org 

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.