Mountain Bike Trail Crew Member

Challenge yourself as a member of a Nevada Conservation Corps Trail Crew while constructing and maintaining a new mountain bike trail system at Kershaw-Ryan State Park located in Caliente, Nevada.

Spend a season or two working hard creating recreational opportunities as an AmeriCorps volunteer. Camp up to seven night outs in the field, and work long ten hour days bettering Nevada’s public lands, then spend your off-days roaming across this immense and wild state. Check out aspen covered mesas, sage brush valleys, prehistoric oceans turned salt flats, the darkest, star filled skies in America, ancient volcanoes, massive sand dunes and snow-capped granite peaks. Nevada is completely underrated in its opportunities for recreation and career opportunities in the Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource management field.

As a Nevada Conservation Corps Trail Crew Member you will be given the opportunity to gain important technical and life skills. As a program within the educationally focused Great Basin Institute we are dedicated to not only teaching you skills required to accomplish the task at hand, but to provide you skills to further your environmental sciences career. The Trail Crew Member position is the perfect entry level position in the conservation or recreation field and we intentionally structure our program to provide for possible upward mobility within the Great Basin Institute or to act as a stepping stone for your future career. Many of our alumni have gone on to careers in natural resource management, some are now even our project partners.

The challenges will be numerous and difficult. The weather may bring you a hot summer sun during the day and hail at night when you are trying to cook dinner on your camp stove. You will be tested mentally and physically, but you will grow as a person, overcoming professional and interpersonal obstacles under the guidance of the experienced Nevada Conservation Corps Staff. Come make a difference in Nevada.

Are you ready?

• Building recreational trails;

• Camping up to seven nights in wilderness setting without formal restroom facilities or running water;

• Making a commitment of national service to our landscapes and communities;

• Maintaining a positive and professional attitude at all times while providing service;

• Communicating effectively with crew members, crew leaders, NCC staff and agency project staff;

• Complying with both production and quality work standards established by NCC Administration, crew supervisors and project partners;

• Contributing to basic duties at the campsite including cooking, cleaning and organizing crew equipment;

• Showing respect when interacting with other members, leaders, staff, project sponsors and community members;

• Participating in in-field education sessions;

• Percentage of time spent on: labor– 70%, traveling– 20%, hiking– 10%;

• Lifting 25lbs continuously and 50lbs occasionally.

 

Make sure to check the Nevada Conservation Corps overview page here and information about Kershaw- Ryan State Park here.

3 and 6 month Americorps terms are available:

• August 19, 2019 to November 15, 2019

OR

• August 19, 2019 to February 21, 2020 (includes 1 week December Holiday Break)

• Start dates can be flexible. Please contact Sarah Mendoza (smendoza@thegreatbasininstitute.org) to discuss your options.

• Las Vegas, NV

• You will be based out of our Las Vegas Field Office on 4- or 8-day "tour" schedule and commute with your crew to Kershaw-Ryan State Park on a weekly basis (work vehicle is provided). Camping locations are provided during the workweek. We will not provide housing nor sign leases, but we can assist with identifying housing options.

Compensation and Benefits:This is an AmeriCorps position; candidates will receive a living stipend dependent on their length of service. The living stipend is a fixed amount, not an hourly wage or a salary. The stipend is paid to members in bi-weekly installments throughout their term of service. Upon completion of AmeriCorps service members shall receive an additional education award also dependent on the length of service that can be used for paying off student loans or paying tuition for a Title IV accredited college.

• 3 month (450 hour) AmeriCorps service term: $4,400 living stipend (approximately $700 every two weeks before taxes)

• 6 month (900 hour) AmeriCorps service term: $8,800 living stipend (approximately $650 every two weeks before taxes)

Education Award:

Upon successful completion of your term you will be given access to your Segal Education award which can be used for Title IV university/college tuition or to pay for federal student loans. The education award is only considered taxable income on the day you use the award. 

• 3 month (450 hour) AmeriCorps service term: $1,566.14

• 6 month (900 hour) AmeriCorps service term: $2,960

Per Diem:

For every day you work in the field with us you will receive $7.25. This is in addition to your Living Allowance and on average is $58.00 biweekly. Crews typically combine per diem funds and shop/prepare meals as a team.

• First Aid & CPR certification

• Leave No Trace training

• Trainings will be received depending on what projects your crew is assigned:

-trail construction/maintenance

-chainsaw training; USFS "A Feller" certification

• Defensive Driving Certification

• Off-Road Driving Class

• Resume Building Workshop

• Interview Skills Workshop

• Native Plant Identification

• Invasive Plant Identification

• GPS Unit Training

• Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

• Health Insurance-Limited Health, Dental and Vision Insurance will be completely paid for at no cost to you by the Great Basin Institute and available starting your first day of service.

• Loan Forbearance

• Interest Accrual Repayment

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Eligibility

• Educational Affiliation Agreements (College Credit)

•Must maintain a positive and professional attitude at all times while providing service.

•Be able to communicate effectively with members, crew leaders, NCC staff, and project partners.

•Possess the willingness and ability to work and camp up to seven nights in a row, in a wilderness setting, in all weather conditions, without formal restroom facilities or running water.

•Be able to lift 25lbs continuously and 50lbs occasionally

•Be at least 17 years of age

•Be a US citizen

•Must possess a high school diploma or GED

•Must be eligible to receive an AmeriCorps Education Award (limit of four in a lifetime or the equivalent of two full-time education awards).*

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