Backcountry Support and GIS Individual Placement
Title: Backcountry Support and GIS Individual Placement
Position Dates: August 2020 – August 2021(1 year/50 weeks)
Pay Rate: $425/week + $6,095.00 AmeriCorps Education Award upon successful completion of 1700 hr term
Status: Full-Time/Seasonal/Temporary
The Appalachian Conservation Corps:
The Appalachian Conservation Corps (ACC) is a non-profit, AmeriCorps-affiliated organization, whose mission is to connect young adults to meaningful conservation service. ACC engages motivated young adults to complete challenging and impactful conservation and service projects throughout the region by working with a variety of land management agencies such as the United States Forest Service, National Park Service, and The Nature Conservancy. Interns and Crews complete technical and/or specialized projects depending on project partner needs, including disaster relief if the opportunity arises.
Our programs focus on place-based learning, life skills development, appreciation of diversity, civic responsibility, and career development. ACC also provides an opportunity for members to learn about the local environment, environmental issues and introduces individuals to recreation and resource management careers. When not in the field, members are expected to find their own housing.
Position Summary:
The AmeriCorps Backcountry Individual Placement is based at Shenandoah National Park (SHEN) near Luray, VA. This full-time (40 hours per week), 12 month/50 week AmeriCorps position will support the mission of the Wilderness, Backcountry, and Trails Program at SHEN. The Individual Placement will work with and report directly to National Park Service Staff. The schedule is variable throughout the year, adjusting to meet program needs throughout the season; weekend and holiday work will be required. This position will focus on projects and assignments in the following areas: visitor education, public outreach, and backcountry permitting; backcountry patrols, field work, and emergency response; and program support through planning, research, documentation, and reporting. A large portion of this position will be dedicated to training, skills development, and professional development opportunities. Interns can expect to spend long days in the field, including weekends, during the Park’s busy season (May-November). Alternately, they can expect long weeks of computer-based work in the off-season; work will include extensive time developing GIS products in the Esri suite combined with data analysis, documentation, and reporting in the Microsoft Office suite. Interns will be required to wear a uniform. The AmeriCorps Intern will receive a $425 per week living stipend. Housing is not provided. This position will also be eligible for an education award upon successful completion.
This position will require a self-motivated person and quick learner with the skills to travel alone in a backcountry setting; interact in a professional manner with members of the public and Park staff; and complete technical assignments, both in the field and office, in a highly dynamic environment.
Responsibilities:
Interns will provide assistance with the following tasks with NPS oversight, direction, and support:
- Visitor Education, Public Outreach, and Permitting
- Provide general assistance—including orientation, direction, and information—to the public (phone, email, in-person)
- Issue backcountry permits, assist visitors with backcountry trip planning, and help manage an electronic permit database
- Promote Leave No Trace, Preventive Search and Rescue, and other priority messaging when interacting with the public
- Volunteer project coordination, support, and facilitation for individual volunteers and youth groups
- Support, facilitate, and participate in special events in the park (i.e. Junior Ranger Day, National Trails Day, National Public Lands Day, Wilderness Weekend, and more)
- Patrols, Field Work, and Emergency Response
- Conduct backcountry patrols to:
- Monitor backcountry campsites and maintain designated campsites
- Remove and rehabilitate use impacts such as illegal campsites, fire rings, graffiti, and social trails
- Collect visitor use and GIS data for tracking, monitoring, and reporting purposes
- Perform minor trail maintenance
- Monitor and maintain signage and historic structures
- Perform periodic cleaning and routine maintenance on pit/moldering privies
- Assist with special projects in the field
- Help maintain backcountry equipment, tools, and gear
- Assist with emergency communications; participate in search and rescue and emergency response activities, such as storm clean up, as needed and trained.
- Wilderness & Backcountry Program Support [Planning Documentation, Research, and Reporting]
- Assist park staff with program and special project planning. Sample tasks include:
- Collect, compile, update, and digitize backcountry data and documentation to make data searchable, reportable, and when appropriate, geolocatable.
- Research and report project history, park and visitor needs, industry states of art and practice, and lessons learned
- Draft project updates, reports, and correspondence
- Prepare maps, conceptual plans, and graphics using the Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe products, and various GIS platforms
- Schedule meetings, develop agendas, and complete and disseminate minutes
- Assist park staff with maintaining a training program for staff and volunteers
- Assist with the cleanliness and maintenance of Park facilities, including shared vehicles and office spaces
- Professional Development
- Pursue training, skills development, experiential learning, and educational programs
- Track and report topics, content covered, hours, and any certificates earned on a monthly basis; interns will also include a short narrative focused on evaluating the value and impact of training and developmental opportunities in their quarterly report.
- Share Your Experience
- Develop and present a talk summarizing their experience as youth ambassadors. This may be a public or private event, at a park based venue or other professional conference or symposia.
General Qualifications:
To qualify, you must be between the ages of 21 and 30, and a US citizen that has received a high school diploma or GED. All offers of employment are conditional upon completion of an acceptable check of the National Sex Offender Public Registry and Federal Criminal Background Check. Must be eligible to receive an AmeriCorps Education Award.
- Possess a valid driver’s license
- Physically capable of hiking for 8 hours or more over rough terrain and in inclement weather
- Comfortable working in field and office environments
Preferred Qualifications:
- Professionalism in working with project partners and park visitors
- Demonstrated experience in a field environment (includes previous conservation corps experience)
- Familiarity with wilderness and backcountry ethics including Leave No Trace
- Comfort using the Esri GIS suite (work experience or coursework)
- Comfort using the Microsoft Office suite: Word, Excel, Publisher, Powerpoint, Access, Outlook, Teams (work experience or coursework)
- Valid Basic First Aid and CPR Certifications OR Wilderness First Aid and CPR certifications
- Experience/coursework in environmental education
- Interest in pursuing a career with a public land management agency
Participant Essential Eligibility Requirements
Essential eligibility requirements for the program must be met. If you are unable to meet certain requirements, we may be able to assist you with some modification unless it alters the fundamental nature of the program, compromises the health and safety of participants or staff, or places an undue financial or administrative burden on the organization. These requirements are written the same for all positions and therefore may not apply directly to your particular position.
Participation and Expedition Behavior:
- Work effectively as a member of a team despite potentially stressful and difficult conditions. This may require problem solving on an interpersonal or group level as well as a willingness to accept differences.
- Contribute to a safe learning environment; no harassment of others for any reason.
- Willingness and ability to complete all aspects of the program including conservation projects, education, training and national service. Members must commit to participating in all crew/team activities, including service days in local communities where applicable.
- Effectively communicate ideas and concerns as they arise directly to supervisors, colleagues and organization staff.
- Have the cognitive ability to learn necessary skills and apply them to effectively carry out the service work requirements
- Appropriately represent the Program and AmeriCorps to the public and project partners at all times.
Safety and Judgment:
- Effectively communicate danger to others in the form of either a warning of danger others may be encountering or a notification of personal distress, injury or need for assistance. You must be able to do so at a distance of up to 50 meters and in conditions with limited visibility or loud background noise such as darkness or high winds.
- Effectively perceive, understand and follow direction by others so that you will be able to successfully execute appropriate and perhaps unfamiliar techniques to manage hazards. These directions may be given before the hazard is encountered or may need to be given during exposure to the hazard.
- Stay alert and focused for several hours at a time while traveling and working in varied weather conditions
- Perceive and comprehend significant and apparent hazards, including those hazards previously identified by others
- Respond appropriately to stress or crises
- If taking prescription medications, participants must be able to maintain proper dosage by self-medicating without assistance from others
Environmental Ethics:
- Learn and practice ‘Leave No Trace’ techniques
- Outdoor Skills and Fitness (where appropriate)
- Learn and safely perform fundamental outdoor living/travel and work skills as appropriate to the project. Additionally, remain adequately hydrated, fed, and properly dressed so as to remain generally healthy and safe, avoiding environmental injuries.
- Live in a physically demanding, possibly remote environment for an uninterrupted period of up to several weeks. Conditions of this environment may vary significantly and may include severe and/or trying weather. The remoteness is such that it may require at a minimum one hour, but perhaps in excess of 12 hours, to reach the nearest advanced medical care.
Substance Free:
- In accordance to a drug free workplace, alcohol and drugs are prohibited while participating in AmeriCorps and program activities and while on organization property.