Forestry Technician (Tahoe National Forest)

GREAT BASIN INSTITUTE • Sierraville, CA

1d • $21 - $21 • Onsite

About The Position

The Great Basin Institute, in cooperation with the USFS, is recruiting Forestry Technicians to perform timber sale-preparation, vegetation management and restoration projects in the Sierra Nevada region. These projects all serve the Basin & Range Forestry program’s 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. The work that you will do directly improves the quality of these forests helping ensure they continue to thrive for generations to come. Technicians will serve vegetation management and fuels reduction efforts, supporting initiatives for healthy, productive, and resilient forest landscapes and resources. Project work may include post fire recovery efforts. Essential Job Functions may include the following: Forestry Technicians will perform a wide variety of activities to support all stages of project work. Forestry duties may include, but are not limited to: Timber sale unit boundary delineation and layout (GPSing, flagging, painting); Tree species identification; Green and salvage timber marking and cruising; General silviculture data collection; Maintain field supplies; Following directions of crew lead; Navigate to plots using GPS and/or topo map. All procedures will be performed in compliance with silvicultural prescriptions based on forest and treatment type and land management goals. Data will be gathered using standard instruments, direct measurements, general observations and on-site inspections. Project-specific training will be provided on tree-species identification, GPS data collection, tree marking, hydrology, entomology/pathology, heritage, fire/fuels and other elements. Prior experience in basic GIS skills, GPS data collection, tree-species identification, timber marking and cruising, identifying hydrologic concerns, recognizing forest entomology/pathology issues, identifying heritage sites and experience with fire/fuels assessments or related field tasks is preferred.
LOCATION This position is based out of the Sierraville Ranger District of the Tahoe National Forest (TNF). Field work will be conducted in various locations across the Sierraville and Truckee Ranger Districts of the TNF. Field work will typically require traveling to remote sites, with occasional office work for data entry and reporting. The Tahoe National Forest is located in the northern Sierra Nevada (east of Sacramento) and extends from the foothills across the Sierra Crest to the California state line. It includes over 850,000 acres of public land interspersed with 350,000 acres of private land. Rivers, snow-capped peaks and dense forests offer outstanding recreation year-round. A complex set of ecosystems are found as the terrain ascends from 1,500 feet along the western boundary to over 9,000 feet along the crest. The Sierraville Ranger District office is located in Sierraville, California, a small town on scenic Highway 89 located at approximately 5,000 feet in elevation. Communities within 30 minutes of Sierraville include Truckee, Loyalton, Calpine, and Portola.
WORK SCHEDULE Projects begin as early as March and end as late as November. Season schedules are project specific. Most Forestry Crew positions follow 10 hour days, 4 days a week schedule. Temporary Special Assignment employees are eligible to receive holiday pay, if partner approved. TSAs holiday schedule will comply with the project partner holiday schedule, unless otherwise specified in their employment offer. TSAs working five (5) eight (8) hour days per workweek will be paid eight (8) hours for all holidays. 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 Housing is provided. 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. A Temporary Special Assignment (TSA) employee is one who is hired for a specific temporary assignment external from the institute’s administrative operations with one of GBI’s partners for 52 weeks or greater or less than 52 weeks and may work full-time (30 or more hours per week) or part-time (less than 30 hours per week).
QualificationsTo 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. At least one of the following: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university in forestry (preferred), natural resource management, or a related field, with coursework and experience that demonstrate an understanding of the principles of forestry. Six months of professional fieldwork experience.

Requirements

• Capacity to collect and maintain organized field data, ensuring accessibility to other resource staff.
• Strong communication skills, both written and oral, for engaging with diverse audiences.
• Proficiency in using handheld GPS units for navigation and data collection.
• Experience navigating with a compass and topographic maps.
• Valid, clean, state-issued driver’s license.
• Ability to live and work in rural and remote settings, both in field and office environments.
• Physical fitness to endure outdoor work, including carrying up to 50 pounds of equipment, and adapting to varied seasonal conditions in forested or high desert environments.
• At least one of the following: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university in forestry (preferred), natural resource management, or a related field, with coursework and experience that demonstrate an understanding of the principles of forestry. Six months of professional fieldwork experience.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with timber cruising and marking techniques.
• Understanding of resource management issues in western states and the Sierra Nevada ecoregion's ecology.
• Knowledge of mixed conifer forests typical to eastern California, including common woody and herbaceous plants, wildlife, geology, and topography.
• Experience operating and maintaining 4WD vehicles safely on varied terrain.
• Ability to interpret and implement established data collection, inventory, assessment, and monitoring protocols.
• Experience using ArcGIS to create maps (a plus).

Responsibilities

• Timber sale unit boundary delineation and layout (GPSing, flagging, painting)
• Tree species identification
• Green and salvage timber marking and cruising
• General silviculture data collection
• Maintain field supplies
• Following directions of crew lead
• Navigate to plots using GPS and/or topo map
• Data will be gathered using standard instruments, direct measurements, general observations and on-site inspections

Benefits

• Housing is provided.
• company-paid comprehensive medical, dental (with option to upgrade in coverage), and vision insurance
• $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
• paid holidays

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level