Summer Field Technician (1-2 positions)

Employment period

Mid-late June - late September 2024

Compensation

Approximately $17.50/hour.

Eligibility

This position is for current UC students (any UC campus) or recent (Spring 2024) UC graduates.

Location

Tahoe National Forest and UC Davis

Job purpose

As a part of the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP), the Nature Conservancy and U.S. Forest Service are partnering with researchers at UC Davis to assess forest resiliency with climate change and altered fire regimes in the Sierra Nevada. Specifically, the project focuses on assessing the effectiveness of prescribed burning and mechanical thinning to improve drought resiliency of mixed-conifer forests. To assess the effectiveness of management practices, fieldwork will be conducted before and after management treatments. This employee will contribute to pre-treatment assessments of drought resiliency.

Job description

This position requires the employee to assist a graduate student with data collection on forest resiliency in Tahoe National Forest. Data collection includes sampling leaves, stems, and reproductive cones from trees, and processing samples for drought resilience, photosynthetic capacity, and measuring reproductive success.

Work conditions and schedule

The employee should be prepared to camp at U.S. Forest Service campgrounds with 1-2 other people (fees covered by employer). Camping locations will change as the crew moves to different field sites. Camp sites usually will not have facilities. Workdays will usually begin at 5 am and are typically 8 hours long and at most 10 hours long. Weather and fires can be unpredictable in the Sierra Nevada and may require last minute changes to work locations or schedules. Applicants must have flexibility to accommodate variability in the field schedule throughout the summer. Work schedule may consist of 7-10 days of work at a time, followed by 6-7 days off or 4-5 days of work followed by 2-3 days off (TBD), in either case full-time work is considered 80 hours every pay period (2 weeks).

Minimum qualifications

Progress towards a bachelor’s degree in ecology, or conservation biology, experience in scientific data collection through coursework and/or job experience, comfort with physically demanding field work conditions, experience camping in remote locations with no facilities.

Transportation

Transportation to field sites will be coordinated from UC Davis. The crew will be provided a vehicle. It is expected that crew members will contribute to driving duties if they are able.

Equipment and gear

All necessary field equipment will be provided. Communal camping gear (e.g., water jugs and cooking gear) will also be provided. The crew members will be responsible for their own personal camping gear and field clothing.

To apply

Please submit a cover letter, a CV or résumé, and contact information for three references (including name, organization, email, and relationship to you) using this form. For questions about the position, contact Anjum Gujral, akgujral@ucdavis.edu Applications will be reviewed beginning February 7th, 2024.