Jobs
Position:Volunteer Coordinator
Start Date: Immediate opening
Length of Term: Ongoing, year round with substantial opportunity for advancement
Salary: $11per hour plus free communal housing in Santa Cruz
Hours: Flexible, including some weekends. 40 hours per week
Benefits: After six months in the position the Volunteer Coordinator is eligible for permanent status providing full health and dental benefits, 2 weeks of annual vacation time, and sick leave
ACE Background: ACE recruits a diverse mix of participants from the US and 40 countries to participate in 3 month long volunteer positions. Crews perform a wide range of environmental conservation projects, including fencing, trail construction, and revegetation projects for National Parks, National Forests, and other land management agencies. ACE volunteers are provided housing in Santa Cruz, CA between their remote work projects, as well as general staff support and training to ensure that their experience is comfortable and rewarding
Position Description: Volunteer Coordinator is responsible for the following aspects of ACE’s Santa Cruz operations:
1) Housing: organizing housing assignments for all volunteers, coordinating and enforcing cleaning routines to ensure a comfortable and hygienic living environment, purchasing house supplies.
2) Preparing menus and shopping food: economically and well for up to 5 field crews every two weeks.
3) Orientation and Training: preparing orientation materials for incoming participants, driving 15 passenger vans to meet arriving volunteers in San Francisco International Airport, orienting volunteers to ACE and to Santa Cruz.
4) Volunteer Management: maintaining consistent communication with future and current volunteers, preparing certificates of achievement for departing volunteers, maintaining volunteer files, responding to volunteer emergencies and organizing medical care for sick or injured volunteers (including after hours), responding to inquiries from concerned relatives or friends, distributing tents and t-shirts to volunteers, coordinating recreation and educational events for volunteers in Santa Cruz and the surrounding community.
ACE’s Volunteer Coordinator is NOT responsible for coordinating ACE’s field projects but rather for ensuring that ACE volunteers are provided with nourishing food to take on projects and with appropriate oversight and support during their off days in Santa Cruz
Qualifications: The ideal candidate will be interested in further advancement in ACE and will consider this position to be a potential stepping stone to a permanent career in Non-Profit Management. Candidates must have specific experience and a record of prior accomplishment in organizing complex operations such as volunteer management, event coordination, or non-profit activities. If you pride yourself on being organized, tidy, patient, nurturing, and personable yet consider yourself capable of maintaining strict standards by enforcing ACE housing rules with utmost determination, this position is for you. The job is fast paced and unpredictable, so a flexible approach and an acceptance of an inconsistent weekly schedule (including weekends and after hours) is required. The position is perfectly suited to recent graduates in the field of non-profit management, hospitality, or parks and recreation management, but all qualified applicants with strong references will be considered. Drug users, including recreational smokers of marijuana, should not consider applying, as ACE reserves the right to require drug testing and generally abhors the presence of drug users in our program. Applicants must have a clean driving record and will be subject to a criminal history background check.
Age: 21 and over
Training: Volunteer Coordinators will be certified in First Aid/CPR and 15 passenger van safety and will develop interpersonal and leadership skills while serving as mentors to ACE volunteers.
Start Date: May 1, 2010 (but will wait for the ideal candidate)
Application Deadline: None, but will offer the position when we find the right person, so please apply quickly
To Apply: Please email Chris Baker at cbaker@usaconservation.org to request an application. Please include in your email a full resume with 2 references and a supporting letter detailing what you hope to achieve in pursuing a job as ACE’s Volunteer Coordinator.
Contact: Chris Baker, Executive Director
Phone: (928) 699-1068
We are always interested in well qualified people who may want to join our team, so if you've got what it takes to lead crews of young adults on demanding conservation projects then please send us your resume.
Paid Internships
Professional Development Corps
Position Description: Professional Development Corps
American Conservation Experience, a Non-Profit Conservation Corps based in Flagstaff, AZ, is currently hiring energetic, ambitious young adults to participate as AmeriCorps members in a paid 6 month skills training program preparing them for outdoor careers with ACE, with other conservation corps, or with land management agencies such as the National Park Service, US Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management.
Location: Interns will be based in Flagstaff, AZ. Projects take place at various locations throughout Arizona, with an emphasis on Grand Canyon National Park. ACE crews work throughout the Southwest, so occasional projects in surrounding states such as southern Utah, southern Nevada, and southern California are likely. All participants must be flexible and willing to be assigned to a variety of locations and for multiple agencies. Project assignments vary in length from 2 weeks to 3 months so interns will experience a range of opportunities throughout their 6 month term.
Internship Description: Professional Development Interns will spend 6 months training on complex trail construction, forestry or environmental restoration projects under the guidance of ACE's most highly skilled staff members. The goal of the position is to accomplish meaningful project work for a variety of agencies while becoming proficient in advanced field techniques such as trail construction, dry stone masonry, fencing, chainsaw use, and GPS/Survey method. Professional Development Interns will also gain leadership skills while helping to supervise, train, and generally support ACE volunteers who are rotated into long term projects. Each Professional Development Intern will also be required to coordinate one volunteer event, recruiting a minimum of 10 members of the local Flagstaff community to participate in a volunteer day alongside ACE crews. All work is physically demanding, requiring stints of up to 10 days in the backcountry.
Qualifications: Professional Development Interns must have an established interest in conservation issues and should take evident joy in tackling challenging situations with a positive mindset. Applicants must be willing to undertake arduous physical work in all types of weather and terrain, and to participate as a team member, dedicated to ACE's mission. Preference will be given to former and graduating ACE volunteers, graduated members of other conservation corps, and those with a history of committed engagement in similar volunteer and outdoors activities. ACE's Professional Development Program is meant as a stepping stone to environmental careers and as a gateway to potential advancement within ACE, not only as an interesting and rewarding way to spend 6 months working in beautiful locations. Drug users, including recreational smokers of marijuana, should not consider applying, as ACE reserves the right to require drug testing and generally abhors the presence of drug users in our program.
Age: 18 to 35
Training: Trainings include technical project and outdoor skills such as retaining wall construction, rock step construction, rock drilling, splitting and shaping, setting up rigging systems, tread and switchback construction, installing water bars, check dams and other erosion control devises, chainsaw certification, fence construction technique, GPS use, wildlife survey technique, and CPR/First Aid. Interns will also be certified in First Aid/CPR and will develop interpersonal and leadership skills while serving as mentors to ACE volunteers and as support for ACE and agency staff.
Pay: Professional Development Interns are AmeriCorps members receiving a living allowance of $6,250 for 900 hours of work. Upon successful completion of the program, interns also receive an AmeriCorps education award of $2,675 to be used to pay tuition or student loans. Food is provided on project days. Interns are responsible for finding their own housing in Flagstaff and are encouraged to team up with the other 20 Professional Development participants to rent shared housing.
Start Date: June 5, 2010
Applications Accepted: May 1 - 7, 2010
Positions will be filled by May 21 with all applicants notified accordingly.
To Apply: Please email Chris Baker at cbaker@usaconservation.org to request an application. Please include in your email a full resume with 2 references and a supporting letter detailing what you hope to achieve through participation in ACE's Professional Development Program.
Contact: Chris Baker, Executive Director
Phone: (928) 699-1068
Unpaid Internships
Catalina Habitat Restoration and Improvement Program (CHIRP)
Biscayne National Park Fisheries Internship (Bilingual Required)
San Bernardino and Leslie Canyon National Wildlife Refuges, Wildlife Survey Intern
Biscayne National Park Fisheries Internship (Bilingual Required)
Start Date: May 23, 2010 (flexibility to start one week later for graduating student)
End Date: May 22, 2011 with two weeks unpaid leave during Christmas break.
Term of Commitment: A full one year commitment is required.
Position Description: Biscayne National Park is hosting a one year long Internship within the Division of Fisheries Management. The internship provides a unique opportunity to explore the field of natural resource management, to gain hands-on field experience with the National Park Service, and to build job skills in preparation for a career with land management agencies or in the non-profit sector.
ACE’s Biscayne National Park Fisheries Intern will work with Resource Management and Law Enforcement staff to complete recreational fishing creel surveys up to five days per week, including weekends. The intern will collect information on fishing effort and catch statistics, enter data into the existing park database, assist the Fishery Biologist with completion of an annual recreational fishing report, and work with Interpretation Rangers to design, prepare, and distribute informational materials. The Intern will also have the opportunity to conduct monitoring of fisheries resources through underwater visual surveys of reef fish communities.
The intern will work 40 hours per week, typically as five days of eight-hour shifts.
Qualifications: ACE and Biscayne are seeking a university graduate with a major in Marine Biology, Fisheries Biology, Wildlife Biology, Oceanography, Ecology, Environmental Science, or related fields. Candidate should be physically fit, comfortable working in and on the water, and have the ability to operate and work on small boats. Strong communication skills and a demonstrable history of communicating well with the public are essential. Experience in fishing, fish, snorkeling and/or SCUBA diving is highly desirable. ACE is appropriate for hard working, positive minded people who want to improve their career opportunities through hard work.
Applicant must be fluent in English and Spanish.
Project Location: This internship provides an opportunity to work and live amid the diverse natural beauty of a protected marine ecosystem while learning from National Park Service professionals in the field of Fisheries Biology. Located just south of Miami and due East of Homestead, Florida, Biscayne is famous for crystal clear waters providing habitat to over 250 species of fish. Shallow warm waters are home to the iconic manatee while an abundance of wading birds find refuge in the islands’ dense jungle-like forests and coastal mangroves. Coral reefs and shipwrecks submerged in aquamarine waters provide some of the best scuba and snorkeling in North America, accessible by canoe or sea kayak.
Reimbursement and Room and Board: ACE’s Fisheries Intern at Biscayne National Park will receive $110 per week as a food stipend, $900 per month as a housing allowance, and a one-time $750 transportation/moving allowance.
To Apply: Please email a resume and cover letter with 3 professional references to Chris Baker of American Conservation Experience at cbaker@usaconservation.org with “Biscayne Fisheries Internship” in the subject heading of your email.
Application Deadline: May 1 with successful applicant to be notified by May 7. Motivated applicants are highly encouraged to apply early as ACE may select the individual prior to the May 1 deadline.
San Bernardino and Leslie Canyon National Wildlife Refuges Wildlife Survey Intern
Start Date: May 14, 2010
End Date: August 7, 2010
Position Description: San Bernardino and Leslie Canyon National Wildlife Refuges in Southern Arizona are hosting 12-week Wildlife Biology Internship positions through American Conservation Experience.
Interns will be engaged in a variety of biological monitoring survey projects involving native fish, wildlife, and plant species. The internships will provide excellent opportunities to explore the field of Wildlife Management and to gain an overview of monitoring processes within a unique desert ecosystem. Positions are intended for young adults, aged 18 – 35, with educational backgrounds in the Natural Resources and with interest in utilizing their experiences as a stepping stone to eventual careers in Resource Management. University students are welcome to apply.
Project Description: The San Bernardino NWR Complex annually conducts many surveys to monitor native herpetological, avian, vegetation and fish populations. Interns will assist professional biologists, conducting wildlife and vegetation surveys to include, but not limited to; Chiricahua leopard frog monitoring, burrowing owl monitoring, herpetological inventory, yellow-billed cuckoo monitoring, and MAPS banding. Interns will be responsible for collecting data and specimens using provided protocols and entering information gathered into a database.
Project Location: The San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) Complex is composed of San Bernardino and Leslie Canyon National Wildlife Refuges. San Bernardino NWR, located 15 miles south of the town of Douglas, Arizona, comprises several habitat types interspersed across 2,364 acres. Prevalent habitat includes Chihuahuan desert scrub, cottonwood-willow riparian gallery, desert grasslands, and wetlands. Leslie Canyon NWR is roughly 2,800 acres and is made up of desert grasslands, Chihuahuan desert scrub, and a unique Ash-Walnut riparian gallery. The San Bernardino NWR Complex provides valuable habitat to many wildlife species, but the recovery and protection the native fish of the Río Yaqui and their habitat are the main objectives of the refuges. The Río Yaqui fish are federally listed species due mainly to loss of habitat from agricultural use within the San Bernardino Valley.
Qualifications: Interns must be physically fit and capable of hiking long distances across remote, rocky desert terrain in extreme summer heat. The positions are intended for Interns capable of working in a team in a respectful and professional manner, yet able to work independently without direct supervision. Training is provided, but applicants should be fast learners, able to quickly learn to identify native species by sight and call. Interns will be required to prepare reports to document their findings and therefore must be able to express themselves clearly and professionally in writing. Basic computer skills, including the ability to use Word and Excel, are required. Interns must have a valid driver’s license and be willing to undergo a required criminal history background check. Preference will be given to applicants with an educational background or field experience in Wildlife Biology, Biology, Botany, Forestry, Environmental Science, or other natural resource fields. ACE is appropriate for hard working, positive minded people who want to improve their career opportunities through diligent hard work.
Training: Interns will be provided with protocols that outline each of the required Inventory and Monitoring surveys. Identification guides for local herpetological species and other wildlife of interest will also be provided. Interns will be trained in the use of a GPS unit and basic map use; basic plant identification; and borderland safety.
Compensation: Interns are provided with a stipend of $110 per week. Upon successful completion, interns will receive letters of recommendation from both ACE and US Fish and Wildlife Staff documenting their achievements.
Housing and Transportation: Free housing in the form of shared accommodations in mobile homes is provided at Refuge Headquarters, approximately 12 miles from Douglas, AZ. Work vehicles will be provided by the Refuge, but interns must provide their own personal transportation for travel to and from town on off days.
To Apply: Please email a resume and cover letter with three professional references to Chris Baker at cbaker@usaconservation.org with “San Bernardino and Leslie Canyon Wildlife Intern” in the subject heading of your email.
Application Deadline: April 30, 2010.
Catalina Habitat Restoration and Improvement Programm (CHIRP)
Location: Catalina Island is located 30 miles off the coast of Southern California and consists of 42,000 acres. The island is known for clear surrounding waters, rugged mountains, and an abundance of rare and endemic plant and animal species. Eighty percent of the island is set aside for permanent conservation purposes to be managed by the Catalina Island Conservancy, a Non-Profit organization.
Project Description: In partnership with the Catalina Island Conservancy, crews of 6 ACE interns will spend three months applying herbicide or manually removing invasive species along roads and trails throughout the remote reaches of Catalina Island. The goals are: 1)Prevent the introduction of new species to or throughout the Island by eradicating them or keeping them off of main transportation routes. 2)Eliminate or reduce the spread of priority invasive plant species by controlling them along dispersal corridors such as roads and trails. 3)Eradicate incipient species and populations to zero density before they become widespread, damaging and costly to manage. Most of these species occur in disturbed areas, especially along roads. 4)Target select infestations of widespread species at sites of high conservation value. Removing invasive species from routes near these areas is critical to prevent range extensions of invasives
Ecological Significance of Project: The preservation and restoration of natural biodiversity is one of the key conservation challenges of our time, and is even more important when undertaken within an island ecosystem. After habitat loss, invasive species have been identified as the second greatest threat to the preservation of biodiversity worldwide and are likely to be the greatest contributor to species extinctions in island ecosystems. Non-native species constitute 36% of the Island’s flora, threatening the Island’s unique natural resources.
Purpose/Need of Project: Roadways and trails play a prominent role in the dispersal of invasive species. Invasive plant seed gets stuck in tires, on road graders, scrapers, boots, and peoples clothing to name a few prevalent seed transporters. To stop the spread the Conservancy focuses on reducing the amount of weed seed reaching road and trail surfaces, thus limiting distribution island wide of an otherwise local species.
Term of Commitment: 90 days or more, accepting applications for 2010.
Qualifications: Internship positions are for American citizens only. Internationals interested in volunteering on Catalina Island, please email cbaker@usaconservation.org. Anyone physically fit, capable of hard work, and between the ages of 18 and 35 may apply. Preference will be given to applicants with educational background or field experience in Botany, Biology, or other natural sciences. ACE is appropriate for hard working, positive minded people who want to improve their career opportunities through hard work. Interest in living in a small, friendly island community with incredible natural scenery is a must.
Work Schedule: Interns will typically work 4, 10 hour days, with 3 days off each week to explore the island, camp on remote beaches, or take the ferry to the mainland.
Housing: ACE Interns will be accommodated in a condominium in the small town of Two Harbors. The town consists of a beach, several restaurants and one or two pubs and activities such as live music, beach volleyball, snorkeling, scuba diving, and sea kayaking. The town is on a fairly remote section of a fairly isolated island, but the atmosphere is festive and the opportunities for outdoor exploration endless. Interns will be provided a stipend of $70 per week to cover the cost of food and incidental expenses.
Resumes and cover letter: info@usaconservation.org with "Catalina Habitat Restoration and Improvement Programm (CHIRP)" in the subject heading.
