Botanist–New Mexico

Agency

Institute for Applied Ecology

Location

New Mexico

Job Category

Full time Positions

Salary

$24/hr

Start Date

10/17/2022

Last Date to Apply

09/20/2022

Website

https://appliedeco.org

Description

The Institute for Applied Ecology (IAE), a non-profit organization, has been actively engaged in the conservation of native species and habitats through restoration, research, and education for over 20 years. We fill a unique niche in this field by working with a diverse group of partners including federal, state and county agencies and municipalities to accomplish our mission. Our Southwest Office (IAE SW) works in New Mexico and Arizona. We cultivate partnerships to facilitate large-scale, regional conservation projects, develop ecologically appropriate sources of native seed, offer native species education opportunities and materials, provide technical assistance to restoration and management planning and implementation, and conduct on-the-ground habitat restoration and applied research.

Position Description: IAE Southwest seeks to hire three Botany Program Leads to support the objectives of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Plant Conservation and Restoration Program (PCRP) program at the Farmington Field Office, Las Cruces District Office and Taos Field Office in New Mexico. The PCRP conserves, maintains, and restores native plant communities through its land use planning and land management activities.

The BLM Farmington Field Office administers over 1.4 million acres of public land and 2.7 million acres of Federal mineral estate within the San Juan Basin in northwestern New Mexico. The Farmington Botanist coordinates all botany projects within the field office, including support for seed collection and ecological monitoring programs, managing Special Status Plant Species dataset, consulting on National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) projects, overseeing botanical data collection protocols, implement preclusion and recovery strategies for Federally Threatened or Endangered plant species, and more. The Botanist provides native plant technical support to other programs and implements vegetation management and restoration projects to help BLM and the Department of Interior (DOI) improve conservation stewardship and wildlife species habitat and meet DOI climate goals.

The BLM Las Cruces District Office administers over 5.4 million acres of public land and over 10 million acres of Federal mineral estate from the western side of the Guadalupe Mountains to the Arizona border and from Sierra County to the southern edge of the Gila National Forest to the Mexican Border. The Las Cruces Botanist coordinates all botany projects within the district office, including support for seed collection and ecological monitoring programs, managing Special Status Plant Species dataset, consulting on National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) projects, overseeing botanical data collection protocols, implement preclusion and recovery strategies for Federally Threatened or Endangered plant species, and more. The Botanist conducts section 7 consultation for Federally Threatened or Endangered plant species, serves as project lead for the Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) program, assists with monitoring of rangeland trends, input of monitoring data into the Database for Inventory, Monitoring, and Assessment (DIMA) and running reports out of DIMA. The botanist supports implementation of seed collection activities, provides native plant technical support to other programs and implements vegetation management and restoration projects to help BLM and the Department of Interior (DOI) improve conservation stewardship and wildlife species habitat and meet DOI climate goals.

The BLM Taos Field Office administers over half a million acres of public lands and over 4 million acres of Federal mineral estate. The Taos Botanist works with the BLM Botanist/Ecologist to contribute to all botany projects within the field office, including support for seed collection and ecological monitoring programs, managing Special Status Plant Species dataset, consulting on National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) projects, overseeing botanical data collection protocols, implement preclusion and recovery strategies for Federally Threatened or Endangered plant species, and more. The Botanist supports implementation of seed collection activities, provides technical support to other programs on native plant community management and implementation of vegetation management and restoration projects to help BLM and the Department of Interior (DOI) improve conservation stewardship and wildlife species habitat and meet DOI climate goals.

Responsibilities:
Core responsibilities include project management, writing, and proposal preparation. Specific responsibilities include:
Leads botanical surveys, inventories, and monitoring. Manages Special Status Plant Species and Botany program data, updating GIS and other datasets.
Assist in writing preliminary sections of NEPA documents for on the ground seed collections and restoration projects and Biological Assessments, including reviewing and editing NEPA documents for botanical resource concern.
Coordinates program and data, providing reports, responding to data requests and public inquiries, development of outreach materials and website content for the public, facilitating meetings, and managing GIS spatial data.
Plans seed collections, including analysis of geospatial datasets and seed transfer zone maps to identify collection sites and providing scouting data to seed crews.
Implements restoration projects, including assessment of site conditions, planting, watering, and monitoring of restoration success.
Las Cruces Botany Lead is also responsible for: providing core methods training in Assessment, Inventory and Monitoring (AIM) program in conjunction with the NM Monitoring Coordinator. Participates in supplemental methods training. Completes reports using AIM and other data to support analytical decision making for restoration planning and projects, range improvement proposals, etc., tied to public land health standards.

Qualifications

Qualifications:
A Bachelor’s degree or higher with minimum of 2-5 years of experience in plant ecology or related field.
Fluency with standard office-based software and technology (e.g., Microsoft Office suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint; Google Suite).
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail. Ability to manage several projects simultaneously.
Ability to work long hours in adverse weather conditions, including extreme heat. Ability to hike up to 3 miles carrying a 40-pound pack and work in a bent-over/kneeling/sitting position for long periods of time.
Positive attitude and excellent oral and written communication skills.
Strong interpersonal skills as they relate to crew support and navigating various groups such as BLM project leads, third party contractors, and industry operators, all with different priorities.
Able to navigate using aerial photos, compass, mapping apps on a tablet and/or GIS.
Able to pass a Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 background investigation.
Current valid driver’s license.

Skills:
Project management experience and experience implementing field work and leading botanical surveys.
Plant Species ID: Skilled in plant identification, demonstrated ability to learn new species and families, familiar with plant families and use of dichotomous keys, able to identify suite of target species. Familiarity with regional plant communities (New Mexico) and habitat requirements for wildlife desirable.
GIS: Ability to make maps, conduct basic analysis (e.g., geospatial tools like buffer, intersect, measure, etc.), edit shapes, manage, and update datasets in ArcGIS.
Electronic Data Capture: Able to use and lead instruction of others in basic use of electronic data collection forms, especially Esri products like Survey123 and FieldMaps or Collector. Able to troubleshoot issues with forms.
Monitoring: Implement existing monitoring layout and data collection protocols independently and troubleshoot common issues. In addition, able to create monitoring protocols based on project objectives and experimental design/statistical constraints.
Data Management: Enter data using appropriate database software or other data storage system and independently perform quality control tasks, as well as importing/exporting data and designing simple queries to extract data.
Writing: Ability to produce technical reports needing minimal review by supervisors and partner staff and able to develop engaging outreach materials for BLM briefings and conference presentations. Examples might include updating NEPA language, creating deliverables for management, or assisting with Species Status Assessments.
Training facilitation: Able to plan, facilitate, and provide follow-up for group or public trainings with minimal support or supervision.

Vaccine Requirement:
IAE has a mandatory Covid-19 vaccination policy. All employees are required to submit proof of vaccination prior to employment. Applicants may request exceptions and reasonable accommodations for medical or religious reasons. Any offer of employment will be contingent on complying with this policy.

How to Apply:
To apply for this position, please submit the following as a single pdf:
Brief cover letter describing your interest in the position and stating when you would be available to start work. In your cover letter include whether you are applying for a single location (Farmington, Las Cruces or Taos) or are open to any of the locations listed.
Resume identifying any relevant experience (paid or unpaid)
Contact information (phone and email) for 2-3 professional references (including past employers/supervisors).

Email application materials to [email protected] with subject line “Botany Program Lead” no later than Tuesday, September 20th, 2022

Questions?
Please direct any questions about the application process or position to [email protected]

Contact Person

Jennifer Butler

Contact eMail

[email protected]

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