Forestry Technician - Sequoia NF (Western Divide Ranger District)

The Great Basin Institute is an interdisciplinary field studies organization that promotes environmental research, education, and conservation throughout the West. Founded in 1998 at the University of Nevada, GBI advances applied research to support science-based adaptive management of public lands. The Institute is dedicated to the promotion of science through field studies programs, conservation practices, and public outreach. Collaborating with federal, state, and local land management agencies, GBI supports projects across the western US.

The Institute, in cooperation with the USFS, is recruiting Forestry technicians to perform timber sale-preparation, vegetation management, and restoration projects in the southern Sierra Nevada. The technician will serve vegetation management and fuels reduction efforts, supporting initiatives for healthy, productive, and resilient forest landscapes and resources. Project work includes post-fire recovery efforts on the Western Divide and Kern River Ranger Districts of the Sequoia National Forest.

Forestry technicians will perform a wide variety of activities to support all stages of project work. Forestry duties may include timber sale unit boundary delineation and layout (GPSing, flagging, painting), tree species ID, green and salvage timber marking and cruising, timber and biomass plot cruising, collection of stand examination data, and general silviculture data collection.

Duties may also include identification of various resource concerns including hydrology, heritage, wildlife, and recreation. 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.

This physically demanding work, often in remote locations, will provide Archaeology Crew Leads with rewarding exposure to some of California’s backcountry forested landscapes. These positions require extensive hiking in steep terrain at high altitudes (5,000-9,000 ft.) with heavy packs on a daily basis, possibly during extreme or inclement weather conditions such as heat, snow or rain. Work schedules, generally four 10-hour days with 3 days off each week, are subject to change depending on weather and project needs. Camping near a worksite for several days may be required to meet project objectives.