Position Title: Continental Divide National Scenic Trail-Native Lands National Trails, GIS and Native Relations Ind – AmeriCorps
Conservation Legacy Program: Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps
Site Location: Candidates from the following locations encouraged due to opportunities for in person engagement and mentorship with USFS Staff (preferred)
Terms of Service:
Purpose:
Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps
Our vision is to lead our Nations back to ecological and cultural well-being by engaging underrepresented Indigenous youth and young adults in conservation service programs that reconnect participants to the land, their cultural heritage, and their traditions. We work to remove barriers to participation, education, and employment by partnering with local community organizations, agencies, and institutes of higher learning to create paid service and career training opportunities, personal and professional development, and pathways to postsecondary education and employment.
*Ancestral Lands serves local tribal communities in the regions we operate. This program is available to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity or expression, political affiliation, marital or parental status, genetic information, and military service. Where a significant portion of the population eligible to be served needs services or information in a language other than English, the recipient shall take reasonable steps to provide written material of the type ordinarily available to the public in appropriate languages.
Native American, Alaska Native applicants are encouraged to apply
Native Lands, National Trails
Native Lands, National Trails (NLNT) is a project that was created in collaboration with the Partnership for the National Trails System, Native Land Digital, Bureau of Land Management and Ancestral Lands Conservation Corp (ALCC). Now hosted with ALCC, NLNT is an introductory, GIS focused Individual Placement program continues the project work to create and share resources designed to inform the public and help National Trails and their nonprofit organization partners to advance the National Trails System’s knowledge of Indigenous ancestral Lands through partnership and collaboration with Indigenous communities along National Scenic and Historic Trails.
USDA Forest Service – Continental Divide National Scenic Trail
The Continental Divide has been a cultural resource and a connector of communities for thousands of years. As a result of the National System Act of 1968, the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDT) was congressionally designated as a National Scenic Trail in 1978. The CDT spans 3,100 miles through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana providing access to the Continental Divide landscape and Rocky Mountain communities. The CDT covers 20 National Forests, 4 National Park Service units, and 13 Bureau of Land Management field offices. The CDT is administered by the U.S Forest Service and supported by the national trail partner, the Continental Divide Trail Coalition, both working closely together to promote the nature and purposes of the trail.
“The nature and purposes of the CDNST are to provide for high-quality scenic, primitive hiking and horseback riding opportunities and to conserve natural, historic, and cultural resources along the CDNST corridor”
This includes increasing public access through education such as online mapping, informational trailhead kiosks, junior ranger programs, and supporting gateway communities.
Description of Duties:
This AmeriCorps Individual Placement will work with the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDNST) and associated Indigenous nations of the trail to create a public GIS project that will be hosted on Native Lands, National Trails Resource page. The AmeriCorps Individual Placement will be provided training on Indigenous Data Sovereignty, ethical research practices, GIS and on the National Trails System.
This project will help support the efforts of increasing intentional access to CDT’s cultural, natural, historic and recreational resources through education. This includes inventorying existing kiosk properties and applying learned lessons to new kiosks. Kiosks are structures that provide information to the public. The CDT program is looking towards combining GIS and information sharing, to create a resource that will showcase kiosks along the trail, virtually and physically, with storytelling at the forefront. This long-term project will include working alongside tribes, national forests/district staff, CDTC, and the USFS to showcase CDT Kiosks. This project will include collaborating with tribes to highlight their priorities and working alongside the Forest Service to compile the information.
The project will include geospatial components as the project will develop an asynchronous tool highlighting kiosks on the CDT. This can include ESRI Experience Builder, ArcGIS Online web application and hosted data, and Story Map. This Individual Placement will have access to training and project and education materials related to GIS, National Trails, Indigenous and ethical research practices through NLNT. Research and tribal engagement for data collection and mapping for additional topics may be explored.
Additionally, the Individual Placement will be working closely with the Continental Divide Trail Coalition, who works with communities along the CDT. The CDTC will be hosting another IP, therefore both IPs on the CDT will have the opportunity to collaborate on a joint GIS Product such a CDT Story Map or AGOL Experience. The CDT GIS product may include storytelling along the CDT, highlighting varying stories along the CDT, along with utilizing the NLNT map. Through these projects they will be highlighting indigenous voices and stories on the trail. The internship will provide perspectives that will fortify the purpose of the CDT.
Essential Functions and responsibilities:
Qualifications:
Our Commitment:
Conservation Legacy is committed to the full consideration of all qualified individuals and will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to perform essential job functions. Physical requirements may include periodic overnight travel, non-traditional work hours, ability to move across varied terrain, use program-specific tools and a range of technology on an infrequent or frequent basis. Exerting up to 25 pounds of force occasionally to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects. The ability to safely drive an organizational vehicle may also be required for some positions. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.
Time Requirements:
Orientation and Training:
Member will receive an orientation on Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps, Native Lands, National Trails (NLNT) Program and Continental Divide Trail Coalition
Member will receive training on Defensive Driving via Conservation Legacy
Member will undergo training from Native Lands National Trails on Indigenous Data Sovereignty, ethical research practices, GIS and on the National Trails System
Member will receive GIS Training via ESRI on GIS basics, ArcGIS Pro, Managing Geospatial Data, Spatial Analysis and additional course(s) of IP’s interest
Benefits:
Public Land Corps Hiring Authority (PLC)
Paid Professional Development Opportunities
Federal Student Loan forbearance if eligible
Federal Student Loan Interest Payments if eligible
Evaluation and Reporting:
As an AmeriCorps member, performance will be evaluated on whether the member has completed the required number of hours, the member has satisfactorily completed assignments, and if the member has met other performance criteria that were clearly communicated at the beginning of the term of service.
Reporting requirements include, but are not limited to, bi-weekly timesheets and accomplishment tracking.
Supervisor Name and Contact Information:
ALCC Individual Placement Program Coordinator: Kiana Etsate-Gashytewa [email protected]
Conservation Legacy is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodations due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.