Harvest Inspector Trainee - Tahoe National Forest

EPIC • Nevada City, CA

3d • Onsite

About The Position

Harvest Inspector Trainee - Tahoe National Forest, Yuba River Ranger District Summary American Conservation Experience, a nonprofit Conservation Corps, in partnership with the US Forest Service, is seeking 1 Harvest Inspector Trainee to contribute to timber resource management projects alongside Tahoe National Forest Staff. For more information about ACE, please visit our website. Start Date: May 18, 2025 flexible start date Estimated End Date: Fall 2026 a 16-week minimum commitment is required Location Details/Description: Yuba River Ranger District (Nevada City, California) The Tahoe National Forest is located in the northern Sierra Nevada (east of Sacramento) and extends from the foothills across the Sierra crest to the California state line. It includes over 850,000 acres of public land interspersed with 350,000 acres of private land in a checkerboard ownership pattern. Rivers, snow-capped peaks and dense forests offer outstanding recreation year-round. A complex set of ecosystems are found as the terrain ascends from 1,500 feet along the western boundary to over 9,000 feet along the crest. The forest provides a variety of resources and opportunities and is managed by the Forest Service. The Yuba River Ranger District offices are located in Camptonville, CA and Nevada City, CA. Many employees live in the Nevada City/Grass Valley area (population 20,000) located 25 miles south of Camptonville. Nevada City is a vibrant town alongside Grass Valley, CA with excellent access to trails, ski resorts, and world class rafting and swimming holes. The Sacramento metro area is within an hour's drive for urban amenities. For more information about the Yuba River Ranger District, please visit the Tahoe National Forest website. Position Overview: The ACE Member will work independently or as a part of a small crew performing a variety of harvest inspector (HI) or timber sale preparation (TSP) duties that include-but are not limited to-timber harvest contract inspection (80%), timber marking (5%), timber cruising (5%), and sale layout (5%) of both ground and aerial systems as part of the forest health partnership. Office work, meetings, and training (5%). Field work often requires moderate to strenuous physical exertion, including walking, bending, and climbing under adverse conditions for long periods of time. Potential risk of falls due to uneven terrain, risk of insect bites, contact with poisonous plants, etc. Duties will be conducted during conditions such as rain, snow, wind, dust, extreme heat and cold. Hardhat, gloves, and other safety equipment are provided. This individual placement is designed to foster professional growth by providing practical experience in land management principles and techniques. The internship will offer opportunities to develop key skills, including learning methods and criteria for inspecting timber harvesting contracts, conducting project layout and timber cruising, and stand exams, developing record keeping and organization skills for data/information corresponding to assigned projects while working independently or with district sale administration and timber staff. Furthermore, this placement facilitates valuable networking opportunities with professionals in land management agencies, including shadowing Forest Service and partner (SPI and NFF) work groups to gain exposure to various conservation fields such as fuels reduction, hydrology, forestry, wildlife management, range and botanical management, and environmental education. Planning, decisions, and judgments made in this position affect long term timber management activities, other resources, and the forest health agreement/contract. Accuracy of the work affects the quality of residual resource values such as timber stands, visual quality, water quality, and all resources related to timber harvest. Harvest Inspector Objectives: General understanding of how timber sale operations function. Reading and understanding of timber sale contracts. Actively engaging with logging contractors and operators. Communicating with district sale admin staff and reporting on the ground information through daily reports. Identifying work that does not align with contract objectives. For example, resource damage. Traveling safely through active operation areas. Timber Sale Prep Objectives: As a part of the timber sale prep crew applies silvicultural prescriptions and marking guides to designate timber for harvest. Under the supervision of a certified timber cruiser and applies the instructions issued in a cruise plan. Takes and records tree measurements, assesses quality, and determines defect. Prepares cruise data for processing. Observes and reports areas of possible archeological significance, and sightings of sensitive, threatened or endangered plant or wildlife species. GPS's harvest unit boundaries and determines site area.

Requirements

• Members must be authorized to work in the United States. ACE does not provide sponsorship for employment visas.
• Willing and able to represent ACE and the partner organization in a professional, positive, and enthusiastic manner.
• Ability to be both self-directed/work alone, and be a positive, contributing member of a group.
• A valid driver's license and an insurable driving record (documentation to be provided upon request).
• Members must be 21+ to drive due to ACE's insurance and liability requirements.
• Willing to undergo and must pass the required criminal history checks
• Ability to perform the essential duties of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.
• ACE Members will need to complete bi-weekly timesheets, beginning of term feedback forms, end of term evaluations and for longer terms, a mid-term evaluation.
• Member may not participate in any prohibited activities as listed in the Member Service Agreement.

Nice To Haves

• Competitive applicants for this position can hold or be pursuing any degree in Natural Resources, Forestry, Environmental Science, Biology, etc. And/or have relevant experience in subject areas such as Forestry, Natural Resources, Environmental Science, Biology, etc.
• Responsible for establishing accomplishment priorities, distributing the workload among employees, and reporting on the progress of work.
• Working knowledge of forest practices and techniques, including application of silvicultural prescriptions, GPS, maps, environmental analysis reports, and like guides in order to independently select harvest timber in a variety of stand conditions
• Working knowledge of measuring tree diameters and heights, map reading, compass use, tree species identification, obvious defect recognition and determination, GPS-ing, and the use of tools associated with timber cruising
• Knowledge of regularly used timber cruise computer programs for data collection
• Knowledge of other resource areas, such as wildlife management or archaeology, in order to recognize situations which require specific protection measures
• Proven leadership experience, especially in regards to safety and conflict resolution

Responsibilities

• timber harvest contract inspection (80%)
• timber marking (5%)
• timber cruising (5%)
• sale layout (5%) of both ground and aerial systems as part of the forest health partnership
• Office work, meetings, and training (5%)

Benefits

• Living Allowance: The ACE Member is expected to contribute ~40 hours/week and will receive a living allowance of $895/week to offset the costs of food and incidental expenses, dispersed bi-weekly.
• Public Land Corps Hiring Authority: Members serving under this agreement may be eligible for a federal hiring authority upon completion of their term of service and 640 hours of service.
• Housing Allowance of up to $280/week will be available.
• Gear Allowance: New ACE members will have up to $500 to spend on eligible gear purchases, and returning members or FS employees will have up to $250.
• Provided Training/Orientation: ACE members will receive position specific training and an orientation outlining ACE policies and procedures, clear guidance on prohibited activities, and networks for support.
• ACE members will have up to $500 to spend on eligible training/professional development opportunities, which must be approved by ACE and Forest Service staff prior to purchase.

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Intern
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees