Hydrological/Soils Technician - Tahoe National Forest

EPIC • Nevada City, CA

5d • Onsite

About The Position

American Conservation Experience, a nonprofit Conservation Corps, in partnership with the US Forest Service, is seeking 1 hydro/soils technician to contribute to the North Yuba River Landscape Resiliency Project (NYLRP) alongside Tahoe National Forest Staff. For more information about ACE, please visit our website. Start Date: June 1, 2026 (06/01/2026) Estimated End Date: Fall 2026 a 16-week minimum commitment is required Location Details/Description: Tahoe National Forest, 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. Nevada City is a vibrant town alongside Grass Valley, CA with excellent access to trails, ski resorts, and world class rafting and swimming holes. Nevada City has a flourishing arts scene, hosts excellent concerts and music festivals, and has many restaurants and shopping areas. 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: ACE Members will assist with watershed restoration and planning on a priority landscape project within the North Yuba watershed on the Tahoe National Forest. Members will work on inventorying, surveying, and assessing soil and water resources within the project area. Members will work closely with Forest Service hydrologists and soil scientists and may assist other Forest Service staff including botany and wildlife teams. The positions will focus on collecting, organizing, analyzing, and summarizing field data to identify and support watershed restoration projects and ensure commercial timber and fuel reductions projects meet Forest Service watershed objectives. Field work will include a combination of the following: Groundwater dependent ecosystem inventories and surveys Road surveys identifying erosional issues Organism passage barriers Verification or discovery of unauthorized routes Soil disturbance monitoring Wetland delineation and classification Riparian/wetland soil and botanical surveys Stream surveys including flow measurements and functional assessments. Office work will entail extensive use of GIS software to plan field assignments and organize data. Other data management software including excel and if experienced, Python and/or R, will be used to organize and explore data. Members will occasionally write reports, summaries, and presentations detailing their work in the field and its relation to previous literature. The position will work approximately 30% of the time in an office setting and 70% of the time in a field setting. This individual placement is meant to facilitate professional development and promotes exposure to land management agencies and networking with professionals. This could include gaining experience in different conservation fields and shadowing different work groups. Schedule: Will vary depending on the type of work and season/weather. Field work days will be 10 hours and field work weeks will generally consist of 4, 10-hour days. Office work day hours are flexible but based around core hours: 9:00am-5:30pm. There will be frequent field work requiring overnight camping for one or two nights. Occasional, weeklong overnight camping for 3 nights/4 days may be required. Some schedule flexibility is available, but field work schedules will need to accommodate ACE members' and often other Forest Service staff's schedules. Position 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. If the duration of a PLC-eligible term is not long enough for Members to accrue 640 hours of service (~16 weeks), the total hours served at the completion of the term may be eligible to be combined with hours accrued from another PLC-eligible term to meet the 640 hours requirement. PLC projects also include specific eligibility requirements such as age (You must be between the ages of 16 and 30. Some agencies also interpret these guidelines to include veterans up to age 35) and citizenship. Please contact ACE staff with questions about eligibility, or view general eligibility information on our website. Housing: Housing and finding a local rental is the responsibility of the member and not provided by ACE. However, housing may be available at a daily bunk rate of approximately $7-20 per day by the Forest. A Housing Allowance of up to $280/week will be available. Local candidates are encouraged to apply. 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. Eligible gear for this position may include boots, work pants, hiking socks, and must be approved by ACE and Forest Service staff prior to purchase. 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. This position offers up to $500 for trainings. Specific training may include wilderness first aid, groundwater dependent ecosystem inventory, properly functioning condition,soil disturbance monitoring, and beaver dam analogue workshops. Qualifications If you meet at least 70 percent of the qualifications, we want to hear from you!

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
• To learn more about eligibility requirements, please visit our website located on our Indeed homepage.

Nice To Haves

• Competitive applicants for this position can hold or be pursuing a bachelor's degree or higher related to hydrology or soil science, and/or a natural resources related degree with relevant experience in subject areas such as hydrology, soil science, soil classification, watershed management, riparian ecology/botany, GIS, range management.
• Knowledge of watershed processes, especially related with riparian/wetland areas
• Knowledge of GIS and mobile mapping software, data management software (Excel, R, Python)
• 4x4 driving skills on technical terrain.
• Ability and willingness to work in demanding outdoor environments that include steep, mountainous terrain, inclement weather, and creek navigation.
• Deep interest in restoration of forests, watersheds, wetlands, and forested riparian ecosystems.

Responsibilities

• Assist with watershed restoration and planning on a priority landscape project within the North Yuba watershed on the Tahoe National Forest
• Work on inventorying, surveying, and assessing soil and water resources within the project area
• Work closely with Forest Service hydrologists and soil scientists and may assist other Forest Service staff including botany and wildlife teams
• Focus on collecting, organizing, analyzing, and summarizing field data to identify and support watershed restoration projects and ensure commercial timber and fuel reductions projects meet Forest Service watershed objectives
• Groundwater dependent ecosystem inventories and surveys
• Road surveys identifying erosional issues
• Organism passage barriers
• Verification or discovery of unauthorized routes
• Soil disturbance monitoring
• Wetland delineation and classification
• Riparian/wetland soil and botanical surveys
• Stream surveys including flow measurements and functional assessments
• Extensive use of GIS software to plan field assignments and organize data
• Use other data management software including excel and if experienced, Python and/or R, to organize and explore data
• Occasionally write reports, summaries, and presentations detailing their work in the field and its relation to previous literature

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 may be available at a daily bunk rate of approximately $7-20 per day by the Forest. A 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.
• This position offers up to $500 for trainings.

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Entry Level