Summary
American Conservation Experience (ACE), a nonprofit Conservation Corps, in partnership with the New Mexico Bureau of Land Management (BLM), is seeking one Environmental Protection Member to support the regulation and inspection of gas and oil operations alongside staff from the BLM Las Cruces District Office.
For more information about ACE, please visit: www.usaconservation.org.
Start Date: July/August 2024 *pending federal background check*
Estimated End Date: 50 weeks from the start date.
Location Details/Description: Las Cruces, NM.
Las Cruces, NM
Las Cruces, New Mexico, is a vibrant, borderlands city. If the great outdoors appeals to you, find events at places like White Sands National Park or the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. If live performances are more your thing, find events at the Amador and other restaurants, local theaters, and New Mexico State University. Since Las Cruces is a college town, you can also find football and basketball games, along with activities and exhibitions at the university's museums and galleries. Don't miss the award-winning Farmers & Crafts Market of Las Cruces and other events in the newly revitalized downtown area, which also offers many art galleries and museums. Find events in historic Old Mesilla, too, from music on the plaza to historical reenactments.
For more information about Las Cruces, please visit https://lascruces.com/
BLM Las Cruces District Office
Welcome to southwestern New Mexico, where public lands offer an amazing diversity of outdoor recreation opportunities. The BLM's Las Cruces District Office manages 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 and the southern edge of the Gila National Forest to the Mexican border. These public lands include majestic, scenic mountain ranges jutting from the desert floor, and towering over the surrounding desert. The confluence of the Chihuahuan desert, Rocky Mountains, great plains, Sonoran desert, and Sierra Madre make the area the most biologically and recreationally diverse region of New Mexico.
For more information on the BLM Las Cruces District Office, please visit https://www.blm.gov/office/las-cruces-district-office
Position Overview:
The BLM Las Cruces District Office is providing an opportunity for one member to gain hands-on experience in the field of environmental protection to help uphold state and federal environmental regulations on BLM land in New Mexico. The successful candidates would support the BLM Las Cruces District Office on a variety of regulation and inspection projects. The Environmental Protection Members will work with lands and minerals specialists or the supervisor to meet with authorized and unauthorized lands and minerals users of public land to discuss proposals that could cause or have caused undue/unnecessary degradation of the environment, to discuss methods of prevention or mitigation. They will conduct field inspections of lands and minerals operations to determine compliance with environmental requirements of approved plans and conditions of approvals. Those participating in this program will have the opportunity to learn about BLM land-management challenges and responsibilities, gain an understanding of the ins-and-outs of environmental regulation compliance, and get boots on the ground experience with environmental regulation and protection. 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.
Examples of potential duties may include:
- Assists with conducting research and field investigations
- Assists with preparing routine reports
- Collects field data
- Uses spatial software to analyze data
- Creates tables, charts, or graphs for reports
- Verifies accuracy of information in reports, tables, charts, or graphs
- Conducts research in support of program evaluations
- Creates, updates, and maintains paper and electronic records.
- Researches, analyzes, and prepares science-based recommendations to management
This list is not exhaustive and other duties may be assigned based on project needs.
Schedule: Typically Monday - Friday between the hours of 8am - 5pm MST. Occasional weekend and evening shifts may be necessary for project needs.
Position Benefits
Living Allowance: The ACE Members are expected to contribute ~40 hours/week and will receive a living allowance of $600/week to offset the costs of food and incidental expenses, dispersed bi-weekly. The living allowance is a fixed rate determined by the BLM Las Cruces District Office and ACE and is not flexible.
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. PLC projects also include specific eligibility requirements such as age and citizenship. Please contact ACE staff with questions about eligibility, or view general information online https://www.usaconservation.org/epic/#eligibility-requirements.
Housing: Housing is the responsibility of the members and not provided by ACE or BLM Las Cruces District Office.
Housing Assistance: ACE Members will be eligible for reimbursable housing assistance up to $350 per week. The ACE Member will only be reimbursed for approved and demonstrated housing expenses.
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.
Qualifications
- 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, be a positive, contributing member of a group, and communicate effectively.
- A valid driver's license and an insurable driving record (documentation to be provided upon request).
- 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.
- To learn more about eligibility requirements, please visit our website https://www.usaconservation.org/epic/#eligibility-requirements.
Preferred:
- Competitive applicants for this position can hold or be pursuing a degree in natural resource or environmental protection and/or have relevant experience in subject areas such as environmental compliance.
- Knowledge of the physical and resource sciences, including geology, hydrology, soils, range conservation, or wildlife.
- Deep interest in natural resource and environmental protection and analysis concepts, principles, and procedures.
Physical Demands, Work Environment and Working Conditions:
- Physical Demands:
- Vision Requirements: Requires close, distance, peripheral and depth perception vision as well as the ability to focus.
- Weight Lifted or Force Exerted: Frequently moves up to 25 lbs., ability to move up to 50 pounds.
- Environmental: Outdoor and indoor conditions. Work environment conditions can change frequently; working under adverse weather conditions and in various climates. Indoor, office environment conditions; indoor air quality is good and temperature is controlled.
- Noise Environment: Moderate noise such as in a business office with equipment and light traffic.
- Travel: This position may require domestic travel.
Environmental Conditions/Hazards: The ACE member(s) may encounter environmental conditions/hazards including extreme heat or cold, rocky terrain, swamp or wetland conditions, biting insects, and potentially dangerous wildlife. The member is expected to conduct duties in a safe and orderly manner so as not to endanger self, fellow staff/members or resources.
Vehicle and Equipment Use/Safety:
Please submit your resume, a cover letter demonstrating your interest and experience, and contact information for three professional/academic references to the online application page for this position here: https://usaconservation.applicantpool.com/jobs/1079798. Early consideration will be given as resumes are received. This position may close at any time. If you have any questions regarding this position please feel free to contact Recruitment and Member Support Coordinator, Sheana Ward, at 772-529-8143 or sward@usaconservation.org.
EEO: Employment with ACE is based upon ability, qualifications, attitude, and job-related factors. Every qualified employee or applicant has the same opportunity for recruitment, hire, training, transfer, promotion, compensation, demotion, termination, benefits, employee activities, and general treatment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, gender, national origin, pregnancy, ancestry, citizenship status, genetic information (including of a family member), veteran or military status, age, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, medical condition, marital or parental status, political affiliation, ethnicity, hair texture or style, arrest record, caste, hereditary status, endogamy, or any other classification protected by applicable local, state, or federal law.
