JOB SUMMARY: The typical seasonal entry-on-duty period is May - November, but can be variable during these months due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding. Anticipated Entry on Duty: April 2025 Open to the first 50 applicants or until 01/10/2025 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration. For more information about Indiana Dunes, please contact: charles_morris@nps.gov MAJOR DUTIES: As part of a field crew, you will conduct natural resource management fieldwork. Perform routine and recurring testing of collected samples. Field work will consist of physical, chemical, and biological assessment of aquatic resources focusing on restoration of native mussel species. Laboratory work will focus on maintaining aquatic culturing systems ensuring for the purpose of rearing native mussels. Install, operate, and maintain resource management equipment (e.g., tools, traps, and sampling, monitoring, photographic, and laboratory equipment). Some tools and operate equipment may be electrofishing systems, water quality instruments, and fish/mussel culturing systems. You will be required to work in a river environment via wading or boating and use an ATV of UTV. PHYSICAL DEMANDS The work is partially sedentary with prolonged standing, walking, and bending often required. Heavy items (e.g., packs and equipment up to 50 pounds) must be lifted and carried on a routine basis. WORK ENVIRONMENT The work is performed in an office, laboratory, and in the field. Majority of the duties will be conducted outdoors in weather ranging from humid and hot to cold and snowy. Field work includes exposure to extreme weather conditions and terrain, pesticides, poisonous plants, biting insects, and wild animals. Laboratory work may involve exposure to hazardous chemicals. You will be exposed to poisonous plants including the very poisonous wetland shrub Rhus vernix (poison sumac) and Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy), biting and stinging insects including ticks which may harbor Lyme disease, mosquitoes which may harbor West Nile Virus, tripping hazards. Aquatic work may require full emersion and direct bodily contact with water and muck may be unavoidable. Park Information: Indiana Dunes National Park is a 15,000-acre park located at the southern tip of Lake Michigan, approximately 45 miles southeast of Chicago, Illinois. The park is among the top 10% of most visited national park units Year; it is within 3 hours of 30 million people, includes 15 miles of Lake Michigan's southern shoreline, several historic districts, and over 50 miles of trails through forest, dune, wetland, and prairie ecosystems. The park is the birthplace of the science of ecology, has some of the most diverse plant and avian communities in the National Park Service, and hosts an array of exceptional cultural resources, for example the 1933 World's Fair Century of Progress homes. Small towns and vacation communities on the beaches of Lake Michigan, along with industrial corridors and farmlands, interspersed with large tracts of woodlands and wetlands, surround the park. All services are available in the communities, including schools, colleges, shopping, and other major amenities. The area has weather typical of the Midwest with temperatures normally ranging from 0 degrees in the winter to 90 degrees in the summer. Government housing may be available. Additionally, many houses and rental properties exist in the surrounding communities. Cuyahoga Valley National Park will utilize this announcement to clear career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL) and as such, a certificate may not be issued for this duty location. Government Housing may be available. Located in Northeastern, Ohio Cuyahoga Valley National Park is situated along 22 miles of the Cuyahoga River Valley in a suburban setting between the cities of Akron and Cleveland. The park is predominately natural forest and meadow with some areas of agriculture and excellent outdoor recreation opportunities. Winters are moderately cold with average temperatures in the 20 to 30 degree ranges. Heavy snowfall is not unusual. Summers are moderately warm, average temperatures in the high 70's and 80's with occasional warm spells in the 90's. Rural, suburban, and urban communities are all within a reasonable commuting distance. Excellent K-12 schools, numerous colleges, universities, hospitals, and cultural attractions are available in the area. Cuyahoga Valley National Park's Web Site: http://www.nps.gov/cuva IMPORTANT: Click the 'Apply for this job' button to view a complete job description.
