POSITION DETAILS
Position ID(s): 4357
Position Title: Ecology Assistant - AmeriCorps
Conservation Legacy Program: Scientists in Parks, Stewards Individual Placements
Site Location: Grand Canyon National Park, Flagstaff, Arizona
Number of positions available: 1
TERMS OF SERVICE
Duration: 36 Weeks (not flexible)
Flexible Start Date: Yes
Start Date: 05/04/2026
End Date: 01/11/2027
AmeriCorps Slot Classification: 1200 hours - this is the minimum number of hours the selected candidate must serve throughout the duration of their position.
BENEFITS
- Segal AmeriCorps Education Award: $ 5,176.50 upon successful completion of position
- Weekly Living Allowance: $ 700.00 per week, fixed rate
- Relocation Allowance: $ 450.00 (distributed as a one-time lump sum with first paycheck)
- Student Loan Forbearance if applicable (administered by MyAmeriCorps, directly)
- Student Loan Interest Payments if applicable (administered through MyAmeriCorps, directly)
APPLICATION TIMELINE
Preference given to applicants who submit applications before Sunday, February 15, 2026. Applications will be reviewed after the application deadline passes. Positions will close after receiving 60 complete applications, or at 11:59 p.m. EST on February 15, 2026, whichever occurs first.
KEYWORDS: natural resource management; process-based restoration; integrated risk management; integrated fire risk management
PURPOSE
This Ecology Assistant is an AmeriCorps position. The National Park Service preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. Recent advances technology and research testing the efficacy of integrated risk management strategies (e.g. strategic placement of fuels treatments to support weather buffering and snowpack retention, process-based restoration strategies that address the pre- and post- extreme event water/wildfire nexus, etc.) can help meet the NPS mission in the face of increasingly unpredictable aridity and fire behavior and extreme precipitation and hydrological events. However, local park staff often do not have the time to read all the literature and summarize the overall implications and strategy considerations needed to make informed decisions about how to revise goals and develop innovative strategies, or decide where and when those strategies are most appropriate for implementation. The proposed SIP project will provide this missing link to elevate commonsense, unified strategies and local tactics for efficient, effective, and technology-enabled integrated risk management.
DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES
In 2025 Grand Canyon National Park experienced unexpected and unprecedented fire weather and behavior, with large implications for a variety of park natural resources. The western United States is experiencing an increasing presence and aridity of large diameter dead fuels that drives unexpected fire behavior, and increasingly unexpected severe fire weather patterns. Pre-fire vegetation and landscape hydration buffer or exacerbate wildfire risks, and fire behavior increasingly determines post-fire watershed health or ongoing water emergencies.
EO 3443 also calls for aligning research and management strategically with mission priorities across disciplines and boundaries. The focus of the proposed position is to elevate, unify, and align Grand Canyon National Park’s projects and programs with interdisciplinary strategies across agencies and borders for an integrated risk management vision that addresses technology gaps and leverages the water / wildfire nexus before and after extreme events to reduce risks to natural resources.
Research and technology have recently made great advances in understanding how pre-fire watershed health and functions are linked to fire behavior, and post-extreme event flooding and debris flow risks, protecting natural resources in an integrated manner. One example is research demonstrating that pre-fire process-based restoration of watersheds increases moisture retention, increases microclimate buffering, reduces fire behavior, provides natural fire breaks, reduces runoff, and reduces debris flow risks to visitors, fish, and drinking water quality.
The proposed Scientists-in-Parks project will advance integrated risk management planning at the park by taking emerging strategies and science like this and recommend ways to synchronize Grand Canyon National Park’s local tactics with regional and national strategies unified across disciplines and boundaries. The SIP participant will ultimately produce workshop presentations and a report summarizing a range of the most relevant and promising strategies and their cost benefit analyses, including their practicality, risk, and alignment of strategies across disciplines and boundaries. The SIP will identify local tactics to implement those strategies, as well as ways to align and leverage dollars, efforts, related expertise, and effort across agency boundaries such that projects at Grand Canyon National Park are practical, impactful and efficient.
This Scientists-in-Parks project will project collaboratively with, and under the guidance of the Fire Ecologist and Deputy Chief of Science & Resource Management. The SIP will identify, interpret and apply relevant literature to the management context, collaborate with managers to prioritize strategies, identify feasible local tactics to implement those strategies, and summarize the information and outcomes. The SIP may also conduct targeted interviews with experts on relevant topics to fill in gaps in knowledge. The SIP may also collaborate with the Fire Ecologist, managers from other agencies and tribal liaisons to invite input, collaboration, and guidance.
DELIVERABLES
With the guidance and collaboration of the Fire Ecologist, the SIP participant will write summaries on each topic/sub-topic, and incorporate information available from case studies on implementation, costing and impact information, and regional and national guidance. The SIP will also interview experts, and service with tribal liaisons, to incorporate their knowledge into the final summaries. These products will be used to conduct workshops (with SIP participation as time allows) walking managers through integrated risk management decisions with the ultimate goal of creating an integrated risk management plan and vision for the park that best protects park natural resources in forests. The final product will be a report and workshop summarizing the strategies and conclusions, entitled, “GRCA Integrated Risk Management: Forests”. The SIP will provide information from this process to help build and refine an integrated risk management summary metric for forests, with the guidance of the Fire Ecologist and Deputy Chief, as part of this overall process, and communicate results through a variety of mediums.
QUALIFICATIONS
- United States citizen, United States national, or a lawful permanent resident alien.
- Has received a high school diploma or equivalency certificate; or has not dropped out of secondary school to enroll as an AmeriCorps participant and agrees to obtain a high school diploma or its equivalent prior to using the education award
- Prior to starting the position, agrees to provide information to establish eligibility and to complete a National Service Criminal History Check for the employer of record, Conservation Legacy, and a separate government security background check for the host site.
- The applicant must be available to participate for the entire 36 Weeks in order to be considered and participate.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
Experience and a keen interest in reviewing science and conducting interviews with experts and managers to evaluate the practicality, effectiveness, and efficiency of potential solutions to integrated risk management challenges. A completed B.S. or M.S. in ecology, biology, environmental science, hydrology, natural resource management, botany, wildlife management, or a related field. Strong scientific writing skills, in particular previous experience conducting literature reviews, and interpreting the overall implications of many studies that build on each other, and how they relate to management of natural resources, preferably for scientific publications and/or reports. The SIP candidate should be able to complete projects independently and as part of team and critically evaluate the practicality of implementing a variety of strategies.
ADDITIONAL POSITION AND COMMUNITY INFORMATION
POSITION SETTING
This is a computer and discussion- based job focused on summarizing the best available science and guidance, and how to implement it. However, there will be opportunities for occasional field visits to observe park conditions, take part in ecological monitoring, and understand the variety of park habitats and management challenges as hydrological, precipitation, and fire events shift. Field visits may include hiking in a variety of high elevation terrain on steep rocky slopes in forests with a variety of weather conditions in wilderness and remote areas at the Noth and South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
VEHICLE AND DRIVERS LICENSE REQUIREMENTS
- Applicant must have a valid driver's license to drive a government vehicle.
- A personal vehicle is recommended for this position.
HOUSING
Park housing is NOT available. The selected candidate will be responsible for finding housing in the nearby area.
No. Park housing is NOT available. The selected candidate will be responsible for finding housing in the nearby area in Flagstaff, AZ and will be working out of the Flagstaff office of Grand Canyon National Park.
OUR COMMITMENT
Conservation Legacy is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to perform essential functions. Some positions may require periodic overnight travel, non-traditional 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. Ability to safely drive an organizational vehicle may also be required for some positions.
TIME REQUIREMENTS
- This position is expected to serve full time each week, but exact service schedules may vary based on project needs. Lunch breaks and days off will not be counted towards AmeriCorps service hours.
- Member may be required to participate in national, state, or local service projects or events as part of their service term.
ORIENTATION AND TRAINING
- Member will receive pertinent project and site training from host site throughout term
- Member will receive an orientation that includes training on AmeriCorps prohibited and unallowable activities.
- Access to free professional development webinars led by Conservation Legacy staff
EVALUATION AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
As an AmeriCorps member, performance will be evaluated on whether the member has completed the required number of minimum AmeriCorps 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.
HOW TO APPLY
Apply online, all Scientists in Parks positions are listed at: https://conservation-legacy.breezy.hr/. Complete the application for this position, highlighting why you are interested in the position and how your background and experience will help you succeed in this position. Be prepared to upload your resume and unofficial transcript as part of completing the application questionnaire.
Once you begin applying for a position, the application must be completed in one sitting. You cannot save and return later to complete it. Applicants can apply for up to five Scientists in Parks positions per season. You need to complete a separate application for each position in order to be considered. You should receive a confirmation email after successfully submitting an application. Sometimes institutional email filters/settings can redirect, or block emails related to the application. We recommend watching spam, junk, and promotional email folders in case your service delivers messages there. Please visit How to Apply for additional resources and information about applying (i.e., learn what materials to have ready for applying, find a worksheet that previews application questions, etc.). Learn more about Scientists in Parks at: https://www.scientistsinparks.org/.
Stewards Individual Placements (Stewards), a program of Conservation Legacy, provides individuals with AmeriCorps service and career opportunities to strengthen communities and preserve our natural resources. Participants serve with federal agencies, tribal governments, and nonprofits to provide institutional capacity, develop community relationships, and support ecosystem health. Stewards in partnership with the Scientists in Parks program will host the Ecology Assistant at Grand Canyon National Park.
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 Scientists in Parks using the email address at the base of the home page, under “Questions? Contact Us!”
