POSITION DETAILS
Position ID(s): 4463
Position Title: Visitor Use Management Assistant - AmeriCorps
Conservation Legacy Program: Scientists in Parks, Stewards Individual Placements
Site Location: Alaska Region Office, Anchorage, Alaska
Number of positions available: 1
TERMS OF SERVICE
Duration: 52 Weeks (not flexible)
Flexible Start Date: Yes
Start Date: 5/4/2026
End Date: 5/3/2027
AmeriCorps Slot Classification: 1700 hours - this is the minimum number of hours the selected candidate must serve throughout the duration of their position.
BENEFITS
- Segal AmeriCorps Education Award: $ 7,395.00 upon successful completion of position
- Weekly Living Allowance: $ 700.00 per week, fixed rate
- Relocation Allowance: $ 1,100.00 (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)
- For 52-week positions only:
- Free Healthcare Coverage (opt in)
- Childcare Coverage (opt in)
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: GIS data analysis, Python code, R code, Visitor use services, Alaska region-wide
PURPOSE
This Visitor Use Management Assistant is an AmeriCorps position. Many National Parks in Alaska were founded, in part, to protect and maintain coastal habitat, as stated in enabling legislation (ANILCA 1980). The meeting of marine state waters and NPS coastline makes the management and information sharing a critical partnership. The SIP participant will play a critical role in establishing data management and analysis of vessel traffic metrics from AIS systems across Alaska’s state waters near and adjacent to park coastlines. This kind of project directly supports oil spill preparedness and visitor safety and experience.
DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES
Enhancing Oil Spill Preparedness for Alaska National Parks Alaska’s national parks includes 10 coastal parks with over 3600 miles of coast and tens of thousands of sq miles of marine habitats. Visitors often access these parks via vessels. Commercial shipping also transits adjacent to all coastal parks across the state. The volume of vessel traffic in these parks has increased dramatically over the past several decades. For example, passenger numbers of cruise ships coming to Alaska is expected to exceed 1.8 million in 2026 up from 700,000 just over a decade ago. In addition to increased volume, ships are also larger and carry more fuel. In the early-2000s vessels carried around 2,000 passengers and weighed about 75,000 gross tons. By 2026, many ships coming to Alaska will carry more than 5,000 passengers, with some exceeding 200,000 gross tons. To meet the energy demands, ships bunker (carry) large quantities of Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) and Marine Gas Oil (MGO). In 2022, vessels entering Glacier Bay carried an average of 875 tonnes of HFO and 670 tonnes of MGO—over 420,000 gallons of fuel. Increased vessel traffic is not limited to the southeast Alaska parks (Glacier Bay, Wrangell St. Klondike Goldrush, Sitka NHP). Western Arctic parks are increasingly at risk of a catastrophic oil spill owing to the large increase of vessel traffic in and near the Bering Strait. Yet the NPS has no regional oil spill coordinator and parks have no coordinated, standardized communications plan in the event of a spill. A fundamental first step in preparedness is understanding levels of risk as it provides insight into where to invest time and resources. In support of this important effort, the National Park Service seeks vessel traffic data analysis in support of visitor safety and agency management decision-making support. The participant will: •Use AIS vessel traffic data to analyze and summarize cruise ship movement and activity. •Review and synthesize cruise ship technical reports within NPS for Southeast Alaska parks. •projects with supervisors to develop additional indicators—such as emissions or fuel-capacity metrics—to support evaluations of visitor safety, environmental risk, and visitor experience.
DELIVERABLES
Deliverables: Summarized datasets of AIS, cruise ship port calls and project reports. 1. Amalgamate the AIS data to explore movements of cruise ships and other vessels within the Area of Interest for coastal parks and how that has changed over the past 15 years. 2. Create data tables related to cruise ship static (technical) data including size, pax capacity, tonnage specific to parks with greater visitor activity. 3. Analyze data on trends in cruise ship port calls. 4. Conduct a network analysis on major ports, movements, etc.
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 52 Weeks in order to be considered and participate.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
Applicants must have completed an undergraduate degree in statistics, science(s) or data management by the start of the appointment. Coursework required: R or python programming and GIS (or demonstrated proficiency). Computer expertise and problem solving are necessary. These datasets will be very large and time-consuming to process, so the ability to efficiently work with large datasets is a necessity.
ADDITIONAL POSITION AND COMMUNITY INFORMATION
POSITION SETTING
Anchorage is Alaska’s most populous city, with a variety population of ~300,000 residents and a landscape bordered by mountains and ocean. It has a subarctic weather with strong maritime influences that lead to relatively moderate winter weather, compared to Alaska’s interior. Average daytime winter temperatures range from ~5 to 30 °F (−15.0 to −1.1 °C). High latitude causes winter days to be short (as little as ~6 hours of daylight), however the ability of snow cover to reflect ambient light and brighten surroundings is substantial. All standard amenities are available in Anchorage, including hospitals, schools, universities, restaurants, museums, theaters, and airports. Indoor and outdoor activities abound. In winter, outdoor activities include skiing (classic, skate, downhill, backcountry), snowboarding, snowshoeing, ice skating, and fat tire cycling, among others. Trails and lakes throughout the city are groomed and hot-mopped (respectively) during winter and are available for recreation free of charge. Lastly, Anchorage is a city rich in cultural wide variety of, community event and festivals including summer markets, the Iditarod Sled Dog race and many others you can find on Alaska.org, or within an hour’s drive there is the Fungus Fair and skiing in Girdwood, or the Alaska State Fair in Palmer. There are unique, wonderful opportunities to learn Traditional Alaska Native skills like beading, fur sewing and wood carving or dog mushing. Anchorage is a gateway to intact wilderness for world-class hiking, hunting and fishing. Whether you are interested in more of the indoor activities or the wild outdoors, there is something for everyone.
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.
There is no park housing available. The candidate selected for this position is encouraged to inquire about housing early as Alaska summers are busy and housing may be limited. One resource for someone coming from out of state is furnishedfinder.com.
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 Visitor Use Management Assistant at Alaska Region Office.
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!”
