Individual Placement - Botany and Restoration

Position Summary

This position will support the botany program at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (ORPI) by contributing to vegetation monitoring, invasive species management, and landscape restoration efforts. This position will primarily be conducting fieldwork throughout the monument, including backcountry settings and along the international border.

Location

Organ Pipe National Monument, AZ

Schedule

September 29, 2025 - April 13, 2026

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Field assistants will contribute to the following project areas:

• Invasive plant management – mapping and documenting invasive plant populations, hand-pulling invasive plants, and assisting with herbicide application under the supervision of a certified applicator
• Native plant nursery – watering and maintaining current nursery stock, propagating native plants for restoration outplanting, assisting with germination trials, and maintaining the compost pile
• Landscape restoration – restoration of illegal off-road vehicle routes via raking, vertical mulching, outplanting native plants from the nursery and watering them, installing and replacing restoration signs and t-post, installing erosion barriers, and operating trail cameras to monitor site re-use
• Rare and endangered plants – assisting with surveys for rare and endangered species
• Quitobaquito Springs – assisting with the removal of invasive plants and performing vegetation maintenance to keep the trails and spring channel in good condition.

Marginal Duties

Other duties include recording field data on a variety of devices and assisting with data entry. As appropriate, there may be opportunities to assist the other Resource Division programs, including wildlife biology, physical sciences, cultural resources, and ecological monitoring.

Required Qualifications

• Experience working with hand-held GPS, maps, and compass for field navigation and data collection
• Ability to perform manual, physical labor for up to 10 hours per day, exposed to the elements, and must be able to occasionally lift and/or move 50 pounds or more
• Ability to communicate effectively, both written and orally, with a broad audience
• Ability to live and work in rural and remote field and office setting
• Must possess a clean, valid, state-issued driver's license
• Due to the remote setting, a personal vehicle is required

This SCA Position is authorized under the Public Land Corps Authority. All participants must be between the ages of 16 and 30, inclusive, or veterans age 35 or younger. Participants must also be a citizen or national of the United States or lawful permanent resident alien of the United States. Hours served can be applied toward the Public Land Corps (PLC) hiring authority.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience conducting fieldwork in a desert environment
• Familiar with the flora of the Sonoran Desert and/or experience identifying plants to species-level using a dichotomous key
• Degree or coursework in botany, ecology, natural resources, or a related field
• Familiarity with various desktop and mobile mapping software including Avenza, ArcGIS Pro, ArcMap, AGOL, Field Maps and Survey123

Hours

40 per week

Living Accommodations

The field assistant will have their own room in a shared house with up to 3 other residents. They will share a bathroom with 1 other person. Housing units come fully furnished and stocked with kitchen implements, pots and pans, etc. Park housing is located approximately 35 miles from the nearest grocery store in Ajo. Phoenix and Tucson are both about 2.5 hours away and offer full services.

Compensation

• $720/week living allowance with free park housing provided
• $1100 round trip to-and-from site travel allowance
• $1500 reimbursable funds for additional training and work travel

All allowances are subject to applicable federal, state, and local taxes.

Personal Vehicle Information

Recommended

Additional Benefits

Off-Road Vehicle Safety Training

Equal Opportunity Statement

The Student Conservation Association, Inc., is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The SCA strives to cultivate a work environment that encourages fairness, teamwork, and respect among all staff members and is committed to maintaining a work atmosphere where lifestyles may grow personally and professionally.