Individual Placement - Natural Resources Big Bend National Park

Position Summary

The Individual Placement will provide support to projects that improve plant and wildlife communities in Big Bend National Park, the largest protected area of the Chihuahuan desert in the US. These projects are focused on high priority ecological issues in Big Bend: habitat restoration and invasive species management, surveys for rare plants that are at risk of extinction, and surveys of native and invasive wildlife species. Ultimately, these projects help Big Bend National Park achieve one of its main purposes, which is to conserve biological diversity.

Location

Big Bend National Park, TX

Schedule

December 1st, 2025 – April 4, 2026

Key Duties and Responsibilities

The natural resource Individual Placement will gain a wide array of resource management and restoration experience in this position. The member will receive training on a wide variety of standard protocols used across the National Park Service and other management areas. They will contribute to the overall resource management program at Big Bend National Park by working on vegetation, wildlife, and physical science projects. This young adult will (1) collect and analyze data from wildlife cameras in high elevation “sky island” habitats for early invasive species detections, predicting potential areas of human conflict with lions, bears, and coyotes, and assessing impacts of environmental disturbances (such as fire) on abundance, distribution and reproduction of major wildlife species in the park. This wildlife camera data will be used to inform short term and long term management decisions (2) improving wildlife habitat and visitor use opportunities by completing vegetation projects that reduce fuels, restore endangered species habitats, and remove invasive species, (3) conduct targeted rare plant surveys, (4) salvage and relocate wild plants that would otherwise be destroyed in construction projects, and (5) assist the wildlife biologist in black bear and coyote management (6) perform aerial surveys of trespass livestock in the Park's fixed-wing plane, (7) learning the air quality monitoring protocols and assisting with weekly station checks, (8) performing well monitoring and (9) assisting the physical science and interpretation program in night sky surveying.

Marginal Duties

Marginal duties such as organizing equipment, filing documents, and performing vehicle safety checks will be tasked when appropriate.

Required Qualifications

Driver's License

Personal Vehicle*

Applicants that have experience with these tasks and skills in their applications:

• experience hiking, camping, and navigating in backcountry
• monitoring or assessing disturbance to natural resources
• documenting or reporting on treatments for invasive plants/fuels/nuisance animals
• monitoring vegetation conditions
• identifying wildlife including mammals and birds
• habitat restoration or vegetation management.

• Please note that Big Bend is extremely remote, and it is necessary to have a personal vehicle to go the grocery store or get any other personal supplies/needs. There is a small grocery store in Terlingua (30 miles away) and a larger one in Alpine (100 miles away).

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

• Applicants who have had college or graduate level coursework in biological sciences.
• Applicants that have some college level coursework in the natural sciences such as wildlife biology, botany, and ecology, OR coursework in natural resource management or park/land management.
• Although not required, competitive applicants will be familiar with using ArcGISPro and ArcGISOnline environment to create maps and surveys (including Survey123 and/or the Field Maps app).

Hours

• 40 per week

Living Accommodations

• Housing provided

Compensation

• Living allowance: $620 per week
• One-time relocation travel allowance: $1,100.

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

Personal Vehicle Information

• Required

Additional Benefits

• Bear Safety
• Defensive Drive 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.