Position Title: Ecology Assistant – Employee Participant
Conservation Legacy Program: Stewards Individual Placements
Site Location: Fort Collins, CO
Application Timeline: Preference given to applicants that submit application by August 22, 2025
Terms of Service:
• Ideal Start Date: 10/20/2025
• End Date: 05/15/2026
• Length of position: 30 weeks
Purpose:
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 Rocky Mountain Inventory and Monitoring Network of the National Park Service will host an Ecology Assistant position.
The Ecology Assistant will work with the Rocky Mountain Network of the National Park Service to help park resource managers get better access to data and visualizations to make more informed management decisions
The Rocky Mountain Network is part of the National Park Service’s Inventory and Monitoring Division and comprises six National Park Service units located in Colorado and Montana. The organization monitors key indicators of park health (called "vital signs") to help protect and manage national parks in the Rocky Mountains. Monitoring is science-based, connected to park management, and long-term (over years and decades) to help ensure that our national treasures are conserved and unimpaired for future generations.
Description of Duties:
· Work with network ecologists and data managers to develop repeatable methods and documentation for quality checking wetland and stream long-term monitoring data.
· Develop and modify code in R to automate annual quality checking processes.
· Work with network staff to resolve issues and clean data, checking with multiple sources or across multiple years.
· Create scripted data summaries and exploratory data analysis of long-term monitoring data.
· Engage with experts in wetlands, streams, and botany to meet network and park monitoring needs.
Qualifications:
· Bachelor’s degree in ecology or a related field.
· Solid written and oral communication skills.
· The ability to be detail-oriented and well organized.
· Skills related to successful teamwork (clear communication, situational awareness, reliability, respectfulness) and building successful relationships with colleagues.
United States citizen, United States national, or a lawful permanent resident alienApplicants must be between ages of 18-30 years old, or up to 35 for veteran, based on Public Land Corps Act of 1993. 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.Agrees to provide information to establish eligibility and to complete National Service Criminal History Checks for Conservation Legacy and the host site.
Preferred Qualifications:
· Experience in stream ecology, wetland ecology, or botany, or a master’s degree in one of these fields.
· Experience collecting, managing, and analyzing long-term ecological monitoring data.
· General knowledge of data management concepts and practices.
· Coding skills in R and experience using RStudio and GitHub.
· Experience working with Microsoft Access or other relational databases.
· Skills in creating, editing, and publishing GIS data in ArcGIS Pro and AGOL.
· Experience collecting hydrologic data or data from continuous loggers and working with data collected by these instruments.
· Experience working with flora and resolving plant identification issues.
Additional Position and Community Information:
· Work will primarily occur in an office environment in Fort Collins, CO. The intern will need to find their own housing. Fort Collins is a small city with a population ~170,000 people and all the typical amenities. Rooms for rent in a shared house are around $700-1100/month and 1-bedroom apartments are $1400+/month.
· A personal vehicle is recommended for commuting to the office, to capitalize on local amenities, and exploring the abundant recreation opportunities surrounding the network office.
· This position can be done remotely if needed. The applicant must have access to a safe, stable workspace with a reliable internet connection.
· There may be an opportunity to assist with some field work in network parks (Rocky Mountain National Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Grant Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, and Glacier National Park).
Benefits:
Living Allowance of $25.00 per hour (pre-tax)Eligible for Health Care Coverage after a 60-day probationary periodPaid Time Off and accrual of Sick Time
How to Apply:
Apply on-line at: https://secure.entertimeonline.com/ta/conservationlegacy.careers?ShowJob=688416832. In addition to your resume, please submit a one page cover letter highlighting why you are interested in this position and how your background and experience will help you succeed in this position.
Application Timeline:
Preference given to applicants who submit applications by August 22, 2025. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Position will close will filled.
Supervisor Name and Contact Information:
· Service Site Contact information: Dana Witwicki at dana_witwicki@nps.gov
· Program Contact information: Ali Jones, ajones@conservationlegacy.org
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 the hiring manager.
Additional Details
Physical Requirements:
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. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.
Time Requirements:
This position is expected to work full time each week, but exact schedules may vary. The schedule will be determined by the host site supervisor.Lunch breaks will not be counted towards hours.
Orientation and Training:
The participant will receive an orientation that includes Stewards program expectations and along with an orientation on working with the host site.There will be opportunities for additional training related to the project.
Evaluation and Reporting:
As a Conservation Legacy participant, working at a National Park Service site, the individual will be evaluated on whether they have satisfactorily completed assignments, and if they have met other performance criteria that were clearly communicated at the beginning of their position.
Reporting requirements include, but are not limited to, bi-weekly timesheets and accomplishment tracking, a mid-term and a final written report.