Start Date: June 12, 2023 – February 12, 2024

Compensation: $650 per week + $1000 monthly for housing

Medical Insurance Included

Application Due: April 15, 2023 

The Resource Assistants Program seeks to engage ethnically and racially diverse young professionals in natural resource careers. You must be:

• a U.S. citizen or legal resident.

• fully vaccinated for covid-19 prior to the start of their internship.

• a college graduate.
• personal vehicle required.

Please Apply Here

Project Description:

• The duties of the position include assisting the Forest recreation program manager in tracking infrastructure projects and maintenance needs.  
• The position will involve working with District personnel and updating INFRA and NRM infrastructure database tracking systems and monitoring recreation facilities and trails maintenance needs. 
• This includes field work and observations in the outdoors and forest setting.   
• The position assists with tracking projects being completed through the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding.  
• The position will also assist the Forest recreation program manager in Forest planning work, such as OHV and travel management, development of a new Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area management plan and working with partners in addressing infrastructure needs.  These experiences will provide the successful applicant a broad range of recreation management skills and exposure to critical planning and partnership activities.

Primary responsibilities of the position:

• The duties of the position include assisting the Forest recreation program manager in tracking infrastructure projects and maintenance needs. 
• The position will involve working with District personnel and updating INFRA and NRM infrastructure database tracking systems and monitoring recreation facilities and trails maintenance needs. 
• This includes field work and observations. The RA will also assist with tracking projects being completed through the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding. 
• The position will also assist the Forest recreation program manager in Forest planning work, such as OHV and travel management, development of a new Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area management plan and working with partners in addressing infrastructure needs.

Qualifications:

• Basic understanding of wilderness and recreation management program principles, concepts, policies, and objectives to assist higher level specialists in a variety of work plans and projects for wilderness, recreation, trails, and special uses activities. 
• Basic knowledge of Forest Service policy, rules and regulations applicable to wilderness, trails, special uses and developed recreation programs to assist and/or participate as a trainee in planning, developing, and implementing related work plans, projects and activities. 
• General knowledge of natural resource and land management operations sufficient to understand how wilderness, trails, special uses and recreation resources are integrated into land use plans; and how potential effects and impacts of changes in level or type of recreation-related activities on other resources are assessed.
•  Analytical ability, judgment and discretion sufficient to secure a practical understanding of the wilderness and recreation management program area and the associated program objectives and measures.

The Forest:  

The Ashley National Forest (Forest) has its headquarters in Vernal, Utah; it comprises 1.4 million acres in the northeastern portion of Utah and southwestern portion of Wyoming. The Forest is located in three major areas: the northern and southern slopes of the Uinta Mountains, the Wyoming Basin, and the Tavaputs Plateau.

The Forest is bordered by the Uintah and Ouray Ute Indian Reservation, the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, private property, and lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management and State of Utah. Dinosaur National Monument is located approximately 10 miles east of the Forest.

Special places on the Forest include the High Uintas Wilderness Area, Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area and the Ashley Karst National Recreation and Geologic Area.  The High Uintas Wilderness comprises nearly one-half million acres in the Ashley and Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forests.  Within the wilderness, elevations range from 8,000 feet to 13,582 feet at the top of Kings Peak, the highest mountain in Utah.  The Uinta Mountain range runs east to west, from the Wasatch Mountains into Colorado.  Pre-Cambrian rock formed from sediments laid down 600 million years ago makes up the core of the range.  Glacial activity carved deep canyons and left a spectacular landscape of rolling, treeless peaks and stratified ridges interspersed with broad meadows and numerous lakes.

The Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area lies in the northeast part of the Forest.  Flaming Gorge Reservoir extends almost 90 miles into Wyoming and offers outstanding fishing and boating opportunities.  The Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area has three marinas and many campgrounds, some of which are open year-round.  The Green River below Flaming Gorge Dam is a world-famous blue-ribbon trout stream.  The Little Hole National Recreation Trail parallels the river 7.3 miles from the Dam to the Little Hole Recreation Complex.

For more information go to the Ashley National Forest webpage – http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/ashley or the Ashley National Forest Facebook Page.

The Region:

The Intermountain Region (R4), headquartered in Ogden Utah provides administrative oversight and support to twelve National Forests and one National Grassland in Utah, Nevada, Idaho, eastern California, and western Wyoming.  The Region covers 31,816,792 acres in the National Forest Systems.  There are approximately 2200 permanent employees in Region 4.

About Vernal, Utah:

Vernal is situated in northeast Utah south of Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area and west of Dinosaur National Monument and is the county seat of Uintah County. Vernal has a population of approximately 10,000 people.  When combined with the residents of surrounding communities, the population of the Ashley Valley is approximately 30,000.  Vernal is 180 miles east of Salt Lake City and 300 miles west of Denver; go to http://www.vernalchamber.com/ or http://www.city-data.com/city/Vernal-Utah.html  for more information.  

Direct Hire Authority (DHA)

All RAP interns receive Direct Hire Authority (DHA) at the successful conclusion of their internship. DHA status enables an agency to hire, after public notice is given, any qualified applicant. A DHA expedites hiring by eliminating competitive rating and ranking, veterans’ preference, and “rule of three” procedures. For more information, please click HERE.

EEO Statement

Environment for the Americas provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.