Invasive Plant Management Crew Member- Blue Ridge Parkway Southeast Invasive Plant Management Team

Summary

American Conservation Experience, a nonprofit Conservation Corps, in partnership with the Blue Ridge National Parkway and the Invasive Plant Management Team is seeking TWO Invasive Plant Management Members at several different sites to contribute to IPMT projects alongside NPS Staff. For more information about ACE, please visit our website.

Start Date: Early/mid April 2026 (flexible)

End Date: 52 weeks after start date

Location Details/

Description:

The Blue Ridge National Parkway is a varied habitat traveling 469 miles through the southern Appalachian region, ranging from 649 feet at James River in Virginia to 6,047 feet at Richland Balsam in North Carolina. It offers protection to a diversity of plants and animals, and hosts a wealth of cultural resources and history. The Parkway spans from Shenandoah National Park to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and contains cultural resources that contribute to eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places.

The Parkway ties together a diverse landscape and preserves the region s heritage for the future.

Position Overview: The members will control non-native plants using both manual and chemical methods (75%), perform distribution mapping of non-native plants using GPS (10%), and assist with additional resource management field, GIS, and data management projects (15%). At Blue Ridge Parkway, the team members will work under a field crew leader. One member at the parkway will focus on arboricultural assessments of historic trees.

The position requires adaptability due to travel, with plans potentially changing due to weather or training opportunities.

This internship aims to facilitate professional development and exposure to land management and networking with professionals at various parks. Training may include herbicide safety and handling, truck and trailer driving, hand tool use, GIS skills, and visits to diverse Southeast parks. The crew will manually remove exotic invasive vegetation in both urban and rural NPS sites. The team will live together during travel status;

the ability to collaborate is vital. Accommodation ranges from rustic park housing to hotels; camping is not required while traveling. The program seeks crew members with initiative, leadership, patience, and a strong work ethic who want to enhance their resumes.

Typical schedule:

Monday–Friday, 7:30 am/8:00 am to 4:00 pm/4:30 pm (Eastern Time) with some flexibility for start/end times. 1–2 weeks of travel per month may be expected. During travel, schedule is typically Monday–Thursday, 7:00 am to 5:30 pm (Eastern Time). These schedules are expected to remain standard for the duration of the positions.

Living Allowance: The ACE Member is expected to contribute ~40 hours/week and will receive a living allowance of $650/week to offset the costs of food and incidental expenses, dispersed bi-weekly.

Public Land Corps Hiring Authority: Members serving under this agreement must meet the PLC Eligibility Requirements to be considered for this position. Members may be eligible for a federal hiring authority upon completion of their term of service and 640 hours of service. If the term duration is not long enough to accrue 640 hours, hours may be combined with another PLC-eligible term to meet the requirement.

PLC projects include eligibility requirements such as age (between 16 and 30; some agencies interpret up to 35) and citizenship. Please contact ACE staff with questions or view eligibility information on our website.

Housing: Housing is the responsibility of the member. A $250 (taxed) reimbursable housing allowance will be provided per month.

Provided Training/Orientation: ACE members will receive position-specific training and an orientation outlining ACE policies, prohibited activities, and networks for support. Training may include data collection/database design, GPS data systems, data processing, invasive plant identification, herbicide use, brush cutter use, chainsaw use, and arboriculture evaluations.

Required:

• Members must be authorized to work in the United States. ACE does not provide sponsorship for employment visas.
• Willing…