Paleontology Assistant AmeriCorps

Paleontology Assistant (26 Weeks) - Ameri Corps POSITION DETAILS

Position (s): 4423, 4424

Position Title: Paleontology Assistant - Ameri Corps

Conservation Legacy Program: Scientists in Parks, Stewards Individual Placements

Site

Location:

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Carlsbad, New Mexico

Number of positions available: 2

Duration: 26 Weeks (not flexible)

Flexible

Start Date:

Yes

Start Date: 9/28/2026

End Date: 3/29/2027

Ameri Corps Slot Classification: 900 hours - this is the minimum number of hours the selected candidate must serve throughout the duration of their position.

• Segal Ameri Corps Education Award: $3,697.50 upon successful completion of position
• Weekly Living Allowance: $600.00 per week, fixed rate
• Relocation Allowance: $450.00 (distributed as a one-time lump sum with first paycheck)
• Student Loan Forbearance if applicable (administered by My Ameri Corps , directly)
• Student Loan Interest Payments if applicable (administered through My Ameri Corps , directly)

Preference given to applicants who submit applications before Sunday, February 15, 2026. Applications will be reviewed after the Final date to receive applications passes. Positions will close after receiving 60 complete applications or at 11:59 p.m. EST on February 15, 2026, whichever occurs first.

KEYWORDS: caves, caving, fossils, resource management

This Paleontology Assistant is an Ameri Corps position. This project addresses instructions and mandates the 2009 Paleontological Resource Preservation Act concerning the stewardship of paleontological resources through inventorying, monitoring, management, protection, research, education, and outreach. Fossils are irreplaceable and non-renewable resources; there are a finite number of fossil specimens for any given extinct species, and that number is always decreasing as specimens are destroyed by erosion or illegally collected.

The ability of CAVE Natural Resource personnel to manage its vertebrate paleontological resources is limited by incomplete data regarding the presence, distribution, condition, and significance of those resources; these gaps in information also lead to an incomplete understanding of threats to those resources. Completion of this project will provide the framework for a program to identify and protect rare paleontological resources, and to make them available for public interpretation and scientific study.

This project will also address a significance statement included in CAVE’s 2017 Foundation Document concerning the use of fossil resources to understand past environments and climates at CAVE.

The proposed position is part of a larger project to document paleontological sites in caves at Carlsbad Caverns National Park (CAVE). Of the 55 recorded cave paleo sites at the park, 49 have not been inventoried. The participant will have a variety of duties, responsibilities, and tasks pertaining to this inventory project. Planned components of this project include:

• documenting, mapping, photographing, and identifying paleontological resources in caves
• conducting fossil condition assessments of cave sites
• creation of a geodatabase of cave fossil sites
• creation of a digital fossil archive
• curating and identifying collected specimens
• making fossils resources for public interpretation and scientific study through displays, photogrammetry, and interpretive programs

Two participants are being recruited for this position, and duties and responsibilities will be divided as best suits the participants’ skills.

The primary deliverables will be an inventory report and paleontological resource condition assessment report. The participant will also participate in the creation of:

• an integrated GIS geodatabase
• an integrated photographic database
• 3D images of significant fossils

• United States citizen, United States national, or a lawful permanent resident alien.
• Has received a high school diploma or equivalency certificate; or has not dropped out of secondary school to enroll as an Ameri Corps participant and agrees to obtain a high school diploma or its equivalent prior to using the education award.
• Prior…