Natural Resource Management Assistant AmeriCorps

POSITION DETAILS

Position (s): 4370
Position Title: Natural Resource Management Assistant - Ameri Corps
Conservation Legacy Program: Scientists in Parks, Stewards Individual Placements
Site

Location:

Northern Great Plains Network, Rapid City, South Dakota
Number of positions available: 1

Duration: 26 Weeks
Start Date: 05/04/2026
End Date: 11/02/2026
Ameri Corps Slot Classification: 900 hours - this is the minimum number of hours the selected candidate must serve throughout the duration of their position.
Flexible

Start Date:

Yes

• Segal Ameri Corps Education Award
  : $3,697.50 upon successful completion of position
• Weekly Living Allowance: $700.00 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.

Field-survey, data collection, plant-, resource management, restoration biology

This Natural Resource Management Assistant is an Ameri Corps position. The Invasive Plant Management Team (IPMT) program, and Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN), document status and trends of resource conditions in NPS units—this project is being implemented to find efficient and ecologically sustainable methods of control for the aggressive noxious weed Cirsium arvense (Canada Thistle). Areas have been selected to assist park units with their resource management goals and in hopes to expand this protocol of noxious weed treatments across the northern Great Plains region.

Participants’ efforts will help establish and proliferate the biocontrol in their time with the network, as well as establish standard operating procedures and protocols for future implementation in the region based on data collected during their term.

Participants will become part of a restoration biology research project with duties split between the Rapid City office and field trips to collect data on biocontrol efforts at 4-5 NPS units. Travel will be a mixture of day trips and overnights depending on distance to different park units. Core activities will include learning local plant species by name and code, learning and using specific sampling protocols, traveling to field locations and supporting the collection of data, transferring data from paper forms into a shared database with quality control and oversight, assisting with data analysis.

Participants will have the opportunity to present findings of the biocontrol program to regional natural resource staff, and to experience different roles in an inventory and monitoring network. A typical field day will include walking to a site and plot set up, data collection on various environmental and biological factors, photography, and breaks in scenic locations.

The key products of participation will be creation, entry and maintenance of data for NGPN, with activities occuring throughout the term. Participants will also develop an individual product or presentation focused on the application and/or value of the collected data for parks, management and/or society. Topics may include refining protocols and standard operating procedures, invasive plant mapping for treatment and control, association of vegetation with wildlife habitats, ecosystem response after management action, and communication of these topics to park staff and the public.

The program supports personal projects that relate to duties and fit with NPS and NGPN purposes.

• United States citizen, United States national, or a lawful permanent resident.
• Has received a high school diploma or equivalency; or has not dropped out of secondary school to enroll as an Ameri Corps participant and agrees to obtain a…