Backcountry Restoration Crew Member

Dates of Employment:  May 15 – August 31, 2025, with potential to extend through September.

About the position:  We will be hiring 6 restoration crew members for 2025 who will spend roughly 30-40 days in the backcountry from June-August. Great Burn jobshiringnearme.org Alliance (GBCA) crews will work in partnership with the Nez Perce-Clearwater, Lolo, and Panhandle National Forests to implement a backcountry integrated noxious weed plan. The U.S. Forest Service is required to treat prioritized noxious weeds across its landscape under federal law; many of the most remote landscapes can only be treated by small, mobile crews that occupy these backcountry areas over multiple days. Utilizing 8-day hitches, the GBCA Backcountry Restoration Crew will employ chemical, biological (primarily insects), and mechanical methods of treatment to address noxious weed infestations in priority areas of the backcountry such as trails, meadows, dispersed campsites, and recent burn scars. Crews will consist of two members, but will combine for larger job objectives in certain areas of the project (depending upon the type of restoration work). 

Other key aspects of the job will include conducting vegetation and biological control monitoring at selected sites within the project area, establishing new monitoring sites as appropriate, and surveying/inventorying the landscape to identify new noxious weed infestations. Coordination with project partners for biological control collections and releases as well as incorporation of volunteer-oriented work will be a necessary component of the job.  

About GBCA: The Great Burn jobshiringnearme.org Alliance (GBCA) works to foster the connection between people and place to further conservation and stewardship in the Great Burn ecosystem. This work is completed in a landscape encompassing 1.8 million acres of national forest land that surrounds and includes the Great Burn proposed wilderness in the northern Rocky Mountains. This huge swath of wildlands consists of 42 inventoried roadless areas between Lolo and Lookout passes in the northern Bitterroot Range along the Montana/Idaho stateline. For more information on the organization, visit GreatBurn.org.

Every year, GBCA hires seasonal crews to complete a variety of stewardship duties, including backcountry noxious weed treatment, volunteer stewardship trips, high alpine lakes site restoration and backcountry patrols. The work completed by GBCA field crew members has been vital in maintaining a good relationship with our Forest Service partners as well as the public who recreate in our mission area. As a Great Burn jobshiringnearme.org Alliance crew member, you will complete meaningful work that is essential to helping protect this spectacular landscape. 

As a restoration crew member, you will:

• Perform appropriate integrated weed treatment techniques, primarily through backpack herbicide spraying, hand pulling and biological control measures.
• Coordinate with partners involved with weed control in the region to collect biocontrol agents for release on identified sites.
• Survey and inventory new and emerging weed populations in the Great Burn ecosystem.
• Assist in establishing monitoring plots and collecting field data through SIMP (Standard Impact Monitoring Protocol) and LPI (Line-Point-Intercept) guidelines.
• Coordinate with partners to implement mixed crew hitch opportunities, utilizing volunteers, youth crews, USFS crews, and other entities to assist in backcountry weed management.
• Observe and collect wildlife and recreational user data.
• Construct hitch reports detailing work done in the field to share with project partners.
• Assist with data management and import into GIS software for mapping of treatment area.

General Requirements:

• Must be a minimum of 18 years old by start date.
• Comfort level and ability to work independently and as a team member in a remote backcountry environment under varying weather conditions. Flexibility in planning tactics is a must.
• A love for hiking on all types of terrain and covering large areas of backcountry.
• Ability to navigate on and off-trail routes with assistance of GPS and mobile mapping software.
• Strong communication skills, both oral and written, are preferred. Crew members will need to communicate with each other, in-field partners, and recreationists while on the job.
• Organization and attention to detail. Field notes and report writing are an important aspect of the work.
• Basic computer skills are a must. Experience in Microsoft Office and G-Suite are necessary in report writing and database compilation during the season.
• General plant identification skills or experience with navigating a field guide for identification are preferred, but not necessary. Crew members will be trained on observation tips for noxious weeds of the area, along with other flora.

Physical Requirements:

During the field season, crew members can expect to often hike 13+ mile days, over uneven terrain, and, at times, in inclement weather. This work may require crew members to carry heavy packs that consist of personal gear for camping as well as the gear needed for weed treatment and setting up monitoring plots. Pack weights may surpass 50 pounds when transporting this equipment. Applicants should be in good physical condition to meet the demands of a backcountry job that entails long hours covering many trail miles. 

TO NOTE:  Training will be completed in partnership with United States Forest Service personnel in late May-early June.  Crews are required to obtain an Idaho and/or Montana Professional Pesticide Applicator License prior to first field hitch in mid-June (training and license fee provided by GBCA). Crew members will also receive Wilderness First Aid certification. No prior experience necessary, although an interest in restoration and botany are helpful.

Transportation:  A reliable personal vehicle is needed to travel to and from worksite trailheads. Travel is often on rough roads over long distances once the vehicle leaves the main road (4-wheel drive is NOT necessary). The GBCA will reimburse crew members based on mileage at the established federal rate.

Gear:  Personal gear will be required for use at backcountry campsites. This will include backpacks, personal sleep systems (tent, sleeping bag, pad, etc.), personal stoves for cooking, and all clothing items for the crew member. All protective gear (PPE) and weed treatment equipment are provided by GBCA.

Housing: Options are available as needed at USFS bunk housing. Needs will be discussed during interviews.

Compensation:  DOE. Starting wages are $18/hr plus overtime. Schedule is 8 days on/ 6 days off. There is a $35/day per diem while in the field, and reimbursement for mileage driven to worksites (@ Federal rate).  $200 gear reimbursement upon successful completion of season. 

For more information about the GBCA organization, visit www.greatburn.org