Preserve Management/Bison Research Technician

The Nature Conservancy and Gustavus Adolphus College seek to hire up to three (3) highly motivated individuals for a joint Preserve Management/Bison Research Technician position.  The Technicians will work as part of a team as well as independently with minimal supervision.  Applicants with a strong work ethic, positive attitude, and desire to learn will be preferred over experience alone. Successful applicants will obtain opportunities to advance their training, skills, and experience with range management, wildlife management, and research practices.

The Technicians will have two sets of duties:  1) The Preserve Management responsibilities will include invasive species control and monitoring; maintenance of preserve facilities, equipment, livestock watering stations, corrals, and fence; firebreak preparation; prescribed burning; and wildlife surveys. The Technician may be involved in a variety of outreach activities including working with local landowners, assisting with field trips, and may have leadership responsibilities for other staff, volunteers, or interns. Preserve Management responsibilities will be supervised and paid for by The Nature Conservancy. 2) Bison research duties will take place from early July – late August (approximately 6 weeks).  During this time, Technicians will be working part-time for Gustavus Adolphus College and part-time for TNC.  Technicians will receive a stipend from Gustavus for work with the bison research project.  Bison Research duties include maintaining records on dominance and breeding activity of bison bulls, making audio and video recordings, updating bison identification photographs, and keeping detailed field and summary notes, among others.  Bison research interns will participate in a week of training and will work as a team with minimal supervision thereafter. 

This position requires irregular hours, long days, work on weekends, and some travel on short notice. Shared housing for Technicians will be provided at the Ordway Prairie Preserve Office near Leola, South Dakota.  Transportation from the Ordway Prairie office to work sites will be provided by The Nature Conservancy.  This position will start around late May and end in early September, 2013 with potential for employment into October, depending on availability of funding.  There is some flexibility with start and end dates. Students are encouraged to apply.