Sandy River Field / Volunteer Program Intern

The Sandy River Field Assistant will join several exciting, ongoing restoration projects led by The Nature Conservancy’s Portland Area Preserves staff. One field project focuses on controlling the spread of several invasive plants, including Japanese and giant knotweed, within the Sandy River Watershed. This project includes control, monitoring, and public education and outreach. Over the past 10 years, The Nature Conservancy has been engaged in a successful landscape-level invasive species control program focused mainly on the destructive Japanese knotweed. With nearly 500 private landowners and scores of volunteers participating in the project, we have improved the overall health of the watershed by reducing knotweed infestations by over 90%. In 2012, we will continue follow-up work on these knotweed control efforts.

Additionally, the intern will be in engaged in our large, site-based vegetation restoration projects at several priority natural areas identified in the watershed to enhance salmon and wildlife habitat. This site-based restoration work will involve invasive plant species control, monitoring and replanting work. The Sandy River Field/Volunteer Program Assistant will assist the Portland Area Preserves Stewardship Team (PAPST) in many aspects of our project fieldwork including surveying for, monitoring and treating invasive plant species. The intern will perform herbicide application, data collection and general restoration tasks in the field. The intern may also participate in public outreach programs that may include door-to-door communication with private landowners to obtain permission to survey and/or help manage vegetation on their property. In the Sandy River Field Assistant role, the intern will increase the Portland Area Preserves overall team capacity to get more on-the-ground vegetation restoration work accomplished; their efforts will result in additional acres of restored natural areas in this treasured watershed benefiting both wildlife and humans.

The intern will also dedicate part of their service (1 day per week) toward managing a large, statewide volunteer program, specifically focused on management of field and restoration volunteers. Projects may include coordination of volunteer restoration work parties, development of volunteer materials and evaluation of work parties and other volunteer activities. It is anticipated that the intern’s work will improve volunteer satisfaction, leading to increased volunteer recruitment for future work parties and volunteer retention.