Overview
The Sierra Institute for Community and Environment (Sierra Institute), in cooperation with the Lassen National Park (LAVO) is hiring one Wilderness Fuels Module (WFM) crew member to serve as a crew member medic for an eight person crew performing fuels management in LAVO to promote future prescribed and/or managed fire activities in wilderness areas of the park. The WFM Crew Member Medic, under the direction of a WFM Crew Leader, Sierra Institute support staff, and LAVO specialists, will be responsible for safely falling, bucking, and limbing live and dead trees and constructing fireline using predominantly non-mechanized equipment (e.g., crosscut saws, axes, etc.) in undeveloped wilderness areas. Mechanical thinning (chainsaws) may be used for project implementation in non-wilderness areas. Fuels are rearranged, either by piling or lopping and scattering depending upon fuel loading, to facilitate future prescribed fire. The WFM Crew will also be responsible for supervising Sierra Institute’s youth corps, “P-CREW,” for a portion of the season while they assist with the project. The crew may also assist as necessary with other activities to advance landscape restoration in the region.
This is an excellent opportunity to advance collaborative fire restoration effort and deploy a niche skillset in a novel landscape. All crew members will receive paid cross-cut felling and S-212 basic saw training. This position runs from May/June 2024 to October 2024. Please see more about the position at https://sierrainstitute.us/about/jobs/
Required Skills:
Minimum of one years’ combined field experience in forest or other natural resource management, this may include but is not limited to biological research, survey work, land conservation, or wildland fire.
Current wilderness medical training certification of WFR, EMT, or WEMT;
Minimum two years experience being responsible for responding to medical situations in a field setting;
Some formalized training in the use of saws and felling and/or bucking.
Ability to use compasses, topographic maps, and handheld
Preferred Skills:
Experience with utilizing non-mechanized equipment (crosscut saws, axes, etc.) to perform fuels reduction;
Familiarity with mixed conifer forests and the ability to identify common tree species in the northern Sierra Nevada and southern Cascades;
Leave No Trace or other backcountry ethics training;
Faller 2 or equivalent (minimum Class B);
Certification in S-212 (Federal Wildland Chainsaws).
About Sierra Institute for Community and Environment
The Sierra Institute promotes healthy forests, watersheds, and communities by investing in the well-being of
rural communities and strengthening their participation in natural resource management. Our work supports
initiatives that simultaneously benefit the environment, economy, and equity within a given landscape. Sierra
Institute’s P-CREW Youth Corps is an essential pathway to the professional opportunity for diverse youth. Sierra
Institute is located in Taylorsville, CA (population 154), and lies within an area referred to as “Indian Valley”
that includes the communities of Greenville and Crescent Mills. Indian Valley offers uniquely rural community
events and is surrounded by public lands including Plumas National Forest, Lassen National Forest, and Lassen
Volcanic National Park.
