Archaeology Field Director/GIS Manager (USFS Humboldt-Toiyabe NF)

The Great Basin Institute, in cooperation with the USFS, is recruiting one (1) Field Director to complete Section 106 cultural resource project planning, surveys, site recording, and monitoring for various projects within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. These projects all serve the Cultural Resources program’s greater mission of helping the USFS in their critical goal of improving forest resilience in the face of worsening climate conditions and increased wildfire threats. The work that you will do directly protects sensitive cultural resources, helping ensure the stories they tell are preserved for generations to come.

The Field Director position provides professional development and leadership opportunities in cultural resource management including increased exposure and responsibility enacting USFS processes, procedures, and compliance measures; reporting and data entry/quality assurance and control; and increased technical and project planning experience. The Field Director will also act as liaison between USFS staff and archaeology crews in the field and will serve in a hybrid role that splits time between field and office duties. Expanded opportunities and exposure to additional disciplines (e.g., forestry, wildlife, hydrology, etc.) and projects may exist. These positions will serve USFS vegetation management and fuels reduction efforts, supporting initiatives for healthy, productive, and resilient forest landscapes and resources.

The field director would oversee, coordinate, and direct field crews in order to manage multiple aspects of the project fieldwork to include: planning/logistics, supervising field staff, data collection, site recording, artifact analysis, site record completion, and ensuring compliance with survey standards and project needs. The Field Director will be responsible for ensuring crews have an identified field plan and understand the tasks required for each field session. The Field Director will be in the field in order to assist with keeping crews on track, helping with artifact identification, questions about resource recording, and ensuring that all necessary information is captured during recording (QA/QC). Crew size will range between 3-8 people. 

Primary archaeology field duties may include, but are not limited to:

• Assisting with project planning and initial onboarding of other crew members;
• Lead two archaeology crews to conduct and complete field surveys to document, assess and characterize the status of new cultural resources;
• Monitor existing sites and complete site updates and condition assessments.
• Prepare site records, GIS maps, and photographic records in addition to inputting data to the USFS heritage database;
• Lead and collaborate with agency personnel and all other crew members to support field safety, communication, planning, logistics, quality assurance, field implementation;
• Author technical reports, potentially including a project area overview and evaluation context report;
• Create and manipulate GIS data, upload to ArcGIS Pro or ArcMap, and create project maps in support of fieldwork or project reporting;
• Help crew members download and file GPS and photograph data, electronic notes, scan and file paper notes, help complete field session photo logs;
• Help train crew members on GIS standards and maintain consistency with proper data collection, file naming, and storage protocols;
• Create and maintain survey unit geodatabases with all relevant geospatial data per unit;
• This position may have the opportunity to enter site record data into the Forest Service’s NRM Heritage database.

Location:
Mountain City, Ruby Mountains, Jarbidge Ranger District, Elko, NV