Desert Botany Field Technician — Housing & Travel

Student Conservation Association; Ajo (AZ); On-site; USD 29,000 - 36,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Housing allowance

Travel stipend (one-time)

Housing provided

Job summary

Student Conservation Association in Ajo, AZ seeks a field-based position to support botany work at Organ Pipe C cactus National Monument. The role focuses on vegetation monitoring, invasive species control, and landscape restoration across backcountry and border-adjacent areas.

The assistant will perform nursery tasks, assist with restoration projects, and help gather data while living in park housing. Candidates should meet PLC eligibility and enjoy remote fieldwork.

Qualifications

• Experience using hand-held GPS, maps, and compass for field navigation and data collection.

Responsibilities

• Invasive plant management – mapping and documenting invasive plant populations, hand-pulling invasive plants, and assisting with herbicide application under supervision.
• Native plant nursery – watering and maintaining nursery stock, propagating native plants for restoration outplanting, assisting with germination trials, and maintaining the compost pile.
• Landscape restoration – restore illegal off-road vehicle routes via raking, vertical mulching, outplanting native plants, installing erosion barriers, and operating trail cameras to monitor site re-use.
• Rare and endangered plants – assisting with surveys for rare and endangered species.
• Quitobaquito Springs – assisting with removal of invasive plants and vegetation maintenance.

Skills

GPS

Maps

Compass

Written and spoken communication

Driver's license

Public Land Corps eligibility

Education

Botany / Ecology coursework or degree

Tools

Avenza

ArcGIS Pro

ArcMap

ArcGIS Online (AGOL)

Field Maps

Survey123

Job description

Student Conservation Association in Ajo, AZ seeks a field-based position to support botany work at Organ Pipe C cactus National Monument. The role focuses on vegetation monitoring, invasive species control, and landscape restoration across backcountry and border-adjacent areas.

The assistant will perform nursery tasks, assist with restoration projects, and help gather data while living in park housing. Candidates should meet PLC eligibility and enjoy remote fieldwork.