Field Technician - Riverscape Restoration

Anabranch Solutions, LLC; Bend (OR); On-site; USD 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Per diem

Housing or camping provided

Travel trailers on hitch

Job summary

Anabranch Solutions, LLC is seeking traveling field technicians for riverscape restoration, building and monitoring low-tech structures like beaver dam analogs and post-assisted log structures.

You will live and work in remote locations across the western United States for eight-day hitch cycles, with housing provided when possible, per diem, and team-based living.

Candidates should enjoy physical work, travel, and teamwork, with safety and reliability as priorities.

Qualifications

• Must be able to lift and carry 55 pounds and perform physical labor
• Valid driver’s license and eligibility to work in the United States
• Willingness to travel and live in remote field locations
• Ability to work safely in remote/adverse conditions
• Ability to work in a team and communicate clearly and regularly

Responsibilities

• Locally acquire natural building materials and stage them for construction of restoration structures
• Construct beaver dam analogs (BDAs) and post-assisted log structures (PALS) and other low-tech features
• Operate and maintain field tools and equipment
• Travel with crew to successive hitch sites and camp on-site
• Follow safety protocols and work as part of a team

Skills

Teamwork

Physical stamina

Safety-conscious

Willingness to travel

Clear communication

Self-motivated

Driving license

Adaptability

Manual labor

Tools

Chainsaws

Grip hoists

Hydraulic post pounders

ATV/UTVs

Hand tools

Job description

Field Technician - Riverscape Restoration

About Anabranch Solutions, LLC

We transform riverscapes that were once degraded and vulnerable into healthy and thriving ecosystems through simple, cost-effective, low-tech process-based restoration actions that kickstart recovery and self-sustaining fluvial and ecological processes. Once these processes are set in motion, the footprint of the recovery spreads well beyond the footprint of the restoration actions.

Our Why

At Anabranch Solutions, we aspire to a future where people hold deep respect for and engage in stewardship of rivers, enabling these vital ecosystems and their surrounding communities to reach their full potential.

About the role

We are currently seeking traveling team members for our stream restoration and monitoring crew! The restoration crews travel in teams of 5-10 people building and monitoring low-tech process-based restoration (LTPBR) structures. These structures will include Beaver Dam Analogs and Post-Assisted Log Structures. Restoration crews will spend their season outdoors; living and working in remote locations throughout the west.

Field life is rugged and rewarding. Crew members will be living in remote locations - often with limited amenities. Crews will meet at job sites or other pre-determined locations before each hitch, and should primarily expect to camp at each worksite during the hitch. However, Anabranch will provide travel trailers, short-term rental housing, or hotel stays when possible during on-hitch time, location dependent. Accommodations are available during hitch, and typically dorm-style living with communal meal prep, shared kitchens, and shared sleeping quarters. Teams will travel often - generally moving to a new project site for each hitch.

Work schedules are typically eight day hitches of 10-hour shifts followed by six days off. Sometimes hitch schedules may be adjusted to four 10-hour shifts followed by three days off, or five 8-hour shifts followed by two days off when necessary. All necessary camping gear (other than sleeping bags) as well as all necessary safety gear, waders, and wading boots will be provided. Additionally, per diem is afforded to the group for family-style grocery shopping and meal preparation.

What you’ll do

The primary job duties are to locally acquire natural building materials (e.g., brush, woody debris, & rock), stage said materials, and construct beaver dam analogs (BDAs), post-assisted log structures (PALS), and other low-tech structures for riverscape restoration projects. Constructing BDAs and PALS entails cutting and hauling slash to degraded streams, constructing in stream structures, and pounding posts via hydraulic post pounder to lock everything in place. Construction utilizes a variety of tools, including but not limited to: hand tools, chainsaws, grip hoists, hydraulic post pounders, ATV/UTVs, trailers, and more.

Qualifications

• Ability and willingness to learn in the field and in trainings
• Ability to work safely in remote and adverse conditions
• Flexibility with ever-changing schedules
• Willingness to travel
• Ability to work in a team environment
• Ability to communicate clearly and regularly
• Willingness to follow instructions
• Self-motivated with situational awareness
• Comfort with manual labor and/or physical exertion
• Must be able to safely lift and carry 55 pounds; packing heavy loads of equipment in and out of sites is often required
• A valid driver’s license
• Eligibility to work in the United States

Desired Qualifications

• Experience with LTPBR
• Experience in related maintenance, construction, monitoring or management activities such as conservation corps, fire-fighting, riparian planting, landscaping, trail maintenance or construction, forest thinning, arboriculture and/or logging
• Paid sick leave accrual
• Time-and-a-half pay for worked company holidays
• Employee discount programs
• SEP-IRA Retirement plan (after 3 years of employment)
• ICHRA contributions
• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Applications and positions are open until filled.