| Public Land Name: | BLM Craters of the Moon National Monument | | Position Title: | Speleologist / Volcanologist | | Position ID Number: | 183 | | Location: | Shoshone, ID | | Position Description: | The GeoCorps participant will conduct field work with local National Speleological Society volunteers to initiate and implement a cave conservation public outreach and information program, and continue field office operations to ground-truth and record locations of new and existing caves in the Monument and the greater Shoshone Field Office.
The participant will also work with the National Park Service at Craters of the Moon National Monument in support of their ongoing research, survey, education and conservation programs. Documentation of these caves will be used by the participant (as time allows) and Field Office staff to comply with the Federal Caves Protection Act requirement regarding the identification and protection of significant caves on federal lands.
This project involves teaming up with members of the local Caving Grottos, Both the Silver Sage and Gem State Grottos, in order to design and implement an education campaign aimed at users of local caves. The objective is for the Grottos to provide a positive cave conservation message and deliver it through the production of signs to be placed in local caver. The notion driving this project is that people are more responsive when they see that other groups are interested in cave conservation, not just the federal government.
Another aspect of this position is continuing with the program we created through GeoCorps last year, which involved identifying and ground-truthing the locations of caves. Many caves have multiple names, uncertain locations, or undescribed features and resources. The GeoCorps participant would be using a variety of methods to identify the location of these caves, then visit them in the field with GPS equipment, and enter the cave and complete documentation when working with other employees of volunteers. This information will then be incorporated into the filing system, and used to identify Significant Caves in upcoming land-use planning efforts.
A typical day might include contacting members of the Grotto, identifying the location of a suspected cave, driving a government vehicle to that location, collecting information, and then returning to download it into the files and databases. Other days will be spent working with National Park Service Employees at Craters of the Moon NM to assist them with their cave efforts. This position will spend about 70% of their time in the field or working directly with Grotto members and NPS and about 30% of time in the office compiling, analyzing and interpreting data, as well as duties as assigned.
Prior to starting this position a government security background clearance will be required.
| | Qualifications: | The applicant should have completed at least two years toward a degree in the geosciences. The applicant should also have experience operating ATVs and/or driving 4x4 vehicles in rough terrain; experience operating a GPS unit and GIS software; the ability to work independently in rugged environments. Knowledge of cave and karst management will make the applicant more competitive, and familiarity with the Federal Caves Protection Act of 1988 is preferred. | | Position Dates: | Jun - Sept; 12 weeks; start/end dates flexible | | Payment: | $2750; plus $1500 housing allowance | | Housing Available: | The participant will be responsible for securing his/her own housing with the $1500 provided in addition to the $2500 stipend. Local short-term rentals are available in Shoshone, or in larger cities like Jerome and Twin Falls (20+ miles away). | Physical/Natural
Environment: | The Monument's central feature is the Great Rift, a 62-mile long crack in the Earth's crust. The Great Rift is a remarkably preserved volcanic landscape. Craters, cinder cones, lava tubes, deep cracks, and vast lava fields form a strangely beautiful volcanic sea on central Idaho's Snake River Plain. Once impacted by catastrophic Yellowstone style eruptions associated with the Yellowstone Hotspot, the area's topography was most recently affected by Hawaiian-type volcanism related to extension of the "Great Rift", including formation of numerous lava-tube caves in lava flows and on the flanks of many shield volcanoes. Much of the lava associated with Craters of the Moon National Monument ranges from 2000 years old to 15000 years old and exists as stark, open, and unvegetated lava flows. | | Work Environment: | The work environment is high-desert sagebrush steppe ranging in elevation of 2300 feet above sea-level to over 5000 feet. Many of the areas are quite remote, requiring high-clearance four-wheel drive vehicles or hiking to access. Communication is via 2-way radio system or cellular phone. Temperatures during field season can range from freezing at night in the spring, to regularly over 100 degrees in the daytime during summer months. Wildfires are common in the late summer months. Shoshone is a small town of about 2000 people located 27 miles north of Twin Falls Idaho and about 50 miles south of Ketchum. The nearest regional-service airport is in Twin Falls. Shoshone has a grocery store several gas stations, several restaurants, a couple bars and an occasional movie-theater. Boise, Idaho, located about 110 miles to the NW has a population of 300,000 and is a full-service community. More can be found here: http://www.city-data.com/city/Shoshone-Idaho.html | | # of current Applicants: | 12 |
If you have questions about the application and selection process, please contact Anny Jones. If you have questions about any aspect of the position — description, qualifications, housing, dates — please contact the primary or secondary contact below:
| | PRIMARY CONTACT INFORMATION | | Contact Name: | David Freiberg | | Title: | Outdoor Recreation Planner | | Street Address: | 400 West F Street | | City/State/Zip: | Shoshone, ID 83352 | | Phone: | 2087327271 | | Email: | david_freiberg@blm.gov | | Website: | http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/fo/shoshone.html |
| | SECONDARY CONTACT INFORMATION | | Contact Name: | Holly Hampton | | Title: | Craters of the Moon National Monument Manager | | Street Address: | 400 West F Street | | City/State/Zip: | Shoshone, ID 83352 | | Phone: | 2087327200 | | Email: | holly_hampton@blm.gov | | Website: | http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/fo/shoshone.html |
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