| Public Land Name: | Grand Teton National Park | | Position Title: | Geoscientist (Guest Scientist) | | Position ID Number: | 226 | | Location: | Moose, WY | | Position Description: | The GeoCorps participant’s major task is to gather and synthesize information on natural hazards in and near Grand Teton National Park, develop a framework to assess the relative risks associated with natural hazards (seismic, volcanic, fluvial, landslides etc.), and participate in a park wide effort to initiate a Natural Hazards Preparation and Response Plan. This task will require contacting numerous sources of information (e.g., the Wyoming State Geologists’ Office, Teton County, telecommunications’ specialists, the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory); accessing data layers from ArcMap and other GIS programs, EarthScope, and other sources; analyzing the resultant information; communicating it to non-geologists and the park management team; and working with the team to draft a hazards response plan. Detailed field investigations are not required for this project, but the participant will be encouraged to familiarize themselves with the park landscape, natural hazards, and their proximity to human travel corridors and high-use recreation sites. Summarizing the risks in relation to where and how humans live, work, and recreate in and adjacent to Grand Teton NP will be crucial to successful hazards response planning. Products will include the draft plan and a resource brief for the Greater Yellowstone Science and Learning Center website (http://greateryellowstonescience.org).
If time permits in addition to this primary task, the GeoCorps participant will be asked to review groundwater and glacial information and outline associated research and monitoring needs for Grand Teton. Prior to starting this position a government security background clearance will be required. This position is offered through the Geological Society of America's GeoCorps America Program in partnership with the National Park Service’s Geoscientists-in-the-Parks Program.
| | Qualifications: | Applicants must be working toward, or have completed, a graduate degree in the geosciences or earth sciences, and possess good skills and ability to communicate verbally and in writing to both technical and non-technical audiences. In addition, the applicant must possess the ability to access and analyze GIS data layers from various sources. Previous research on natural hazards, especially seismic and/or volcanic hazards, is desirable. The applicant should be able to work independently in the office and the field; be comfortable contacting a variety of professionals, especially in the geoscience, communications, emergency/hazards response and planning, and engineering fields; and work well with others. Applicant must possess a valid driver’s license; the park will provide a work vehicle when necessary. | | Position Dates: | August – November; 12 weeks; start/end dates flexible | | Payment: | $3900; housing provided | | Housing Available: | The park will provide housing at no cost to the participant either within Grand Teton NP (within 30 minutes drive of Moose, Wyoming) or in the town of Jackson, Wyoming, 15 miles from park headquarters at Moose. Seasonal park housing ranges from small, single family cabins or apartments to dormitory-type housing with shared bath and kitchen facilities. | Physical/Natural
Environment: | Grand Teton National Park is named for the spectacular granite mountain range that rises abruptly from the valley floor of Jackson Hole to the summit of peaks ranging from 10,000-13,000+ ft elevations. Glacial-carved lakes, including Jackson, Jenny, Bradley, Taggart, and Phelps Lakes, line the valley bottom at the mouths of canyons that provide access to the scenic high country of the park. The Snake River flows through Grand Teton NP, and major tributaries coming into the park include Pacific Creek, the Buffalo Fork, and the Gros Ventre River, above which a major landslide occurred in 1926, causing a flood that flooded the town of Kelly, Wyoming in the park’s southeastern quadrant. Jackson Hole and the Teton Range support some 1,200 native plant species, 300 birds and 60+ mammal species, including elk, moose, pronghorn, sage grouse, bison, wolves, cougars, and black and grizzly bears. The park also contains some 320 historic structures, nearly 500 archeologic sites, and the incomparable David T. Vernon Collection of American Indian objects. Opportunities for hiking, fishing, photography, boating, climbing, and other outdoor activities abound. | | Work Environment: | The GeoCorps position will be stationed at park headquarters, assigned to the Division of Science & Resource Management. Field work may occur throughout the park, which should be mostly accessible until at least mid- to late-October. The job will not require strenuous physical activity, but opportunities to visit backcountry sites via foot, boat, and/or horseback exist; climbing is not required but again, opportunities abound for those trained and interested. Ventures into the field involve the risks associated with inclement weather, high elevations, rough mountainous terrain, poor emergency communications systems, swift rivers, cold lakes, and potentially dangerous encounters with grizzly and black bears and other wild animals. The participant will receive orientation and training to safe work and recreation behaviors in the park, and be issued a radio and other personal protective equipment when needed for backcountry travel and navigation. The town of Jackson has all the amenities of a mid-sized community: grocery stores, a hospital, public library, international airport, arts center, museums, and a recreation center. The south entrance to Yellowstone National Park is approximately 45 miles north of park headquarters at Moose. | | # of current Applicants: | 13 |
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: | Sue Consolo Murphy | | Title: | Chief, Science and Resource Management | | Street Address: | P.O. Drawer 170
Grand Teton National Park | | City/State/Zip: | Moose, WY 83012 | | Phone: | (307) 739-3481 | | Email: | sue_consolo-murphy@nps.gov | | Website: | http://www.nps.gov/grte |
| | SECONDARY CONTACT INFORMATION | | Contact Name: | Kathy Mellander | | Title: | GIS Specialist | | Street Address: | P.O. Drawer 170
Grand Teton National Park | | City/State/Zip: | Moose, WY 83012 | | Phone: | (307) 739-3493 | | Email: | kathryn_mellander@nps.gov | | Website: | http://www.nps.gov/grte |
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