| Public Land Name: | Custer National Forest | | Position Title: | Field Geologist / Education Specialist | | Position ID Number: | 79 | | Location: | Red Lodge, MT | | Position Description: | The GeoCorps participant's primary duties are: 1) present interpretive geology programs to local and regional school children, groups, and/or the general public at select sites on the Custer National Forest; and 2) develop interpretive geologic informational programs, brochures, and sign plans for select locations on the Custer National Forest. This may require academic research, consulting with Forest Service and local geology experts, field identification and mapping of geologic and paleontologic features, compiling data into formats suitable for the general public, working with local interest groups to finalize materials, researching sign costs, and installing signs. Potential interpretive sites include caves in the Pryor Mountains, campgrounds, Forest access roads, abandoned mines, glaciers, and highways through the Forest.
As time is available, other duties will include: 1) Work with Forest Service and Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology staff to conduct post-wildfire groundwater and surface water monitoring in Red Lodge’s municipal watershed. This could include well and surface water sampling, analysis of water quality data, geologic mapping, aquifer characterization and mapping, and developing educational materials and interpretive talks related to groundwater. 2) Assist in field verification of glaciated areas in the Beartooth Mountains. This may include measuring elevations and extents of glaciers and ice patches to verify remote sensing analysis results. Data will be utilized to quantify recent glacial recession in the Absaroka-Beartooth wilderness and develop related interpretive materials. 3) Periodically assist in monitoring mineral leasing, mineral exploration, and mining activities, including oil and gas drilling, hard rock mineral exploration, operating hard rock mining, and mineral materials extraction. The purpose of monitoring is to ensure that operators comply with approved operating plans and that disturbed sites and access roads are reclaimed to standard. Monitoring duties will include visiting sites of previous operations to ensure reclamation and revegetation success and compiling monitoring results. The participant will also assist in assessment, inventory, monitoring, and closure at abandoned mines. 4) Periodically assist in locating caves and monitoring karst resources in the Pryor Mountains. This will require entering cave systems to monitor biologic, geologic, and cultural resources. Monitoring will primarily consist of establishing photo points, measuring the extent of ice in caves, and compiling reports documenting overall cave condition.
The primary supervisor/mentor will be Beartooth District Minerals/Geology staff. The position will be supervised for each specific work project to ensure that projects are accomplished safely and to the satisfaction of the Custer National Forest and in a way that provides mentoring and career development for the GeoCorps participant. To meet applicable training requirements for safety, first aid, and use of government equipment (vehicles, ATV's, computers, etc.), the position will participate in new employee orientation for the majority of the first week on duty. A completed Government security background check application will be required prior to starting this position.
| | Qualifications: | The applicant must be working toward, or already have, a degree in the geosciences. Strong writing and graphic design skills are desired. A competitive applicant will have coursework and/or experience in structural geology, mineralogy, petrology, geomorphology, geologic engineering, sedimentology, paleontology, technical writing, photography, and GPS/GIS. The applicant must be able to work well independently, both in the office and in the field with little supervision. The applicant must possess basic orienteering skills, be comfortable with use of topographic and geologic maps, aerial photos, and GPS navigation systems. The applicant should be able to communicate effectively in writing and orally, be comfortable hiking and driving 4-wheel drive vehicles and/or ATV’s in rough terrain, be able to perform field work in rough terrain, be familiar with Microsoft Word and Excel, be able to effectively use the internet for research, and have some experience writing technical/scientific documents. The applicant must have a valid driver’s license. | | Position Dates: | Jun 2 - Aug 22; 11 weeks | | Payment: | $2750; housing provided | | Housing Available: | A room will be provided at no cost to the participant in a shared housing unit at the Beartooth District Office in Red Lodge. No pets are allowed in Forest Service housing. This is a new District bunkhouse facility constructed in 2006, approximately 1/2 mile south of downtown Red Lodge. The participant would need to bring their own bedding. The participant's room and the bunkhouse facility are furnished with beds, chairs, tables, etc. There are laundry facilities onsite and a shared kitchen with dishes, pans, etc. | Physical/Natural
Environment: | The Custer N.F., located in the Beartooth Ranger District is the most ecologically diverse forest in the Northern Region, reaching from the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness near Red Lodge, Montana to the grasslands of South Dakota. The Beartooth Ranger District consists of the Beartooth and Pryor Mountains. The Beartooth Mountains are a block of largely Archean bedrock uplifted along high-angle reverse faults of Laramide Age. Elevations in the Beartooths exceed 10,000 feet, including Montana’s highest mountain, Granite Peak. The core of the Beartooths consists of several large plateaus of Archean gneiss and rimmed to the north and east by uplifted Paleozoic sediments. The Beartooths contain numerous glacial features, including many lakes and several deep canyons draining from the center of the range. The Beartooths also contain the Stillwater Complex, a mafic-ultramafic layered intrusion hosting deposits of iron, copper, nickel, chromium, gold, silver, and platinum group metals (PGMs). This includes the world's highest grade PGM deposit, the JM-Reef. Mining and exploration in the Stillwater Complex have been ongoing since the late 1800’s. A geologic map of the Stillwater Complex can be viewed at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/i797/. The Pryor Mountains are a Laramide uplift of Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary rock with some exposures of pre-Cambrian basement. The Pryor Mountains, a northern extension of Wyoming’s Bighorn Basin, were not glaciated and have some of the lowest annual precipitation in Montana. The Custer NF portion of the Pryors are dominated by west-dipping Mississippian-aged carbonates dissected by several large canyons. Limestone along the crest of the Pryors hosts several known caves, some of which include karst-hosted uranium-vanadium deposits, ice deposits, and spectacular cave formations. | | Work Environment: | The participant will primarily work out of the Beartooth Ranger District Office, but may also assist with specific projects on the Forest’s Ashland District in Ashland, MT and Sioux District in Camp Crook, SD. Descriptions for each District are on the Custer’s website at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/custer/. The participant will work intermittently with the District and Forest Minerals Staff, but most office and much of the fieldwork would largely be done independently. Most sites will be accessed by vehicle or ATV, with some hiking required. Potential jobsite hazards include severe weather, grizzly bears, rattlesnakes, entry into caves, driving or riding ATV’s on low standard roads, and working around mining and mineral exploration equipment. The participant will need a good pair of hiking boots and clothing suitable for work in all conditions ranging from winter-like to hot summer. Other work and safety equipment will be provided. Red Lodge was established in 1884, with coal mining serving as the predominant industry until the 1920’s (http://www.redlodge.com/). Red Lodge is a mountain community of about 2,500 that serves as a gateway to Yellowstone National Park. Red Lodge is at the northeast corner of the Beartooth Mountains, approximately 1 hour southwest of Billings, 1.25 hours north of Cody, WY, and 1.5 hours northeast of Yellowstone NP. Hiking, fishing, camping, mountain biking, skiing Beartooth Pass, and numerous weekend events are but a few of the many attractions the Red Lodge area has to offer during summer. | | # of current Applicants: | 14 |
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: | Dan Seifert | | Title: | Physical Scientist | | Street Address: | 6811 US Highway 212 South | | City/State/Zip: | Red Lodge, MT 59068 | | Phone: | 406-446-4520 | | Email: | dseifert@fs.fed.us | | Website: | http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/custer/recreation/D2 |
| | SECONDARY CONTACT INFORMATION | | Contact Name: | Pat Pierson | | Title: | Minerals & Geology Program Manager | | Street Address: | 1310 Main Street | | City/State/Zip: | Billings, MT 59105 | | Phone: | 406-657-6205, ext. 213 | | Email: | ppierson@fs.fed.us | | Website: | http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/custer/ |
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