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APPLY NOW   Public Land Name: Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Position Title: Physical Scientist Agency: NPS Position Type: GeoCorps Position ID Number: 2015069 Location: Mosca, CO Accepting Applications? # of current Applicants: 0 Position Description: Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve (GRSA) is located in southern CO and is the site of tall, majestic dunes backed by rugged mountains. It is an impressive landscape that has been managed by the National Park Service since 1932. GRSA established a resource management program in 1990 which has been tasked with doing research and gathering resource data to better understand the Park natural resources. In the process of doing its tasks, the NPS now has filled the void created by a lack of resource knowledge and has a better handle on the nature of its natural resources and how they work. That knowledge is critical in dealing with management issues, such as legal defenses in regard to large-scale water development proposals as well as accurate, more detailed interpretation of the park. This increased knowledge was also the basis for the 2000 boundary expansion by Congress. The presence of Resource Management Division (RM) results in improved management and protection of GRSA resources. The RM operation is divided in 3 areas, physical science, biological science, and cultural science. The Park’s primary resources are physical, and this proposal request is for an intern to assist with the physical science operations. The intern will assist and be supervised by the Park geologist. Primary tasks involve gathering hydrological data and assisting with field checking of gauging sites and monitoring wells. Water rights are one of the major issues facing park management, as the Park has both surface and groundwater rights. These rights are non-consumptive and are intended to protect natural processes. The management of those rights requires the measuring of water levels in wells and stream discharge. The park has over 70 monitoring wells (many are checked monthly), and 13 stream gauging sites, which are also checked periodically depending on flow conditions. Collecting this data requires driving in 4WD conditions, including soft sand. The RM staff will train the intern on safe diving procedures on sand. It will also require some medium to strenuous hiking to get to the measurement sites. The field checks involve surveying gauging structures, wells and reference markers to determine is gauging structures are level and plum and to determine if well elevations have changed. Additional tasks include: - Measuring dune height and position. Again, strenuous hiking is involved and GPS and traditional surveying equipment will be used. Training on the use of the equipment will be provided by the park. Weather stations have been setup to supplement dune migration monitoring and the intern will also be trained to collect that data. - Assisting park researchers. There are normally several physical science research efforts occurring each summer. The opportunity to work with other researchers is considered a valuable learning tool and the intern will be able to assist with those projects. 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. If you have questions about the application and selection process, please contact GSA's GeoCorps managers.  If you have questions about any aspect of the position — description, qualifications, housing, dates — please direct them to the contact(s) listed in the project description. Remember, application materials can only be submitted online. The project contact(s) will not accept application materials sent to them via e-mail, mail, fax, etc. See the full program details at the GeoCorps homepage.