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APPLY NOW   Public Land Name: George Washington and Jefferson National Forests Position Title: Watershed and Geology Program Assistant (Apply by 1 December) Agency: USFS Position Type: GeoCorps Position ID Number: 2023635, 2023636 Location: Virginia, Roanoke (2 positions) Accepting Applications? Yes # of current Applicants: 1 Position Description: Each project can accept up to 100 applicants. GeoCorps applicants can apply for multiple projects per season. Applicants must complete a cover letter for each project for which they apply. For current applicants: You are considered a project applicant once you have successfully added the project to your profile while you are logged into your application form. The added project would appear under “POSITIONS YOU HAVE ADDED” for the GeoCorps America Program. You are encouraged to add projects before you complete your application components. In order to be fully considered for any position, you must complete all application components before the application deadline passes on 11 July. Login to your GeoCorps application profile to check the status of your application components, and make sure to complete any remaining items before the deadline passes. Apply by 1 December. The GeoCorps participant will support multiple programs including watershed and soil with a focus on geology for the George Washington & Jefferson National Forests (GWJ). The GeoCorps participant will primarily be working with the Forest Geologist and the supervisor’s office biological and physical resources staff. Under the Geology Program, the GeoCorps participant will conduct inventory and monitoring of abandoned mine lands (AML), karst resources and geologic hazards. Duties will include conducting field assessments and monitoring throughout the national forest. Underground entry for conducting cave health assessments will be part of these duties. Additional duties may include project management of specific reclamation projects along with fossil location and identification. The participant will work under the guidance of the Forest Geologist. All field work will rely on topographic maps and satellite imagery to assist in determining where pertinent resources are located and through use of LiDAR, accurately document resource concerns and follow up action items or remediation needs. Under the Watershed Program (i.e., soils, hydrology, air/climate), the participant will inventory and assess risks to surface water quality, groundwater, groundwater dependent ecosystems, and stream habitat. The participant will field verify and map the water resource, and assess the hydrogeologic setting, soils and vegetation, land use, etc. Other needs include conducting stream classifications, spring and karst inventories, as well as monitoring of project implementation and best management practices effectiveness. The participant will field verify and map springs/seeps and may collect flow data, water chemistry, aquatic life, etc. The participant will also use a variety of protocols to monitor best management practices and overall watershed conditions and stream health. The position will require a brief training by USFS personnel to become familiar with the applicable regulations and dynamics of hydrology and geology related projects and environmental impacts that occur on the ground. The position duration will be 12 weeks, with potential for the project to be extended for additional weeks or months, not to exceed one year. This position requires long hours in the field, safety awareness when driving and hiking over rough terrain in all types of weather, as well as knowledge of data management and report writing. This project is offered through the Geological Society of America's GeoCorps America Program, in partnership with Lands, Minerals, and Geology at the USDA Forest Service National Headquarters. The program encourages participants to follow the same guidance provided to all USDA Forest Service employees and partners, which is to follow CDC guidance and stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and boosters that protect against the new and most prevalent variants. Goals, outcomes, and deliverables: By the end of the project, the participant will have produced a suite of products including summary reports of findings with accompanying photos and geospatial and tabular data that provides location and attributes of water resources as well as identified risks to these resources. Reports will include recommended corrective action or Best Management Practices to mitigate risks to identified risks to water resources. Agency involvement (project oversight, mentoring, team building, etc.): The participant will be mentored directly by the Forest Geologist, but will also work closely with the Forest Hydrologist, Soil Scientist, and Fisheries Biologist as well as personnel in other program areas including timber, recreation, engineering, grazing management, and GIS. The participant will spend time in the field with resource specialists from each of these disciplines to gain understanding of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest’s approach to integrated resource management. The intent of this proposal is to not only provide the participant an enriched Forest Service experience by introducing them to multiple-use land management, but for the GWJ NFs to increase understanding of the effects of management actions on water quality, hydrology, geologic resources, and soil health. Most important to the GWJ NFs is that the participant will increase the capacity of the Biophysical Resources and Planning program’s monitoring efforts. Data collected through this project will also be used to inform other initiatives intended to increase the GWJ NFs resilience to climate change through our Sub Regional road resilience and Aquatic Passage initiative. Finally, condition assessments of abandoned mine lands (AMLs) will assist the GWJ NFs with our reclamation partnership with the Virginia Department of Energy. Professional development & learning opportunities: (trainings, certifications, networking, etc.): The selected participant will be provided opportunities for cross training by the Forest Geologist, Hydrologist and Soil Scientist and will learn established survey techniques for each of these program areas, including use of geospatial and remotely sensed data for planning of field surveys and projects. The participant will also spend time working in an interdisciplinary environment with other program areas including wildlife, fisheries, timber, engineering, and recreation to gain understanding of multiple resource management and the interrelationships of these program/resource areas in land and resource management planning and project development. Leadership Development: This opportunity is not a single project, but is instead a suite of projects that extend across multiple disciplines including a) abandoned mine land inventories and assessments of associated water quality risks, b) inventories of karst features and geohazards (landslide and rockfall hazard), c) soil disturbance monitoring in timber sale areas, and d) evaluations of road stream crossings and developing recommendations to improve aquatic organism passage. Each of these projects will require a summary report with recommendations and accompanying maps, geospatial data, and photos. Four reports total. Summary reports, data, and photos will be submitted at the conclusion of each project. Presenting Project Results: This opportunity is not a single project, but is instead a suite of projects that extend across multiple disciplines including a) abandoned mine land inventories and assessments of associated water quality risks, b) inventories of karst features and geohazards (landslide and rockfall hazard), c) soil disturbance monitoring in timber sale areas, and d) evaluations of road stream crossings and developing recommendations to improve aquatic organism passage. Each of these projects will last approximately three weeks and will require a summary report with recommendations and accompanying maps, geospatial data, and photos. Four reports total. Summary reports, data, and photos will be submitted at the conclusion of each project. Physical/Natural Environment: The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests occur in two primary geologic provinces. The Valley and Ridge province consists of long, parallel ridges and valleys that are underlain by folded Paleozoic sedimentary rocks. The characteristic topography of this region results from differential erosion of linear belts of rocks that are repeated by folding and faulting. Rivers draining the Valley & Ridge province typically display a trellis drainage pattern. The oldest sedimentary layers in the Valley & Ridge are Cambrian (~520 Ma) and the youngest are Carboniferous (~300 Ma). A thick sequence of primarily carbonate rocks underlies the Great Valley (known as the Shenandoah Valley in central and northern Virginia), these rocks were deposited in a shallow tropical ocean along the southeastern margin of ancient North America (Laurentia). Well-developed karst topography is characteristic of the Great Valley, and many subsurface caverns exist. The Blue Ridge geologic province is a distinctive highland region that also exposes Virginia’s oldest rocks. In central and northern Virginia, the Blue Ridge Mountains rise dramatically to elevations above 1,200 m (4000’) with local relief up to 1000 m. In southern Virginia, the Blue Ridge forms a broad plateau-like upland that rises over 500 m from the Piedmont along the prominent Blue Ridge escarpment. In the southwestern Virginia Blue Ridge, Mt. Rogers (1,746 m), forms Virginia’s highest peak. The Blue Ridge forms a massif with Mesoproterozoic igneous and metamorphic basement rocks at its core and Neoproterozoic to Early Paleozoic cover rock on its flanks. During the Grenvillian (1.2 – 1.0 Ga) orogeny the Blue Ridge experienced the intrusion of a diverse suite of granitic rocks and widespread granulite-facies metamorphism, this magmatic and tectonic activity was associated with continental collision that ultimately produced the supercontinent of Rodinia. Two hundred and fifty million years later Neoproterozoic (750-700 Ma) granites intruded older basement rocks during an early phase of continental rifting that also produced basins into which coarse- to fine-grained sediment accumulated. Work Environment: The project is primarily based out of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area and Clinch Ranger Districts. The participant will work intermittently with a Geologist, Hydrologist, Soil Scientist, and Fisheries Biologist, but will also do field work independently in steep forested terrain and in areas where historic strip mining and/or adit/shaft mining have occurred. Potential hazards include inclement weather and wildlife encounters (black bears, venomous snakes, etc.). The participant will be provided office space, a desk, and a computer equipped with the relevant software. The majority of time will be spent developing conducting field assessments, entering field data, writing reports, organizing photos, and creating GIS products. Work typically takes place Monday through Friday. Qualifications: Relevant coursework in geology, geomorphology, hydrology, and mineralogy are preferred. The participant should be able to work independently or as part of a team, both in the field and in the office. The applicant must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent legal resident (Green Card holder). Prior to starting this position, the participant will need to pass a background check either with the host agency, GSA’s staffing partner Actalent, or both. Vehicle / Driver's License Requirement (If applicable): A personal vehicle is required or for personal errands, for travel between housing and the work site, and for exploring the area independently during time off. Applicants must have a valid U.S. driver’s license and a good driving record. Position Dates: Winter/Spring 2024 (start/end dates flexible) Position Duration: 12 weeks Hourly Wage: $15.00/hour Housing Details: Government housing is not available, therefore the participant will be granted an extra income payment for housing. 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. PRIMARY CONTACT INFORMATION Chad Harrold Geologist 5162 Valleypointe Pkwy Roanoke, VA 24019  (928) 200-3799  benjamin.harrold@usda.gov Website SECONDARY CONTACT INFORMATION Robert Ballard Soil Scientist 5162 Valleypointe Pkwy Roanoke, VA 24019  (928) 403-2559  robert.w.ballard@usda.gov Website