TITLE: ANCESTRAL LANDS CONSERVATION CORPS - CIBOLA NATIONAL FOREST HERITAGE VOLUNTEER PROGRAM INDIVIDUAL PLACEMENT

STIPEND:  $425/week  (+Education Award) 

DATES:   04/12/2021 - 10/15/2021

TERM:  25 weeks 

REPORTS TO:  USDA Forest Service, Cibola National Forest Sandia Ranger District

LOCATION:   11776 Highway 337, Tijeras, NM 87059

STATUS:  900 hour AmeriCorps Service Term 

BENEFITS:  AmeriCorps  Education Award  $3,172.00 after each successful  completion 

ANCESTRAL LANDS CONSERVATION CORPS’ MISSION 

It is the mission of the Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps to lead our nations back to cultural and ecological well being. The Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps is specifically designed to engage Native American youth and young adults with offices in Acoma, Albuquerque, Gallup, Zuni, and Hopi.  *ANCESTRAL LANDS CONSERVATION CORPS SERVES LOCAL TRIBAL COMMUNITIES IN THE REGIONS WE OPERATE. APPLICANTS MUST BE NATIVE AMERICAN.

USDA FOREST SERVICE MISSION

The mission of the Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations.

The Forest Service motto, “Caring for the Land and Serving People,” captures the spirit of our mission, which we accomplish through five main activities:

• Protection and management of natural resources on lands we manage.
• Research on all aspects of forestry, rangeland management, and forest resource utilization.
• Community assistance and cooperation with State and local governments, forest industries, and private landowners to help protect and manage non-Federal forest and associated range and watershed lands to improve conditions in rural areas.
• Achievement and support of an effective workforce that reflects the diversity of the American people.
• International assistance to formulate policy and coordinate U.S. support for the protection and sound management of the world's forest resources.

FRIENDS OF TIJERAS PUEBLO OVERVIEW:

FRIENDS OF TIJERAS PUEBLO is a 501(c)(3) organization working in partnership with the USDA Forest Service, Cibola National Forest, Sandia Ranger District.   Membership is open to anyone interested in the Mission and Vision of the organization. Docent-Members offer guided tours, presentations, classroom visits, a lecture series and special workshops and demonstrations.

Mission: We are dedicated to the preservation of Tijeras Pueblo Archaeological Site through protection, promotion and interpretation. Vision: Tijeras Pueblo Archaeological Site, Interpretive Trail and Museum are integrated resources that encourage appreciation of and respect for traditional pueblo lifeways, past and present.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW:

The ALCC Heritage Volunteer Program Individual Placement will work jointly with the heritage and volunteer program staff on the Cibola National Forest to improve heritage volunteer program capacity and reporting. One of the primary partner organizations that they will be working with is the Friends of Tijeras Pueblo.  Tijeras, New Mexico is located approximately 15 miles east of Albuquerque.  The Friends of Tijeras Pueblo is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the interpretation of the Tijeras Pueblo Archaeological Site. It is operated in partnership with the USDA Forest Service and run by a volunteer Board of Directors. The Friends of Tijeras Pueblo is dedicated to the preservation of Tijeras Pueblo Archaeological Site through protection, promotion and interpretation.

Due to it's geographical location, the Sandia Ranger District has higher demands from the public than most ranger districts in the Region. The district has previously had an interpretive staff that would oversee the management of programs such as the Tijeras Pueblo Interpretive Site and Museum. In the absence of these positions, the district has relied on volunteer groups such as the Friends of Tijeras Pueblo to provide outreach and interpretive programs for the public (FOTP conducts numerous lectures, tours, and workshops at the ranger station and typically logs over 2000 volunteer hours annually). The RA position will build the capacity of this existing partnership.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

This ALCC Heritage Volunteer Program IP will work to complete tasks and projects outlined below.

General Projects:

• Provide general support to the Cibola National Forest heritage program with an emphasis on building capacity in volunteer program and and increasing viability/stability of existing partnerships.
• Work with archaeologist and help manage restoration of the historic Water Canyon Cabin on Magdalena RD.
• Work with heritage program to learn basic archaeological field methods and reporting.
• Work with Cibola Recreation and Partnership Coordinator on utilizing the Cibola's volunteer management platform and reporting on heritage volunteer hours. The RA would help develop the heritage component of a new volunteer reporting system, would be responsible for reporting volunteer hours for the Cibola heritage program (frequently under-reported).

Specifically for the Friends of Tijeras Pueblo, the projects and responsibilities the IP will be focused on would be:

• Supervise ALCC Crew for 5 weeks while they are at the Tijeras Interpretive Site/Museum.
• Improvements to the Tijeras Pueblo Archaeological Site Trail
• Program improvement that will attract visitors
• Building capacity by increasing volunteer participation
• Increasing community awareness and appreciation of the Tijeras Pueblo Site
• Developing additional interpretive and volunteer training products (including asocial media platform)
• Assist with Tijeras Pueblo 5 day summer camp

Required Skills

The ideal candidate for this position is a highly organized individual who has the ability to direct and coordinate people from a variety of backgrounds. The ideal candidate will have networking skills, familiarity with basic computer programs and technology, data management skills or the ability to learn them.

Required Experience

An individual with experience managing a museum and/or archaeological or historical site is preferred. A background in education and/or experience developing programs to engage both children and adults in educational activities is also preferred. Familiarity with the grant writing process and experience with funding a 501(c)3 organization is beneficial. Finally, familiarity with the use of a variety of social media platforms for marketing purposes is desired.

The Forest Service recognizes that candidates may not possess all or many of the desired qualifications for this position, however, an individual who is enthusiastic, motivated, and demonstrates a willingness to challenge themselves by learning those skills in which they may be lacking at the time of hire will be welcomed.

The ideal candidate for this position is a highly organized individual who has the ability to direct and coordinate people from a variety of backgrounds. The ideal candidate will have networking skills, familiarity with basic computer programs and technology, data management skills or the ability to learn them.