Wenatchee ESR 9mo AND 12mo Mini Announcement for Youth Projects.doc

Office: Spokane District, Wenatchee Field Office Notice of Funding Opportunity Number: L24AS00057 Project Submission Dates and Times: January 19, 2024, 5pm EST

Project Title: Wenatchee Field Office Post-fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation Youth Opportunity

Maximum Available Funding in FY24: $134,500 This funding is available for the formation of a youth seed collection crew comprised of one 39-week and one 52-week placement, concurrently with a $800 weekly stipend. Stipends above this amount must justify in budget narrative increase needed. Youth Corps should provide a budget for five seasons for this two person crew, including cost increases.

Project Background Information: Central Washington state is the home of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wenatchee Field Office (WFO), part of the Spokane District. The WFO is responsible for BLM lands ranging from the Canadian border to the north, to the Oregon state line to the South. Some work (approximately 10-20%), may occur out of the Border Field Office in Spokane, WA. The Spokane District manages nearly 450,000 acres of public lands across the state of Washington. Botanically, plant communities range from extensive shrub-steppe habitats to dry forests and riparian areas. Much of the work will be accomplished in remote locations on rugged terrain that require a 4x4 truck to access, it may take 1-4 hours of driving to reach a work site.

Project Objective: BLM, Spokane District/Wenatchee Field Office, Washington has an opportunity to introduce youth to Natural Resource careers in the BLM, specifically post-fire emergency stabilization and rehabilitation (ESR). The Field Office would like to a provide work experience to youth for their career and educational benefit. This will be accomplished by providing them opportunities to gain experience, learn about public lands, further their understanding and appreciation of natural resources, and pique their interest in Natural Resource Management careers. From this they will gain an increased appreciation and understanding of our public lands and of the value of public service and are likely to become life-long advocates for those values. This opportunity will be focused on monitoring and implementation of post-fire ESR treatments and includes working within multiple resource fields including botany, weed management, livestock management, wildlife, forestry, ecological restoration, and recreation. This project would be especially appropriate for college graduates with a degree in biology, environmental sciences, botany, wildlife, or ecology. It will provide opportunities to enhance basic career skills such as organization, writing, detail, and communication, as well as field skills including the data collection, plant identification, use of GIS/GPS equipment and maps, integrated weed management, and driving on rough rugged roads. Previous experience with any of these skills would significantly enhance the experience. Post-fire monitoring methods include line-point intercept, counting emergent seedlings per square meter, walking and mapping fenceline completed by contractors, and photo documentation.

Work Schedule: Generally, Monday – Thursday, 7:00 AM to 5:30PM, for spring/summer/fall months, and Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 for winter months.

Qualification Requirements: This opportunity is suitable for youth with an undergraduate or graduate degree in biology, ecology, environmental science, botany, wildlife, range or similar studies. Some coursework or experience with plant identification is preferred. As stated in the duties this opportunity will require time outdoors and field work that is often under rigorous physical conditions. Applicants must also meet the following criteria: 1). Pass a DOI security background check.

Housing: Agency cannot provide housing but may be able to assist in locating appropriate clean housing. A maximum weekly housing stipend of $175 is allowable. A one-time relocation allowance of $500 is available per person.

Vehicle Needs: A work vehicle will be provided by BLM. A valid driver’s license will be required for the position.

A personal vehicle is NOT required for the position but may make the applicant's days off more enjoyable. Wenatchee has a fare-free bus system through Link Transit with ample routes throughout Wenatchee and surrounding towns. The closest regional airport is in East Wenatchee, WA, but the nearest large airport is in Seattle, WA (150 miles away) or Spokane, WA (168 miles away), where you can get lower fares. There are bus shuttles available through the Wenatchee Valley Shuttle to the Seattle airport. The greater Wenatchee area has a population of about 50,000 and most big city amenities are available.

Other Project Considerations:

Food: Food will be at the applicant’s expense.

All Supplies:

The Project Partner is responsible for providing 1 GPS enabled WIFI device for field navigation and data collection, at a cost of approximately $600. An approved device list will be provided to the Project Partner at the time of award.

BLM will provide computer, supplies, and equipment necessary for monitoring and data collection. BLM will also provide an allowance of $500 per person for the purchase of personal field gear such as boots, backpack, or camping gear.

Training Requirements: Applicant will be provided access to free basic workplace trainings including Defensive Driving, First Aid, and Equal Employment Opportunity training. Additionally, program specific training such as GIS, herbarium management, seed collection, and quantitative plant monitoring may be provided at no cost. Up to $500 should be provided by Youth Corps for additional training opportunities per person.

Travel: Field camping may be necessary to complete some monitoring due to remoteness of some locations. Also, due to the scattered nature of some of the BLM lands, hotel stays may also be periodically necessary. Travel may average 1-2 nights per week (some weeks may be all travel, some weeks no travel). Up to $4000 will be available to reimburse travel costs per person.

Duties:

The successful youth applicant(s) will assist the resource specialists with field work that includes monitoring post-fire conditions and treatment effectiveness, GIS data collection, integrated weed management including herbicide application, fence construction and repair. In addition, office work will include report writing, GIS data management/analysis, and data processing, analysis and reporting of post-fire vegetation monitoring data. Field work will be conducted largely in Okanogan, Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Kittitas, Yakima, and Klickitat Counties, WA in rough and rugged terrain.

Project expected outcomes include monitoring/implementation of treatments/reporting on at least 13 burned areas in central Washington, as well as analysis of several years of data collected by contracted monitoring crews in previous years.

BLM’s Involvement: There will be substantive BLM programmatic involvement by BLM professionals that will work with recipient on all projects and also be providing project orientation and hands-on training. BLM will have the right to intervene by modifying the project management plan, if the project is not staying on schedule, or technical issues arise, etc. In addition, BLM and recipient will meet weekly to discuss progress and track project outcomes; review any training needs; and identify next steps for project completion/advancement.

BLM Program Contact:

Molly Boyter

509-665-2137 mboyter@blm.gov Applicants are encouraged to refer to the full program announcement number L24AS00057 posted on Grants.gov for all program requirements and applicable terms and conditions. Recipients selected for awards will be required to adhere to those requirements should an award be made.

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