ABOUT TROUT UNLIMITED

Trout Unlimited takes care of the rivers and clean water that trout, salmon and communities around the country depend on. We are a nationwide network of advocates, outdoor enthusiasts, volunteers, anglers and staff dedicated to protecting places where trout and salmon thrive and recovering rivers and fisheries that need help. We want to make sure healthy rivers and fisheries are available for all people to use and enjoy.

Trout Unlimited has 300,000 members and supporters supported by a respected staff of organizers, lawyers, policy experts, and scientists, who work out of more than 45 offices across the country. The California program has 20+ staff located in Emeryville, Ft. Bragg, Truckee, and home offices around the state. Every year our team manages dozens of river flow and habitat restoration projects, with focal areas on the North Coast, Sacramento Valley, and the Sierra Nevada, and we advocate for strong conservation policies by the state and federal governments.

Trout Unlimited’s California Inland Trout Program is based in Truckee and works to improve wild and native inland trout populations across the Sierra Nevada, Eastern Sierra, and parts of western Nevada.  We work to improve headwater habitat, primary located on public land, with a variety of federal, state, natural resource agency, industry, and other NGO partners. We also work to protect and improve high profile recreational sport fisheries so that they can support the anglers, businesses, and rural communities that depend on them.    

POSITION SUMMARY

Trout Unlimited is hiring several self-motivated, hardworking, and highly capable people to work as a restoration implementation and monitoring field technician for our California Inland Trout Program. Each person will participate in low-tech process-based restoration construction (e.g. beaver dam analogs) and project effectiveness monitoring for wild and native trout habitat restoration and connectivity projects across the Sierra Nevada. These positions are 100% field-based and require frequent travel and camping in distant and remote back country locations.  They will have a geographical focus on the southern Sierra (specifically, the Kern Plateau) and will work closely with our construction contractors, science team, and other field staff on a wide variety of headwater stream, meadow, and associated habitat restoration monitoring projects. Field work includes but is not limited to: building instream restoration features utilizing hand tools, hiking and camping in remote locations for eight-day field tours, photo point documentation, and project effectiveness monitoring. Each person will be based out of Bishop, California, and will report to the Sierra Restoration Field Coordinator. 

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Act as a core team member in low-tech process-based restoration construction and project effectiveness monitoring.
• Participate in a pre-defined work schedule of eight 10-hr days on and six days off for the duration of the position, initiating June 10, 2025 and ending in September or October (pending weather and availability).
• Navigate, camp, and work in remote backcountry setting with hike-in access only and wilderness area designation restrictions.
• Accurately assess and record biological and geomorphic survey data based on pre-established protocols.
• Data entry and QAQC utilizing tablets and standard mapping and data entry software.
• Properly store and maintain field equipment and tools.
• Drive to and from field sites and trailheads in a large, 4wd truck on rough roads.
• Hike up to 10-15 miles carrying 40-50 pounds of gear.

This is not an all-inclusive list of duties and responsibilities.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Associate or bachelor’s degree, or equivalent related professional experience.
• Minimum of 1 year of experience in field work in either monitoring or hand-based restoration implementation, such as trails maintenance, fire, forest health, and other stream or vegetation management/enhancement.
• Willingness and ability to travel 100% of the time and work remotely for multiple days at a time, including in backcountry sites at or above 7,000’ elevation accessed exclusively via trail with all necessary personal items and select group gear carried in a self-contained backpack.
• Willingness to perform intensive manual labor, such as tree cutting, hauling, digging, and pounding, for up to 8-10 hours per day.
• Positive outlook and ability to work and live as part of a team, particularly in challenging work-site conditions, during long days and inclement weather is essential.
• Valid driver’s license and own vehicle required (field vehicle will be supplied, but must be able to travel to hub location)

Preferred

• Experience with hand tools such as crosscut saws, axes, chainsaws, etc.
• Wilderness first aid and CPR training
• Experience and comfort driving large field vehicles on rough roads (Forest Service dirt roads and Jeep roads)
• Field and data mapping familiarity (Avenza, ESRI FieldMaps, and Survey123)
• Knowledge of and familiarity with process-based restoration principles and design.
• Understanding of California and Nevada wild and native trout, watershed science and restoration, and Sierra Nevada ecology.

Staff and leadership at TU understand that life outside of work is important to personal health, and we strive to create a healthy and family-friendly atmosphere. This is a full-time temporary position running from June – September (or October, weather-dependent) with a range of $22-$27/hr.