*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.

USDA Forest Service Office/Lab and Location: A fellowship opportunity is available with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service (FS) within the Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSWRS) located in Placerville, California, or Vallejo, California.

At the heart of the USDA Forest Service's mission is their purpose. Everything they do is intended to help sustain forests and grasslands for present and future generations. Why? Because their stewardship work supports nature in sustaining life. This is the purpose that drives the agency’s mission and motivates their work across the agency. It’s been there from the agency’s very beginning, and it still drives them. To advance the mission and serve their purpose, the USDA Forest Service balances the short and long-term needs of people and nature by: working in collaboration with communities and our partners; providing access to resources and experiences that promote economic, ecological, and social vitality; connecting people to the land and one another; and delivering world-class science, technology and land management.

Research Project: The primary project focus of the research is to support successful planning for landscape management to enhance risk reduction from wildfire and climate to forests and wildlife. These objectives will be addressed through landscape modeling of a variety of resource conditions and benefits related to forest conditions and as affected by climate change, wildfire, and forest management.  Specific applications will require using ForSys optimization models, FVS models, and using outputs from Landis-II dynamic landscape models.

Decision support tools are becoming essential tools to help organizations and regional and national government agencies with weighing the costs and benefits of actions, assessing optimal solutions based on spatial or nonspatial criteria, or modeling scenarios based on specific assumptions and data. They focus on biophysical and economic outcomes of resource management and restoration, but can also provide guidance in social decision making, governance and negotiation among stakeholders. Decision support tool development and application is another focus of the fellow, which consists of the development of software programs that provide a platform for quantifying and comparing ecological and social costs and benefits, and identifying the existence of patterns and thresholds to inform management and conservation actions across landscapes and over time.  Specific software programs to be used include PROMOTE and the Ecosystem Management Decision Support tool, as well as ForSys Scenario Investment Planning software (e.g., Alan Ager DST).

The fellow is expected to develop and maintain collaborative relationships with scientists and partners in other agencies and institutions and universities.  Skills in balancing the competing demands of multiple simultaneous collaborations will be important for the ultimate success of the fellow. In many cases, the fellow will be a part of a team to develop common data layers that can be used by a suite of scientists from multiple disciplines to understand the complexities of environmental responses to disturbances and change, including retrospective and prospective analyses and researching with spatial analysts and modelers to construct or reconstruct environmental data layers for analysis. Assembles technical information, performs analyses, prepares technical reports, and participates in writing peer-reviewed journal papers, and participates in professional conferences. The fellow will disseminate scientific results through published literature, symposia, presentations, and workshops. 

Learning Objectives: The fellow will be exposed to teams of tenured scientists across diverse disciplines and geographies, and helping to develop products directly relevant and applicable to land management. Through collaborating with scientists from across the country, learning how they approach their science conduct and delivery, and in turn providing innovative ideas and collaboration in science delivery.  They will collaborate with scientists across California, building a strong network of colleagues and partners in future research activities. They will collaborate with a wide array of State and Federal agency managers, learning about the challenges that they face and how research and science delivery can help support their research. They will research with decision support tool development, and learn about how DSTs can best meet the need of putting complex scientific information in the hands of managers in a readily accessible and defensible manner. 

Mentor: The mentor for this opportunity is Pat Manley (patricia.manley@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor.

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: March 2025.  Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.

Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for one year but may be extended upon recommendation of USDA Forest Service and is contingent on the availability of funds.

Level of Participation: The appointment is full time.

Participant Stipend: The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. The anticipated stipend range is $4,000 to $6,000 per month.

Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR), and foreign nationals. Non-U.S. citizen applicants should refer to the Guidelines for Non-U.S. Citizens Details page of the program website for information about the valid immigration statuses that are acceptable for program participation. Foreign national candidates may have a mandatory in-person requirement depending on visa status.

ORISE Information: This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and USDA Forest Service. Participants do not become employees of USDA, USDA Forest Service, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. Health insurance can be obtained through ORISE.

Questions: Please visit our Program Website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process please email ORISE.USFS.PSWRS@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.

Qualifications

The qualified candidate should be currently pursuing or have received a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree in the one of the relevant fields. Degree must have been received within the past five years or is anticipated to be received by the start of the appointment.