WCC Position Descriptions (by county)

Cascade Land Conservancy

Crew:

Crew Supervisor: Brad Kwasnowski
Telephone: 206-940-2786
Location: Seattle
Email: bkwa461@ecy.wa.gov
Description: This crew works a lot with volunteer groups for the Cascade Land Conservancy so flexibility with schedules is necessary. Working with several partners (including Green Seattle Partnership), this crew will have ample networking opportunities. A majority of the work will take place in urban parks, but spikes in rural areas are also planned (streams, forests, and estuary restoration projects).

Chelan County positions:

Wenatchee Spike - Roaming

Crew:

Crew Supervisor: Bob Milner
Telephone: 509-860-1990
Location: Wenatchee
Email: rmil461@ecy.wa.gov
Description: The Wenatchee spike crew is one of the primary emergency response crews in the WCC; responding to floods, hurricanes, tornados, oil spills and wildland fires. In addition to emergency response, the crew works all over the beautiful state of Washington on various natural resource projects including invasive weed removal, exclusionary fencing, planting, trail building and maintenance, and monitoring programs.
 

Chelan Douglas Land Trust

Individual Placement:

Position: Lands and Trails Steward
Description: The Lands & Trails Steward position will work in areas related to restoration project design and implementation; field data collection and conservation easement monitoring; trails building and design; community education and volunteer management related to trails building, weed eradication, and ecological restoration; elementary level environmental education. The candidate will have the opportunity to work with a variety of ecological systems including streams, shrub-steppe, forest and agricultural. This position will provide an excellent opportunity to build skills required for a career in land conservation and restoration.
Website: www.cdlt.org
Complete Job Description: Click Here

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Clallam County Positions:

Olympic National Park

Crew:

Crew Supervisor: Justin Zarzeczny
Location: Port Angeles
Phone: 360-460-4979
Email: jzar461@ecy.wa.gov
Description:  The crew is based in Port Angeles and spends most of the year working on a variety of projects in Olympic National Park. Work includes road work, campground maintenance, trails and general building and grounds maintenance. The crew is an emergency response crew and has been deployed throughout the U.S. Some travel is required for members on this crew. There are sometimes opportunities for housing through the Park.

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King County positions:

King County Dept. of Natural Resources & Parks

Crews:

Crew Supervisor: Peter Nevin
Telephone: 206-940-3615
Location: Renton
Email: pnev461@ecy.wa.gov

Crew Supervisor: Jessica Asplund
Telephone: 206-914-9545
Location: Renton
Email: jasp461@ecy.wa.gov

Crew Supervisor: Kris Buitrago
Telephone: 206-327-1090
Location: Renton
Email: kbui461@ecy.wa.gov

Description: There are three crews (14 members total) working for King County's Water and Land Division which is under the Department of Natural Resources and Parks. These crews work primarily in rural, unincorporated King County—east of I-405 up to the Cascade foothills and in areas from Duvall down to Enumclaw.  The crew works on county-owned property as well as on land with which the county has a conservation easement with the private land-owner. A majority of the time is spent on riparian habitat restoration—removing invasive species and planting native trees and shrubs along creeks, streams, and rivers. There are some projects that involve erosion prevention, installation of irrigation systems, fence building, in-stream habitat creation, and a variety of other projects.  The crew meets daily at a compound in Renton, located across from the Renton Technical College. Most crew members live in Seattle proper and commute with one another to work, though the compound is also accessible by the Metro bus system.  Projects vary from 1 to 2 days in length up to several weeks on large planting projects.

Individual Placement:

Position: Habitat Restoration Projects/crew coordination
Location: Seattle
Description: Works closely with area WCC crews, coordinates crew activity and assists when necessary. Also assists department personnel with various projects. Works with ecologists from King County’s Dept. of Natural Resources/Parks (DNRP) in organizing the setup and completion of the restoration projects. This may include pre-site evaluation, stream channel survey, plant orders, planting plan design and implementation, as-built recording, and post site stewardship. Other tasks include monthly time accounting, recruitment, filing, equipment ordering and pick up, project photo log updates, and office assistance to ecologists of DNRP.
Website: http://dnr.metrokc.gov/

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Kittitas County positions:

None at this time.

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Pierce County positions:

City of Tacoma

Crew:

Crew Supervisor: Courtney Irby
Telephone: 360-701-4372
Email: cirb461@ecy.wa.gov
Description: This crew works in multiple riparian locations throughout Tacoma, sponsored by the City of Tacoma Public Works department.  An average year consists of planting in the winter, maintenance in the early spring, and site clean-up in the fall.  Some examples of work include planting, mulching, and maintaining salt marshes and river shores, goose and rabbit-proof fence building, and site productivity monitoring.

In addition to project work, much formal and ined throughout the year.  These trainings and events will vary according to individual corps member interests.  Past experiences have ranged from résumé-building workshops to tree planting with children to learning about ECO housing.  Working with this crew is a great way to build job and life skills while working in an outdoor environment.

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Thurston County positions:

Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge

Crew:

Crew Supervisor: Dale Rahier
Telephone: 360-280-1064
Location: Olympia
Email: drah461@ecy.wa.gov
Description: The crew does maintenance and construction work on the main Nisqually refuge and smaller refuges in Thurston County and Grays Harbor County. Additionally, the crew has been involved in some refuge events, including large volunteer planting projects with area school children and the Shorebird Festival.

Individual Placement:

Position: Habitat Restoration/Volunteer Coordination
Description:  Direct and conduct the Refuge Weed Warrior program, recruiting, training and directing Refuge volunteers in monitoring and controlling invasive plant species for the Refuge Complex (Nisqually NWR, Black River Unit, Grays Harbor NWR). Assist in recording, mapping, and summarizing invasive infestations and control efforts. Direct and conduct the invasive animal and invertebrate monitoring program, including green crab monitoring. Train and direct Refuge volunteers in monitoring program for green crabs. Conduct water monitoring, with assistance from volunteers, in support of estuary restoration programs. Assist in recruiting and training Grays Harbor NWR volunteers to assist with trail roving and habitat and wildlife monitoring, to help the new Grays Harbor volunteer program to continue to grow. Assist with wildlife monitoring and surveys, including working with Refuge volunteers who assist with these programs. 
Website: http://www.fws.gov/nisqually/
Complete Job Description: Click Here.

Olympia Spike Crews (3 crews)

Crews:

Crew Supervisor: Melody Abel
Telephone: 360-789-9856
Location: Olympia & Mount Rainier
Email: meab461@ecy.wa.gov
Description: This crew is a traveling crew. Six months of the year are spent building and maintaining hiking trails on Mt. Rainier.  The remaining months are spent building skills and performing various job activities related to environmental restoration. You will see, learn and experience much.  Feel free to call for a detailed discussion of the work we perform, the lifestyle of a WCC Corpsmember, or any other questions.

The months of October and March through September:

Mt. Rainier National Park: Trail building and maintenance, alpine meadow restoration work, etc.

Eight days working followed by six days off.

VERY physically and mentally demanding.  Some days you will be exhausted before lunch.

The rewards and atmosphere are many and amazing.

Training is provided for working and living in the back country environment.
Schedule for October: Four or eight day spikes. Camping, housing, motel, or similar accommodations.
Schedule for March - September: Eight day spikes. Majority of backcountry camping with possibility of provided housing during the workweek.

The months of November through March:

Various environmental restoration projects in a few different regions of Washington State.

Some nursery work: potting plants, weeding, maintenance.

Invasive weed removal: digging, pulling, cutting undesirable/damaging plants.

Planting desirable trees and plants.

Opportunities to meet and work with professionals in many different fields.
Schedule for November - March: Alternates between returning to your own home each night and four day spikes.

 

    Requirements:

    Excellent physical condition or ability to achieve such condition.

    Ability to work as a productive and safe team member.

    Flexibility and adaptability.

    Interest in outdoor recreation.

    Ability to stay positive and focused.

    Ability and desire to leave for up to 30 days for possible emergency response aide.

Crew Supervisor: Dave Coffey
Telephone: 360-280-1034
Location: Olympia
Email: dcof461@ecy.wa.gov
Description: Based in Olympia, this crew travels throughout the state performing a variety of Natural Resource projects. Project work varies greatly and may include large riparian planting projects to backcountry invasive weed control at Lake Chelan. Must be available to work 4 and 8 day spikes.

Crew Supervisor: Ted Dewees
Telephone: 360-870-4661
Location: Olympia & Mount Rainier
Email: tdew461@ecy.wa.gov
Description: This crew is a spike crew based out of Olympia. A spike crew means that you will be working out of town the majority of the time through out Washington State. On occasion, the crew may be based locally. Hotels, tents, hostels, park housing, or bunkhouses are just some of the places you will be calling home for the duration of your workweek. Lodging and food are provided while on spike and transportation from the meeting location is provided. There is no set schedule for a spike crew and the workweeks differ in length frequently, sometimes with very little notice. You might be working a normal four-day week consisting of nine hours a day, Monday through Thursday, with three days off, or an eight-day week, Thursday to Thursday, with six days off. Persons applying for this position must be very flexible and willing to adjust to this. Personal planning for extra curricular activities can prove to be difficult since the schedule changes back and forth frequently.

This crew spends 6 months out of the year doing backcountry trail work at Mt Rainier National Park (April until snow prevents us from working). This type of work is probably the most physically demanding out of all the types of work performed in this program. Individuals must be willing to handle extremes in weather, terrain, and workload with a positive attitude. Individuals also must keep the safety of his or herself, and others in mind at all times. Working and living at high altitudes in some of the most beautiful areas can present pleasant days, or a torrent of weather systems that bring rain, snow, wind, ice, even in the summer months. Swarms of biting insects that test your sanity should be expected, and often takes place on a daily basis. We work in all these conditions. The work performed is exciting and arduous, challenging an individual’s strengths every day. Hiking 8 miles with a pack that weighs 60-70 plus pounds is not uncommon. Individuals must possess a huge amount of fortitude and perseverance for this position because it demands a large amount of it. Corps members will gain knowledge in the various aspects of trail construction and maintenance. Corps members will also learn how to live comfortably in a backcountry setting. Our program can outfit you with some outdoor gear. Corps members must be willing to purchase additional gear. A list will be presented to you in the beginning of the AmeriCorps year so that you will have time to accumulate some of this gear over a six-month period. If you are interested in working for the Park Service this job will give you a foot in the door. There are many opportunities to network with in the park and perform job shadows with various park employees.
 
This crew may also be deployed at any time for an emergency response situation in any part of the country. The duration of these deployments varies from two weeks to thirty days. We respond to wildfire, oil spills, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, and ice storms just to name a few.

When this crew is not on the mountain (Nov.- April) you will be indulged with a variety of environmental enhancement projects. We will most likely work on riparian planting projects along one of the Northwest's many salmon inhabited rivers or streams. Involvement in the ongoing and honorable battle of removing invasive plant species from our intricate and various eco-systems is also a likely project. You may also be sporting some rubber boots, and planting sedge plugs in a wetland restoration site or placing large woody debris in a recently restored stream channel. I could go on and on about how many different project opportunities there are in this program. It is up to the individual to join this program with the intent to learn and take advantage of all of the diverse environmental work opportunities that are offered at the prestigious Washington Conservation Corps. What are you waiting for! Come join the fun! I can only show you the door; it is up to you to open it.

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Skagit County Positions:

Padilla Bay

Individual Placements (3 positions):

Position: Environmental Education, Research, and Restoration
Description: (Three positions) Operations Assistant: Maintains landscaping and nature trails; Assists in public relations and community service projects; Assists with boat operations and upkeep; Monitors water quality (collect samples, process lab work, and equipment maintenance); Assists in aquarium operations and maintenance; Research and Monitoring Assistant: Assists with estuarine and watershed monitoring and research projects (in the field, office, laboratory and on boats); Assists with data entry and summary/ report writing (includes GIS data entry and maintenance); Sets up/maintains remote water quality or quantity monitoring equipment; Education Assistant: Presents estuary education program to school and community groups; Develops and maintains educational materials and exhibits; Develops and maintains web page.
Website: www.padillabay.gov
Job Description: Click Here

The Nature Conservancy and Skagit County

Crew:

Crew Supervisor: Rob Crawford
Telephone: 360-770-9091
Location: Mount Vernon
Email: rcra461@ecy.wa.gov
Description: The Skagit County crew works for the Nature Conservancy May through October. This work involves hiking the tributaries of the Upper Skagit and Sauk River drainages searching for Japanese Knotweed, clematis, yellow flag iris, purple loosestrife, and butterfly bush. We use GPS units to mark the patches and return to spray the patches in the fall. We also spend some time at other TNC properties at Port Susan and Waldron Island. During our winter months (November through April) we are a mobile crew which travels throughout the state working for various sponsors. The work includes stream restoration work, site preparation for native planting, invasive species removal, and other restoration activities. This is also an emergency response crew and has responded to several natural disasters, including floods in Northwestern Washington; Hurricanes in Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana; and tornadoes in Florida. A flexible lifestyle is a pre-requisite for being on this mobile crew. Since we are an emergency response crew, we may be called away from our normal duties to respond to any local or national emergency.

Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group

Individual Placement:

Position: Habitat Restoration
Description: An individual in this position will work with restoration technicians and volunteers to conduct riparian vegetation and habitat monitoring of restoration projects, perform salmon spawning surveys and conduct other monitoring tasks as needed; work with volunteers to manage native plant nursery; use computer programs to manage data and create presentations; work with staff to conduct environmental outreach programs such as field trips with local schools and community groups; perform other field and office duties appropriate to monitoring, restoration and environmental education programs.
Website: http://www.skagitfisheries.org/
Complete Job Description: Click here

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Snohomish County Positions:

Snohomish County

Crews:

Crew Supervisor: Steph Drake
Location: Everett/Lake Stevens
Telephone: 425-315-3088
Email: sdra461@ecy.wa.gov

Crew Supervisor: Kelly Sutton
Location: Everett/Lake Stevens
Telephone: (425) 367-1097
Email: ksut461@ecy.wa.gov


Description: These crews meet in Lake Stevens at the County’s native plant nursery, and is sponsored by the Snohomish County Surface Water Management team.  Much of their time is spent streamside; planting in the winter, maintenance in the spring, and site prep in the fall.  The crew’s sponsor is very generous with varying their work schedule with a variety of different projects.  One opportunity unique to the Snohomish County crew is their participation with the Salmon Plants for Kids program.  The goal is to teach children from the ages of 8-14 about the importance of caring for the riparian zones and understanding their value to the native salmon.  The crew’s sponsor also supplies them with numerous educational opportunities to learn more about restoration.  Through one on one instructional support in the field to participation in work related conferences, each Corpsmember gains an immense amount of knowledge by the end of their contract.

Individual Placement:

Position: Environmental Education & Habitat Restoration
Description: Coordinates volunteer projects, creates outreach material, and maintains Native Plant Nursery. Also works closely with the Snohomish County WCC crew.
Website: http://www1.co.snohomish.wa.us/Departments/Public_Works/Divisions/SWM/

Individual Placement:

Position: Marine Resources Program Assistant
Description: Recruits and coordinates volunteers to update/implement stewardship plans, implement a water quality monitoring/mussel sampling program, and perform beach monitoring; Coordinates educational outreach for pharmaceutical disposal, escape cord use (for recreational crabbers), beach education, and marine shoreline property stewardship; Maintains website.
Website: http://www1.co.snohomish.wa.us/Departments/Public_Works/Divisions/SWM/Work_Areas/Habitat/Marine/default.htm
Complete Job Description: Click Here

    Stilly-Snohomish Fisheries Enhancement Group

Crew:

Crew Supervisor: Matthew Wallrath
Telephone: 425-213-6827
Location: Everett
Email: matw461@ecy.wa.gov
Description: This crew is sponsored by the non-profit Stilly-Snohomish Fisheries Enhancement Task Force, in partnership with Stewardship Partners.  Projects include: site prep, wetland mitigation, salmon habitat rehabilitation, stream bed restoration, planting, exotic/invasive species removal, and plenty of training opportunities, including heavy equipment operation.  Potential for travel and emergency response opportunities. 

Individual Placement:

Position: Environmental Education and Habitat Restoration
Description: Designs and implements planting projects, develops education and outreach projects, and teaches some water quality to area schools.
Website: www.stillysnofish.org
Complete Job Description: Click here

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Spokane County positions:

Spokane Spike - Roaming

Crew:

Crew Supervisor: Kenji Toelken
Telephone: 509-481-3121
Location: Spokane
Email: ktoe461@ecy.wa.gov
Description: The Spokane Crew works throughout the counties surrounding the city of Spokane.  Primary activities include fence construction, weed control, and planting.

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Crew Supervisor: Justin Lamb
Telephone: 360-739-5715
Location:  Bellingham
Email: jlam461@ecy.wa.gov
Description: Working in conjunction with Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (http://www.n-sea.org), this crew is dedicated to restoring sustainable salmon habitat. Tasks include, but are not limited to, the planting and upkeep of native vegetation, the establishment of in-stream habitat structures, removal of fish passage barriers and the caretaking of an on-site nursery. Additional opportunities include environmental education outreach programs directed at local school children, water quality monitoring, survey work and direct community involvement through volunteer work events, all while exploring (and experiencing) beautiful Whatcom County.

Yakima County positions:

Yakima Conservation District

Crew:

Crew Supervisor: Jay Carmony
Telephone: 509-480-2403
Location: Yakima
Email: jayc461@ecy.wa.gov
Description: The Yakima crew works with two conservation districts; the North Yakima Conservation District (NYCD) and the Kittitas County Conservation District (KCCD).  The crew's primary projects involve salmon habitat recovery.  Each district has numerous projects going on throughout their respective regions.  Here are just two examples of projects that the Yakima crew is currently involved in:

Cowiche Creek Habitat Project.  In addition to being important salmon habitat, this creek is used by native steelhead for spawning and rearing. There is also a resident cutthroat trout population present and potentially a bull trout population.  Livestock activity along the creek has impacted the diversity of native vegetation along the stream bank. The lack of this diverse vegetation causes numerous problems for the stream including stream bank erosion and silting in of salmon spawning grounds.  An electric fence is being constructed to create a managed buffer along this stretch of creek. Willow stakes have been planted along cut banks to reduce erosion. Root wads and constructed log jams will be strategically placed along the stretch of creek to create a floodplain connection which will reduce erosion until natural processes take over. After the construction, the site will be aggressively planted with native plants and maintained to control weeds.

Wenas Creek Restoration Project. The wenas creek flows through five land owners properties and a large section of land owned by the Bureau of Land Reclamation (BLM, before entering the Yakima river. This section of creek has potential to be returned to prime salmon spawning grounds and is already on its way to recovery.  This section of creek frequently was allowed to dry up during the summer due to irrigation withdraws. Also, livestock activity has caused siltation of gravel bed and the elimination of all woody debris habitat.  The creek is now required to have water in it throughout the year for in-stream habitat benefits. A combination of barb wire and electric fence are being used for livestock exclusion. Native plants have been planted to control erosion, shade the creek, eliminate gravel bed siltation, and create wildlife habitat.

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