Fire Ecology Data Steward - Ecology Assistant

Fire Ecology Data Steward - Ecology Assistant

This Ecology Assistant is an AmeriCorps position. This position will help the Alaska Region Fire Ecology Program turn a difficult-to-use legacy dataset into a practical resource for current fire ecology, fuels, and adaptation projects. By organizing paired plot records, identifying reburned and pre/post-fire locations, and evaluating where legacy data can inform vegetation and fuels mapping, the SIPs will help staff better understand how post-fire ecosystems are responding under changing environmental conditions. The resulting inventory, GIS products, confidence framework, and prioritized roadmap will support future field revisits, LANDFIRE applications, post-fire succession modeling, monitoring design, and decision-making by NPS and Wildland Fire Service staff.

The Alaska Region Fire Ecology Program is seeking two Scientists in Parks participants to help evaluate and revitalize a legacy fire effects paired plot dataset established across nine Alaska national parks in the 1980s. The original project documented burned and unburned vegetation conditions to assess post-fire succession, vegetation change, and fire history. As changing environmental conditions influence Alaska fire regimes, vegetation recovery, reburning potential, fuel conditions, and permafrost vulnerability, these legacy plots may provide rare baseline information from parks and vegetation types that are underrepresented in modern fire effects monitoring. SIPs will help develop a park-by-park inventory, evaluate data confidence and usability, summarize vegetation and geographic representation, and overlay plot locations with Alaska fire history to identify plots that have subsequently reburned. In addition to the paired plot inventory, SIPs will conduct a broader regional scan of Alaska Region fire ecology datasets to identify locations with pre-fire, post-fire, repeat, or reburn information that could support future vegetation, fuels, LANDFIRE, and weather-related analyses. These projects will help NPS and Wildland Fire Service staff assess how legacy field data can inform fire effects monitoring, adaptation planning, LANDFIRE vegetation and fuels mapping, post-fire succession modeling, and future field revisit priorities. Final products may include a cleaned plot inventory, GIS layer, reburn/pre-post data assessment, confidence scoring framework, park-by-park summaries, climate–fire–vegetation gap assessment, prioritized plot roadmap, final report, and presentation for NPS and Wildland Fire Service staff.

Deliverables will include a cleaned and documented paired plot inventory, GIS layer of plot locations with fire history and reburn attributes, park-by-park summary tables, and a confidence framework describing plot location, fire history, pairing, data completeness, and usability for future analysis. SIPs will also produce a regional scan of other Alaska Region fire ecology datasets with pre-fire, post-fire, repeat, or reburn information; a prioritized roadmap identifying plots or areas recommended for future analysis, field revisit, or data cleanup; and a concise final report and presentation summarizing key findings, data limitations, climate–fire–vegetation applications, LANDFIRE relevance, and recommended next steps for NPS and Wildland Fire Service staff.

United States citizen, United States national, or a lawful permanent resident alien. Has received a high school diploma or equivalency certificate; or has not dropped out of secondary school to enroll as an AmeriCorps participant and agrees to obtain a high school diploma or its equivalent prior to using the education award. Prior to starting the position, agrees to provide information to establish eligibility and to complete a National Service Criminal History Check for the employer of record, Conservation Legacy, and a separate government security background check for the host site. The applicant must be available to participate for the entire 26 Weeks in order to be considered and participate.

Desired qualifications include demonstrated experience with GIS, ecological data management, and quantitative analysis using tools such as ArcGIS Pro, R, Python, or similar programs. Competitive candidates should have coursework or experience in fire ecology, vegetation ecology, disturbance ecology, landscape ecology, environmental change, remote sensing, natural resource management, or a closely related field. Experience working with fire history data, LANDFIRE, vegetation classification, fuels data, field monitoring protocols, geodatabases, or long-term ecological datasets is strongly preferred. Candidates should have a clear interest in Alaska, boreal forest, tundra, northern ecosystems, or fire ecology in cold-region landscapes. Candidates must be comfortable working independently with complex datasets, documenting assumptions, tracking uncertainty, solving problems, and producing clear, well-organized products for scientific and management audiences. Strong writing, attention to detail, communication skills, and the ability to follow a project through from data review to final deliverables are essential.