Coordinator, RGV Nursery Operations

Department:
Forest Restoration

Reports To:

Manager, RGV Nursery Operations

Location:

Rio Grande Valley of Texas

FLSA Category:
Non-Exempt

Salary: $20.00 to $23.00 Per Hour

American Forests is a national non-profit organization committed to creating healthy and resilient forests from cities to large forest landscapes, that deliver essential benefits for climate, people, water, and wildlife. We advance our mission through forestry innovation, place-based partnerships to plant and restore forests, and movement building. We envision a world in which the significant environmental, societal, and economic benefits of forests are fully realized and equitably available to all people.

Established in 1875, American Forests is the oldest national non-profit conservation organization in the U.S. working to restoring urban forests and forested landscapes for over 150 years.

American Forests is proud to be a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible workplace. These are our shared values. We welcome individuals who bring a variety of backgrounds and experiences to be a part of our team to help make a difference individually and collectively as we work toward achieving our mission. We are committed to fostering an environment that is welcoming and respectful and provides opportunities for advancement and professional growth for every team member.

Texas’ Lower Rio Grande Valley (RGV) is an ecological convergence of coastal, desert, and tropical influences amidst a vibrant frontera community of more than 2.5 million residents on the US-Mexico border. The Valley’s native subtropical thorn forests are one of the most biodiverse terrestrial ecosystems in North America with over 300 butterfly species recorded within the 4-county area (for reference this is 60% of the total butterfly species found in the entire US) and similarly, at over 500 bird species, the region’s reputation as a hotspot for avian diversity has been widely acclaimed for generations.

Unfortunately, more than 90% of this habitat has been lost in the past century to agricultural and, increasingly, urban development. To stem this loss American Forests has partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for the past 25 years to replant over 2 million seedlings on national wildlife refuge lands. However, to address the increasing number and complexity of ecosystem threats, our regional conservation focus has evolved to include coalition-building with the establishment of the Thorn forest Conservation Partnership (TCP) in 2019, development of a climate-resilience strategy to guide thorn forest habitat restoration and joint creation of the Thorn forest Conservation Plan, the TCP’s science-based vision for scaling restoration in the Valley.

American Forests’ footprint in South Texas has also recently expanded into turnkey, project-based restoration on public lands, reforestation pipeline development (e.g., seed collection from 30+ species), environmental literacy programming for underserved residents and community forest development with local governments. In consideration of the region’s unique conservation challenges, we believe that innovating at the intersection of these programmatic cornerstones will advance both ecological and community resilience in the Valley for generations to come.

The Coordinator, RGV Nursery Operations is a full-time, permanent position that will be responsible for conducting reforestation seedling production in the Valley. This individual will advance conservation of an imperiled ecosystem through day-to-day, on-site duties at a regional nursery facility. This position will receive support and supervision from American Forests’ regional, Texas-based staff and partner guidance from USFWS staff based at the South Texas National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

Responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

• Alongside Manager, RGV Nursery Operations and other American Forests staff, develop a systematic workflow and division of labor aimed at producing thorn forest seedling plant materials to meet annual restoration goals on…