Invasive Plant Management Crew Member - Blue Ridge Parkway Southeast Invasive Plant Management Team

Summary

American Conservation Experience, a nonprofit Conservation Corps, in partnership with the Blue Ridge National Parkway and the Invasive Plant Management Team is seeking TWO Invasive Plant Management Members at several different sites to contribute to IPMT projects alongside NPS Staff.

For more information about ACE, please visit our website.

Early/mid April 2026 (flexible)

52 weeks after start date

* a 52 week minimum commitment is required*

The Blue Ridge National Parkway is more than just a road, this varied habitat travels 469 miles through the southern Appalachian region, ranging from 649 feet at James River in Virginia to 6,047 feet at Richland Balsam in North Carolina, offers protection to an enormous diversity of plants and animals, as well as a wealth of cultural resources and history. Stretching from Shenandoah National Park to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Parkway contains a diverse range of cultural resources, including 91 buildings, 2 sites, and 133 other structures that contribute to the Parkway's eligibility for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.

It is a park steeped in tradition and recognized worldwide as a crossroads of natural and cultural richness. The Parkway serves to tie together a diverse landscape and lifestyle- connecting the past with the present and preserving the region's heritage for the future.

The Blue Ridge Parkway manages the natural and cultural landscapes in the park. The field crew leader may assist in managing invasive plants, especially in areas adjacent to landslides resulting from Hurricane Helene, or in developing plans for the care of historically important trees affected by Hurricane Helene. Invasive plants are managed to prevent introductions of new species, reduce existing infestations, and restore native plant communities and ecosystem functions.

Historically important trees are managed to maintain these features as drawn in the Park Land Use Maps. All treatment, control and restoration methods that the teams recommend or implement are reviewed and approved by the Blue Ridge Parkway staff.

The members will control non-native plants using both manual and chemical methods (75%), perform distribution mapping of non- native plants using GPS (10%), and assist with additional resource management field, GIS, and data management projects (15%). At Blue Ridge Parkway, the team members will work under a field crew leader. One of the members at the parkway will also focus heavily on arboricultural assessments of historic trees.

Because of the travel intensive nature of this internship, we are looking for adaptable applicants willing to work in an environment requiring a lot of flexibility. At times our travel plans may change suddenly due to unforeseen weather or training opportunities.

This position is meant to facilitate professional development and promote exposure to land management and networking with professionals at various parks. This could include gaining experience in different conservation fields and shadowing different work groups. Members will potentially receive training on many resource management aspects: herbicide safety and handling, truck and trailer driving, hand tool use, GIS skills, and see a variety of beautiful parks located in the Southeast.

The crew will be manually removing exotic invasive vegetation in both urban and rural NPS sites. The team will live together while in travel status, so the ability to get along with others is vital. The accommodation will vary from rustic park housing to hotels, but while traveling camping will not be required. The program is interested in crew members with initiative, leadership ability, patience, and an intense work ethic who have a desire to expand their resumes.

Typical schedule is Monday-Friday, 7:30 am/8:00 am to 4:00 pm/4:30 pm (Eastern Time Zone) with some latitude for flexible start and end times. 1-2 weeks of travel per month may be expected. During travel, the schedule is typically Monday-Thursday, 7:00 am to 5:30 pm (Eastern Time Zone). These schedules are expected to be standard throughout the duration of the positions.

The ACE Member is expected to contribute ~40 hours/week and will receive a living allowance of $650/week to offset the costs of food and incidental expenses, dispersed bi-weekly.

Members serving under this agreement must meet the PLC Eligibility Requirements to be considered for this position. Members may be eligible for a federal hiring authority upon completion of their term of service and 640 hours of service. If the duration of a PLC-eligible term is not long enough for Members to accrue 640 hours of service (~16 weeks), the total hours served at the completion of the term may be eligible to be combined with hours accrued from another PLC-eligible term to meet the 640 hours…