CA Field Technician

Stream Restoration Crew Member (Traveling Team)

Location: Forni Meadow – Eldorado National Forest (Near Lake Tahoe, CA)

Start Date: Early August 2026 (four hitches – potential work in October)

• 1:
  August 4‑11
• 2:
  August 18‑25
• 3:
  September 1‑6
• 4:
  September 15‑22

The field season is generally active from August to October. We encourage anyone with availability within this window to apply; priority will go to candidates with greater availability.

The primary job duties are to acquire natural building materials (brush, woody debris, rock) locally, stage them, and construct low‑tech process‑based restoration structures such as Beaver Dam Analogs (BDAs) and Post‑Assisted Log Structures (PALS). This includes cutting and hauling slash to degraded streams, building instream structures, and pounding posts with a hydraulic post pounder to secure the structures.

• Material Sourcing & Staging: acquire and prepare natural building materials.
• LTP  Structure Construction: cut, haul, and build BDAs and PALS.
• Equipment Operation: safely pound posts using a hydraulic post pounder.
• Tool Utilization: hand tools, chainsaws, grip hoists, hydraulic post pounders, ATVs/UTVs, trailers, and more.

Field life is rugged and rewarding. Crew members will live and work in remote locations with limited amenities.

Schedule: typically eight‑day hitches of ten‑hour shifts, followed by six days off. Day shifts, including holidays during active hitches.

Accommodations: crews should expect to camp most often at the worksite.

Gear Provided: safety gear, waders, wading boots, tent, and shared group camping equipment (coolers, kitchen, water jugs). Personal sleeping bag not provided.

Food: a group per diem is afforded to the team for family‑style grocery shopping and communal meal preparation.

• Ability and willingness to learn in the field and during trainings.
• Ability to work safely in remote, rugged environments and adverse weather conditions.
• Physical fitness and comfort with intensive manual labor.
• Must be able to safely lift and carry 55 pounds, including packing equipment in and out of field sites.
• Flexibility with ever‑changing schedules and field logistics.
• Strong team‑player attitude with clear, consistent communication skills.
• Positive attitude, self‑motivated, and high situational awareness.
• Enthusiasm for working in remote landscapes, wetlands, and rivers.
• A valid driver’s license.
• Eligibility to work in the United States.

• Experience or education in natural resource management, riparian planting, landscaping, trail maintenance, construction, arboriculture, logging, forest thinning, farming/ranching, or wildland firefighting.

• Paid sick leave accrual.
• Overtime eligible.
• Time‑and‑a‑half pay for worked company holidays.
• Group meal per‑diem.
• Employee discount programs.
• SEP‑IRA Retirement plan (after 3 years of employment).

• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Positions are open until filled.