Stewardship and Restoration Manager

Reports to: Executive Director

Location: Select locations in Washington or Oregon. BMLT’s office is located in Walla Walla, WA. The candidate may work from the Walla Walla office or remotely from a home office in the following Oregon and Washington counties:
Garfield, Columbia, Asotin, and Walla Walla counties in Washington, and Umatilla, Union, Baker, Grant, Wheeler, Morrow, and Gilliam counties in Oregon.

Position status: Full-time, exempt

Salary range: $58,000 – $68,000, DOE

Posting date: February 26, 2024

Final date to receive applications: Open until filled; applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis.

Blue Mountain Trust (BMLT) is searching for a stewardship and restoration manager to monitor, develop, and implement diverse restoration projects on its 23,300+ acres of protected land across an 11-county service area in Washington and Oregon.

We are looking for a motivated environmentalist who can lead stewardship and restoration work on BMLT’s protected lands with integrity, collaboration, creativity, and insight. The stewardship and restoration manager works closely with the executive director, conservation manager, stewardship associate, and other staff to monitor and restore BMLT’s protected lands and waters to further strategic conservation goals.

Protecting the land you love. Forever. Blue Mountain Land Trust (BMLT) is a nationally accredited land trust working in southeastern Washington and Eastern Oregon. Our mission is to protect the scenic, natural, and working lands of the Blue Mountain region through conservation and stewardship and connect communities to nature through education and recreation. Since our founding in 1999, we have acquired 21 conservation easements and one fee title property, protecting over 23,300 acres.

Our team is passionate, collaborative, curious, and committed to protecting clean water, open spaces, vital habitat, healthy soils, and livelihoods for agricultural communities across the Blue Mountain region.

• Safeguard our community’s agricultural heritage
• Protect precious spawning streams for native fish
• Preserve important wildlife corridors
• Connect people with the land and its abundant natural resources
• Help present and future communities thrive

• Plan and lead annual monitoring visits for protected lands, including data collection and mapping, photopoint monitoring, remote sensing, aerial monitoring, property perimeter checks, game camera checks, plant and animal species inventories, invasive plant species tracking, and documenting other issues of concern. Organize and complete monitoring reports and recordkeeping for BMLT and project funding agencies.
• Support the intake and completion of new land and water projects in collaboration with the conservation manager and stewardship associate. Collect and quantify necessary property data, compile baseline documentation of property natural resources, draft management plans, and identify opportunities for uplift or restoration. Collaborate and communicate with funders, landowners, contractors, and other stakeholders to ensure complete, accurate, and cohesive documentation for protected properties.
• Work with the conservation manager to develop and implement remote sensing and aerial monitoring systems to enhance annual monitoring and baseline reporting accuracy and efficiency for BMLT’s protected lands.
• Work with the conservation and stewardship staff to ensure compliance with program policies and Land Trust Alliance (LTA) accreditation best practices and requirements.
• Collaborate with the conservation manager, stewardship associate, and legal counsel to resolve any stewardship issues.

• Manage restoration projects at BMLT’s Phipps Meadow property in collaboration with partner organizations. Projects include but are not limited to river and meadow restoration, forest thinning, planting, and other projects as identified. Organize project timelines and contracted work at the property, including drafting and sending out requests for proposals, scoring bids, selecting contractors, completing permitting, and managing…