GIS Data Management Steward - Denali National Park

GIS Data Management Steward – Ameri Corps

Conservation Legacy Program:
Stewards Individual Placements (Stewards)

Site

Location:

Denali National Park, PO Box 9, Denali Park, AK 99755

Terms of Service:
Start Date: 10/05/2026;
End Date: 1/22/2027;
Ameri Corps Slot Classification: 450‑Hour Slot

Stewards Individual Placements (Stewards), a program of Conservation Legacy, provides individuals with Ameri Corps service and career internship opportunities to strengthen communities and preserve our natural resources. Participants serve with federal agencies, tribal governments, and nonprofits to provide institutional capacity, develop community relationships, and support ecosystem health. Stewards in partnership with the NPS GIS office are hosting a cohort of GIS stewards.

The NPS Alaska Fire Ecology program has been collecting and analyzing data on fire‑ and fire management‑affected environments for several decades. In studying fire behavior, short‑ and long‑term fire effects, and how fire management actions support fire management objectives, we aim to support data‑driven decision‑making in Alaska’s fire‑prone parklands. We are particularly interested in collecting, analyzing, and evaluating outcomes of hazardous fuel reduction projects (e.g., thinning vegetation around high‑value resources).

Recent advances in technology have the potential to transform the way we monitor and quantify forest characteristics.

The purpose of this Data Management Steward is to contribute to several related efforts concerning the processing and management of fire ecology and vegetation monitoring datasets. With a pressing need for scientifically‑based information to evaluate fire management objectives and actions, we intend to increase the efficiency and accuracy of the datasets we deliver to managers, enabling revision of fuel treatment timelines and other fire management actions as needed.

This position offers a chance to contribute to this effort while experiencing one of Alaska’s most beloved parks during the winter season.

The selected Data Management Steward will research, develop, and test methodologies to create a workflow for annual reporting of a fuels‑treatment monitoring dataset. Using AGOL, Survey
123, and/or Field Maps, the Steward will create standard operating procedures to (1) simplify and streamline data collection at different sampling intensities; (2) query and display data collected in a new AGOL web experience; and (3) integrate an existing dataset for display alongside newly collected data. The existing and expected dataset includes vegetation metrics, photographs, and treatment notes associated with specific locations over multiple site visits.

This service experience may also offer a chance to develop an independent project based on the candidate’s abilities, interests, and emergent fire management needs.

• Revise and improve upon existing Survey
  123 to AGOL process for data collection
• Create and document editing workflows and best practices for field‑collected data
• Create AGOL experience, map, or similar to display collected data
• Integrate existing geospatial data into newly established data display
• Develop standard operating guidelines for data creation, management, access, and sharing
• Participate in weekly fire management or ecology meetings and other team‑oriented events and discussions
• Participate in weekly Cohort meetings led by NPS GIS Steward Program support staff
• Design a capstone presentation for the NPS GIS community at service conclusion

• United States citizen, United States national, or lawful permanent resident alien
• Applicants must be between ages of 18‑30 years old, or up to 35 for veteran, based on Public Land Corps Act of 1993 authorizing this Ameri Corps opportunity
• Has received a high school diploma or equivalency certificate; or has not dropped out of elementary or secondary school to enroll as an Ameri Corps participant, and agrees to obtain a high school diploma or its equivalent prior to using the education award
• Agrees to provide information to establish eligibility and to complete a National Service Criminal History Check

A…