Archeology Member - Eldorado National Forest

Summary

American Conservation Experience, a nonprofit Conservation Corps, in partnership with the Eldorado National Forest, is seeking ONE Archaeology Technician to work alongside Forest Service staff and support cultural resource surveys.

For more information about ACE, please visit our website.

Start Date: May 4, 2026

Estimated
End Date: August 28, 2026

* a 17-week commitment is required *

Location Details/

Description:

Placerville, CA - Eldorado National Forest, Supervisor's Office

The Eldorado National Forest is located in the central Sierra Nevada region within California and encompasses a total of 798,279 acres, which includes 193,027 acres of private ownership.

The Eldorado National Forest is bordered on the north by the Tahoe National Forest, on the east by the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and the Humboldt-Toiyabe, and to the south by the Stanislaus National Forest. The Eldorado is within 3 - 4 hours of the San Francisco Bay Area and about 1 - 1 1/2 hours from Sacramento. It ranges in elevation from 1,000 feet in the foothills to more than 10,000 feet above sea level along the Sierra crest.

The mountainous topography is broken by the steep canyons of the Mokelumne, Cosumnes, American, and Rubicon rivers. Plateaus of generally moderate relief are located between these steep canyons.

The forest is also home to 297 lakes and reservoirs (including both public and private acreage), which total 11,994 surface acres. 11 large reservoirs account for 9,000 acres. The rest are mostly small, high mountain lakes. Both the rivers and lakes provide excellent fishing opportunities. The Eldorado National Forest provides diverse recreational opportunities to the public. The Forest offers every visitor the chance to enjoy nature and be outdoors.

In addition to two popular wilderness areas (Desolation Wilderness and Mokelumne Wilderness), the forest offers more than 70-day use and overnight developed recreation facilities across the forest for the individual, families and groups.

For more information regarding Eldorado National Forest, please visit the USDA Forest Service website.

• Performs on-the-ground area surveys for surface and subsurface evidence of historic and prehistoric archeological remains. Identifies and records historic and prehistoric cultural resource sites
• Prepare Cultural Resource Inventory reports and site forms. Enter site and inventory information into databases, especially the NRM cultural resource database, and onto GIS maps. Monitor cultural resource sites to ensure approved standard protection measures are implemented and effective
• Conduct inventories of Forest cultural resources in areas of proposed Forest Service projects. Researchers reference materials such as State and National Register files, historic documents, archeological reports, maps and aerial photos, and interviews source individuals concerning project areas
• Ensures that archeology work assignments are carried out in a safe and timely manner according to established standards and procedures
• Review work in progress to see that standards for pre-field research, survey design, site recording, graphics, and final report are being met
• Advises other members or FS staff on methods of cultural resource inventory

This individual placement is meant to facilitate professional development and promotes exposure to land management agencies and networking with professionals. This could include gaining experience in different conservation fields and shadowing different work groups.

Schedule: Mon-Thurs, 7:00am - 5:30pm

Living Allowance: The ACE Member is expected to contribute ~40 hours/week and will receive a living allowance of $795/week to offset the costs of food and incidental expenses, dispersed bi-weekly.

Public Land Corps Hiring Authority: Members serving under this agreement 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…