Invasive Plant Member - San Antonio Missions National Park

Invasive Plant Member - San Antonio Missions National Historical Park

Summary

American Conservation Experience, a nonprofit Conservation Corps, in partnership with San Antonio Missions National Historical Park is seeking one member to contribute to Invasive Species removal projects alongside The National Park Service (NPS) Staff.

For more information about ACE, please visit our website.

Start Date: January 2027

Estimated
End Date: Late July/early August 2027 (dependent on start date)

* a 29-week minimum commitment is required *

Location Details/

Description:

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, San Antonio, TX

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park protects, preserves, restores, and interprets four Spanish Colonial missions and their associated cultural landscape features along the upper San Antonio River. The park consists of approximately 1,000 acres of land and contains numerous cultural resource sites which clearly illustrate the life and legacy of the 18th Century Spanish frontier in Texas. The park combines urban and rural settings and cultural and natural resources and offers outdoor recreational activities like hiking, biking, and picnicking.

All five missions in San Antonio, Texas, including Mission Valero (the Alamo) are a single UNESCO World Heritage Site, the San Antonio Missions World Heritage Site. Four of the five (Mission Concepción, Mission San José, Mission San Juan, and Mission Espada) comprise San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. Together they are the most complete and intact group of Spanish Colonial mission complexes in the world.

Through these mission communities, the Spanish asserted political, religious, and cultural influence on its newly claimed territories. With labor recruited from Indigenous South communities, the Spanish built these missions on the northern frontier of New Spain. All four missions within the park are active parishes and part of San Antonio.

For more information about San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, please visit the NPS website.

Position Overview:

The purpose of this internship is to expose the ACE member to natural resource management practices at an urban unit of the National Park Service (NPS). The primary emphasis of their work will focus on riparian habitat restoration, utilizing herbicide treatments and the physical removal of exotic plant species. The members will spend a portion of their time assisting the Integrated Resources Division Staff with developing plans and methods for the eradication and removal of various exotic plant species.

This will include reviewing and analyzing the findings of the exotic botanical survey report, defining areas of high priority, and developing operating procedures for the chemical or physical removal of each exotic species discovered. This will also entail researching aquatic herbicides in coordination with the Park Biologist and setting up test plots to assess the efficacy of different herbicides in removing invasive species from a historically significant waterway.

The member will also assist the resource team in targeted herbicide treatments in areas of high natural resource sensitivity. The member will assist with the development of a geospatial data collection operating procedure for collecting metadata regarding the locations of invasive species. They will also continue surveying sections of the park and recording locations of invasive species. During targeted treatments, the member will be tasked with mapping and documenting treatment efforts for future planning.

This information will be used for Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) reporting and documentation in support of regional Invasive Plant Management Team efforts.

A portion of the member's…