USDA-FS Community Forestry and Landownership in New Mexico’s Enchanted Circle Landscape Fellowship

*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.

USDA Forest Service Office/Lab and Location: A fellowship opportunity is available with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service (FS) within the Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS). The opportunity is remote.

At the heart of the USDA Forest Service's mission is their purpose. Everything they do is intended to help sustain forests and grasslands for present and future generations. Why? Because their stewardship work supports nature in sustaining life. This is the purpose that drives the agency’s mission and motivates their work across the agency. It’s been there from the agency’s very beginning, and it still drives them. To advance the mission and serve their purpose, the USDA Forest Service balances the short and long-term needs of people and nature by: working in collaboration with communities and our partners; providing access to resources and experiences that promote economic, ecological, and social vitality; connecting people to the land and one another; and delivering world-class science, technology and land management.

Research Project: The ORISE participant will learn by conducting a review of the literature on collaborative forest management in the United States. Broadly, the review will cover literature focusing on “collaborative governance processes and the dynamics of trust, accountability and capacity; how scientific information is used in making decisions and integrated into adaptive management processes; and the topic of collaboration through implementation, an underdeveloped area of collaborative governance literature” (WH Butler and CA Schultz, 2019, A New Era for Collaborative Forest Management: Policy and Practice insights from the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program. The literature review emphasize this topic as it relates to northern New Mexico and include the scholarship on landownership and management in northern New Mexico, historically. This will include the history of cultural and ethnic groups in that landscape and tensions around land holdings, takings, and restoration efforts. The participant will analyze parcel records (available both in GIS and tabular form) to determine who owns (e.g., private, tribal, absentee, public, industrial) real property in New Mexico's Enchanted Circle Landscape (ECL) and how this may relate to wildfire mitigation on private lands. These data will also be used to assess the prevalence of “heirs” property or tenancy in common in the ECL. Geospatial analyses training may be available.

Learning Objectives: 

• Learn about the history of landownership in northern New Mexico
• Learn about wildfire risk in northern New Mexico and how private landownership may influence wildfire risk in this context.
• Learn basics of Geographic Information Systems and apply mapping skills to northern New Mexico landscapes (if funding is available).

Mentor: The mentor for this opportunity is Cassandra Johnson (cassandra.johnson@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor.

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: August 1, 2024.  Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.

Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for one year but may be extended upon recommendation of USDA Forest Service and is contingent on the availability of funds.

Level of Participation: The appointment is part time.

Participant Stipend: The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience, with medical, prescription, dental, and vision insurance included.

Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR), and foreign nationals. Non-U.S. citizen applicants should refer to the Guidelines for Non-U.S. Citizens Details page of the program website for information about the valid immigration statuses that are acceptable for program participation.

ORISE Information: This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and USDA Forest Service. Participants do not become employees of USDA, USDA Forest Service, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. Health insurance can be obtained through ORISE.

Questions: Please visit our Program Website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process please email ORISE.USFS.SRS@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.

Qualifications

The qualified candidate should be pursuing or have received a doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields. Degree must have been received within the past five years or is currently being pursued.

Preferred skills:

• Strong writing and organizational skills.
• Use of word processing software and data tabulation software such as Microsoft Excel (or a comparable program).
• Also helpful is familiarity with basic statistical and geospatial analyses.

Eligibility Requirements

• Degree: Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 months or currently pursuing.