Position Title: Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge (USFWS) Biological Technician – AmeriCorps

Conservation Legacy Program: Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps

Site Location: Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge

7851 2nd St SW, Albuquerque, NM 87105

Terms of Service:

• Start Date: 11/02/2026
• End Date: 10/15/2027
• AmeriCorps Slot Classification: 1700-hour service term (50 weeks)

Purpose:

Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps Mission

Our vision is to lead our Nations back to ecological and cultural well-being by engaging underrepresented Indigenous youth and young adults in conservation service programs that reconnect participants to the land, their cultural heritage, and their traditions. We work to remove barriers to participation, education, and employment by partnering with local community organizations, agencies, and institutes of higher learning to create paid service and career training opportunities, personal and professional development, and pathways to postsecondary education and employment.

*Ancestral Lands serves local tribal communities in the regions we operate. This program is available to all, without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity or expression, political affiliation, marital or parental status, genetic information, and military service. Where a significant portion of the population eligible to be served needs services or information in a language other than English, the recipient shall take reasonable steps to provide written material of the type ordinarily available to the public in appropriate languages.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Mission

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is to work with others, to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.

Valle de Oro NWR Vision and Value Statements

The vision of Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) is to use an innovative approach to connect people with wildlife and land by providing equitable ways to deepen personal relationships with nature. The Refuge balances healthy habitat management with opportunities for education, visitor engagement, youth employment, community involvement and stewardship.

Valle de Oro NWR's value statement is that staff, interns, and volunteers are committed to the following values as fundamental and foundational principles of the Refuge: intentional and adaptable; innovative and continually learning; respectful and kind; credible; accessible; and collaborative. These values guide how we work and interact with one another, our partners, and our greater community.

Program Overview:

Valle de Oro NWR was established in 2012 and is in the South Valley, 7 miles south of downtown Albuquerque. Valle de Oro NWR is built from the grassroots community movements led by the passionate people of Mountain View and involving partners and members of the local community. The Refuge is a designated Urban NWR slated to be converted from a former dairy farm into natural, native habitats of the Middle Rio Grande Valley to be an oasis – a safe place – for both wildlife and people. At this Refuge, a diverse group of staff, partners, and the community are collaboratively building a refuge from the ground up, keeping in mind wildlife, people, and more.

The Refuge is seeking a positive and adaptive individual to be a Biological Science Technician/Visitor Services IP to serve as support for the Refuge’s Biology and Visitor Services Programs. This individual will contribute to providing information, interpretation, outreach, planning, and on the ground observation and management of wildlife and habitat restoration, enhancement, and monitoring on/for the Refuge, environmental educational programming and more, especially as it continues to be built from the ground up. This position will be about 75 percent Biology and 25 percent Visitor Services.

Description of Duties:

Essential functions and responsibilities:

• Participate in habitat and landscape restoration and maintenance through the watering of desired/native plants, through methods including but not limited to by hand, use of Refuge vehicle/trailer and water tank, and/or through irrigation assistance.
• Contribute to habitat and landscape enhancement and site maintenance/preparation through the treatment of invasive/undesired plant species, through methods including but not limited to hand removal, mechanical removal using DR mower, weed eater, and/or lawn mower.
• Assist with Refuge habitat restoration and landscaping through the design and implementation of planting or transplanting desired/native plants, including the plantings of grass plugs, tree poles and seedlings, shrub seedlings, and/or the spreading of forb and grass seeds.
• Provide support with searching published technical sources for information on designed topics and preparing digests for reference to inform management goals, objectives, strategies, and more for the Valle de Oro NWR Habitat Management Plan, other step-down plans, and/or standard operating procedures, currently under development and/or being refined.
• Assist with the writing, review, updating, and editing of significant portions in addition to helping with the implementation of certain aspects of the plans.
• Continue to develop critical thinking, problem solving, and technical writing skills when working in a team setting or independently while applying and expanding on knowledge of biological concepts, management actions, and monitoring needs though the writing, review, updating, editing, and implementing of significant sections of long-term biological planning for the Refuge.
• Assist, lead, and support with the design of environmental education and interpretation programming, including special events and completing reports on events led at the Refuge.
• Help staff the Visitor Center front desk such as staffing the welcome desk on a regular schedule, helping to organize and improve the welcome desk resource binder, being well versed in common questions that visitors may ask, and being well versed in up-to-date information about the Refuge.
• Provide support to build up the Refuge’s Biology Program.
• Complete other Visitor Services and/or Biology Program responsibilities as needed.

Qualifications:

• United States citizen, United States national, or a lawful permanent resident alien
• At least 17 years of age
• Has received a high school diploma or equivalency certificate; or has not dropped out of elementary or secondary school to enroll as an AmeriCorps 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.
• Valid driver’s license
• Periodic overnight work and non-traditional work hours, inclusive of weekends and evenings, 6pm-6am (required to work nights during irrigation)
• Participate in occasional offsite in person/virtual meetings, trainings, and presentations

Some General Qualifications:

• Ability to interpret professional and scientific reports/documents, write and understand agency plans and reports based upon agency requirements, and ability to write and understand scientific reports and documents are preferred but not required.
• Knowledge of various tool use and safety, irrigation practices, customer service etiquette, local plants and animals, and concepts and techniques of safety and risk management are preferred.
• Experience with or interest in wildlife biology or related field and ability to be flexible and adaptive in both telework and field work are preferred.
• The successful applicant must be reliable, punctual, and self-motivated and able to work independently or as a team, both via virtual or in person, with limited supervision after initial training and assignment of tasks.

Physical Requirements:

• The applicant must be able to lift and/or move up to 50 pounds occasionally, up to 30 pounds frequently, and/or up to 10 pounds constantly. The applicant must be able to maneuver and operate in a mixture of office work and fieldwork. This includes frequently traversing uneven terrain and the ability to walk, balance, stoop, kneel, bend, reach, push, pull, and/or grasp in variable weather conditions and situations that may require a moderate amount of physical exertion.
• Applicant must have a visual acuity and valid license to operate motor vehicles and to determine the accuracy, neatness, and thoroughness of work assigned. Applicant must be able to receive detailed information through written and/or oral communication and convey important spoken and/or written instructions accurately and effectively.

Our Commitment:

Conservation Legacy is committed to the full consideration of all qualified individuals and will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to perform essential job functions. Physical requirements may include periodic overnight travel, non-traditional work hours, ability to move across varied terrain, use program-specific tools and a range of technology on an infrequent or frequent basis. Exerting up to 25 pounds of force occasionally to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects. The ability to safely drive an organizational vehicle may also be required for some positions. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.

Time Requirements:

• Typically, this position is expected to serve Monday to Friday, but exact service schedules may vary. A half hour lunch break will not be counted towards AmeriCorps service
• Member may be required to participate in national, state, or local service projects or events as part of their service term.

Orientation and Training:

• Member will receive an orientation that includes training on AmeriCorps prohibited and unallowable activities.
• Members will receive orientation to Valle de Oro NWR and USFWS.

Benefits:

• Segal AmeriCorps Education Award of $7,395.00
• Living Allowance of $650 per week.
• Additional Benefit of $150 per week.
• Professional Development Fund of $2000.00, intended for essential trainings, workshops, conferences, including travel, per diem, and other relevant needs or supplies during your term.
• Healthcare Coverage if Eligible
• Loan forbearance if Eligible
• Interest Payments if Eligible

Evaluation and Reporting:

As an AmeriCorps member, performance will be evaluated on whether the member has completed the required number of hours, the member has satisfactorily completed assignments, and if the member has met other performance criteria that were clearly communicated at the beginning of the term of service.

Reporting requirements include, but are not limited to, bi-weekly timesheets and accomplishment tracking.

Supervisor Name and Contact Information:

G. Cat Ami, Program Manager, Contact information: gami@conservationlegacy.org

Conservation Legacy is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodations due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.