Career Opportunities

Location: Salisbury, NC

The Organization: Three Rivers Land Trust (TRLT) operates in a 15-county region – Anson, Cabarrus, Davidson, Davie, Iredell, Montgomery, Randolph, Richmond, Rowan, Stanly, Moore, Hoke, Scotland, Cumberland, and Harnett – and believes that we must leave a legacy for future generations. Our mission is to conserve the natural areas, rural landscapes, family farms, scenic rivers, and historic places within North Carolina’s central Piedmont and Sandhills.

Job Description: The Stewardship Associate will primarily be responsible for the annual monitoring of conservation easements, working with landowners to prevent and remedy easement violations, and filing associated reports both internally and with external partners. Additional responsibilities include assisting with management on 10,000+ acres of TRLT-owned lands and promoting the Habitat Enhancement Lands Program (HELP) with private landowners. This position has the opportunity to work on a wide range of conservation properties effecting meaningful change on the ground throughout our 15-county footprint.

Responsibilities:

• Monitoring Conservation Easements (70%)
  • This position will cover the western half of our region: Iredell, Davie, Davidson, Rowan, Randolph, Cabarrus, Montgomery, and Stanly counties.
  • Monitoring visits entail contacting landowners, scheduling the visit, and hiking conserved properties to photo document the land to ensure the easement is being upheld.
  • Document changes on conserved properties (e.g., timber harvests, construction, property ownership changes)
  • Maintain good working relationships with easement holders, farmers, landowners, and stakeholders.
  • Complete monitoring reports via a conservation easement monitoring cell-phone app.
• Land Management (30%)
  • Assist with prescribed burns, including preparing firebreaks, preparing burn units, and conducting burns.
  • Maintaining hunter access trails via bush-hogging, tree clearing, and trail maintenance.
  • Install or maintain infrastructure, including gates, fences, signs, trails, roads, etc.
  • Prepare wildlife food plots for our Sportsman Access Program.
  • Assisting with data collection for timber sales and forest management plans
  • Safely operate, maintain, and oversee the repair of equipment (e.g., tractor, trailers, chainsaws, UTV, ATV, tractor implements, sprayers).
  • Apply herbicides for invasive plants and wildlife management objectives.

Qualifications and Requirements

First and foremost, we are looking for an authentic conservation-minded person, who is passionate about the outdoors and local conservation. Secondly, we are looking for an exceptionally well-organized self-starter that has a natural ability to connect and communicate with landowners. A successful candidate will have calluses on their hands, a well-broken-in pair of boots, and be able to conduct themselves in a professional manner whether in the office or when communicating with landowners or farmers in the field.

Personal Characteristics

• Enjoy hiking long-distances during all weather conditions.
• Self-motivated and can work independently –fieldwork will be performed independently.
• Ability to navigate via maps, mapping software, and via trails and/or old farm roads.
• Ability to clearly communicate with landowners and maintain positive relationships.
• Strong work ethic

Office Skills

• Ability to draft approval letters for actions that are allowed within conservation easements (e.g., approval for timber harvests, construction, etc.) for accurate record keeping.
• Attention to detail to compare baseline maps to current condition aerial maps.
• Experience using mapping software such as county tax maps, ArcMap, and/or Avenza
• Proficient in Microsoft Office

Land Management Knowledge

• A safe driver with the proven ability to use a tractor, ATV/UTV, and haul equipment with a trailer
• Chainsaw certification and proven ability to safely use saws for land management
• Prescribed fire experience; Certified Prescribed Burn Manager Certification preferred
• Ability to identify common North Carolina flora and fauna

Salary/Benefits:

• $45,000-$55,000 annually
• 100% Employer-paid full health insurance
• 100% Employer-paid limited dental, life, and short-term disability coverage
• Employee matched 401K program
• Paid holidays and other paid time off (PTO)
• Work truck provided for pertinent job duties

How to Apply:

• Send resume and cover letter within a single PDF to: Katie Stovall, Conservation Land Manager via email: katie@trlt.org. This position is open until filled. All questions can be emailed to katie@trlt.org.

Additional Information

• TRLT is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from all candidates. Additional information on the North Carolina TRLT can be found on our website at www.trlt.org