Land Steward

~ Sudbury Valley Trustees is a regional land trust that conserves land and protects wildlife habitat in the Concord, Assabet, and Sudbury river basin for the benefit of present and future generations. ~

We care for some of this region’s most important forests, wetlands and grasslands – natural areas that support wildlife habitat, working farms and recreational trails. SVT cares for more than 4,800 acres on 89 reservations and 79 Conservation Restrictions and maintains more than 55 miles of trails. We collaborate with numerous partner organizations, and our work is supported by 2,900 members and 200 volunteers.

Position Overview

The Land Steward will manage the stewardship of Conservation Restrictions (CRs) and assist with all aspects of the management of SVT’s reservations. The position will include some evening and weekend work. The Land Steward will be supervised by the Director of Stewardship.

Responsibilities

Conservation Restriction (CR) Monitoring & Management (55%):

• Responsible for ensuring that SVT’s 79 CRs are monitored at least once/year. Prepare and record reports.
• Monitor CRs and coordinate staff and volunteers in CR monitoring.
• Prepare baseline documentation reports for new CRs.
• Ensure timely response to activity notices and requests for approvals of reserved rights.
• Assist Director of Stewardship with enforcement of any violations or encroachments.
• Develop and maintain support materials for the CR program.
• Implement practices and develop new ideas to engage CR landowners.

General Stewardship Assistance (40 %):

• As needed and as assigned by the Director or Asst. Director of Stewardship, the Land Steward will assist with a variety of land management tasks.
• Property monitoring & maintenance.
• Responding to neighbor and visitor inquiries.
• Trail maintenance.
• Habitat restoration and management, including invasive plant control.
• Leading occasional volunteer workdays.
• Conducting visitor outreach at SVT reservations.

Information Management (5%):

• Together with other SVT staff, collect, enter, and manage data to track stewardship activities: enter data, design and run reports, interface with database owner, solve problems as needed.
• Maintain archive paper files.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in natural resources management or related field.
• A minimum of 1 year of experience in land conservation or related field. Relevant skills include but are not limited to biological monitoring, invasive plant control, habitat restoration/management, trail building & maintenance, and community outreach or education around natural resources.
• Experience with monitoring and/or management of CRs highly preferred.
• Excellent attention to detail and organizational skills.
• Excellent communications skills: interpersonal, presentation, education and difficult conversations.
• Experience with hand and power tools helpful.
• Willingness to bushwhack and brave ticks and poison ivy.
• Basic experience with ARCGIS software and a relational database (MS Access preferred); proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite.

Compensation

The position is salaried, exempt, full-time (37.5 hrs/week). Salary is commensurate with experience. Sudbury Valley Trustees offers a comprehensive benefits package and a friendly working environment. The position is based at the organization’s scenic Wolbach Farm headquarters in Sudbury, MA.

To Apply

• Please click "Apply" below to upload your cover letter, resume and list of references to Laura Mattei, Director of Stewardship with the subject line, “Land Steward.”
• Open until filled. Target start date is late October/early November. Please mention how you learned of this opening.

~ Sudbury Valley Trustees is an equal employment opportunity employer that hires personnel without regard to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental handicap, veteran status or marital status. ~