Position Title: NPS Historic Preservation Training Center – Traditional Trades Advancement Program – Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site – AmeriCorps

Conservation Legacy Program: Stewards Individual Placements

Site Location: Williston, ND

Terms of Service:

Start Date: 5/1/2025
Duration: 26 Weeks
AmeriCorps Hours Slot: 900 Hours
Purpose:

Stewards Individual Placements (STE) provides individuals with service and career opportunities to strengthen communities and preserve our natural resources. Participants work with federal agencies, tribal governments, and nonprofits building institutional capacity, developing community relationships, and supporting ecosystem health.

STE in partnership with the National Park Service and Historic Preservation Training Center is seeking two individuals to participate in the Traditional Trades Apprenticeship Program. Members will receive introductory training in a variety of traditional trades and will develop an understanding of historic resource stewardship while helping to preserve our nation’s historic resources. This program provides participants with marketable skills and excellent exposure to the historic preservation career field within the NPS as well as the private sector.

Between 1828 and 1867, Fort Union was the most important fur trade post on the Upper Missouri River. Here, the Assiniboine and six other Northern Plains Tribes exchanged buffalo robes and smaller furs for goods from around the world, including cloth, guns, blankets, and beads. A bastion of peaceful coexistence, the post annually traded over 25,000 buffalo robes and $100,000 in merchandise.

Description of Duties:

• Restore, rebuild, and replace historic windows to increase energy efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint.
• Remove damaged historic windows, strip latex paint, repair damaged wood using putty / epoxies, rebuild damaged parts utilizing power tools, replace damaged glass using historic glazing techniques, repaint with linseed oil-based paint, and reinstall window.
• Training on shop and tool safety and proper use will be provided. Specialized training will be provided for each individual tool to ensure safety of the participants.
• Restore, rebuild, and replace historic handrails on the Fort’s bastions utilizing environmentally safe and historically accurate materials such as linseed oil paints.
• Fabricate, paint, and install handrail parts. Much of the installation will be performed from an elevated platform. Training will be provided for ladder, scaffold, and aerial boom lift safety.
• Update and maintain upland hiking trails and provide access trails to critical riparian habitat areas that will be used as an educational tool for the public.
• Maintain trails to the park’s outer unit. Posting and signing will be updated, fences will be repaired, benches will be reinstalled, and gates will be replaced.
• The Park will provide training on tool use and safety, proper fence construction, and outdoor safety hazards and ways to mitigate them.

Qualifications:

• United States citizen, United States national, or a lawful permanent resident alien
• Must be 18-30 years of age, maximum 35 for Veterans with DD-214
• Ability to commit to a 26-week experience of combined training and hands-on work
• Agrees to provide information to establish eligibility and to complete a National Service Criminal History Check.
• Climb ladders, work from scaffolding or platforms, work on uneven or angled surfaces such as a roof, and/or be able to work in confined spaces.
• Ability to stoop, bend, kneel, climb and walk in all manners of environmental conditions such as rain, mud, and extreme heat or cold.
• Interest in traditional trades or historic preservation
• Driver’s License & personal transportation will be required to report to job site
• Willingness to learn preservation skills and safety protocols.
• Operate as a good team member within work crew and follow daily direction.
• Follow HPTC’s project agreement and safety plan.
• Be respectful of all members or crew and supervisor staff

Physical Requirements:

Conservation Legacy is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to perform essential functions. Some positions may require periodic overnight travel, non-traditional 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. Ability to safely drive an organizational vehicle may also be required for some positions. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.

Time Requirements:

This position is expected to serve full time 40 hours per week, but exact service schedules may vary depending on travel and project details.
Orientation and Training:

• Member will receive an orientation that includes training on a variety of techniques.
• OSHA 1910 & 1926, Operational Leadership, Water, Wastewater & Laboratory Standard Operating Procedures, vehicle operation, Job Hazard Analysis, tailgate safety meetings, seasonal orientation, first aid/CPR, park operations.
• Safety training (vehicle, trailer, situational awareness, power tools, etc.)
• Training on shop and tool safety and proper use will be provided. Specialized training will be provided for each individual tool to ensure safety of the participants.
• Training will be provided for ladder, scaffold, and aerial boom lift safety.
• The Park will provide training on tool use and safety, proper fence construction, and outdoor safety hazards and ways to mitigate them.

Benefits:

• $520/wk living allowance + $200/wk additional benefit (equivalent to $18/hr pre-tax)
• AmeriCorps Segal Education Award- $3,697.50 (requires completion of entire internship)
• Public Lands Corps Hiring Authority
• Park Housing Available
• Opportunity to learn trade secrets from master craftsmen

Evaluation and Reporting:

As a Stewards AmeriCorps member, performance will be evaluated on whether the member has served their total amount of service hours, 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.

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.