National Park Service (NPS) Bat Technician

Status: Seasonal, hourly, non-exempt

Reports to: Bat Conservation International PacWest Conservation Research Coordinator and National Park Service Klamath Inventory and Monitoring Network Program Manager

Salary: $20 per hour

Field season: March 12, 2025 – October 31, 2025 (end date is weather dependent)

BCI and our Mission

Bat Conservation International (BCI), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to ending bat extinctions worldwide, seeks two technicians to join the upcoming field season to assist multiple parks and programs in the National Park Service (NPS) with spring white-nose syndrome (WNS) surveillance, summer roost inventories, and fall telemetry at various locations in Oregon, Nevada, and California. This position is a collaboration with our partner, the National Park Service, where day-to-day activities and fieldwork will be supervised by NPS staff, and administrative, coordination, and payroll support will be offered by BCI.

Position Overview

The NPS Bat Technician must be comfortable working in caves, able to work safely in the field, submit accurate data in a timely manner, and communicate effectively with various stakeholders. During spring surveillance work, crew members will travel to and from the office to various field sites in project vehicles. Spring surveillance fieldwork involves extensive camping, ranging from primitive car camping to front country car camping with amenities. Some camping supplies will be available for fieldwork. When traveling away from the base location, crews are entitled to up to $40/night for meals on a reimbursement basis. Housing is not available during spring surveillance in Ashland, but a campsite at Lake Mead NRA will be provided during days off at Mojave Network. Housing will be provided at Lava Beds National Monument for summer bat monitoring and fall telemetry projects. Travel costs for transitions between spring, summer, and fall work locations will be paid.

Crew members typically work a 40-hour week with a varied work schedule that will often include evenings and periodic weekends. The days of the week worked and the number of hours per day will vary with the project, activity, field conditions, logistics, and bat behavior. Individual trips may range from 2 to 8 days.

Primary Responsibilities and Expectations

Spring WNS Surveillance (Approximately 11 weeks from Mar 12-May 31)

Spring surveillance will be based at the NPS Klamath Network in Ashland, Oregon, but work will be conducted at two different locations. From March 12 to April 12, the crew will conduct surveillance for the NPS Mojave Desert Network, operating from an office in Boulder City, NV. From April 14 to May 31, the crew will conduct surveillance for the NPS Klamath Network, operating out of the office in Ashland, OR. This work entails capturing bats using mist-nets, H-nets, funnel traps, and other methods; identifying bats to species; collecting tissue swabs and guano samples, and conducting emergence counts and roost checks.

Summer Bat Monitoring (Approx. 7 weeks from June 1 – July 19)

During this period, the crew will be based at and work within Lava Beds National Monument to conduct NA Bat acoustic surveys, emergence counts at building and cave roosts of multiple species, and test the use of thermal imaging to locate and monitor colony roosts.

Fall Telemetry (Approx. 15 weeks from Jul 20 – Oct 31; end date is weather dependent)

The third part of the field season will focus on fall roost behavior of Myotid bats via telemetry (radio-tracking). Work is conducted by the NPS Klamath Network and will be based at Lava Beds National Monument. This work will involve capturing, handling, and tagging bats with radio transmitters, tracking by vehicle and on foot, and deploying telemetry towers.

Ideal Candidate Qualifications:

Required:

• Experience and proficiency with bat capture and handling
• Experience deploying acoustic monitoring equipment
• Possession of a valid state driver’s license and clean driving record
• Wilderness travel and camping skills
• Ability to navigate to sites off-trail through difficult terrain using map, compass, and GPS
• Ability to move and/or carry heavy equipment (up to 50 lbs.) and hike long daily distances through varied terrain, including but not limited to Mojave desert, high desert, and lava fields.

Preferred:

• Experience conducting WNS surveillance following standardized swab sampling protocols
• Completion of pre-exposure vaccination series and a titer check record within the last 2 years
• Radio-tracking wildlife, especially bats
• Experience managing and/or vetting bat acoustic data
• Operating 4WD or AWD vehicles on primitive roads
• Experience conducting summer fieldwork in hot desert environments or other extreme conditions

Work Characteristics and Competencies:

• Ability to work as part of a team
• Detail-oriented, self-motivated, and self-starter
• Willingness to be flexible and adaptive
• Comfortable working outdoors

Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (JEDI)

BCI is deeply committed to JEDI and embeds JEDI-centered practices in the conservation work and organizational culture. BCI is determined to be an employer of choice and believes that the best organizational performance will come from a safe, diverse, and inclusive work environment. Read more about our JEDI statement at www.batcon.org/about-us/justice-equity-diversity-and-inclusion/.