Gila River Farm Site Steward

Gila River Preserve © Harold E. Malde

Overview
We seek a responsible person or couple to reside at The Nature Conservancy’s Lichty Ecological Research Center. The purpose of the Lichty Ecological Research Center is to support researchers and aligned conservation projects in the Gila-Mimbres Headwaters. Researcher and partners visit and use the Lichty Center sporadically throughout the year. 

The Lichty Center is also the office of the southwest New Mexico Field Representative for the Conservancy. Respecting common space and visitors is a component of this volunteer opportunity.

The length a volunteer can reside as a site steward is flexible, with a minimum of two months.

Location
Located at the Gila River Farm in Cliff, NM. The Gila River Farm is one property within the Conservancy’s larger Gila Riparian Preserve. Due to its rural location, applicants must possess a vehicle and be capable of occasionally undertaking strenuous work.

Responsibilities
Duties involve weekly cleaning, landscape maintenance, rodent control, irrigation, monitoring and participation in volunteer work weekends. These duties require a minimum commitment of 40 hours per month. The volunteer is also responsible for paying 75% of all utilities (electricity, gas, internet, firewood), although this can be adjusted if visiting researchers contributed significantly to the utility costs. Heating expenses are nominal because of the passive-solar construction of the building. The volunteer site steward will not be permitted to bring pets.

More Information
If you are interested in learning more about this volunteer opportunity, please contact the southwest New Mexico Field Representative, Martha Schumann Cooper, at mschumann@tnc.org. Applicants will be asked to submit a letter of interest, a resume, and references.