Floodplain Management Intern
About the SVPA
The SVPA is a community-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of a Pacific Northwest regional treasure, the Snoqualmie Valley. The Snoqualmie Valley is comprised of over 440,000 acres of forests, farms, and small cities, all within an hour’s drive of Seattle. As the urban centers expand rapidly, the rural counterpoint, the environmental and economic viability of the Valley are put under great pressure. Since forming in 2010, the Snoqualmie Valley Preservation Alliance has become a steadfast, organized, reliable, and respected advocate for protection of these irreplaceable working lands. We have become a very effective force for forging productive relationships between community members, farmers, residents, tribes, and county and state officials. We have found creative solutions to shared challenges and made significant headway on some key issues central to protecting the Valley, especially in the area of flooding, development impacts, and water rights.
Background
One of the SVPA’s main programs is the Floodzilla Gage Network. Floodzilla monitors water levels throughout the Snoqualmie Valley in real-time. This flood monitoring network is primarily the innovation of a group of local technology professionals who have volunteered their time and expertise to develop this tool for the benefit of the community. Paid staff and consultants have also contributed to the project with funding from SVPA’s generous donors and with a grant from King County Flood Control District.
The Floodzilla Gage Network relies on a series of SVPA gages placed in strategic locations to monitor water levels in drainage ditches, farm fields, on public roads, and on the Mainstem Snoqualmie River. The SVPA gages are ultrasonic sensors that have been programmed to read and transmit water level data every 15 minutes. The locations of the gages are surveyed to convey water elevation (often in reference to a nearby road) on Floodzilla.com. Flood impacts to local roads is significant to farmers, residents, and commuters, and this information is critical in helping them prepare and mitigate flood risks.
About the Position
The Floodplain Management Intern’s primary responsibility will be to support the Floodzilla Field Scientist with maintaining the Floodzilla Gage Network. Secondary responsibilities will include supporting the SVPA Executive Director with a variety of projects relating to floodplain management and farmland protection in the Snoqualmie Valley. The Floodplain Management Intern will gain experience in field work, research, data entry, outreach, volunteer recruitment, and administrative support tasks as well as learn about flood monitoring, flood risk mitigation, agricultural systems, and local ecology. We welcome people to apply that have an interest in technology, environmental science/natural resource management, water resource management, and/or agriculture.
Scope of work
Assist with flood sensor/gage surveying, installation, and maintenance
Troubleshooting devices and ensuring network connectivity
Sensor/gage site management (i.e. brush and debris clearing, climbing ladders, accessing private property)
Assist Field Scientist with data quality assurance/monitoring to ensure accurate representation of data to users
Assist Field Scientist and Executive Director in establishing Fish Rescue Volunteer Network.
Assist Executive Director with data and information gathering for Watershed Resilience Study.
Provide miscellaneous support to the general activities of the SVPA. This may include occasional administrative assistance, as needed, field projects such as installation of beaver management tools, community outreach, and other mission-related duties.
Timing, hours, and pay
Target hourly wage is $18/hr and hours shall not exceed 10 hours per week, unless approved by the Executive Director. The start and end dates of this position are flexible, but is planned for December 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023, with the possibility of extending into the summer of 2023, depending on funding availability. This position has a flexible work schedule, but in-person field work will most often be conducted during business hours, Monday through Friday. There may be occasional work on weekends and evenings in order to accommodate landowner and volunteer team schedules. The SVPA office is currently located in downtown Carnation. A hybrid remote/in person schedule is an option, but regular office attendance on a weekly basis is required, unless otherwise directed by the Executive Director.
This position will include paid sick leave which accrues at 1 hour of sick leave per 40 hours worked. This position does not offer paid time off, however, the Floodplain Management Intern will not be expected to work on the holidays including: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, President’s Day, Labor Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, and the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. Shifting hours to accommodate consecutive days off will be considered. This position does not include healthcare insurance benefits but does include workers compensation. SVPA payroll is processed semi-monthly.
Required qualifications
Intern must have at least three months’ experience conducting, or have completed at least one course requiring, environmental data collection. Experience in the scientific method and demonstrated report-writing skills are also required. Valid driver’s license is required. Must be able to walk across uneven farm fields, hoist 15 pounds overhead, and carry and ascend a step ladder. Additional required qualifications include:
Demonstrated experience with self-management
Experience working on a small team
Ability to work in inclement weather
Comfort using brush clearing tools
Comfort working with public and private landowners
Ability to pass a background test
Preferred qualifications
Ideal candidate will be an upper division environmental science student or higher in an environmental science discipline. An interest in environmental monitoring instrumentation is preferred. Excellent written, verbal and presentation communication skills preferred. Additional desired qualifications include:
Interest in watershed/floodplain management
Interest in the flooding issues that take place in the Snoqualmie Valley
Interest in agricultural systems and farmland viability
Experience troubleshooting equipment
Experience working with and/or recruiting volunteers
Interest in learning grant writing
Interest in learning land surveying
Knowledge of radio communication
Additional information
This is an excellent opportunity for a motivated student to work in one of the most active, fertile, and complex river basins in the United States. The Snoqualmie Valley has some of the most productive farmland in the US, and has some of the most important salmon populations in the Puget Sound. SVPA and its partners are involved in a variety of projects monitoring water quality and fish assessment in order to promote agricultural viability while protecting salmon habitat, especially Coho, and ESA-listed Chinook. Intern will have the opportunity to work alongside SVPA’s Field Scientist, a biologist with years of experience as a Geo Visual Data Specialist and a background in community-based environmental solutions and conservation technologies. Intern will also work alongside the SVPA Executive Director, a conservation ecologist with extensive experience in watershed management planning, agricultural science and systems, and environmental education and outreach. The Floodzilla team is made up of veteran technologists with decades of experience in the region’s most important companies. Because the SVPA is a grass roots organization made up of rural landowners and farmers, this intern position offers a chance to work with them more directly and independently than typically offered candidates at this career stage.
To view the Floodzilla web-based platform for more information, visit www.floodzilla.com. For more information about the Snoqualmie Valley Preservation Alliance, please visit. www.svpa.us.