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Provide Exotic Vegetation Management Control with SCA Partner
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park » Provide Exotic Vegetation Management Control with SCA Partner » Document List
The National Park Service, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, will partner with the Student Conservation Corps to provide a team to work on a variety of projects associated with the removal of exotic and invasive plants throughout the park. The SCA volunteer Conservation Interns teams (Interns) will be stationed at the park headquarters in Hagerstown, Maryland. Duties will be conducted throughout the park, which stretches 184.5 miles along the Potomac River from Georgetown in Washington, D.C. to Cumberland, Maryland. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal NHP is one of the most biologically diverse parks, especially for plant species, in the National Park system.
The Interns will be mentored by the Natural Resource Program Manager, and the Park Biologist. All work will be in compliance with best management practices for the removal of unwanted plants, including, but not limited to; National Park Service (NPS) Standards for plant and tree removal, NPS and the State of Maryland Standards for application of herbicides, safe use of power and handtools, appropriate recordation of all work, compliance with personal protective equipment, and protection of both cultural and natural resources within the park.
Natural resource opportunities include field and office tasks associated with resource projects. Field work will include, but is not limited to, removal and treatment of invasives and vegetation from park properties and historic structures, working with other interns and professionals from other disciplines, and assisting with GPS data collection related to field work conducted by the teams. Office work may include, but is not limited to, the use of computers to prepare reports, compile, retrieve and report resource management information associated with the projects assigned. There will also be opportunities to interact with the public during fieldwork or meetings that the interns will attend with the Natural Resource Manager or Park Biologist.
The Interns will be trained in NPS safety and in the basic skills as needed for specialized tasks such as assisting with the GPS data collection. Such training will be valuable to the educational and professional programs of the SCA and will be valuable and necessary for the management of the areas and resources under the jurisdiction of the NPS.
The park's Interdisciplinary Team reviewed the project for impacts to natural and cultural resources. The project does not pose any serious or long-term effects to the environmental, historical, cultural, archeological, or visual resources. It meets categorical exclusion #C.4 – Routine maintenance and repairs to cultural resources sites, structures, utilities, and grounds if the action falls under an approved Historic Structures Preservation Guide or Cyclic Maintenance Guide, or if the action would not adversely affect the cultural resource.
The project also meets the National Historic Preservation Act/Section 106 Programmatic Agreement, Streamlined Review Process #1 – Preservation Maintenance and Repair of Historic Properties, and #5 – Routine Grounds Maintenance.
The Interns will be mentored by the Natural Resource Program Manager, and the Park Biologist. All work will be in compliance with best management practices for the removal of unwanted plants, including, but not limited to; National Park Service (NPS) Standards for plant and tree removal, NPS and the State of Maryland Standards for application of herbicides, safe use of power and handtools, appropriate recordation of all work, compliance with personal protective equipment, and protection of both cultural and natural resources within the park.
Natural resource opportunities include field and office tasks associated with resource projects. Field work will include, but is not limited to, removal and treatment of invasives and vegetation from park properties and historic structures, working with other interns and professionals from other disciplines, and assisting with GPS data collection related to field work conducted by the teams. Office work may include, but is not limited to, the use of computers to prepare reports, compile, retrieve and report resource management information associated with the projects assigned. There will also be opportunities to interact with the public during fieldwork or meetings that the interns will attend with the Natural Resource Manager or Park Biologist.
The Interns will be trained in NPS safety and in the basic skills as needed for specialized tasks such as assisting with the GPS data collection. Such training will be valuable to the educational and professional programs of the SCA and will be valuable and necessary for the management of the areas and resources under the jurisdiction of the NPS.
The park's Interdisciplinary Team reviewed the project for impacts to natural and cultural resources. The project does not pose any serious or long-term effects to the environmental, historical, cultural, archeological, or visual resources. It meets categorical exclusion #C.4 – Routine maintenance and repairs to cultural resources sites, structures, utilities, and grounds if the action falls under an approved Historic Structures Preservation Guide or Cyclic Maintenance Guide, or if the action would not adversely affect the cultural resource.
The project also meets the National Historic Preservation Act/Section 106 Programmatic Agreement, Streamlined Review Process #1 – Preservation Maintenance and Repair of Historic Properties, and #5 – Routine Grounds Maintenance.