Archeologist
Pay Scale Band from $42,508 to $67,589
Forest Service Region 9
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
30239 S. State Route 53
Wilmington, Illinois 60481
The Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie (Midewin) is considering advertising to fill one position with a pay scale band from $42,508 to $67,589 depending on qualifications and experience. The official duty station is Wilmington, Illinois located about 45 miles southwest of Chicago. This is not a virtual position and government housing is not available. Midewin was established in 1996 as the first national tallgrass prairie in the country and in the National Forest System. Midewin is also the largest open space in the six-county Chicago metropolitan area.
For additional information about this job, please contact: Rick Short, Acting Public Services Team Leader at (815) 423-2150 or at rshort@fs.fed.us.
To express your interest in this position: Please send a resume to Rick Short, Acting Public Services Team Leader to rshort@fs.fed.us or Fax to (815) 423-6376 or mail to 30239 S. State Route 53, Wilmington, Illinois 60481 by July 15, 2012 if you are interested in this challenging opportunity.
About the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
The Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie was established in 1996 as part of the peace time conversion of the former Joliet Army Ammunition Plant and is administered by the Forest Service. Midewin is implementing its first Land and Resource Management Plan to accomplish the four purposes outlined in its establishing legislation –to manage the land and water resources to conserve and enhance native populations and habitats of fish, wildlife, and plants; to provide opportunities for scientific, environmental, and land use education and research; to allow continued agricultural use under certain conditions; and to provide a variety of recreation opportunities.
Midewin operates in an unusually integrated manner with a wide variety of partners. It is the largest open space, currently 19,000 acres in northeastern Illinois. Check out our website at www.fs.fed.us/mntp/ to gain an overview of what’s current and planned at Midewin.
Major Duties
The Heritage Resource Program at Midewin provides support to accomplish the purposes of the establishing legislation and the Prairie Plan including the removal of army infrastructure, restoration of native habitats and the development new recreation infrastructure.
The incumbent is responsible for the follow major duties.
- On-Site Management of Archeological Activities including evaluating well-precedented on-site problem areas, providing technical and administrative support to survey crews, conducting and/or supervising archeological survey in support of project development or planning and assisting in developing contract specifications for cultural and heritage resource work.
- Archeological/Heritage Resources Program Planning and Development including developing and carrying out projects related to stewardship enhancement and public interpretation of cultural resources, such as partnership agreements and site steward programs, providing appropriate budget and project planning data for anticipated cultural resource management activities, assisting in ensuring integration with cultural resource activities and establishment of priorities and assisting in archeological program implementation.
- Archeological Program Reporting and Evaluation.
- Providing advisory services for archeological programs including providing advice and assistance on well-precedented archeological problems, questions, or issues, assisting program staff on projects for protecting or mitigating significant cultural sites, providing implementation points for the integration of heritage program goals with other FS program mission objectives with on-going projects, and conducting prepared heritage training and informational sessions for FS personnel.
- Collateral duties will include serving as Midewin’s tribal relations coordinator.
The Midewin Area
Although Midewin is located 45 miles southwest of Chicago, the third largest metropolitan area in the country, a rural atmosphere predominates throughout the small to mid-sized farming communities that surround Midewin. There are numerous schools, hospitals, doctors, churches, and communities to choose from and cultural opportunities are nearly limitless.
Wilmington, Illinois is a full service community with a population of 5,000 and is located adjacent to the Kankakee River. Fishing is quite popular along the Kankakee and throughout various other rivers and small lakes that surround the area. The climate in this area is defined by four distinct seasons. Summer temperatures can reach the lower 90’s, accompanied with occasional, high humidity. Spring and fall tend to be quite pleasant with average temperatures in the 60’s & 70’s. Winter temperatures will frequently dip below freezing and it is not unusual to see several inches of snow covering the ground December through early February.
The Midewin headquarters is located along State Highway 53 two miles north of the town of Wilmington, Illinois. Midewin team members live in many area communities, ranging from the more urban Joliet, population 83,000, to smaller communities tucked around the surrounding farm fields, like Essex, 500, or nearby Elwood, 1,000 For more information on Wilmington, there is a community website available at http://www.wilmington-il.com/ Many options for residing in larger communities are available within an easy half hour commute. There is no public transit currently available to the Midewin office. The closest Metra station providing access to Chicago is in Joliet.
Medical facilities are plentiful, including easy access to nationally-recognized institutions in Chicago. Cultural events range from performances at the historic Rialto Square Theater in Joliet, to fine playhouses at local universities, to a variety of festivals celebrating local heritage, to the wide theater, restaurant, and museum options of Chicago.
PSU Anthropology Department 