Employment

Life Native Aquatic!

So, you want to catch native fish, row boats, and camp for 100 nights in the most spectacular and remote desert rivers in the country? Here's a little insight into what that entails and what it takes.

There are many reasons for wanting this type of job: a desire to work in native conservation, a love of fish, a love of rivers, a love of camp cooking. Maybe you have a background in biology or conservation and want to spend more time working in the field, maybe you're a river rat who is tired of tourism and wants to learn some science or maybe you're just a l    What ever your reason we'll do our best to help you along the way.

A technician showing up for their first season in Moab will notice a few things on Day 1; the office will either be chaotic or empty and the schedule for the entire season, which is up on the wall, will look very overwhelming. We'll try to help new people get situated in Moab and then start in with basic orientation. Hopefully we'll get in a full 4 or 5 days of basic training before field work begins, but in some years you may get thrown into the fire on day 2 for some "on the job training".

Overall you can expect to be in the field A LOT. Most techs will see 80-100 days on the water- most of which are overnight trips (3-8 days). You will still get your share of time to explore the Moab area on your own, but you need to able to commit to our full schedule. We will do what we can to accommodate for unexpected time off (weddings and such) but need plenty of advance notice.


Every river trip requires at least one day of prep to rig boats, pack equipment and purchase food. We supply all group camping and cooking gear, food, tents, sleeping pads, dry bags, life jackets and rain gear. We share cooking duties so everyone will have a chance to cook- we have a full kitchen so get creative! Everyone will need to supply their own sleeping bag, clothing, shoes/sandals, toiletries, and whatever else you may want to keep yourself entertained.


Electrofishing on San Juan River

Your first trip will likely be an electrofishing trip. We'll drive to the put in, dump all of our gear, start rigging boats and before you know it you'll have a net in your hand and your first taste of catching and identifying fish. Every 2-3 miles we'll stop record data on everything we catch and rowers and netters will swap positions. If this is your first time rowing, we'll give you a few rounds of netting to watch what's going on. If you have rowing experience we'll throw you on the sticks, just be ready for things to be very different from river running. If you haven't electrofished from a raft or Jon boat on a river, you'll find that a lot of the work will seem awkward at first. Just be patient and remember at least it's not hot out yet.

Camp.

The day will fly by and you will arrive at camp around 5 or 6, unload all the gear, get the general camp and kitchen set up and then set up your own tent and then.....relax! Some people take this time to go on a hike, read a book, play horseshoes, do some yoga, or sit around the fire chatting and solving world problems. One person will be responsible for cooking their meal that night but everyone appreciates a helping hand.

 Everyone will get a gear boat day at least once on a trip. Gear boat days are to be savored! On that day you row or motor to each stopping point, offer snacks and drinks, prepare lunch, unload gear at camp, and probably make dinner. We eat very well on the river and there will be a lot of pressure on you to come up with awesome recipes that will highlight your cooking skills and satisfy our ravenous hunger!


Gear boat day!

Next thing you know 5 days have rolled by and you're done with your first trip...almost. Every trip ends with at least one day of derigging, which entails cleaning equipment, doing maintenance, cleaning out the groover (river slang for a big box of poo) and discussing the schedule and details of your next trip. So if the schedule shows 5 days for a trip, plan on at least 7 days of work to account for pre and post trip activities.


PIT tagging chubs in Westwater Canyon

This basic cycle will play out for most of our season with lots of variety in location, purpose, methods, fish, and weather. Humpback chub sampling and larval light trapping trips are a bit different and allow for a little bit more down time during the day but sampling starts earlier in the morning and extends later into the evening.

San Juan windstorm!

This area is a true high elevation desert and you will see temperature ranges from 20 to 115 degrees in a season. July and August are just plain hot and the rest of the year is generally nice but highly varied, so be prepared with the clothes you pack.

Your first trip will likely be a nonnative control project and there will be lots of fish to catch and new things to see and time will fly by. As we start working on endangered fish monitoring projects there will be a lot less fish to see, because well, they're endangered and there just aren't many of them. This means the days will start feeling longer and staying alert and aware becomes a bit more of a challenge. Now it's time for your love of fish, or conservationist heart to kick in. It's very important for our projects that everyone remains consistent and vigilant in their work.

This page in no way covers all of the details of our work or the experiences you can expect to have over the course of  one season. Think of it as signing up to live with 11 strangers in the desert, and remember to look at this as an adventure, knowing we're all in the same boat. Many current and "retired" technicians still consider their experience working in Moab, on these rivers, with these fish, and these people as the best they've had.

Jules hitting the meat Cataract Canyon!