North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center Rapid Climate Adaptation Program Rapid Risk Assessment: Canyons of the Ancients National Monument (GRA)

Job Description for Graduate Research Assistant

North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center

Rapid Climate Adaptation Program

Rapid Risk Assessment: Canyons of the Ancients National Monument

The North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center (NC CASC) at CU Boulder has an exciting opportunity available for a summer graduate research assistant (GRA) to conduct a high-level risk and impact synthesis for cultural resources of interest within the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument (CANM) located in southwestern Colorado. The GRA will work with an interdisciplinary team of scientists and managers at the NC CASC (including Christy Miller Hesed and Kyra Clark-Wolf) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM; including Vince MacMillan and Ray O’Neil) to synthesize the best available science regarding potential vulnerabilities of CANM cultural resources to changing environmental conditions. These efforts will focus on synthesizing current environmental change and impacts, especially on cultural resources, as well as existing vulnerability assessments and possible future impacts, and potential adaptation and adaptive management solutions. The activities of the selected GRA candidate will inform future research and help support efforts of the BLM to develop a Science Plan that serves as a guiding document to assist in developing scientific understanding, and identification of research gaps, of CANM cultural resources and landscapes and the benefits they provide the American public. Furthermore, results from this opportunity will be used in applying scientific understanding to management, education, and outreach for CANM.

This is a 50% summer GRA position (May 16-August 14, 2025); the GRA will be expected to work 20-hours per week. Fully remote work is possible with regular weekly communication with mentors and attendance at bi-weekly virtual lab meetings; an office location in the NC CASC offices in the Sustainability, Energy and Environment Community (SEEC) Building on the CU Boulder East Campus is also available if desired. At least one site visit to the CANM is preferred; a stipend could be available to cover these expenses.

CIRES GRA Monthly Rates at 50%:

$2,924 a month pre-comp rate
$3,079 a month post-comp rate

Examples of Tasks Performed

Review literature from peer-reviewed and non-peer reviewed articles and reports on climate impacts and drivers of ecosystem change relevant to protecting cultural resource sites and objects identified in the proclamation of the CANM.
Synthesize vulnerability assessments and other resources to create CANM-relevant scenarios and findings, and identify research questions/gaps relevant for managing cultural resources in this area in light of changing conditions.
Engage with Tribal Nations, key partners, and stakeholder communities as appropriate to understand the regional context and identify, as appropriate, Indigenous Knowledge (IK) that may inform key management questions and challenges and explore the potential to co-steward the protection and preservation of cultural sites and artifacts.
Develop an annotated bibliography and summarize findings to inform the CANM science plan.

Minimum Qualifications

Current University of Colorado Boulder graduate student in Archaeology, Anthropology, Geography, Environmental Studies, or related discipline
Ability to commit to working for 20-hours per week in summer 2024 (May 16-August 14, 2025)
Experience reviewing and synthesizing scientific publications and related resources (e.g., webinars)
Proficiency in document applications, including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint (or equivalents).

What We Would Like You to Have

Experience or interest in engagement with cultural resource managers, Tribal Nations, and other stakeholders and partners.
Experience or interest in climate vulnerability assessments and applied strategies for managing environmental change impacts on public lands and resources.
Proficiency in shared document tools (e.g., Google docs/sheets) and citation management software (e.g., Zotero).
Experience using online meeting platforms (e.g., Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams).

Additional Eligibility Criteria

A student enrolled in a Professional Master's Program (PMP), a JD, or an MBA, is not eligible to hold a Graduate Research Assistantship unless they are enrolled as a dual-degree student with a traditional program.

About the NC CASC

The NC CASC (https://nccasc.colorado.edu/) is one of nine regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers (https://www.usgs.gov/land-resources/climate-adaptation-science-centers) built to help meet the changing needs of natural and cultural resource managers across the United States. The CASC-network fosters innovative and applied research in support of Tribal, federal, state, and local natural resource management and decision-making.

The NC CASC is hosted by the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) within the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES). It is a partnership between CU Boulder, the U.S. Geological Survey, and five consortium partners: University of Montana; South Dakota State University; Conservation Science Partners; Wildlife Conservation Society; and Great Plains Tribal Water Alliance. The Center serves primarily Department of Interior agencies, state fish and wildlife agencies, and Tribal partners across a 7-state region (https://nccasc.colorado.edu/partners/national-network), including Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, and Nebraska. We are committed to open science, making data, code, and tools open and reproducible, to better enable a broad community of participants in the scientific process.

CIRES is a leading institute at CU Boulder (https://cires.colorado.edu/about). At CIRES, more than 800 environmental scientists work to understand the dynamic Earth system, including people’s relationship with the planet. CIRES is a partnership of NOAA and CU Boulder, and its areas of expertise include weather and climate, changes at the Earth’s poles, air quality and atmospheric chemistry, water resources, and solid Earth sciences. CIRES’ vision is to be instrumental in ensuring a sustainable future environment by advancing scientific and societal understanding of the Earth system.

How to Apply

Email Christy Miller Hesed (christine.hesed@colorado.edu) and Kyra Clark-Wolf (kyra.clark-wolf@colorado.edu) with a resume or CV, and cover letter (2 pages maximum for the cover letter). Priority will be given to applications received by March 25, 2025, but we will continue to review applications until the position is filled.