Wilderness Intern

A NPS employee skis on a mountain.

NPS PHOTO

 

Winter Park Ranger Intern and Summer Wilderness Ranger Intern 

Winter Park Ranger Intern required skills
This position is assigned to a Park Service unit. The incumbent of this position is in the Internship Program. The Internship Program, as a component of Pathways, is for current students and individuals accepted for enrollment in a qualifying educational program. The Internship Program provides students enrolled in a variety of educational environments (high schools, colleges, trade schools and other qualifying educational institutions) with paid opportunities to work in agencies and explore Federal careers while still in school.

This position is established to provide meaningful work and expose the student to the duties of a Park Ranger (Protection). The employment opportunity may involve specific administrative tasks/work assignments and a variety of activities and assignments, working with technical and professional staff in support of office programs and activities to gain practical work experience.

The incumbent will work as a winter wilderness and backcountry intern reporting directly to the Wilderness Coordinator, District Ranger, or area rangers. The duty station will be located in West Glacier with work assignments possible in all areas of the park. The purpose of this position is to assist with the management and monitoring of winter activities in the park to include outreach, hazard evaluations, and collaboration with local avalanche professionals.

Regular Duties:

Performs regular wilderness and backcountry patrols ranging from day trips to multi-day overnight camping or cabin trips, via either cross country skiing, snow shoeing, all terrain skiing, or hiking if possible.

Actively engage in visitor contacts to provide emphasis on winter backcountry safety and preventative search and rescue (PSAR), informing visitors about current avalanche safety, lake ice conditions, incoming weather events, and other related winter safety messages.

Work with local backcountry volunteer outreach groups (Flathead Nordic Back CountryPatrol, Friends of the Flathead Avalanche Center) to educate wilderness users about avalanche and winter recreation safety.

Monitor visitor and commercial use patterns to include winter Commercial Use Authorization activity (CUAs) and Special Use Permits (SUPs) and maintain electronic trail counters and paper trail registers.

Assist field rangers with avalanche observations for the Flathead Avalanche Center (FAC), and provide pertinent avalanche observations from routine patrols to FAC.

Collaborate with local avalanche professionals to assist with hazard assessments, weather station and monitoring projects, forecasting and mitigation work.

Assist in maintaining the park’s winter rescue caches (equipment, snowmobiles, trailers,avalanche beacons, sleds, etc.) and coordinate with local agencies to assist in winter rescues and preparedness.

Knowledge required by the position

• Basic general knowledge and experience in most aspects of winter wilderness travel, avalanche hazard identification, and survival and expertise in backcountry skiing and camping.

• Basic general knowledge of the park's trail and backcountry campground system, avalanche slide paths, geography, fauna, geology, weather, cultural history, and park facilities.

• Basic skills in verbal communications and ability to compose clear oral and written reports.

• Basic knowledge of the Incident Command System, and basic skills in carrying out the range of duties involved in all-risk operations teams.

• Ability to work independently and live in a remote area.

Summer Wilderness Ranger Intern required skills
The Internship Program, as a component of Pathways, is for current students and individuals enrolled or accepted for enrollment in a qualifying educational program. The Internship Program provides students in a variety of educational institutions (high schools, colleges, trade schools and other qualifying educational institutions) with paid opportunities to work in agencies and explore Federal careers while still in school.

Regular duties:

Incumbent will work as a Wilderness Ranger Intern for the Wilderness Management Section of the Division of Visitor and Resource Protection in Glacier National Park. This is designed as a trainee position for a qualified student under the Pathways Internship Program.

Responsible for assisting with the field operations of Glacier’s Wilderness Character Monitoring Plan and Wilderness Implementation Schedule (WIS), the strategies for managing the wilderness and backcountry. This will be accomplished through close direct supervision from the Wilderness Coordinator and/or the GS-07 Lead Wilderness Ranger assigned to the area where the employee is stationed. Performs regular wilderness patrols ranging from day trips to multi-day overnight camping trips, via foot, horseback, and self-propelled watercraft. Routine wilderness patrol duties and responsibilities include the following:

• Visitor contacts to provide educational and interpretive messages with an emphasis on preservation of wilderness character, bear and wilderness safety, regulatory compliance and minimum impact/leave no trace camping.

• Monitoring, reporting, and documenting campground and trail status.

• Inventory and monitoring of wilderness resource impacts and regulatory non-compliance.

• Inspection and maintenance of all designated wilderness campground facilities in assigned patrol area.

• Limited routine trail maintenance.

• Inspection, inventory, replacement and repair of wilderness and trailhead signs.

• Routine trailside and campground litter policing.

• Documenting all bear observations and incidents and other important wildlife observations.

• Completion of wilderness patrol reports and other case incident reports as necessary.

Performs specific wilderness management and resource inventory monitoring assigned through the WIS, including the following assignments:

• Assist with annual wilderness campground evaluations in assigned patrol area.
• Assist with off trail, undesignated campsite resource evaluations.

• Assist with wilderness pit toilet site analysis (soil types, distance to water, condition of facility, etc.) in assigned patrol area.

• Assist with the inventory, monitoring, mapping, and treatment of exotic vegetation infestations.

• Assist with the inventory, monitoring, and mapping of resource impacts in designated heavy day use areas in the wilderness and backcountry and analysis of visitor use trends in these locations.

• Promotion of the Voluntary Climber Registration system in assigned work area and collection of mountaineering use data from specified summit registers.

• Assist with the collection of Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) data as assigned.

All of the aforementioned duties and tasks will be assigned in a trainee mode with close supervisory control and a carefully controlled progression toward increasingly complex assignments.

Knowledge Required by the Position
Basic knowledge of NPS and Glacier National Park operations, practices, and procedures regarding  wilderness and backcountry management.

Basic knowledge of the concepts and techniques for monitoring and evaluating wilderness character for recreational impacts and of various strategies for promoting and insuring minimum impact visitor use.

Basic knowledge and experience in most aspects of wilderness travel and survival and expertise in wilderness hiking and camping. Very good knowledge of safe and acceptable techniques regarding travelling and camping in bear country and minimum impact camping.

Basic knowledge and experience in the safe and efficient use of most common techniques and tools needed to perform routine campground facility, trail, and sign maintenance.

Basic knowledge of the NPS laws and regulations which pertain to wilderness camping and  resource protection.

Basic knowledge of the park's trail and wilderness campground system, geography, flora, fauna, geology, weather, cultural history, and park facilities.

Basic skills in verbal communications and ability to compose clear oral and written reports.

Basic knowledge of the techniques and principles of effectively meeting and greeting our park visitors and providing accurate and informative interpretive messages regarding the park's natural and cultural history.

Basic knowledge in at least 1 of the following emergency services skill areas (search and rescue, wildland fire, first aid, bear management) is desired but not required.

Incumbent must possess a valid First Aid certification (minimum level of ARC Standard First Aid) and CPR.

Ability to work independently and live in a remote area.

Position Dates
The winter intern position generally works from the beginning of January to the End of April. Job announcements are generally made in the fall prior through Pathways on USAJobs.gov. Work schedule is five days per week.

The summer intern position generally works from approximately Early-May through Mid-August. Job announcements are generally made in the winter/spring prior through Pathways on USAJobs.gov Work schedule is five days per week.

Position Locations
These positions are stationed at Park Headquarters for the winter position, and at one of several possible locations for the summer position.

Housing
Housing is available in winter at Park Headquarters in West Glacier, Montana. Housing is available in summer in the district wherever the wilderness ranger intern is placed.

Application Information Eligibility Requirements
A federal background check will be required. Interns must:

• Be accepted for enrollment or enrolled and seeking a degree or certificate in a qualifying educational institution on a half- to full-time basis (as determined by the educational institution);

• Meet the definition of a student throughout the duration of their appointments;

• Meet agency-specific requirements as specified in the agency's Participant Agreement with the Intern and;

• Meet the qualification standards (e.g., series and grade) for their Internship positions.

This program is supported by the Glacier National Park Volunteer Associates. For more information please visit the Glacier National Park Volunteer Associates.

Park Contact
For more information contact e-mail us. Expect long delays in response time depending on availability.