'Volunteering at state and federal park
What is involved in the process to volunteer as a camp host at State or federal (corps) campgrounds?
Forum Discussion
- It should also be noted that there are a few parks, Yellowstone for instance, where staffing positions are mostly run by a private company concessionaire, through which applications must be submitted. This information should be on the park web site, but might not be conspicuous.
It should also be noted that many of those type positions are being filled for the New Year even as we speak. Again taking Yellowstone as an example, Xantera, the concessionaire, fills the coming season in December and January, even though there are essentially none needed until May. At the other end of things, the Forest Service park at which I volunteered last year and have volunteered again this coming season has made no move yet to line up volunteers beyond making note of those of us from last year asked to return who indicated a willingness to do so. The gal who does that tells me she'll send out confirmation emails "sometime after the beginning of the new year. - We've volunteered at a National Park as campground hosts, a Texas state park as campground hosts and a COE site as day-use area cleanup. Going to make a USFS Visitor Information Station this summer.
But we know that the duties at one National Park might be different from another National Park.
There are two basic divisions in many larger parks - Interpretation and Law Enforcement.
Interpretation is things like Visitor Centers, assisting rangers with presentations, tours, etc.
Some agencies, especially National Parks, put Campground Hosts under Law Enforcement. We were expected to meet all arriving campers, inform them of fees and how to use the iron ranger payment system, basic rules. We were expected to deal with minor issues, escalating from a friendly reminder to a written notice to calling for an LE ranger.
Some agencies, like COE, didn't want us to answer any questions about rules. If we observed behavior against the rules, leave the area and call for a FTE ranger.
The reason I say this is you need to make your exact duties very clear before you arrive. Don't be afraid to ask questions, or turn the position down if it sounds like something you are not comfortable doing.
99+% if the people you meet will be wonderful and a joy to work with. We enjoy helping people get the most out of their very short visit.
Another thing to get specific about is the exact duties they want you to do, the exact number of hours they expect you to work, or to be on duty.
Campground hosts can be on duty for 24 hours a day for three or four straight days, then three or four days off if you have a co-host. Or you could get a single host CG with a Wed-Sun schedule with only Mon-Tue off. You could get credit for 6 hours a day, though you have to make morning rounds at 7 am, and evening rounds at 10 pm.
We once did 13 straight days on duty at a NP campground because our co-host had departed, and the replacement had not arrived. We didn't mind because the rangers were very appreciative of how much work we were doing. They encouraged us to take off in the middle of the day to go into town, or take an evening off. They would cover for us.
A large park often means you, and your co-host, are on your own. You may have little interaction with the full-time staff. A small park might mean you get invited to kids birthday parties or church or evening cookouts.
Every job is different, be sure to ask questions.
Almost always you are going to need to be out talking to people, picking up litter, checking on camp fires, cleaning out charcoal grills for more hours than the posted minimum. How you are treated makes all the difference.
Nothing is worse for you or the agency for you to show up and find out the job isn't what you expected. - In addition to all of the above replies, also consider various local parks and recreation departments for a specific town/county in which you may want to visit.
For example, in Estes Park CO, there are two campground/rv parks that are run by the Estes Valley Recreation and Parks Department. They manage the Estes Park Campground at Mary's Lake as well as the Estes Park Campground at East Portal. I know that for the 2015 season, they were not able to completely fill the positions available, and had at least 1 opening all season. H E R E is a link to the campground page, and if you're interested, check out District Information for employment opportunities. They don't have anything posted yet for the 2016 season, but will probably post something later this winter.
This is just one example of what to look for. You also may want to consider a specific county for an area of the country that you have in mind. The county here, Larimer County CO, already has postings for seasonal employment for the coming year, and they are paid positions. I'm pretty sure that other counties here in Colorado do the same thing, and would likely also be applicable in other states. - We've volunteered for state and national parks. Each park is different in their needs. We really enjoyed interpretation - giving lighthouse tours. Even when we were campground hosts we never had to clean bathrooms. The maintenance dept. did that. Hours will vary from park to park, also. Make a list of questions so you know exactly what you will be expected to do.
Also, we got our gigs by applying in person. We were in the areas and wanted to spend more time so we just asked if they had any openings for then or in the near future. We would only do it in an area and park that we enjoyed.
Good luck! - For all of you that have applied and worked as a volunteer or paid positions for these Forest or Park services, do they often contact your employer during the application process? I am not full time yet and I would not like my employer contacted. Thanks!
Luckypenny wrote:
For all of you that have applied and worked as a volunteer or paid positions for these Forest or Park services, do they often contact your employer during the application process? I am not full time yet and I would not like my employer contacted. Thanks!
Almost every employment application that I've ever seen, in the "list employment" section, had a line/question "may we contact your current employer?" with the option to select "YES" or "NO". If you've indicated in your employment status that you're still currently employed, ie, "employed 1995-present", any reviewer who knows what they are doing would see that you're currently employed and would prefer that your current employer not know you are looking, regardless of whether it's a volunteer/part time job, or a full time position. In almost all cases, I've checked "NO" and have been able to get to the next step in the process, which is to actually talk to a real person.
Also, with any Federal employment application, this will be the case, at least in all of the Federal applications that I've seen over the years.- I have volunteered at both a federal park and wildlife refuge liked them both very much. There was little hoopla involved in applying for these posts
However, when I applied for a kayak leader position at a south Texas wildlife refuge, they wanted me to fill out an application that looked like I was applying for a federal security clearance. I was asked to list all jobs over last 20 years (including references), places I resided over the same period with names of neighbors, etc. I trashed it. NO ONE needs to know that much about me, least of all the feds. Getup'ngo wrote:
I have volunteered at both a federal park and wildlife refuge liked them both very much. There was little hoopla involved in applying for these posts
However, when I applied for a kayak leader position at a south Texas wildlife refuge, they wanted me to fill out an application that looked like I was applying for a federal security clearance. I was asked to list all jobs over last 20 years (including references), places I resided over the same period with names of neighbors, etc. I trashed it. NO ONE needs to know that much about me, least of all the feds.
They already have access to all that information, they just want to know how forthcoming you are.
