Wilderness Ranger

SUMMARY:

The Vail Valley Mountain Trails Alliance (VVMTA) is excited to offer a seasonal full-time Wilderness Ranger position in partnership with the US Forest Service wilderness crew. The USFS wilderness crew focuses on trail maintenance, closing illegal/social trails, designating campsites and closing illegal campsites, communicating fire restrictions, educating trail users at trailheads, removing garbage, protecting seasonal wildlife closures, and generally mitigating recreational impacts on trails and public lands. The Wilderness Ranger position will execute these objectives specifically in a wilderness context focusing on trails within the wilderness boundary as well as trails that access designated wilderness areas. The Wilderness Ranger position will work directly with the US Forest Service wilderness crew in alignment with their strategies of trail management and conservation. The position will involve a large amount of hiking, and occasional multi-day backpacking.

 

ABOUT THE VVMTA:

The VVMTA’s mission is to connect our community to the outdoors through sustainable recreation. We do this by advocating for soft surface trails, managing trail stewardship programs, maintaining and building trails, coordinating and training volunteers, educating outdoor recreational users, and creating opportunities to access the outdoors. We provide our expertise, resources, and experience to support local land managers in various soft surface trail initiatives.

 

LOCATION:

● Eagle County, CO

 

DATES & TIME:

● May through September

● Wilderness Ranger’s typical work week will average 40 hours. There may be occasional weeks where the wilderness ranger exceeds 40 hours a week.

● Primary schedule is Thursday – Sunday (exact schedule is subject to change)

● Must be willing to work weekends

● Occasionally backpacking for up to 4 days at a time

 

POSITION DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

● Work with the USFS wilderness crew members to patrol high use wilderness trails

● Assure wilderness areas and trails are maintained to established trail standards

● Clear wilderness trails with cross-cut saws, performs light trail maintenance work

● Assist in re-establishment of native plants at denuded campsites and abandoned trails by preparing the soil for revegetation, transporting plants to the site and protecting the site after revegetation takes place

● Contact user groups to provide wilderness philosophy, regulations, and current camp or fire restrictions

● Provide standard information on resource management and stock use practices in wilderness areas

● Check for compliance with regulations, issues notices for common violations, and reports other violations to the supervisor

● Educate user groups on “Leave No Trace” camping techniques and packing out garbage

● Responsible for curtailing the improper management of human waste and educating people on the importance of campsites placed away from water sources

● Under the guidance of Wilderness crew leads, participates on patrols of off-trail regions of the District

● Inventory previously impacted campsites with Survey 123

● Fills out daily reports of work completed and contacts made

● Works occasionally on non-wilderness trails with the Trail Conservation Crew as assigned by VVMTA staff

 

EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS:

● Preferred experience in trail maintenance and construction of sustainable soft surface trail, primarily for non-motorized use

● Preferred knowledge of standardized trail maintenance and construction practices, techniques, and methods

● Preferred experience training and working with volunteers

● Preferred experience working with land management agencies and other government entities

● Preferred experience with hand tools, power equipment, and heavy machinery directly related to trail maintenance and construction

● Strong communication skills, both written and verbal

● Personable and able to work within a customer service-based environment that involves routine interaction with the public

● Ability to work outdoors for long hours, performing manual labor in all types of conditions

● Competency to make judgment calls in the field around necessary trail improvements and diagnose problems

● Possess a strong attention to detail

● Ability to use web-based apps, software, and website to document work and record hours

● Preferred understanding of our local trails, spending significant time on them through various uses such as mountain biking, hiking, trail running, etc.

● Preferred experience with knowledge of desirable trail characteristics in our local trail system

● Positive attitude with versatility to adapt to a changing work environment

● U.S. Citizen with required forms of identification

● Must be 21 years of age or older with clean driving record

 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS & WORK ENVIRONMENT:

● Frequently stand, sit, walk, crouch, climb and squat

● Frequently walk on uneven or unstable surfaces

● Frequently hike 1-4 miles a day

● Frequently travel and work remotely

● Frequently utilize hand and finger dexterity

● Frequently climb, balance, bend, stoop, kneel or crawl

● Frequently lift and carry up to 25lbs

● Frequent exposure to heat and cold

● Occasionally hike upwards of 15 miles a day

● Occasionally carry upwards of 60lbs

● Occasionally be exposed to wet and/ or humid conditions

● Occasionally work near moving mechanical parts

● Occasionally work in high, precarious places

● Occasionally work around fumes, airborne particles, or toxic chemicals

● May be required to backpack through wilderness for up to 4 days at a time

● Continually exposed to outside weather conditions

● Willingness to travel (within Eagle County) during work week

 

BENEFITS:

● Housing stipend available

● Access to outdoor industry pro deals

● Gas and cell phone stipend

● Paid time off for holidays, vacation, and sick time

 

COMPENSATION:

● $16.00/hr – $25.00/hr – commensurate with experience