Description:
Spend Your Summer Exploring Great Basin National Park (GRBA)!
This is a multi-disciplinary Internship, serving with both Interpretation and Trails Crew at Great Basin National Park.
Agency: National Park Service
Location: Great Basin National Park, Baker Nevada 89311
Wage: $16.25/hour (which includes housing). If no housing needed; $17.50/hr.
Hours: 8-hour days/5 days a week.
Schedule:
- Saturday/Sunday - Interpretation: Assists at Visitor Centers, delivers cave tours and other interpretive programs, and provides information about Great Basin National Park.
- Monday to Wednesday - Trails Crew: Performs all aspects of trail maintenance and construction as assigned by the trail’s maintenance work leader, or designee.
Housing: Housing Available
Dates: 04-23-2025 - 08-27-2025
Overview:
Interpretation Responsibilities:
Saturday & Sunday
Interpretation duties will consist of the intern providing front line information, orientation, and interpretive services for visitors in the day-to-day operation of the park, both at the Visitor Centers and at various locations throughout the park. The intern will work with park interpretive rangers to develop and present a variety of programs.
Trail Crew Responsibilities:
Monday to Wednesday
This employment opportunity may involve specific work assignments and a variety of assignments and working with intermediate and journeymen level staff in support of office programs and activities to gain practical work experience. The primary purpose of this position is to perform heavy physical labor in the maintenance and construction of the park unit’s trail system.
Responsibilities:
Interpretation Responsibilities:
Saturday & Sunday
MAJOR DUTIES:
- Pass a federal background investigation for receiving keys, radios and NPS computer access.
- Attend the 2-week interpretation/park operations training program (or equivalent on the job training) at the beginning of the season.
- Provide Junior Ranger programs and/or porch talks.
- Provide informal interpretation, orientation, and safety information to visitors regarding park resources.
- Develop and deliver formal interpretive cave tours.
- Perform trail roves for providing visitor information and preventative search and rescue activities (PSAR).
- Helps operate a busy visitor center desk.
- There may also be opportunities to participate in search and rescue training and assist with search and rescue operations and emergency carry outs if needed.
Visitor Center Information Desk duties will include answering questions, providing directions, recommending hiking trails, interacting with Junior Rangers, using a cash register, selling bookstore items, processing lost and found items, operating a 2-way radio, telephone, and performing other duties as necessary.
Trail Crew Responsibilities:
Monday to Wednesday
MAJOR DUTIES:
Performs all aspects of trail maintenance and construction as assigned by the trail’s maintenance work leader, or designee.
- Examples of the work performed include:
- Clears brush and fallen logs from trail corridor; cleans, repairs, and constructs log or rock drains; installs log or rock retainer bars/steps and checks and/or constructs foot and stock bridges from native materials.
- constructs and maintains trail structures such as turnpikes, causeways, cribbing trail tread, riprap and rock retaining walls.
- constructs new segments of trail; and performs rehabilitation and meadow restoration on abandoned or heavily impacted sections of trail.
- Uses shovels, picks, rakes, axes, Pulaski’s, various types of saws (e.g., McLeod's crosscut, pole, bow, etc.), boppers, chisels, sledgehammers, single jacks, rock bars, draw knives, measuring tapes, levels, squares, scribes, gasoline-powered jackhammers and rock drills, chainsaws, and other trade tools when performing trail maintenance and construction duties.
- Maintains the tools and equipment used in safe operating condition. Ensures work is performed safely and within prescribed NPS standards.
Physical Effort The work performed requires very heavy physical effort. The incumbent routinely lifts, pushes, pulls, and carries items weighing 50 pounds, and up to 150 pounds (or more) with assistance. Work will routinely require walking several miles per day over park trails to and from job sites
Qualifications:
Qualifications:
This position requires a highly motivated, hard-working, personable individual interested in pursuing a career with the National Park Service or other federal agency. Working for both Interpretation and Trails Crew will provide the Intern a wide range of experience working for the national parks. Recreation, education, or natural resources majors preferred but not required to apply.
Interpretation is the art of interpreting the park and its resources to the public visitors. Coaching and training will be provided. It does not require proficiency in a foreign language. Successful candidates must pass a background investigation.