Volunteering

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Volunteering

Volunteers are the heartbeat of the US Forest Service. Volunteer service in the Forest Service was formalized in the Volunteers in the National Forest Act of 1972. The national forests, grasslands, and prairies are there for you to enjoy because many people have served over numerous years to preserve, protect and improve them. Now you can give something back by volunteering.

What captures your interest? The diversity of projects and positions available offers each person a chance to participate in an activity that meets their individual or group interests. Trail work, bird surveys, conservation education, information receptionist, and wilderness restoration projects are a few examples of what may be available.

Why Volunteer?

Working with the Forest Service and fellow volunteers is an opportunity to see what our National Forests have to offer in a way beneficial to both yourself and the forest. The commitment you make is up to you.

• It can give you the opportunity to pursue a special interest, such as bird watching or hiking.
• Develop or diversify your job experience and career choices.
• Earn credit towards college with volunteer internships.
• If you are retired or have summers free, live on a national forest while you work as a volunteer.
• Perform vigorous but satisfying physical labor outdoors.
• Meet people and form new friendships, or gain self-satisfaction in providing community service.
• Spending time in the outdoors, enjoying the company of your fellow volunteers and visitors, can give you a new perspective on other facets of your life.

Volunteering in the National Forest can offer valuable experience and life long memories. Give it a try!

Local Volunteer Opportunities

Below you will find information on Local Volunteer Opportunities in the Lake Tahoe Basin. You may call the volunteer coordinators at the telephone numbers listed below or contact the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit for additional information.

Desolation Wilderness Volunteers: Program Full for 2008

From Trailhead Naturalists and Ranger Patrols to Wilderness Information or Resource Monitoring, volunteers help with a variety of activities to help manage Desolation Wilderness. Each spring, special workshops are held to recruit and train volunteers for the upcoming summer season.

For information about future volunteer opportunities, contact Don Lane at (530) 543-2621 or Chris Engelhardt at (530) 543-2766.

Noxious Weed Removal Crew:

Volunteers are needed to help identify and manually remove invasive plant species that are threatening the plant communities of the Tahoe Basin! Enjoy the day outside in the forest and help remove these noxious weed plants by hand!

For more information, contact Cecelia Reed at (530) 543-2761.

Photo Archive Project:

Volunteers are needed to help preserve historic photo collections by researching, cataloging, and scanning old photographs to our computer database files.

For more information, contact John Maher at (530) 543-2671.

Recreation Residence Monitoring Program:

Volunteers are needed to help with the physical inspection of over 600 summer home cabins located within the Tahoe Basin on National Forest lands! Spend your day outside in the woods walking, taking photographs, and recording field data.

For more information, contact John Maher at (530) 543-2671.

Tallac Historic Site:

Baldwin Museum Docent
Are you interested in meeting and greeting people and making new friends? Do you like Lake Tahoe history and the idea of sharing it with others? Do you like being part of the community and giving something back? Then you may enjoy being a docent at the Tallac Historic Site.

Gardeners
Did you know that... gardening is the Number 1 activity for stress relief? ...the Tallac Historic site, next to Camp Richardson Resort, has both native and non-native historic gardens? ...the Tallac Historic Site volunteer program is the only way of maintaining the Site's grounds and gardens? You can help the Tahoe Heritage Foundation and US Forest Service plant and maintain these gardens. For more information, contact Barbara Craven at (530) 541-4344.

Historic Site volunteers
Volunteers are needed to staff the historic buildings, provide interpretive tours, help with special costumed events, and help with maintenance and restoration projects.

For more information, contact Alexandra Wenzl or Jacqueline Dumin at (530) 541-5227.

Taylor Creek Visitor Center:

Information Assistant (Front Desk position)
Volunteers will work at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center providing recreation and wilderness information and issuing wilderness permits. Volunteers will provide information on current conditions, assist visitors with trip planning, provide educational messages about various natural resources at Lake Tahoe, Wilderness ethics and "leave no trace" techniques, and explain rules and regulations for the area and Desolation Wilderness.

Volunteers will be required to wear the Forest Service Volunteer uniform. This is a good position for someone that has good communication skills, likes people, and is well organized and prefers less arduous tasks. This position is important and can have a lot of influence since it serves as the first line of contact for Tahoe Basin visitors.

For more information, contact Mike St. Michel at (530) 543-2611 or Jean Norman at (530) 543-2674.

Trail Crew Volunteers:

If you are looking for a fun, challenging and rewarding activity that gives you the chance to work with some wonderful people while surrounded by incredible scenery, you've come to the right place! The Tahoe Rim Trail Association and the Pacific Crest Trail Association, along with other hiking and equestrian groups, assists the US Forest Service, State Parks, and other agencies with the care of the many hiking trails in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

From removing blow-downs, moving rocks, repairing wash-outs to cutting back chaparral, trail crews do it all.

For more information, contact Tahoe Rim Trail Association, www.tahoerimtrail.org or the Pacific Crest Trail Association, www.pcta.org.