Volunteering
Interested
in spending your summer in one of the premier areas in the Snake River country
of northeast Oregon and western Idaho? If you are, the Wallowa-Whitman
National Forest has many unique opportunities waiting to be filled. By becoming
a Forest Service volunteer, you help care for public lands, gain new work skills,
provide customer service and work in scenic areas. In this time of decreasing
budgets and increasing public land use, we rely more on volunteers to help
care for public lands and serve the public. We need your help!
If you are interested in being a campground host, maintaining backcountry
trails, working as a wilderness steward, or living and interpreting the past
at historic river residential sites ~ we may have the right opportunity for
you!
How about staying at a shady campsite in the mountains all summer as Campground
Host?
This
unique opportunity on the forest entails visiting with campground visitors,
providing information about the local area, maintaining facilities, and acting
as a general caretaker for the site. (No fee collection responsibilities are
required)
In turn you may receive one of the following: approximately $15.00/day, a season-long campsite, propane
and/or transportation allowance to town.
Most of these sites are at remote locations with no running water or drinking
water. Access is mainly by unpaved gravel roads.
Opportunities for this summer maybe available at:
Ranger Districts
|
Contact
|
La Grande |
Mike Montgomery
La Grande Ranger District
(541) 962-8543 |
Whitman Ranger District (Baker, Unity, and Halfway offices) |
Mike Hall
(541) 523-1294 |
Does being a Wilderness Steward in a remote wilderness area sound tempting?
Click here for Application
Form
As a Wilderness Steward you are responsible for hiking throughout the area,
meeting visitors, and providing information on the area, Leave-No-Trace outdoor
ethics and the local regulations. If a restoration project is being worked
on you may have the chance to help rehabilitate an over-used campsite, protect
a day use site along one of the lakes, or reconstruct a trail. Opportunities
exist in both the Eagle Cap Wilderness and the Hells Canyon Wilderness (both
in Oregon and Idaho), and the Baldy Unit of the North Fork John Day Wilderness.
Wilderness Area
|
Allowance
|
Wilderness Area Contact
|
Eagle
Cap |
Negotiate with Ranger District Contact- food, and up to $15/day may be available. |
Sweyn
Wall
(541) 426-5536 |
Hells
Canyon - Oregon side |
Negotiate with Ranger District Contact- food, and up to $15/day may be available. |
Sweyn Wall
(541) 426-5536 |
Hells Canyon
- Idaho side |
Negotiate with Ranger District Contact- food,
and up to $15/day may be available. |
Cathy Conover
(208) 628-3916 |
North Fork John Day – Baldy Unit near Baker City
|
Negotiate with Ranger District Contact- food, and up to $15/day may be available. |
Mike Hall
(541) 523-1294 |
See also the Eagle Cap Wilderness page
Historic
Ranch Host and Caretaker, or a Boat Aide
Maybe
you would prefer to volunteer on the Snake River in Hells Canyon National
Recreation Area as a Historic Ranch Host and Caretaker, or a Boat Aide on
the Wild and Scenic Snake River or at river access sites?
As
a Historic Ranch host and caretaker you are responsible for greeting many canyon
visitors who arrive by boat, raft or trail each day. For these travelers, you
represent the Forest Service by providing information and the history of the
ranch sites and Hells Canyon. Grounds and facilities maintenance are seasonal
responsibilities. Year-round volunteer opportunities range from several weeks
to one and occasionally, two months.
At
the river access sites you will be providing the public with river information
and regulations as well as checking and/or issuing river permits for floaters
and powerboaters.
Volunteer applications are currently being accepted for the upcoming year for volunteering
at river residential sites and for current river program volunteer projects.
The Wild and Scenic Snake River of Hells Canyon volunteer program includes
students who are planning careers in resource environments ~ couples with a
month to offer in support of the river program ~ and retirees with years of
experience and skills to contribute. Volunteers must be self-starters, independent,
highly motivated and good communicators who sincerely like people. They must
have the basic skills necessary to function effectively and safely in a backcountry
setting far from the nearest town and services. Transportation to and from
is by boat and communication is by radio. The residential sites are furnished
with the necessities of life and come completely stocked with an assortment
of plants, wildlife and sunsets that can take your breath away at the end of
a Canyon day!
Volunteers are the good hosts and caretakers of the public's resources ~ please
join us in these unique and wonderful volunteer opportunities on the Snake
River of Hells Canyon!
For information on the volunteer program, residential sites and allowances
~ please contact Cathy Conover, Volunteer Coordinator at:
- Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, Riggins Office
189 Highway 95
Riggins, Idaho 83549
(208) 628-3916
-
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2
days = an entire summer of fun!
By maintaining trail for 2 days, you could be rewarded with an annual Northwest
Forest Pass!
The Forest has over 2300 miles of trail maintenance opportunities for horseback/packing,
foot, mountain bike, accessible, and crosscountry skiing. From the Elkhorn
Mountains near Baker City to the Wallowa Mountains near Enterprise, check with
us to see where your skills can best be used.
We are always looking for volunteers and partners! If you would like to become
involved, contact us at:
- USDA Forest Service
- Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Supervisor's Office
- 1550 Dewey Ave.
- P.O. Box 907
- Baker City, OR 97814
- (541) 523-1250
|