Parks offer teens summer work programs

Participants in the Grand Teton National Park Youth Conservation Program move a log during a trail project.
Ruffin Prevost / Yellowstone Gate

Participants in the 2012 Grand Teton National Park Youth Conservation Program move a log during a trail project.

Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks are once again offering young men and women the opportunity to live and work in a natural wonderland this summer, while fostering an appreciation for conservation with adult training and hands-on experience.

The March 8 deadline to complete application materials is fast approaching for the 2014 Youth Conservation Corps at Yellowstone National Park, according to a statement released by the park’s public affairs office.

Yellowstone recruits youth ages 15-18 from all social, economic, ethnic and racial backgrounds to work together under adult leadership to rehabilitate trails, restore campgrounds and help with a variety of additional resource management and maintenance projects. Members of the Corps also participate in evening and recreational activities and explore career options in the National Park Service and other land management agencies.

Yellowstone will select 50 young people from across the country to participate. Youth Conservation Corps sessions, each lasting a month, will be June 8 to July 9 and July 13 to Aug. 13. The program requires no previous wilderness experience, but applicants should be able to work in a physically active outdoor program and get along well with others.

The program provides room and board at a minimal cost and Corps members are paid at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

For further information and application materials visit www.nps.gov/yell/parkmgmt/yccjobs.htm or call the park’s YCC Program Manager, (307) 344-2256.

Meanwhile, Grand Teton National Park is seeking youth ages 16-19 to participate in the 2014 Youth Conservation Program, spanning 10 weeks from June 16 through Aug. 21.

Participants must live near Grand Teton, because the program does not provide housing. Applicants will need to be able to work at a physically demanding job which may require lifting 30-40 pounds. Wages are set at approximately $11 per hour.

Enrollees in the Youth Conservation Program will work alongside National Park Service crew leaders to maintain and rehabilitate park trails and pathways. As much as half their time will be spent with other park divisions such as Science and Resource Management, Interagency Fire and Visitor and Resource Protection.

For an application or more information about the Youth Conservation Program, call Stacy Myers in Teton Park, ( 307) 739-3379, or write YCP Program, GTNP, Drawer 170, Moose, WY 83012. Applications are also available online at http://www.nps.gov/grte/supportyourpark/ycp.htm.

The Yellowstone YCC Program is funded by donations to the Yellowstone Park Foundation, while Teton Park’s YCP Program is funded by contributions to the Grand Teton National Park Foundation.

Comments are closed.