Clarification from the agency

Open to students who have been accepted for enrollment, or who are enrolled at least halftime, in an accredited high school, college, professional, technical, vocational, or trade school pursuing a qualifying degree or certificate. Must be in good standing (minimum overall Grade Point Average of 2.0).

Duties include but are not limited to:
- Performing regular wilderness and backcountry patrols as a trainee or under the direction of other wilderness rangers, ranging from day trips to multi-day overnight camping trips, via foot. Routine backcountry patrol duties and responsibilities include: collecting inventory and monitoring data and evaluations, patrol reports, visitor contacts, routine trail maintenance, and inspection, inventory, and repair of backcountry facilities (campgrounds, pit toilets, and patrol cabins). Incumbent will be expected to assist with search and rescue (SAR) operations and perform emergency medical services (EMS) as needed.
- Assisting other wilderness rangers as a trainee with various projects in the backcountry in each district as needs arise. Examples would include evaluation and rehabilitation of campsite facilities, pit toilets, and/or trail infrastructure. Other duties include vegetation monitoring, wilderness character monitoring, campsite evaluations, and backcountry resource impacts.
- Assisting with field implementation of the Wilderness Implementation Schedule (WIS) as a student trainee, which includes the strategies for managing the wilderness and backcountry park-wide. Assist with wilderness character monitoring using Glacier's wilderness character monitoring format.
- As a trainee, monitoring bear activity and participating in bear management training, and entering data into the Bear Management Inventory and Monitoring System (BIMS). May also participate in other park training in EMS, SAR, and Backcountry Operations as a trainee.
- Become trained in Leave No Trace outdoor ethics and be able to demonstrate and explain to visitors.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship required.
• Applicants must maintain student/pathways eligibility by attendance or enrollment in the spring quarter/semester prior to employment and subsequent fall quarter/semester.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males.
• Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronic Funds Transfer Program.
• Pathways participant agreement is required..
• You may be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties. Prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year thereafter (or more frequently if management determines such need exists), you will be required to sign an affidavit certifying to your possession of a valid State issued driver's license that is current and has not been revoked, suspended, canceled, or otherwise disqualified in any way to prohibit your operation of a motor vehicle. You will also submit a photocopy of your valid State issued driver's license prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year, or more frequently if management determines such need exists. Lastly, you may be required to submit (within a State sealed envelope or submitted directly by the State authorities), and at your own expense, all certified driving records from all States that discloses all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you. Please indicate in your application whether you possess a valid State driver's license.
• .You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
• You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
• Applicants must be at least (1)18 years old or (2) at least 16 years old and: (a) Have graduated from high school or been awarded a certificate equivalent to graduating from high school; or (b) Have completed a formal vocational training program; or (c) Have received a statement from school authorities agreeing with their preference for employment rather than continuing their education; or (d) Be currently enrolled in a secondary school and either work only during school vacation periods or work part-time during the school year under a formal student employment program.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-01/20/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience.

To qualify for this position at the GS-4 grade level, you must possess one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

EXPERIENCE: At least six (6) months of General Experience and six (6) months of Specialized Experience equivalent to at least the GS-03 level for a total of one year of experience.
General Experience is (1) Any type of work that demonstrates the ability to perform the work of the position, or (2) experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation.
Specialized Experience is experience that involved the management and protection of natural and cultural resources. Examples of specialized experience include the following: patrolled wilderness areas or backcountry patrols for the primary purpose of; collected inventory and monitoring data and evaluations; completed patrol reports; contacted visitors; inspected and monitoring park resources; completed routine maintenance on backcountry facilities, or similar operations. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of 2 years two years of education above high school (60 semester hour or 90 quarter hours) which include 12 semester hours of course work in at least one of the following fields: natural resource management, natural sciences, earth sciences, history, archeology, anthropology, park & recreation management, law enforcement/police science, social sciences, museum sciences, business administration, public administration, behavioral sciences, sociology, or other closely related subjects pertinent to the management and protection of natural and cultural resources. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. For example, 3 months of general and 3 months of specialized experience or 6 months of specialized experience (50% of the experience requirements for this position and grade level) combined with one year of education as outlined above (50% of the education required to qualify), which included at least 6 semester hours of related courses such as American history, science, and/or public speaking (50% of the directly related courses required). You must include transcripts.

Volunteer Experience: Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Assessment Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score will be adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you can lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully; errors or omissions can affect your rating. Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. You may only submit one resume. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed.

Candidates will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. These procedures place candidates with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Veterans with a service connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher. Under Category Rating, candidates will be rated and ranked into one of three categories:

• Best Qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position
• Well Qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in most of the requirements of the job
• Qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in some, but not all of the requirements of the job.

You will be evaluated on the following competencies:

• Attention to Detail
• Carpentry/Woodworking
• Standards

The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 01/20/2026:

1. Resume which includes a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed, dates specified in month and year format, and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount qualified specialized experience. If military or civilian, please include your rank and/or grade. Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. The minimum font size is 10-point for all body text. Headers may be slightly larger but must remain legible. All resumes must maintain a minimum 0.5-inch margins on all sides to ensure readability and prevent excessive content compression. Including supplemental pages or attachments disguised as resume extensions are prohibited and will not be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.
2. Completed Application Assessments.
3. Other Supporting Documents, if applicable, such as:
   • Veterans Preference Documentation:
     • If you are a Discharged, Non-Disabled Veteran, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing character of discharge (Member 4 copy), or other Documentation of Service and Separation under Honorable Conditions, as listed on the SF15. If you don't have your DD-214, you may request it after discharge from the National Archives.
     • If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge, you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement from active duty, 2) under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, & 6) dated within 120 days of your separation.
     • If you are a Disabled Veteran, Purple Heart Recipient, or Mother or Spouse of a Disabled or Deceased Veteran, you must submit all additional proof required by the SF15, and if applicable, a completed SF15. You may request a copy of your Department of Veterans Affairs letter from www.ebenefits.va.gov or call 1-800-827-1000 to establish proof of disability.
4. Student Documentation: College transcripts, or acceptance letter from school indicating enrollment of at least half-time (if grades have not been posted).

Do not submit photographs with your application package. Documents with photographs may not be seen by hiring officials - you must remove your image from any badges, licenses, etc.

Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents. Adobe portfolio documents are not viewable by our agency's staffing offices.

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