About This Position
This position is located within a National Forest. The incumbent performs a variety of technical work in support of the unit's recreation program in the area of dispersed and developed recreation, recreation special uses, wilderness and backcountry, ecology, data collection, and trails.
Qualifications
In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.
Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary.
GS-06: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-05 grade level. GS-06: There is no substitution of education for this position. Examples of specialized experience include: Working as a Forest Protection Officer (FPO) or similar position writing incident reports or violation notices as needed; providing technical support to the recreation program on the unit performing winter patrols of wilderness boundaries to assure compliance with winter recreation regulations and winter travel plans; providing information on resource management practices and recreation regulations, opportunities, and restrictions; ensuring recreation areas and trails were maintained in accordance with standards; and performing crew-based forestry related support work, such as for recreation or trail maintenance projects.
Selective Placement Factors Incumbent must be able to get certified as a Wilderness First Responder or Emergency Medical Technician and maintain the certification. 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. To receive consideration for this position, you must provide updated required documents and meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
Major Duties
Accomplishes operation plans, improvements, and maintenance tasks associated with forest recreation sites used for various recreational activities. Inspects assigned areas to determine compliance with wilderness regulations or specifications.
Explains or enforces use regulations according to local, state, or federal policies and laws. Contributes information or provides assistance to operation and work plans for recreation sites and the avalanche center program.
Performs or oversees regular maintenance at trailheads and dispersed wilderness/recreation sites, including site cleanup and naturalizing.
Acts as liaison with community organizations and interest groups to stimulate interest and use of recreation facilities.
Coordinates outfitter use and prepares reports on conditions of outfitter activities and equipment. Maintains visitor use records and prepares visitor use information for data processing.
Resolves a full range of irregular or problem situations encountered when performing assignments pertaining to forest wilderness programs, such as non-compliance of permits, avalanche control support and monitoring assistance.
Participates as a team member or solo on climb patrols on the unit that includes mountaineering routes of technical terrain where ability to travel on snow, glaciers, steep rock, and mountainous terrain is a frequent activity.
The incumbent is responsible for using roped-travel techniques and safely conducting mountain travel with teammates or solo using protective equipment.
Climbing patrols are conducted mountain familiarization, contacting independent and guided climbers, monitoring and evaluating outfitter guide performance and compliance with Special Use Permit.
Climbing patrols are conducted to obtain route information to be published and communicated to the public, to monitor public use of climbing routes, cross-country areas for the purpose of resource protection and wilderness management.
Serves as a Snow Ranger for an Avalanche Center, with remote patrol duties. Checks for conditions hazardous to the public from avalanche, ice falls, crevasses, and undermined snow.
Determines present avalanche hazards and forecasts future hazards based on snow pit tests, field observations, and snow stability.
Issues avalanche hazard advisories using field data, as well as mountain weather resources, such as weather maps, satellite imagery, and real time weather data.
Uses judgment to produce public avalanche and safety advisories and disseminates this information via website, telephone, physical postings, or other social media.
Communicates daily with local Forest Service Avalanche Center personnel to appraise weather conditions based on judgment and evaluation of relevant factors.
Serves as a Forest Protection Officer (FPO). Issues notices of field violations when violations of regulations are encountered. Conducts investigations, collects evidence and prepares case reports on violations and misuse.
Assists agency law enforcement personnel with violation information. Documents destruction to or impacts on recreation sites. Analyzes ways to educate users.
Assists in rescues and performs rope rescues on steep snow and ice terrain often under adverse weather conditions. Responsible for technical rescue equipment maintenance, selection, and replacement.
Equipment includes mountain axes, ice tools, ice screws, rock nuts, and rock pitons, helmets, slings and cords, ascenders, pulleys, harnesses, snow pickets and flukes, and numerous dynamic and static ropes.
Acts as first responder to medical emergencies. Renders medical aid from minor to life-threatening injuries at the Wilderness First Response or Emergency Medical Technician level.
Conditions of Employment
You must be a US Citizen or US National. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service. Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. Direct Deposit Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of your choosing.
Must be 18 years of age. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify. Incumbent must be able to get certified as a Wilderness First Responder or Emergency Medical Technician and maintain the certification.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated in accordance with the category rating procedure as defined in the USDA Demonstration Project Plan. Applicants who meet the basic minimum qualification requirements established for the position will be placed in the Eligible category. Eligible applicants will be further evaluated against criteria for placement in the Quality category.
This evaluation is based on the level of your experience, education, and/or training as determined by your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire. Applicants with veterans' preference are listed ahead of applicants who do not have veterans' preference within each category. Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements established for the position will be referred to the selecting official.
Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.
Additional Information
PLEASE
NOTE: This vacancy is being used to fill positions for FY2027 Temporary Employment Hiring season. The expected start date for this position will be between October 18, 2026 to December 27, 2026. By selecting the "Location Negotiable" option during the application process, implies your willingness to be considered for any official duty location listed on this announcement and/or those duty locations not listed for this Regional announcement. Pay rates vary depending on location. The salary shown is for the Rest of the U.S. See OPM.gov for additional information on pay rates.
This position is temporary, has a Not-to-Exceed date and will be filled for up to 6 months or as a not to exceed (NTE) 1 year, however an extension of the appointment may be possible without further competition. The appointment may also end early due to lack of work or lack of funds. Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other groups within the Region who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in any of the geographic location(s) listed on the announcement.
Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration. The duty station for this position will be at one of the duty locations listed in this announcement. Salary range as shown is the locality pay Rest of U.S. (RUS).
Pay rates vary by location. Please visit the Office of Personnel Management's website for additional information on pay rates. The USDA Forest Service has legislative authority to recruit and fill Permanent (Career/Career-Conditional), Temporary, and Term Appointments under the USDA Demonstration Project.
Under this authority, any U.S. citizen may apply. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP eligible must meet the agency's definition for a quality candidate as provided in the How You Will Be Evaluated section of this announcement to be considered.
If you are retired from the Federal Government and are selected for this vacancy, your retirement annuity may be offset from your pay.
This position is not eligible for telework. Availability of government housing and federal day care facilities will vary by location. Positions filled from this announcement may be a bargaining or a non-bargaining unit position represented by either NFFE, AFGE or NAGE.
How to Apply
Please view Tips for Applicants - a guide to the Forest Service application process. Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin.
You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. Applying online is highly encouraged.
We are available to assist you during business hours (7:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Mountain Time Zone, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement to be entered into the system prior to its closing.
Resumes must not exceed two pages. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this. To begin, click "Apply" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents.
Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX).
Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration. Please ensure your resume does not exceed two pages.
Applicants who submit a resume that exceeds two pages will be removed from consideration. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc.
Required Documents
The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
Resume that includes: Personal Information: name, address, contact information; Education; Work Experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); other qualifications. Resume cannot exceed 2 pages. If education is required or you are using education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts.
An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application if it includes your name and the necessary course information; however, if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S.
Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the NACES website.
All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation. Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), current performance appraisal with rating of at least "Fully Successful" or equivalent, and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330.