Interpretation Ranger Participant Jobs

Come join our staff at Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center!

The Mendenhall Glacier, in Juneau Alaska, is one of the state’s top attractions with over 550,000 visitors a year. Black bears and spawning salmon also draw people to our site. The glacier, wildlife and hiking trails make Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center a fine place to both learn and hone interpretation skills.

As an intern, you will be integrated into our interpretive program and wear a Forest Service uniform. You will have many opportunities for both formal and informal mentoring as you gain experience in the field. The work week is 5 days, 8 hours per day, and could include evening and weekend work. Conditions often require working outside in wet, cool, rainy weather and long periods of standing each day. Staff spend a portion of everyday outside. You will receive interpretive and resource training at the beginning of your internship.

We employ about 30 staff at the Mendenhall Glacier during the summer months. This includes SCA interns, temporary seasonal and permanent interpretive park rangers, custodial/maintenance staff, and leadership. In addition, we share the building with our partner Discovery Southeast, a local environmental education non-profit who operates the Mendenhall Glacier interpretive bookstore.

Mendenhall Glacier is part of the largest National Forest in the United States – the Tongass National Forest. Encompassing nearly 17 million acres, the Tongass makes up 90% of Southeast Alaska and is a land of glaciers, mountains, waterways and thousands of islands separated by straits and channels. The islands and mainland create 11,000 miles of shoreline where regal mountains rise from the tidewater to overlook a mostly undeveloped and isolated landscape. Most of the Tongass is isolated from the continental road system. Visitors to Juneau arrive by cruise ship, ferry or commercial airplane.

Job Duties Include:

• Staff information stations to answer visitor questions.
• Provide roving interpretation on topics ranging from glaciers to geology to wildlife such as black bears, mountain goats, porcupines, and salmon.
• Develop and present short formal interpretive programs.
• Additional opportunities to contribute to our social media efforts through writing posts or contributing photos may exist.

Compensation amounts:

• $300 – weekly living allowance
• Housing:
  • $500 monthly housing allowance to pay for bunkhouse housing
• AmeriCorps eligible ($3,247.50 education award)
• $1,500 – one time RT travel allowance
• $500 monthly housing allowance to pay for bunkhouse housing

• All allowances subject to applicable federal, state and local taxes

• Please include a resume as an attachment with your SCA application

For SCA’s COVID guidance, please refer to www.thesca.org/covid.

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