Youth Conservation Corps (YCC)

YCC logo

 

Overview

The National Park Service is offering an opportunity for youth to work at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in the summer. These positions are being funded through the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) program. The purpose of the YCC program is to introduce young adults to the National Park Service mission and how Cultural and Natural resources are managed. The program may include travel to various areas within the park and possibly to other public lands for orientation.

Work may be at the Copper Center/Headquarters complex, Slana Ranger Station or on the Trail Crew, YCC employees will rotate through the Park's divisions (Interpretation, Cultural & Natural Resources, Maintenance, Visitor & Resource Protection, and Administration), learning the role and function of each division and how they support the park. The students will assist with projects, field work and do group activities in and around Wrangell-St Elias National Park and Preserve.

YCC Overview

Download a presentation made by YCC students in 2018, which provides an overview of their experience. (pdf format, 10 MB)

Enrollee Eligibility

Young women and men, who are permanent residents of the United States, its territories or possessions, are eligible for employment without regard to social, economic, racial, or ethnic backgrounds. To be eligible, youth must:

• Be at least 16 years of age and not reach 19 years of age during summer employment as a YCC enrollee;
• Be a permanent resident of the continental United States, its territories, possessions, or trust territories; and
• Possess a Social Security card and have a work permit before the first working day of the YCC program; the park will process the work permit.
• Have housing because park housing is not available.

 

How to Apply:

Any interested young adults can apply. The selection process will be done by random drawing from completed applications and applicants do not need to be present during the drawing. Chosen applicants will be notified the following week. Selected applicants will be required to have a background investigation completed and be fingerprinted in accordance with HSPD-12. A resume will be requested immediately to begin the background investigation.

This program runs approximately 11 weeks from late-May through early August. The rate of pay is $15/hour. Applicants will be expected to work 28 - 32 hours per week. There may be some travel and training within the park to various remote locations. Local housing is not provided or available. Employees will be expected to provide transportation to and from work for scheduled shifts.

YCC Employment Opportunity Announcement (pdf format, 168 KB)

For additional information, please contact the park Education Specialist at [phone] or email [e-mail]

YCC Application and Medical History forms:
Youth Conservation Corps - Youth & Young Adult Programs
(nps.gov website)

Youth Conservation Corps Promotional Video

Check out the park YCC promotional video with open captions, produced by a Student Conservation Association (SCA) Intern in 2019.

Open Transcript 

Transcript

YCC Promo Video Captions (Lindsey Interview) I’ve loved working with other students that I go to school with so I knew them and being outside has been one of the biggest bonuses. One of my favorite projects was one of the first ones that we did painting at the maintenance yard because we were just starting to get to know eachother and we were a little weird at first but we just kept playing games and it really brought us together you know, playing mind games and doing riddles with eachother. That was a lot of fun. I’ve learned lots of different things in lots of different categories. We got to shadow so many different jobs. It’s a great opportunity, especially if it was for a first job. You will learn a lot. You will have lots of fun definitely with the other kids and you’ll gain some really good character building that you’ll be able to take with you into the future and turning into an adult and It’s a great learning experience.

Duration:

1 minute, 47 seconds

Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) Promotional Video, produced in 2019 by Ali Bastek.

Duration:

2 minutes, 47 seconds

Find out what it means to be a member of the Youth Conservation Corp in this video made by Wrangell-St. Elias's youngest employees.

YCC Brochure