Youth Conservation Corps

Denali National Park and Preserve is offering unique summer employment opportunities to teenagers.

This program is open to all applicants ages 15 through 18. Applicants must have parental consent to participate in the program.

Enrollees will be paid a special remote park Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) wage of $10.00 per hour and will work for 8 weeks beginning on or about June 3, 2018 and ending on or about July 28, 2018. The park will fill as many as 7 YCC positions in 2018 as described below.

Jump to application info, at the bottom of the page.

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Do You Enjoy Working Outdoors?

Trails Department (3 or 4 positions)

These positions work for the Trails crew of Denali National Park and Preserve. Work is performed outdoors in all weather conditions and is physically challenging. Duties include hiking as many as 8 miles per day with a 20-pound pack, trail brushing, clearing drains, repairing trail tread, hauling materials, transplanting native vegetation, digging, installing signs, and collecting data. Tool use may include shovels, picks, sledges, rakes, wheelbarrows, and hand tools. This position may include light custodial work. YCCers are responsible for actively participating in safety trainings, adhering to safety policies, and wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when required.

• Position Requirements: must be 16 years old by June 3, 2018 to work 10-hour days and to ride shuttle buses
• Work Schedule: 10-hour days, 4 days per week (Monday - Thursday)

 

Do You Enjoy Sharing Denali National Park & Preserve With Others?

Interpretation Division, Denali Visitor Center (DVC) (1 position):

Staff the Denali Visitor Center front desk and provide quality customer service to park visitors. Work includes answering trip planning questions, sharing safety tips, and working with Junior Rangers. Walk around the Denali Visitor Center Campus, Wilderness Access Center Campus, Riley Campground, and trails to greet visitors, answer questions, share safety tips, and provide informal interpretation. Staff a “touch table” and talk with visitors about park resources (topic and props may be based on employee’s interests). Develop a short talk (as long as 10 minutes) to deliver to visitors upon request. Assist with projects as assigned and shadow park staff in a variety of disciplines.

• Position Requirements: none
• Work Schedule: eight, 9-hour days and one, 8-hour day; can be flexible, but 9 days every two weeks

 

Do You Enjoy Thinking Like a Scientist?

Road Ecology & Museum Collections (1 position):

Enjoy world-class wildlife viewing 2 - 3 days per week while collecting data essential to the park. Collect data using the GPS capability of iPads while riding in concessioner buses traveling the Denali park road. Collect data on wildlife observations, wildlife behavior, and management indicators (the number of vehicles at wildlife stops, rest stops, and visitor centers, and amount of time hikers wait before being picked up by a bus). Attention to detail in both observation and organization is required. During the remainder of the week, assist the park’s museum curator performing tasks related to the care of museum collections or facilities, including handling techniques for acquisitions, moving specimens, cleaning, and sorting; preparing simple preservation solutions; documenting specimens, replacing labels, simple filing, and organizing; constructing boxes and crates for out-going specimens; receiving training in museum storing and packing techniques; and conducting routine lab inspections. If there is interest, an extension of employment is possible.

Optionally: Participate in early-season, ground-based Dall’s sheep surveys. Work will involve weekends and early-morning departures (6 a.m.) from the Wilderness Access Center. Sheep surveys will involve hiking in wilderness and working in grizzly bear habitat.

• Position Requirements: must be 16 years old by June 3, 2018 to work 10-hour days and to ride shuttle buses
• Work Schedule: 8 – 10 hours, Monday through Friday; beyond the 40-hour work week, opportunities for overtime

 

Do You Enjoy Working with Dogs?

Kennels (1 position):

Assist with all aspects of care, feeding, exercise, and training of 30-plus active Alaskan huskies weighing between 60 and 90 pounds. Assist with all aspects of dog yard, pen, and equipment maintenance and repairs as needed. Assist with informal interpretation and safety in the dog yard before, after, and between demonstrations for the visiting public. Assist with the safe and smooth delivery of formal interpretive programs and dog sled demonstrations, including handling and harnessing dogs for the sled run. (YCCers do not drive the summer demo sled teams.) Assist with raising and training any puppies born during the work season. This position requires extensive physical labor outdoors in all weather conditions. Applicants must be comfortable working with large, vigorous sled dogs.

• Position Requirements: none
• Work Schedule: 8 hours, Monday through Friday

 

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How to Apply

• Enrollees must be able to commute from home to the program site. Park housing is not available.
• Important: In the essay question portion of your application, please rate, 1 to 4 (with 1 your top choice), your preferences among the four park areas offering YCC positions for summer 2018: Trails, Road Ecology and Museum Collections, Interpretation, and Kennels. The park will make selections based on applicants’ desired position priority list and input from school staff. We hope to be able to match applicants with the work experience they desire. If two applicants are equally matched for a position, the park will use a random drawing method to make the selection. The park will give preference to first-year applicants. First-year applicants will include those who applied previously but did not fill a YCC position.
• Download and complete the YCC application form. Application forms are also available from the Denali National Park and Preserve Human Resources Office and from all high school guidance offices in the Denali Borough School District.
• Please return applications in person or mail to:

Attn: Cass Ray, Human Resources Office
National Park Service--YCC
P. O. Box 126
Denali Park, AK 99755

• Applications must be postmarked by Friday, February 9, 2018 or received by the Human Resources Office at Denali National Park and Preserve by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, February 9, 2018. Mailed applications must be received by Friday, February 16, 2018 to be considered for a position. Applicants will be contacted starting February 20, 1018.

• Individuals selected for participation in the program must have a Social Security number. Social Security card applications are available from the Social Security Office located at 101 12^th Ave., Fairbanks, and should be filed as soon as possible to allow time for processing.
• For more information about how to apply, please contact Denali YCC Coordinator Cass Ray at Denali National Park Human Resources at [phone] or email the Denali Human Resources (HR) Office.

Enrollee Eligibility

Young women and men, 15 through 18 years of age, 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 15 years of age by June 3, 2018 and not reach 19 years of age during employment as a YCC enrollee;
• Be permanent residents 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.