Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve and the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve are hiring for river related jobs in Alaska. Click here to go to the GS-05 and GS-07 job announcements at usajobs.gov (GS stands for the General Schedule for federal wages – the higher up, the more education and experience required and the more pay you earn). The GS-05 announcement closes on December 29, 2010 and the GS-07 announcement closes on January 11, 2011. The links won’t work after these dates. The jobs are expected to start Spring 2011.

These are National Park Service Park Ranger – Interpretation positions. In addition to interpretive activities and visitor center staffing, duties include backcountry patrols:

Backcountry patrols last generally from 5 to 21 days camping and traveling in remote wilderness areas. Travel to the beginning point of the patrol is usually via light airplane where patrols are either undertaken on foot carrying a backpack or by canoe or raft floating the rivers. The responsibilities of the patrols involve public contact and education, monitoring and collecting data, and cleaning up campsites and project work to restore Wilderness Character. Projects could include things, such as removing structures or coordinating the removal of fuel barrels. The focus of the patrols switch to monitoring of hunting activity in the fall with the purpose of transmitting information to LE Rangers about illegal activity. The work requires outdoor travel and camping in all types of weather conditions.

Sounds like some great river ranger work.