Volunteer
Job Description
FROM: https://www.volunteer.gov/s/volunteer-opportunity/a093d000000lptxAAA/campground-host-chisos-basin
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ADDRESS: Big Bend National Park; 1 Panther Junction; Big Bend National Park, Texas 79834
DEPT: National Park Service
DATES: 8/1/2023 – 10/30/2023
DESCRIPTION:
The primary duties and responsibilities of the campground host are to help National Park Service personnel ensure that campers have a safe, enjoyable visit and that campers are aware of campground rules and regulations.
This is a minimum 32-hours per week volunteer position. The incumbent must furnish his or her own trailer or RV and live in the Basin Campground. Electric, water and sewer hookups are provided free of charge and propane is reimbursed. There are no public shower or laundry facilities available in the Basin. There is a new washing machine, dryer and refrigerator in the Basin Fire Cache.
Specific duties will include:
- Answering visitor’s questions concerning daily park activities such as walks, talks and tours.
- Become familiar with the Park’s resources and be able to answer visitor’s questions concerning trails, points of interest, and recreational activities available.
- Assist the maintenance and ranger staff by picking up litter in the campground.
- Alert the ranger staff to change out the iron rangers as they become full.
- During busy periods, or on request from the ranger stations, reporting campground status to Park Dispatch as the campground fills, is full or status changes.
- Acting as the eyes and ears of the Park Staff by reporting signs of resource or facility damage, maintenance needs, violations of rules and regulations, etc., to proper personnel.
- Comforting visitors during emergency situations. The incumbent may assist park rangers during minor medical incidents by performing first-aid for visitors (i.e. cleaning and bandaging minor cuts and abrasions) depending on his or her training and skill levels.
- Monitor the campground reservations with the use of a Daily Arrival Report which the CG host will pick up at the Basin VC each morning. Using DAR, each campsite sign will be posted with the upcoming reservation and changed as reservations change. Will assist visitors in locating or changing their campsites.
Desired qualifications include:
- Knowledge of the park and surrounding areas
- Comfort making visitor contact and explaining rules and regulations to campers.
- Willingness to set a good example by upholding the rules and regulations of NPS in general and Big Bend National Park in particular.
- All park employees, including volunteers, should always look professional, and therefore need to have neat, clean uniforms which meet the NPS uniform standards.
- Backpacking/Camping
- General Assistance
- Visitor Information
- Working with People
Big Bend National Park encompasses 801,000 acres of Chihuahuan Desert with varied scenery and diversity of plant and animal life. The park is considered a remote location with the closest hospital two hours away. Cell phone coverage is scant and internet reception will most likely require a “Hughesnet” type satellite dish or a local phone line connection. There is wifi at the Chisos Basin Lodge and the store at Rio Grande Village. The park community consists of 250 people, including employees of the National Park Service, Forever Resorts (concessionaire), Border Patrol, U.S. Postal Service, K-8 school and their families. The park has a post office, gas stations, camper stores, restaurant, and lodge. Recreational opportunities include hiking, bird watching, photography, backcountry camping, bicycling, and river rafting. Elevation at Panther Junction is 3,800 feet. The climate is generally pleasant with hot summers (90-100 degrees F.) and mild winters (30-50 degrees F.). Terlingua, a 45 minutes drive, has lodging, restaurants, a hardware store, a small grocery, churches and a bank. Alpine, Texas , a 2 hour drive, has most necessities, including supermarkets, a variety of stores, a hospital, pharmacies, churches, a movie theater, and a university. The nearest larger cities are Midland/Odessa (225 miles) and El Paso (325 miles).
Camphost positions require walking, bending, shoveling, raking and working outdoors and indoors in all types of weather. You may encounter bears, mountain lions, poisonous snakes and stinging insects in the course of your regular activities. The park is taking precautions and following CDC recommendations to prevent the transmission of COVID.