Volunteer
Job Description
FROM: https://www.volunteer.gov/s/volunteer-opportunity/a093d000000oI8oAAE/interpretation-volunteer-decemberfebruary
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ADDRESS: Guadalupe Mountains National Park
400 Pine Canyon
Salt Flat, Texas 79847
DEPT: National Park Service
DATES: 12/1/2023 – 2/29/2024
DESCRIPTION:
Have you ever wanted to find out what it’s like to be a park ranger? Are you seeking to learn and expand your skills as an interpreter? Then Guadalupe Mountains National Park may be the perfect opportunity.
Volunteers seeking or having experience presenting interpretive dialogue for the history, geology, and ecology of the Guadalupe Mountains and Chihuahuan Desert are welcome.
Volunteers also provide informal interpretation related to surrounding cultural and natural resources.
Volunteers staff the Pine Springs Visitor Center providing regional orientation and information to visitors.
Volunteers live and work at an altitude of about 5600 feet (1700m), roughly the same elevation as Denver, Colorado. The park is open year-round, and volunteers will be exposed to a wide range of weather conditions and temperatures.
Wind in the Guadalupe Mountains is particularly damaging, especially during the winter and spring. Gusts often exceed 80 mph (130 kph).
Interpretation volunteers will be asked to assist with operations at the Pine Springs Visitor Center, particularly during busy times. This will require standing for periods of up to 3 or 4 hours at a time, answering repetitive questions regarding the park and surrounding areas. Volunteers may be asked to assist with Western National Parks Association park store operation and sales as well.
Interpretation volunteers will frequently staff the Frijole Ranch History Museum. This will be a full-day or half-day shift, depending on staffing and interest, during which volunteers will facilitate a connection between visitors and the park’s cultural history. This will require a 100-yard (90 m) walk on a paved trail to reach the building.
Interpretation volunteers will also frequently staff the historic Pratt Cabin. This structure requires a 4.8-mile (7.75 km) round trip hike with around 300 ft (90 m) of elevation gain across rocky washes and maintained trail.
Volunteers are asked to commit to a minimum 32-hour work week, for three months. There is flexibility in start and end dates. Longer stays are possible if both parties find it beneficial to extend the term of service.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park is located in the remote Trans-Pecos region of West Texas. The closest stores and restaurants are located in Carlsbad, NM and Van Horn, TX, each about an hour away. The closest major city is El Paso, TX, around an hour and a half from the park. The local economy is primarily driven by seasonal workers in the Permian Basin Oil Field. Thus, cost of living in the surrounding cities tends to be higher than average.
A limited number of dorm rooms for singles are usually available, and there may be RV sites with full hookups available.
Due to the remoteness of this site, reliable personal transportation and a valid driver’s license are required.