The U.S. Forest Service is hiring 1,000 temporary spring and summer jobs in Oregon and Washington, the federal agency announced this week.
Applications will be accepted from Nov. 14 to 20, with positions in fields including fire, recreation, timber, engineering, visitor services and archaeology.
The majority of jobs pay $12 to $19 per hour, require 40 hours per week and include health insurance.
The jobs include a variety of locations across the Northwest and typically last three to six months.
Specific positions that will be available can be browsed now here. By picking a search category such as “Oregon,” for example, a wide variety of jobs can be searched. A few options include a park ranger based in Bend, a forestry technician in Hebo and a visitor services assistant in John Day.
Applications must be submitted on www.USAJOBS.gov during the open time period (Nov. 14 to 20). Interested applicants are encouraged to create a profile on USAJOBS now to save time once the hiring process begins.
“Seasonal employment with the Forest Service is a great way to give back to communities, learn new skills, and perform meaningful work,” Northwest regional forester Jim Peña said in a news release.
“If you are interested in working with a dedicated team of people who take pride in managing our national forests, we encourage you to consider joining the Forest Service.”
There are jobs in 16 National Forests, 59 District Offices, a National Scenic Area, and a National Grassland comprising 24.7 million acres in Oregon and Washington that employ approximately 3,550 people.
Here's how the Forest Service said a timeline of how the jobs process is likely to work:
November 14, 2017: The application period opens in USAJobs. Apply only through USAJobs. Applicants are encouraged to apply only for locations where they would accept a position if offered.
November 20, 2017: Application deadline.
February 12 - 23, 2018: Application evaluation. Subject matter experts will generate reference evaluations and gather this information for selecting officials. Supervisory Reference Checks will occur during this time period. Please ensure your references are notified of this and they are available at the email address (preferred) or phone number provided on your application.
February 6-17, 2018: Applicants selected for jobs will be notified by a Forest Service representative by phone. Tentative selectees should be available by phone during this time and should have computer access to complete documents within 72 hours of being contacted with the tentative selection.
April 2018: First effective dates for positions. Look for the effective date on the Official Confirmation Letter, all other selection notices are tentative pending onboarding and employment suitability adjudication. Official Confirmation Letters will be received approximately 1 month prior to your start date. It is important to be in contact with your supervisor to confirm your reporting date and ensure all onboarding processes have been completed.
Zach Urness has been an outdoors writer, photographer and videographer in Oregon for nine years. He is the author of the book “Hiking Southern Oregon” and can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.
