Looking for a summer job?

The Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) will again offer summer employment positions at the McKenzie River and Middle Fork ranger districts. Applicants should have been born between August 21st, 1997 and June 15th, 2000.

YCC employees will work on public lands and have the opportunity to learn about and develop an appreciation of the natural environment while earning a wage. The emphasis is on hands-on learning; tasks may include building bridges, pulling invasive weeds, conducting wildlife surveys, collecting trash, trail maintenance, wildlife habitat enhancement and repairing fences.

Crews rotate through tasks, allowing them the opportunity to learn which jobs interest them, and also those that don’t.

The number of people hired is dependent on available funding and differs by the ranger district. Since one of the main sources of funding has yet to be approved, officials say it is difficult to determine the size and length of the program for 2015 at this time.

In both locations, selections for crew members are done by random drawing while still ensuring roughly equal numbers of male and female participants. Crews will be staffed with an adult crew leader and a youth leader. Wages for crew members are the minimum wage of $9.25/hour; wages for youth leaders are the $10.64/hour.

Crew members will be expected to report to the ranger station each morning; transport out to the field sites will be provided by the Forest Service. Employment will begin June 15th and end the first week of August; if more funding becomes available, some additional weeks of work may be provided.

Crew members must come prepared with proper work boots (contact the ranger district before buying field gear), work clothes and lunches; crews are expected to perform rigorous outdoor work under potentially adverse weather conditions in rough terrain.

Applications will be accepted from January 20th through February 13th, 2015. Interested youth may obtain an application at their high school, the ranger district offices or on the web at: www.fs.usda.gov/goto/willamette/ycc. However, applications must be signed and submitted in hardcopy to the respective ranger districts. For further information contact the McKenzie River Ranger District in McKenzie Bridge at 541-822-3381, or the Middle Fork Ranger District in Westfir at 541-782-2283.

Image above: Photo Courtesy USFS. YCC crew members working on a wooden bridge spanning the Tire Mountain Trail.