Friends of Pathways employs youth trail crew that is supervised by FOP and Bridger-Teton National Forest trail staff. The youth crew provides a competitive wage and employment opportunity for local youth to further the current trails maintenance and stewardship goals of FOP and the BTNF while providing learning opportunities for youth crew members about forest management, including conservation of natural resources, balancing recreational access and activities, and fire ecology and suppression.

Come be part of an 8 member crew working on a number of projects on the Bridger-Teton National Forest this summer.  As a crew member you will help complete a variety of manual tasks including restoration and maintenance of trails, new trail lay-out and construction, and the closure and rehab of old trails.  The job requires teamwork, personal motivation, enthusiasm for new challenges, and an excitement to work outdoors!  Learn about your ability, your passion, and your local trail network!

Youth Trail Crew is an official position with Friends of Pathways, a local non-profit that works closely with the Bridger-Teton National Forest to manage 130 miles of front-country trails on Snow King, Teton Pass, and Munger Mountain.  To be considered for acceptance you must complete a written application and attend a personal interview.  Youth Trail Crew will earn an hourly wage beginning at $13.00/hour.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

  • at least 15 and not more than 18 years of age by the job start date.
  • Successfully complete the application and interview process.
  • Be eager to work closely with the USFS Trail Crew on physically demanding projects on our public lands.
  • Be able to commit to the full work schedule.  Youth Trail Crew will work from June 17-August 15 on Monday through Thursday, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm.
  • Demonstrate effective teamwork skills.
  • No previous work experience is necessary but a positive attitude is essential.

APPLICATION PROCESS

  1. Apply by 5pm on May 15th, 2019.
  2. If all application materials are received within the deadline you will be invited to a personal interview. Interviews will take place May 21-23, 2019.  Email notification of interview appointments will be sent the week prior.
  3. Candidates will be notified by May 24th.

When completing your application, don’t forget to complete all pages of the application and submit to chris@friendsofpathways.org by May 15th, 2019.

2019 Youth Trail Crew Full Description

2019 Youth Trail Crew Application

2019 Youth Trail Crew Reference

Things are going smoothly in the forest, signs are getting installed, volunteer groups are helping with turnpikes, and the trails are in good shape.  It seems like a good time to do a “meet the trail crew” segment this week to introduce you to the hardworking folks that keep the trails in good shape.  Pictured top left to bottom right are Tim, Sam, Mike, Owen, Isaac, Kate, Sarah, Jade, Matt, Trevor, Erica, Celeste, Cory, Chris, Isan, Trevor, ChrisP, Randy, Walt, and Mike.  The crew is a mix of 2 full time Friends of Pathways workers, 7 FOP Youth Trail Crew, 3 jointly employed FOP/USFS ambassadors, and 8 USFS full time crew members.  These are the hard working trail dogs that clear all the trees, clean all the waterbars, fix all the tread, brush cut all the line of sight, build all the turnpikes, install all the signage, and work with hundreds of volunteers each summer on the Jackson Ranger District.  Fun fact about the crews, they are notorious for naming their tools.  Uncle Ed the Pulaski,  Zeus the Chainsaw, Shabazz Napier the MCleod, Mr. Green Jeans the Rake, Gandolf the Pole Saw, and Rick James the Truck just to give a few examples.  Say hi to them next time you see them out on the trails and remember they always like finding cookies and lemonade in the back of the USFS truck when they get back from a long day of trail work!

Do you know a 15-18 year old who wants to spend the summer outside, working in the Bridger-Teton National Forest? 

FOP is looking for motivated teens to be a part of our Youth Trail Crew program. Crew members will work on a variety of projects on the Bridger-Teton National Forest for nine weeks starting June 13th. This is a four day a week position (32 hours); crew members will earn $11/hr. and receive a stipend for work boots. As a crew member you will help complete a variety of manual tasks including restoration and maintenance of trails, new trail lay-out and construction, and the closure and rehab of old trails. Crew members will interact weekly with resource managers from the Bridger-Teton, and will also learn about many aspects of forest and natural resource management (wildlife, recreation, forestry, fire management). The job requires teamwork, personal motivation, enthusiasm for new challenges and an excitement to work outdoors! Applicants must complete a written application and submit to chris@friendsofpathways.org by May 6, 2016 and attend a personal interview.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

  • Be at least 14 and not more than 18 years of age by the job start date.
  • Successfully complete the application and interview process.
  • Be eager to work closely with the USFS Trail Crew on physically demanding projects on our public lands.
  • Be able to commit to the full work schedule.  Youth Trail Crew will work from June 13-August 11 on Monday through Thursday, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm.
  • Demonstrate effective teamwork skills.
  • No previous work experience is necessary but a positive attitude is essential.

WORK SCHEDULE

Youth Trail Crew members are expected to arrive on time for work prepared for the day.  The normal work schedule will be Monday through Thursday, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm.  There are two 15-minute breaks and a 30-minute lunch break during the day.  The first day of work is an orientation and safety training day.  Members are also encouraged to come out for National Trails Day on June 4th to get a preview of the Josie’s Ridge Project that we will be working on for the beginning of the season.

You must have a reliable way of getting to work each day.  We will meet at the Jackson Ranger District located at 340 N. Cache St. in the Hoback Shop at 8:00am each morning.  From there we will provide transportation to the work site each day and back by 4:30 each afternoon.

APPLICATION PROCESS

  1. Apply by 5pm on May 6, 2016.
  2. If all application materials are received within the deadline you will be invited to a personal interview. Interviews will take place May 9-13, 2016.  Email notification of interview appointments will be sent the week prior.
  3. Candidates will be notified by May 20th.

When completing your application, don’t forget to complete all pages of the application and submit to chris@friendsofpathways.org by May 6, 2016.

2016 Youth Trail Crew Job Description

2016 Friends of Pathways Youth Trail Crew Application

2016 Letter of Reference

 

The Youth Trail Crew has been busy working to improve the popular Ski Lake Trail over the last 3 weeks.  They have been installing water bars and rock steps and improving the tread in areas where erosion has affected the trail.  They will be finishing up their work this week and moving to other projects so if you’re looking to take a hike high in the mountains to avoid the heat go say hi to them at Ski Lake and check out the work they have done.  The Forest Service Trail Crew has also been busy working on several reroute projects with a volunteer group from Wilderness Ventures.  They have worked on sections of trail at Ouzel Falls by the headwaters of the Gros Ventre River and rerouted the Crystal Creek Trail around the giant landslide that covered the old trail and created a lake.  The Friends of Pathways Trail Ambassadors have been out performing yearly trail maintenance on the Snow King and Teton Pass trails, digging drainage in Black Canyon, rebenching parts of the Woods Canyon, clearing trees on the Ridge Trail, and removing user created trails in the Cache Creek area.  They want to remind folks to stay off of rehabbed trails to give them a chance to grow back, and if you have any questions for them they will have the tent set up at the Flat Creek trailhead on Tuesday and at the Trail Creek trailhead on Friday morning.  Come say hi and get a map or bike bell or a dog leash.

On Thursday July 2, Friends of Pathways’ Youth Trail Crew will complete work on the bike/hike portion of the Putt-Putt Trail from Nelson Drive. Immediately following completion, rehab will begin on the old section of trail.  In the next few weeks, a separate horse/hiking trail will be completed.

Construction on the Putt-Putt separate access began during National Trails Day. Seventy-five volunteers, fueled by Lucky’s Market, built a half mile of trail through the aspen tress from Nelson Drive. This portion of trail was visited by the Secretary of Agriculture, where Vilsack praised the partnership of FoP with the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

After the initial work, the youth crew completed another half mile of trail before moving over to do rehab work on the Shade Monkey Trail at the base of Snow King Mountain. The youth crew worked alongside our Ambassador team who used a machine to buff the trail and rebuild the corners while the crew rehabbed places with excessive erosion.

“Given the heat we’ve been experiencing, these kids deserve extra kudos for working outside in the sun all day,” said Katherine Dowson, FOP Executive Director. “Their contributions to our world-class trails system are indispensable. With continued budget cuts at the Bridger-Teton, Friends of Pathways is committed to community based solutions to support our loved trail system.”

Thursday, July 2nd, volunteers from Teton Science School Operation Purple, a Military Families Retreat, will work with the youth crew to complete the last stretch of trail.  They will then begin rehab of the old Putt-Putt Trail. If you want one last hike/run/bike on the old trail, make sure you get out there before Thursday! And, schedule some time this weekend to get out on the new trail!

Do you know a 15-18 year old who wants to spend the summer outside, working in the Bridger-Teton National Forest? 

FOP is looking for 8 motivated teens to be a part of our first Youth Trail Crew program. Crew members will work on a variety of projects on the Bridger-Teton National Forest for nine weeks, June 19th – August 17th. This is a Monday – Thursday position (32 hours); crew members will earn $11/hr. As a crew member you will help complete a variety of manual tasks including restoration and maintenance of trails, new trail lay-out and construction, and the closure and rehab of old trails. Crew members will interact weekly with resource managers from the Bridger-Teton, and will also learn about many aspects of forest and natural resource management (wildlife, recreation, forestry, fire management). The job requires teamwork, personal motivation, enthusiasm for new challenges and an excitement to work outdoors! Applicants must complete a written application and attend a personal interview.

To apply for this position, you must complete an application and reference form and email it to chris@friendsofpathways.org no later than May 12, 2017. Please be sure to complete all questions on the application in a thoughtful and thorough manner. If mailing, please send this application along with your reference form to:

Youth Trail Crew
Friends of Pathways
PO Box 2062
10 E. Simpson Ave.
Jackson, WY 83001

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO DOWNLOAD THE YOUTH TRAIL CREW APPLICATION & REFERENCE LETTER:

2017 Youth Trail Crew Job Description

2017 Youth Trail Crew Application

2017 Youth Trail Crew Reference Letter