Park Ranger (General) Seasonal

US National Park Service; Iowa (LA); On-site; USD 35,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

National Park Service in the United States seeks Park Ranger (General) to protect park resources, ensure visitor safety, assist the public, and enforce park regulations. This role focuses on interpretation and visitor services across national parks.

The position emphasizes interpreting natural and cultural resources, conducting patrols, and responding to incidents. Candidates should document experience with duties across field operations and customer service, with a commitment to preserving park

Qualifications

• To qualify for GS-05, one year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-04 in park-related work.
• Examples include park guide, environmental educator, law enforcement, or related duties.
• Credit for appropriate experience and volunteer work.

Responsibilities

• Protect park resources and ensure visitor safety.
• Assist the public and enforce park regulations.
• Provide interpretive services and information to visitors.

Education

Bachelor's degree with 24 semester hours related coursework

One year specialized experience equivalent to GS-04

Job description

Park Rangers (General) protect and preserve park resources while ensuring visitor safety, assisting the public, and enforcing park regulations.

The typical seasonal entry-on-duty period is April-June but can be variable during these months due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding. Anticipated Entry on Duty: April 2027.

For more park(s) information, please visit find a park.

All qualifications must be met by 11:59 EST or when the 'applicant cut-off' is reached (which may be sooner than 10/12/2026).???????

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience.

To receive credit for experience, your 2 page resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience. Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. You may only submit one resume. Only the document submitted as the 'Resume' under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed.

To qualify for this position at the GS-05 grade level, you must possess one of the following:

• A. One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-04 level in the federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the duties of this position. Experience may have been in technical, administrative, or scientific work, fish and wildlife management, recreation management, law enforcement, or other park related work.

  Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to:

  • park guide or tour leader;
  • environmental educator or teacher;
  • law enforcement or investigative work;
  • archaeological or historical preservation research work;
  • forestry and/or fire management work in a park, recreation, or conservation area;
  • management, assistant, or program specialist work involving the development and implementation of policy related to protection, conservation, or management of park areas or similar operations;
  • or other similar work.
• B. A 4 year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with 24 semester hours of related coursework (one year of full-time undergraduate study is defined as 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours).
• C. Equivalent combination of experience and education that, together, equal 100% of the qualification standards listed above when combined.

To qualify for this position at the GS-07 grade level, you must possess one of the following:

• A. One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equips the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the duties of this position.

  Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to:

  • researching and conducting interpretative tours to point out scientific, historic, and natural features of parks, forests, historic sites, or other attractions;
  • performing routine patrol operations;
  • performing resource management tasks and duties supporting the mission of a park or area;
  • providing visitor services such as explaining regulations, answering visitor questions and complaints and providing information about the weather conditions, trip planning, or leave no trace principles;
  • checking special use permits, commercial use authorizations, camping permits, filming permits or similar work.
  • Your experience must include training/mentoring and overseeing lower-graded staff.
• B. You must possess one full academic year of graduate education related to the occupation (one year of full-time graduate education is defined as 18 semester hours).
• C. Equivalent combination of experience and education that, together, equal 100% of the qualification standards listed above when combined.

Note: This position includes money handling preference for optional consideration. Money handling requires a higher background check.

Qualifying experience may be obtained in the private or public sectors. The OPM Qualification Standards Handbook is available for review at: OPM Qualification Standards.

Volunteer Experience:

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The employees of the National Park Service care for special places that are the heritage of all Americans. Since its inception in 1916, the National Park Service has been dedicated to the preservation and management of this country's outstanding natural, historical, and recreational resources. Park ranger - interpreters connect people to parks. They play a key role in ensuring that visitors have a meaningful, satisfying, and safe park experience, help visitors decide how to spend their time in the park, and inform them about the wonders that await their discovery. Park ranger - interpreters are specially trained to engage the public so that each park visitor can find a personal connection with the meanings and values found in the places and stories of that park. They help visitors explore the many dimensions of parks by introducing them to a variety of perspectives. By providing the opportunity for visitors to care about the places they visit, they promote stewardship and the opportunity for those visitors to care for park resources. National parks are among the most remarkable places in America for recreation, learning, and inspiration. The work done by park ranger-interpreters through effective interpretive and educational programs encourages the development of a personal stewardship ethic and broadens public support for preserving and protecting park resources, so that they may be enjoyed by present and future generations.