r/NationalParkService

I am curious if there is any park that has attempted to change pay grades to a higher grade recently? I have reached out to my supervisor for two years regarding this and have been told for two years that there are avenues to do this, and he agreed my grade should be moved up due to my current work. I understand the change of administration has changed and halted a lot, but I know parks are hiring permanent positions again (or some). In the past I asked to do a desk audit and got help from my supervisor but upon starting the process, I was told that "I couldn't do it and wouldn't be helped". I’ve recently brought it up again during my eval and got told “I can’t do anything about it now”. I really don't want to leave the Park service as I have over a decade here but at this point in my career staying at this pay grade isn't cutting it for me, especially at this job and work.

At first, we treated this as mostly a tooling problem (bad maps, no cell service, too many apps). But after thinking more about it, a big part of the issue is actually psychological. This connects to the preparedness paradox. The people most likely to get lost are often the least likely to prepare ahead of time or actually use a safety app when something goes wrong. Overconfidence and “I’ll be fine” thinking often win over preparation.

That made us question whether a standalone safety app or a pure education system really works. Education helps, but people do not want extra work before a hike, and most learning tools are easy to ignore. At the same time, tech alone does not really fix behavior either.

Current direction (Atlas, reframed):
Instead of “an app you have to learn,” we are trying to think of Atlas as a tool you just naturally use.

At a high level, the idea is to take the most useful parts of existing outdoor apps and combine them into one free, offline-first system.

So instead of jumping between different apps, you would have:

• Trails and maps (AllTrails-style)
• Location and tracking (Garmin-style)
• Basic survival info (first aid, knots, decision making)
• Park specific warnings and info

Right now, all of these are split across different tools, which makes it harder for people to actually use them when it matters. The idea is that by embedding everything into the trail experience itself, the right info shows up at the right time instead of relying on people to prepare in advance.

What we want feedback on:

• Can this actually help with the preparedness paradox, or does it still fail the same way?
• Is focusing just on trails more realistic than trying to cover everything?
• Are we still overestimating how much people will use something like this in real situations?
• How well do you think this addresses the problem compared to our past 2 prototypes?

as the title suggests, im looking for ideas for an independent project that will solidify skills for a potential graduate program in ecology next year. currently, i am an NPS biological science technician whose work mainly centers around invasive plant management and restoration/conservation.

i am unfortunately micromanaged and not given much office time. there are GIS layers with invasive plant data that havent been updated in years, but again i am not sure i would be able to talk to my boss and receive office time to update them.

should i collect my own field data and somehow find a way to interpret it in GIS or R?? i am at a loss because i genuinely feel like a laborer (which is a perfectly respectable career) but i did not join the NPS to be just that; i want to work with hard scientific data and be able to put GIS/R work on my resume like a real ecologist. we do standardized butterfly surveys which is the only task that we are given which involves actually writing temperature, species, quantity, etc data down.

is the only solution to talk to my boss and try to make them see that it is a beneficial solution for both parties, me and the National Park, to receive designated office time working with field data? i have done independent capstone projects in my Intro to GIS and Conservation Biology classes, but that is the extent of my experience. although previously, i would create polygons on GIS that correlated with each day’s herbicide treatment data at a state park. i want to do grad school in the future and i want to be accepted without applying to 30+ schools, so now is the time to make sure i am gaining skills.

any insight is appreciated!

I know how bad HR is struggling since they haven't been able to hire in over a year. How is your park faring during busy season?

I am planning a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park in July. I am traveling with a service dog. What type of restrictions would I be looking at for hiking with her? Yes, she is a certified service dog and not an ESA or therapy dog. Thank you for any feedback!

Word of warning about that new local commuting hiring authority. Part of the required documents you have upload is something to show your address and that you qualify. Many hiring managers were told things like mortgage/property deeds, rental agreements, utility bills, tax return or W-2s, insurance policies, or voters registration cards would count. What we were not told, and what applicants are now discovering, is the documents MUST be 30-60 days old.

Do not upload a picture of your license. Won’t count. No photo IDs allowed.

W-2, won’t count.

Lease/rental agreement. Won’t count if it’s too old.

That really only leaves bank statements, insurance policies, or utility bills.

The direct hiring authority is nice, but the whole point of this authority is to let hiring managers help good people that they want get hired, but then HR, which I know is short, is now rejecting the very things we were told we can tell those people would work.

Looking at jr ranger activity guides online to print and do with the kids this summer and came across this. Which locations were/are these located?

Hey all, I hope this is okay to post here! I’m a former journalist and aspiring author currently working on a series of fictional stories inspired by and set in NPS units. As some of these involve NPS ranger characters (and all of them will delve into specific, local environmental/regulatory challenges), I would really love to start compiling a list of contacts that I might be able to chat with or direct the occasional question to as they arise.

As a little bit of background on me, I’ve tabled writing for the last few years to build a career in conservation as a geospatial data specialist, so I have a pretty good feel for geographic context and the way it shapes environmental concerns, policy, and peoples’ relationships to their surroundings. I’m also an experienced hiker and camper and am currently halfway to my goal of visiting every National Park in the U.S (capital N, capital P, not NPS unit—but maybe someday!). Now that I’m finally diving back into my writing craft, I’m obsessed with the idea of merging those passions to communicate relevant issues through accessible storytelling.

All that said, while I’m comfortable speaking to outdoor settings and outdoor recreational experiences, I’m admittedly feeling way out of my depth when it comes to doing justice to all the intricacies of ranger work. It would be tremendously helpful to even just have someone who can pass me a yes/no answer when I have a question about whether an idea I’ve conceptualized is realistic.

If you’re open to connecting, please just give me a shout. I’m always happy to hop on a call to chat but am also cool with keeping correspondence digital if that’s more your speed. I don’t use social media, so email or text would be preferred.

My current focus is on Joshua Tree NP and I’m looking specifically to incorporate perspectives of interpretive rangers and SAR. Other projects I’d like to tackle in the near future involve Grand Canyon, Capitol Reef, and Glacier. That said, I’m always developing new concepts, so experience in specific parks or positions is not a limiting factor.

Thanks in advance!

ETA: I am not currently being paid for my writing in any form - it’s strictly a passion project. While I wholeheartedly agree that ranger work is both underappreciated and underpaid, I am unfortunately not in a position to offer compensation at this time. I was really just hoping to find a few contacts who might be open to causally chatting with me about their work or answering a dumb question here or there. I’m just here to learn - not trying to take advantage of anybody.

Hi guys, I recently (in the past month) found out about the SIP internship and it seems like exactly what I was looking for, and plan on applying for next summer once that becomes available. I have read that it can be very competitive, and would like to know what there is that I can do to increase the competitiveness / appeal of my application?

I am currently a rising junior undergrad student with a major in biochemistry and a minor in environmental science.

Kind of unrelated but I have the goal of going to every US national park before I turn 30, and am currently sitting at just over half (34/63)

Thank you for any advice!

Has anyone had experience working there?

I am an NPS Seasonal (0530) who recently came across these IRS Seasonal roles on USAJobs. I am curious how being an IRS Seasonal compares against being an NPS Seasonal. What is it like to be an IRS Seasonal?

Hey all,

So I’ve recently got done with an interview as a permanent GS-05 park guide in Washington D.C

I have always wanted to work for NPS, not sure if I’ll get the job, but I’d feel crazy to not accept it if I do. I’ve been struggling a lot to get a full time job after college. I’ve been jumping between seasonal jobs for the past two years. I’ve enjoyed the seasonal work, though it’d be nice to settle down for once.

With all the nonsense going on with government, I’m a bit hesitant. I don’t know why, but the Probationary Clause is making me a bit uncertain. Plus, the pay doesn’t seem that great, and I’d like to live in the city since I don’t have a car. I could possibly live somewhere close to the metro where it’s cheaper so that is an option.

Just wanted to get some insight. Thanks!

My NPS field partner smokes weed (tries to hide it) before work and during lunch breaks (off the clock). It’s legal in California, and they are not in a drug-tested role. But I’m unsure 🫤 if this warrants upping to HR or supervisor? Not ‘illegal’ and also not ‘during’ work, but I just am uncomfortable with the gray zone of policy vs out-of-work life. What is the official guidance on this? If it was alcohol it would be more clear.