Siskiyou Mountain Club
Long live the backwoods trails
04 DECEMBER 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: GABRIEL HOWE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
GABE@SISKIYOUMOUNTAINCLUB.ORG
541-708-2056
SISKIYOU MOUNTAIN CLUB HIRING FOR 2019 FIELD SEASON: “Old fashioned hard work and determination.”
04 DECEMBER 2018 | ROGUE RIVER-SISKIYOU NATIONAL FOREST, OR. — Siskiyou Mountain Club is on the search for 2019 Wilderness Conservation Corps interns and crew leaders. Go to www.siskiyoumountainclub.org/jobs for job descriptions and application instructions.
The Club’s deputy director, Karly White, says she’s looking for “people who are self-motivated and looking for a challenge.” White, a native of Pennsylvania, was a 2017 intern. She rose the ranks to field staff in spring 2018, and had landed herself a permanent title by September this year. “We’re looking for people who are real,” she says.
Her supervisor, executive director Gabriel Howe, says successful applicants need to be “both passionate about wilderness, and tough.”
Interns start the program in April with a range of remote assignments, including completion of a certificate recognized by the University of Montana’s Arthur Carhart Wilderness Training Center. Crew leaders start field work in April with training and technical projects lead by the Club’s field director, Aaron Babcock and his deputy, Trevor Meyer.
Starting June 21, the crew endeavors on a series of backcountry trail projects in the Siskiyou and Kalmiopsis federal wilderness areas. They pack their food and supplies in to work 10 days on, four days off, and get a break in July to go backpacking without tools. “We work long, hot, smokey days,” adds White.
Howe says his crews don’t count the hours. “They count miles,” he says. “There’s a job to be done and we work together to succeed.”
The program ends August 29. Interns receive a $1,200 monthly stipend and up to $1,000 in bonuses for school. Crew leads make $16 to $18 per hour, work plenty of overtime, and are eligible for the Club’s Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield health and dental plan after 60 days of employment. The Club provides housing for crews on their days off between June 21 and August 29.
Over the years, the program has received recognition in communications such as Oregon Field Guide, High Country News, Backpacker Magazine, Outside Magazine, and many newspapers throughout the West.
“I get quoted a lot,” says Howe. “But it’s these crews that make the stories, through old fashioned hard work and determination.”
The program is funded by grants through the Rogue River-Siskiyou and Klamath national forests, Oregon Recreational Trails Program, REI Medford, and private donors.
Go to www.siskiyoumountainclub.org/jobs/ for job details and application instructions. Job inquiries can be sent to jobs@siskiyoumountainclub.org. ###
