Locations Available for Volunteer Interpretive Ranger and Wilderness Stewards
– At Lava Lands Visitor Center
– At Lava River Cave
– At Lava Butte
– Newberry Caldera
– Mt. Bachelor
– Wilderness Trailheads

At Lava Lands Visitor Center and Lava Butte:
Interpretive Ranger Hikes and Talks
• Held Daily
• 11:00 AM and 1:30 PM
• Develop and Deliver Interpretive Talk
• Optional Guided Hike
• Minimum Commitment: 1 day per week
• Lave Butte has informal interaction, no set program

School Field Trips Interpretive Ranger
• Held Daily May and first half of June and in Sept
• 10:00 AM and 12:30 PM
• Deliver Educational Interpretive Talk
• Lead students on nature hike
• Lead Activities
• Minimum Commitment: 1 day per week

At Lava River Cave:
Ranger Assistant and Bat Education Interpretive Ranger
• Held Daily
• 3:00 PM
• Develop and Deliver Interpretive Talk
• Assist Lead Ranger
• Welcome & Direct Visitors
• Ability to walk on uneven surfaces and comfortable w/dark environments
• Bat White Nose Syndrome Education
• Minimum Commitment: 1 day per week

Cave School Field Trips Interpretive Ranger
• Held Daily May and first half of June and in Sept
• Deliver Educational Interpretive Talk
• Lead students on educational hike
• Lead Activities
• Minimim Commitment: 1 day per week

In the Newberry Caldera
Roving Ranger and Visitor Services
• Open Daily
• Noon –4:00 PM, Flexible but Mid-day is Best
• Patrol Caldera Trails
• Inform Visitors, Answer Questions
• Maybe Some Micro-Trash Pick-up
• Inform Lead About Trail Status
• Minimum Commitment: 4 days per month

At Mt. Bachelor
Hike with a Ranger
• Weekends for sure, but hopefully daily
• 2:00 PM
• Develop and Lead Visitors on an Interpretive Nature Hike
• Start at Pine Martin Deck
• Inform Visitors, Answer Questions
• Minimum Commitment: 1 day per week

Patio Talks
• Open Daily
• 11:00 AM & 1:30 PM
• Develop and Deliver Formal Interpretive Talk
• Pine Martin Deck
• Inform Visitors, Answer Questions
• Minimum Commitment: 1 day per week

Wilderness Programs:
Trailhead Stewards
• Fri -Mon
• 8:00 –4:00
• Greet the public and ensuring they are aware of the NW Forest Pass and Wilderness Permit requirements.
• Provide info on wilderness rules and regulations
• Provide info on Leave No Trace and wilderness ethics to ensure visitors have a successful experience.
• Provide local info about the Deschutes National Forest and recreation opportunities in the area.
• A small mobile office will be on site for shelter and disseminating wilderness information

Wilderness Forest Ranger
• Uniformed volunteer Ranger
• Participate in extended trips into the Wilderness monitoring and attending to visitor needs.
• Higher-level volunteer opportunity
• GovtDL course can be offered to use FS Rigs

Classroom and In-Field Conservation Education:
Conservation Education Assistance
• Almost Daily and Some Weekends
• Deliver Education Programs, Presentations, and Activities for various Conservation Education Programs.
• Can be pre-and post-Monument Visits
• Monitoring and Data Collection
• Help with Activity and Curriculum Planning
• Provide Teacher Support
• Minimum Commitment: 1 day per week

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax Readings
• Elementary Schools throughout Central Oregon
• Training in early April.
• Read this beloved classic about conservation to Kindergarten-3rdgraders, and help celebrate Earth Day!
• A fun interactive reading as well as a conservation discussion with students
• Encouraged to dress in FS uniform.
• Teachers will be scheduling in April, and we are hoping to read to 1,000 students, please consider sharing this great message!

Conservation Stewardship Days
• Outdoor Adventure Day – end of May
• Free Fish Day –June
• Public Lands Day –Sept
• Batacular! –October
• And, More!

Wilderness Program
Trailhead Permit Box Maintenance
• About 2 Days per week in field and maybe a day/half-day in the office
• Time frame: peak summer, Memorial Day –October 31st
• Drive to wilderness trailheads, stocking blank permits, and collecting completed ones
• It could also be helping us scan permits into the system
• Government Drivers License course can be offered to use Forest Service vehicles.

These opportunities have high contact with the public and require the applicant to provide a thorough description of their experience interacting with the public within the “Experience” field of the Volunteer Application.

Winter Volunteer Interpretive Rangers
Represent the U.S. Forest Service at Mt. Bachelor leading Interpretive snowshoe tours and ski tours. Rangers also needed for Project SNOW, education based snowshoe program for school field-trips to Mt. Bachelor. Duties include helping visitors don snowshoes and/or skis, safely guiding up to 75 people on a 1 mile snowshoe walk, and occasional snow removal. Snowshoe and Ski Rangers are asked to commit to at least 4 hikes a month (or 1 day per week) from mid-December – end of March.

Project SNOW Educational Interpretive Rangers
Represent the U.S. Forest Service at Mt. Bachelor leading students on an educational snowshoe hike. Duties include guiding students to learn to snowshoe and discover the winter environment at Mt. Bachelor using a field based and experiential approach in science inquiry to assess nivean environments; using snow tools, animal tracking and seasonal adaptation studies. Project S.N.O.W Rangers are asked to commit to at least 4 hikes a month (or 1 day per week) from early January – end of March.

Wildlife
Lighter projects
• Surveying enclosure fences to determine
maintenance issues
• Checking maintenance requirements on
guzzlers
• Making sure gates are closed at the end
of the season
• Surveys for aspen
• 6-8 hours in a work day, flexible per
week, month, etc.
• Training on Day 1 in the field
• Use free downloadable Avenza maps for
tracking GPS coordinates and photo &
map sharing

More Physical projects
• Lopping juniper
• Fixing fences
• Fixing guzzlers

Range & Wild Horses
Range
• Photo point monitoring
• Adopt-an-Exclosure
• Inventory developments
• Escape ramp installation

Wild Horses
• Inventory Count – usually takes place in June
• Individual Photo Identification
• Reconnaissance/Scouting

Botany
Adopt-A-Scabland
• Help to protect Scablands from Invasives,
Motorized, soil erosion, livestock, and more
• In the Ochoco mountains east of Prineville
• Minimum of twice per year walk of a scab
to survey
• Complete a monitoring checklist
• Volunteers can do a variety of activities
depending on their skills, interests, and
commitment level.

Adopt Black Canyon Wilderness
• Remote Weeding Project
• May take an overnight trip to access
• Treat using manual removal and
bagging
• Visited and weeded twice a year
• May be best for a group to take on

For more information about these opportunities please contact volunteer@discoveryourforest.org

Range and Wild Horses
Wild Horses
• Inventory Count
• Individual Photo
Identification
• Reconnaissance/Scouting

For more information about these opportunities please contact volunteer@discoveryourforest.org