Seasonal Park Ranger (General)

Seasonal Park Ranger (General)

Department: Department of the Interior

Location(s): Keystone, South Dakota

Salary Range: $24.18 - $31.43 Per Hour

Job Summary: The purpose of this position is to provide emergency response and to educate park visitors and others about the significance of the park resources, the rules for safe use of the park and its resources, potential hazards, the mission of-the National Park Service in preserving and interpreting the national heritage of natural and cultural resources, and the importance of environmental or historical issues in the visitor's everyday activities.

Major Duties:

• Provide emergency response and to educate park visitors and others about the significance of the park resources, the rules for safe use of the park and its resources. Educate the public regarding safe use of park resources. Prepares for, performs, and provides leadership for emergencies to include emergency medical services, search and rescue, and wildland fire in remote mountainous terrain and at any time of day or night regardless of weather conditions. Monitor Park resources and visitor use to ensure minimal impact and a safe environment. Serve as a member of all hazard operations team. Incidents can include emergency medical incidents, search and rescue (SAR) operations, hazardous material spills, floods, and natural disasters and wildland fires in or adjacent to the park. Perform complex emergency medical services (EMS), search and rescue activities on land in remote and challenging conditions. Analyze emergency situations for most effective, expedient, safe and cost-conscious approach. Plans, leads and conducts patrols focused on resource protection, education opportunities and monitoring of park resources and visitor use throughout the park via foot, vehicle, and other means of transportation. Mount Rushmore National Memorial is located three miles west of Keystone, South Dakota, in the Black Hills of southwestern South Dakota. Full service medical and dental facilities, churches of most faiths, and shopping are available in Rapid City, 25 miles northeast of Park Headquarters, and in nearby Hill City and Custer. Mount Rushmore National Memorial is 1,278 acres of rugged land within the Black Hills of South Dakota. Large and steep granite outcroppings are abundant within the park. We have a world class climbing area on the west side of the park with upkept and bolted routes for climbing. Visitation is close to 3 million visitors a year, 92% of which visit between May and October. On busy summer days, we will see between 20,000 and 25,000 visitors per day. Operations are upstaffed on Memorial Day weekend, July 4th and the 10 days during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in August. Multiple opportunities for overtime exist throughout the year. We anticipate working a four - ten work week schedule. This will allow ample time to travel, explore and enjoy the numerous recreation activities provided in the area. Additional employee development opportunities, such as training and certifications, may exist as scheduling and funding allow. Clarification on Applicant Limit: Open to the first 50 applicants or until 01/13/2026 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59pm (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration. Physical Demands: The work is mostly outdoor work and involves extensive periods of standing and walking, in some cases over rough surfaces or inclines and uneven and treacherous granite outcroppings, carrying backpacks, tools, resource equipment, or other loads. This work involves extensive search and rescue, EMS, hiking, backpacking and working in remote and mountainous terrain. Requires other similar strenuous activities, often lifting or carrying equipment weighing more than 50 pounds, over long rugged distances, walking and/or hiking distances up to 6 miles a day, working at night; all of this may at times be in inclement weather conditions. This position requires being physically fit to meet the physical demands of the position.

Qualifications: All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-01/13/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your 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. SELECTIVE FACTOR: This position performs Emergency Medical Services. You must be a Certified by the National Registry as an Emergency Medical Technician (NR-EMT) OR are currently enrolled in NR-EMT training with the ability to obtain NR-EMT by entry on duty. Candidates who do not meet this requirement by close of this announcement will receive no further consideration for this position. - AND - To qualify for this position at the GS-07 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to successfully perform the duties of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is experience performing management, assistant or program specialist duties involving the development and implementation of policy for the protection, conservation, use, and management of natural and/or cultural resources in park areas or similar operations. Examples may include Emergency Services (emergency medical response, search and rescue, emergency dispatch, backcountry patrols to provide visitors with information and education to ensure their safety and safe use of park resources), report and/or assist with visitor issues/problems that may involve medical concerns, monitor special use permit compliance and threats to park resources, assist with park incidents/emergencies/etc. Law Enforcement, Fire Management (wildland and/or structural) or Park Guide / Tour Leader work. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least one full year of graduate-level education in a related field appropriate to the position such as natural resource management, natural sciences, earth sciences, history, archeology, anthropology, park and recreation management, law enforcement/police science, social sciences, museum sciences, business administration, public administration, behavioral sciences, sociology, or other closely related subjects pertinent to the management and protection of natural and cultural resources. Course work in fields other than those specified may be accepted if it clearly provides applicants with the background of knowledge and skills necessary for successful job performance in the position to be filled. You must provide transcripts. -OR- Possess a COMBINATION of specialized experience and graduate education, as described above, that when combined equal at least 100% of the minimum qualification requirement for the GS-07 grade level. Example, 6 months of specialized experience (50%) and 9 semester hours of graduate coursework towards a master's degree in a related field (50%). You must submit a copy of your transcripts as proof of any claimed education AND you must include hours per week worked. 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.

How to Apply: To apply for this position: You must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. To receive consideration, the complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 01/13/2026. You must provide documentation to support your claim for each eligibility selected. Please review the required documentation listed in the eligibilities language to ensure you submit the appropriate information. Note: You will only be marked eligible for those eligibilities that you selected and provided the appropriate supporting documentation. WE DO NOT ACCEPT HARD-COPY OR E-MAIL APPLICATION PACKAGES. Select Apply. If you are not logged in, you will be prompted to login or create an account. Prompted to Start the Application Process by selecting "Start Application." Click here for USAJobs Help with "How to create an application" To PREVIEW the application questionnaire, select the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12859208 Select or add the resume you want to use for this application. Click here on how to build a resume in USAJOBS. Select documents you want included in this application. Review package to acknowledge your documents were reviewed. Select if you want to include your demographic information. After reading and certifying the application is true and submitted in good faith, select "Continue to Agency Site." Follow onscreen prompts and instructions to complete your application. Add the supporting documents by indexing your documents with the dropdown. Upload any missing required documents or optional documents. Review and Submit Application. While logged in, you can check the status of your application by selecting "+" next to the job title for this position. You can review or revise your application at any point during the open period of the announcement. To update an application, you should log into your USAJOBS account and select "+" next to the job title for this position. Select "Update Application" for this job. Note: When you click Update Application, you will be prompted to re-select your documents from USAJOBS. Documents submitted with the first application will no longer be associated with the applicant record. So it is important that you select all documents you want to use in the re-application.

Application Deadline: 2026-01-13