Department: Department of the Interior
Location(s): Grand Canyon, Arizona, North Rim, Arizona, Yosemite National Park, California, Boston, Massachusetts, Grand Marais, Michigan, Munising, Michigan, Saint Mary, Montana, West Glacier, Montana, Cherokee, North Carolina, Medora, North Dakota, Watford City, North Dakota, Highlands, New Jersey, Crater Lake, Oregon, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Townsend, Tennessee, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Salary Range: $23.83 - $31.12 Per Hour
Job Summary: Park Ranger (Protection) apply laws and regulations to protect both visitors and resources of our National Parks, and ensure a safe visitor experience through patrols, emergency response, and investigations. Likely Entry on Duty: March - July 2026. Open to the first 250 applicants. Applications must be submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the 11/23/2025 to be considered. For more park(s) information, select "Learn more about this agency" below:
Major Duties:
Qualifications: All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-11/23/2025-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. 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. 1. Mandatory Requirements for Park Ranger (Protection): A. Mandatory Minimum Age Requirement: This position has a mandatory requirement that applicants must be 21 years of age or older. B. Mandatory Law Enforcement Commission: Applicants must meet one of the following criteria by the entrance-on-duty (EOD) date to be considered for these positions: Currently hold, or have previously held (within the past three years), a National Park Service Seasonal (Level II) or full (Level I) law enforcement commission, or equivalent within the past three years. Successful completion a Seasonal Law Enforcement Training Program during the last three years, but have not yet received a National Park Service Seasonal (Level II) Law Enforcement Commission. Will successfully complete a Seasonal Law Enforcement Training Program by the entrance on duty date from one of the approved participating academies found at https://www.anpr.org/career/prlea. NOTE: This is not regular police officer training. You MUST certify in your supporting documents the possession of at least one of the above criteria. Include your commission number with expiration date, or your anticipated graduation date from an approved NPS Seasonal Law Enforcement Academy within your resume. C. Physical Efficiency Battery (PEB): Applicants are required to pass the Physical Efficiency Battery (PEB) prior to entering law enforcement positions. The duties of this position require arduous physical exertion involving walking, running, lifting, standing, use of firearms, and exposure to inclement weather. The Physical Efficiency Battery (PEB) is a fitness test consisting of five different components: 1) agility run - measures the ability to get up from the ground and sprint while changing directions; 2) bench press - measures the upper body strength for one repetition; 3) 1.5 mile run - measures cardio/respiratory fitness; 4) sit and reach - measures the flexibility in the lower back, legs and shoulders; and 5) body composition - measures the body fat. Prior to appointment, applicants will be tested in all five components, but only the agility run, bench press and 1.5 mile run will be measured for a passing score in the 25th percentile (age and gender adjusted) of these components. These procedures will ensure that law enforcement officers are capable of performing strenuous physical training and law enforcement duties. Applicants shall be disqualified for appointment if they fail to meet any physical requirements. Probationary or seasonal employment is subject to termination for failure to meet the 25th percentile in each of the identified components being measured. 2. Selective Placement Factors: Note: All applications will be reviewed for Park Ranger (Protection) without Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) or Emergency Medical Responder/ (FR/EMR) certifications. However, EMT or FR/EMR are additional specialties applicants can be considered for. Some parks on this announcement require Park Ranger (Protection) to be certified as an EMT or EMR/FR. To be referred for the EMT or EMR/FR designation, you must meet the following Selective Placement Factors in addition to the Park Ranger (Protection) qualification standards: For Emergency Medical Technician designation - Applicants must be certified by the National Registry OR by a State EMS organization in order to be referred for the EMT designation. For Emergency Medical Responder/First Responder designation - Applicants must be certified by the National Registry OR by a State EMS organization in order to be referred for the EMR/FR designation. 3. Specialized Experience and/or Education: 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 successfully perform the duties of this position. Experience must have been performing work that provided broad knowledge of resource protection, resource education, and public use management. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include but are not limited to the following: Assisting with law enforcement or investigative work; Assisting resource management related to natural and cultural resources (museum technician, archeological technician, etc.); Assisting forestry and/or fire management (wildland and/or structural); Assisted in emergency services (emergency medical, search and rescue, emergency dispatch); Assisting in the management, information dissemination, or the carrying out of programs in a park (park guide or tour leader), conservation reserve or similar area (entrance station, backcountry office, volunteer, visitor information desk, campground ranger). -OR- B. A 4 year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with 24 semester hours of related course work (one year of full time undergraduate study is defined as 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours). - OR- C. Equivalent combination of experience and education. 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 must have been performing law enforcement duties for the protection, conservation, use, and management of natural and/or cultural resources in park areas or similar operations, which involved the application of law enforcement authorities and procedures to protect visitors and resources. Law enforcement duties include apprehending, detaining, and firearm experience. -OR- 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). -OR- C. Equivalent combination of experience and education. 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.
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 11/23/2025. **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.** 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. You will be prompted to Start the Application Process by selecting "Apply." 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/12832270 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. 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. To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Update Application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account: https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login. To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent a Federal job announcement includes the requirement that applicants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to EO 14043, that requirement does not currently apply. Federal agencies may request information regarding the vaccination status of selected applicants for the purposes of implementing other workplace safety protocols, such as protocols related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.
Application Deadline: 2025-11-23