Department of the Interior

Seasonal Park Ranger (PSAR)

Crawford, Colorado Full time

Seasonal Park Ranger (PSAR)

Department: Department of the Interior

Location(s): Crawford, Colorado

Salary Range: $24.18 - $24.18 Per Hour

Job Summary: These positions may be filled for a six month seasonal period, but can vary due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding. Anticipated Entry on Duty: April-May 2026 For additional information about the duties and/or location of these positions, please contact Tyla Guss at tyla_guss@nps.gov or 970-249-1914 x421 For more park(s) information, please visit find a park.

Major Duties:

  • Conduct regularly scheduled Preventative Search and Rescue (PSAR) patrols of various park resources such as backcountry and/or wilderness areas, park trails, campgrounds, parking lots, shorelines, rivers, docks, roads, concessions, etc. in accordance with well-established procedures and precedents. While on patrol, provide visitors with information and education to ensure their safety, obtain their cooperation, and facilitate safe visitor use of park resources. Provide administrative, operational, and logistic support to PSAR-related educational activities conducted by the organization in accordance with well-established practices and precedents. Serve as a member of a Search and Rescue (SAR) Team on events that may require trail response, ground/hasty searches, helicopter evacuations, river rescues, body recoveries, and/or litter carries. Under medical oversight, provide out-of-hospital emergency medical care for critical and emergent patients. Respond to and return safely from Emergency Medical Service (EMS) assistance/calls. Physical Demands: This position includes a mixture of duties and responsibilities that can be both sedentary as well as extremely physically demanding. Positions assigned responsibility for patrols, all-hazard incident response, search and rescue, watercraft operation, etc. may require extended periods of standing, walking, hiking, riding, rowing, and carrying of heavy items weighing more than 50 pounds over long distances, to include safety and rescue supplies for injured/ill park visitors. Employees who participate in all hazard incident operations in certain roles may be required to meet fitness requirements on a continuing basis. Work Environment: The work can include moderate risks or discomforts that require safety precautions (e.g., exposure to extreme temperatures, climates, rough terrain, wild animals, pests, and/or insects). The incumbent may be required to use protective clothing or gear, such as masks, boots, gloves, etc. Some employees may be engaged in all-risk operations and be exposed to high risk and potentially dangerous situations which require a range of safety and other precautions.

Qualifications: REQUIREMENTS CONTINUED - Physical Efficiency Battery (PEB): Applicants are required to pass the Physical Efficiency Battery (PEB) prior to entering Park Ranger-PSAR 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 Park Ranger-PSAR employees are capable of performing strenuous physical training and PSAR 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. QUALIFICATIONS: All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-01/23/2026-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 PLACEMENT FACTOR(S): This position performs Park Ranger/Preventative Search and Rescue (PSAR) duties, and the following Selective Placement Factors are required. Candidates who do not meet these requirements either by close of this announcement or in certain situations, prior to Entrance on Duty will receive no further consideration for this position. 1) Emergency Medical Responder or equivalent or higher - (First Responder, Wilderness First Responder, Wilderness Emergency Medical Responder (WEMR)) - You must upload a copy of your highest emergency medical response certification which has not yet expired with your application materials. If currently enrolled and expected to complete training to obtain an emergency medical response certification prior to Entrance on Duty as stated in the Summary section of this announcement, you must upload a copy of your course registration that shows the expected completion date. 2) Ability to climb routes using traditional climbing methods rated at 5.10 or higher using the Yosemite decimal system. You must document your climbing ability and experience in your application package. 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: SPECIALIZED 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 includes activities such as: Park Ranger, law enforcement; EMT or paramedic; forestry and/or fire management work in a park, recreation, or conservation area; management, assistant, or program specialist work involving the development and implementation of policy related to protection, conservation, management of park areas or similar operations; or other similar work. NOTE: You must include hours worked per week in your resume. Experience in single-grade interval positions (i.e., GS-0090) does not typically count toward specialized experience for the two-grade interval GS-0025 Park Ranger positions. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least one year of graduate level study in directly related fields 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, emergency management, or other closely related subjects pertinent to the management and protection of natural and cultural resources. You must include transcripts with your job application if you are qualifying based on education. -OR- COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. For example, if you have 6 months of the specialized experience described above (50% of the experience requirement), and at least 1 semester of college graduate study in a directly related field from an accredited institution (50% of the qualifying education requirement), then you would meet 100% of the qualification requirement. Note: You must include hours worked per week in your resume. You must include transcripts with your job application if you are qualifying based on education. 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. ICTAP/CTAP Statement: Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal individuals who have special prior­ity selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. Well qualified means that the applicant meets the following: OPM qualification standards for the position; all selective placement factors, where applicable; special qualifying conditions that OPM has approved for the position, where applicable; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and is rated by the organization at least at the well qualified level on all competencies.

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 01/23/2026. 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/12862200 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: 2026-01-23