Volunteer Agreements

The volunteer agreement allows the Forest Service to accept a "direct service" that is voluntarily offered. In essence, the volunteer agreement is a contract between the volunteer and the Forest Service. The agreement ensures volunteers are covered by the Federal Employees Compensation Act of 1974. It also enables volunteers to be reimbursed for incidental expenses. Whenever there is a question about what is intended, the volunteer agreement serves as the source document. A volunteer agreement can be for a one-time commitment, for one season, or can remain open for several years.

Once you have decided to work with volunteers, they must complete and sign a volunteer agreement, either Form FS-1800-7 for individual volunteers (appendix D), Form FS- 1800-8 for sponsored or group voluntary services (appendix D), or Form FS-1800-6 for international volunteers (appendix D). The individual volunteer agreement is used for persons who want to donate their time and talent to the Forest Service and are not associated with an organized group (figure 26).

Figure 26—A volunteer grinds plant tissue.
Courtesy of Elizabeth (Liza) Hernandez, Forest
Service, International Institute of Tropical Forestry

A sponsored volunteer agreement is used for persons who want to donate their time to the Forest Service but belong to or are supervised by another institution or organization or by a unit of State or local government. Some organizations whose members serve as volunteers include the Florida Trail Association, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts (figure 27), and the Back Country Horsemen. These groups recruit, train, and host volunteers along with or in partnership with the Forest Service. These volunteers are documented as a group under the name of their sponsoring organization on the sponsored volunteer agreement. In addition to Forest Service guidelines and regulations, volunteers providing service under a sponsored volunteer agreement may be provided with guidance from their sponsoring organization. Volunteers providing service under a sponsored volunteer agreement need to check with their host organization to be sure that they have all of the information they need to make their experience successful.

For the sponsored volunteer agreement, attach a list of all the volunteers' names, addresses, and phone numbers to the agreement and have each individual volunteer sign and date it. Electronic volunteer agreements can be found on the Forest Service's internal computer network at http://fs.usda.gov/wps/myportal/FSIntranet.

A volunteer agreement must be signed before the service assignment. A volunteer cannot begin service or ride in Forest Service vehicles until the agreement is signed.

The more detail you put in the volunteer agreement, the better.

The required information includes:

• Beginning and ending dates of agreement
• Volunteer's full name and address
• Description of service to be performed:
  • Service description/essential eligibility criteria
  • Duty hours
  • Job hazard analysis (JHA)
  • Personal protective equipment (PPE) required
  • Supervision provided and supervisor's name
• Reimbursements—per diem and mileage (be specific about rates and job code)

Figure 27—The Boy Scouts with a team of horses
in the background. This specially built cart allows
either mules or horses to haul materials way back
into the woods. Courtesy of Elizabeth Meadows,
Forest Service, Southern Region

Besides the required information, any items provided by the agency should be identified in the agreement:

• Transportation
• Communication equipment (radio, cell phone, etc.)
• PPE and tools
• Awards and ceremonies
• Equipment rental agreements for the use of personal equipment or animals, including Forest Service liability information

The agency's expectations of volunteers should be clearly stated in the agreement. Volunteers will:

• Complete the training plan
• Adhere to all safety practices
• Participate in tailgate safety sessions
• Adhere to all Forest Service instructions
• Adhere to all volunteer responsibilities

Finally, you may want to ask volunteers to provide the following information for the agreement:

• Phone number
• E-mail address
• Emergency contact numbers
• Physical or medical limitations including allergies
• Proof of certificates and licenses

Service Description/Essential Eligibility Criteria

One of the most important items on the volunteer agreement is the service description/essential eligibility criteria. Remember to include the position or project location, a description of the service, and the abilities required to do the tasks. Do not use the personnel management type of terminology that would be used for an employee job description. You do not want to blur the distinction between Federal employees and volunteers; maintain this distinction both on paper and in practice (FSM 1933.11).

To help you get started writing service descriptions, here are a few examples of common volunteer positions.

Visitor Center Attendant
Location: Two Canyons Visitor Center Dates: Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Hours: 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday

Volunteers will greet visitors and answer the phone. They will provide forest and recreation information to the public in person, over the phone, or by e-mail. Volunteers will also explain the rules for recreating and using facilities on public lands.

Volunteers will be responsible for ordering, maintaining, and distributing public information materials. They will maintain and change the displays in the reception area and sell interpretive association publications, recreation passes, and maps.

Volunteers will present interpretive programs (including the operation of audiovisual equipment) to individuals and large groups and lead nature walks of ½ mile or less.

Service includes use of a computer and office equipment and requires behavior appropriate to the workplace. The position will also involve standing, walking, stooping, reaching, and occasionally lifting and carrying small packages, etc.

Trail Maintenance Volunteer
Location: Pattee Canyon Trail System Dates: June 1 through September 30 Hours: Flexible between 7:30 a.m and 6:00 p.m.

Volunteers will maintain forest trails. Service will include cutting out small trees, pruning back brush, clearing downfall, and removing rocks from the tread. It will also require ensuring proper water drainage by restoring a 5-percent outslope to the trail, cleaning water bars, installing new water bars, and building drain dips. Volunteers will also monitor trail conditions, conduct trail survey reports with a GPS unit, and install trail signs. Volunteers will use common handtools such as crosscut saws, bow saws, axes, loppers, shovels, picks, etc.

The position requires being outside in a variety of weather conditions and involves strenuous physical activity such as heavy lifting, long periods of standing, bending, and carrying. Volunteers will be required to carry a 20-pound pack and walk in steep, rocky, uneven, or heavily vegetated terrain. Volunteers will also be required to behave in a manner appropriate to the workplace.

Facilities Maintenance
Location: Lake View Ranger District Dates: May through August Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Volunteers will perform general cleanup and minor maintenance on facilities, three boat launch areas, two campgrounds, and one picnic area. The service involves lawn care, grounds upkeep, general carpentry, light construction projects, sign maintenance, scraping, painting, and garbage removal.

The position includes use of riding and walk-behind lawn mowers, gas-powered weed trimmers, lawn edgers, pellet-type fertilizer spreaders, rakes, handtools, drills, power saws, paint sprayers, brushes, and rollers. Volunteers must have a valid driver’s license for travel to and from the field sites.

The service involves walking in rough, uneven terrain and being outside in a variety of weather conditions. It also requires standing, bending, twisting, carrying, and lifting. Volunteers will also be required to behave in a manner appropriate to the workplace.

Archeology Technician/Surveyor
Location: Red Rock Ranger District Dates: March 1 through June 31 Hours: Days will vary but service will be performed between 7:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Shifts will be 6 to 8 hours.

Volunteers will assist the Forest Service archeologist in conducting archeological surveys and monitoring historical sites, ruins, and remains. Field tasks include inventory surveys, site recording, photography, mapping, and test excavation. Volunteers will assist the archeologist in laboratory tasks, cataloging, data entry, and preparation of reports.

Volunteers will use archeological tools, maps, computers, office equipment, and cameras.

The service will be performed in teams of at least two persons. The service will include hiking 1 to 3 miles to site locations in rough, uneven terrain and being outside in a variety of weather conditions. It also requires standing, bending, carrying, and lifting. Volunteers will also be required to behave in a manner appropriate to the workplace.

Duty Hours

On the volunteer agreement, specify when the volunteer is on duty and off duty (figure 28). In some instances, this can be difficult to pin down but try to indicate the most accurate dates and times you can. In cases where the service is done on a flexible schedule, such as with campground hosts, stipulate in the agreement that the volunteer is on duty when they are performing tasks in the service description and off duty in all other instances. Some units have neglected to specify the duty hours and paid the price when a volunteer was injured during "off-duty" hours. Since the agreement did not specify duty hours, the volunteer was assumed to be on duty instead of off and the unit was liable for the injury.

Figure 28—The Fort Braden F-Troop relax after hours
of repair work on the Fort Braden hiking trail. Courtesy
of Megan Eno, Florida Trail Association

Job Hazard Analysis

A job hazard analysis (JHA, Form FS 6700-7; appendix D) tailored to your volunteers' specific position or project and location must be prepared for all office and field positions, projects, and activities. This document outlines the tasks, hazards associated with each task, the abatement actions taken, and the emergency evacuation plan.

Several resources are available to help you complete a JHA.

• Health and Safety Code Handbook (FSH 6709.11).
  
  
• JHA software—available from MTDC's internal Web site (Hoshide 2006).
  

Each of these JHAs will have to be tailored to your specific situation.

After the JHA is written, it must be approved and signed by the line officer before beginning on a project (FS-6700-7 (2/98); FSM 6700, Volunteers Program; FSH 6709.11; and FSH 6709.12). After preparing and reviewing the JHA, volunteers must sign that they understand the hazards, the safety procedures, the mitigating measures (PPE, etc.), and the emergency evacuation plan. This plan includes communication information, such as radio protocol, radio frequencies, and the Forest Service law enforcement or sheriff's office radio frequency and phone number. Volunteers should have a copy of the JHA at their project site.

Rights and Responsibilities

All volunteers have certain rights and responsibilities that should be explained to them and included in the volunteer agreement.

Volunteer Rights

• The right to be treated with respect
• The right to a workplace free of harassment
• The right to a workplace free of hostile conditions
• The right to a suitable assignment
• The right to training
• The right to qualified supervision
• The right to safe working conditions

Volunteer Responsibilities

In the agreement, you will need to make clear to your volunteers that the Forest Service expects all its representatives to adhere to civic-minded principles in matters of personal conduct and to exhibit a high degree of personal integrity. They will also need to know that acceptable conduct involves not only sincere respect for the rights and feelings of others, but the assurance that their personal conduct avoids any action that might be harmful or considered discriminatory to other volunteers, employees, or the Forest Service—or that might cause an unfavorable reaction from the public. The volunteer's responsibility is to perform the service as described and agreed to in the volunteer agreement and to maintain a high standard of ethics and conduct.

Here is a list of prohibited activities that should be included in the agreement.

• Possession or use of firearms except when authorized (Heath and Safety Code Handbook, sections 25.35, 51.2, and 51.21)
  
  
• Consumption of intoxicating beverages
  
  
• Possession or use of any illegal drugs
  
  
• Use of Government-owned or Government-leased vehicles, property, tools, equipment, or telephones except as provided in the volunteer agreement
  
  
• Fighting, use of derogatory language, intimidating behavior, discrimination, sexual harassment, violent or threatening behavior
  
  
• Possession of pets without special permission of the district ranger or line office
  
  
• Violation of any State game and fish regulation
  
  
• Violation of any Federal, State, or local law
  
  
• Selling or distributing non-agency products or literature in a Forest Service facility
  
  
• Disclosing confidential information

Violation of any of the above prohibitions may constitute grounds for dismissal or other disciplinary action.

Finalizing the Agreement

After you have completed the volunteer agreement, the volunteer and the line officer must sign it. The official agreement is kept in your records and a copy is given to the volunteer and his or her supervisor.

One last thing about agreements, remember to keep them current and signed by the appropriate line officer. If the agreement is for an extended period of time, a periodic or annual review should be made to ensure that the terms of the agreement are still accurate. Do not let them become outdated. Terminate agreements once the service is completed.

Modifying the Agreement

The volunteer agreement can be modified at any time with the written consent of each party. The existing agreement can be terminated, a new agreement can be developed, or a signed and dated amendment can be attached to the existing agreement. Minor changes to the agreement can be made to the original document and initialed by the volunteer and the Forest Service official.

Terminating the Agreement

The volunteer or the Forest Service may cancel the agreement for any reason and at any time upon notifying the other party.