The U.S. Forest Service offers a wide variety of employment opportunities both Permanent and Temporary Seasonal jobs. All of these jobs are outreached through the US Forest Service Outreach Database, once the outreach has closed they are advertised through the USAJOBS website. You can search the openings by agency, location, salary range, or by "series" (a system for identifying the type of work). Some positions are only open to current Federal Employees; only the jobs open to everyone will be shown in the search results.
Our Washington Office website includes additional information on How to Apply, Salary & Benefits, Student Programs, as well as Volunteering.
Volunteering
The U.S Forest Service Volunteer Program has something for almost everyone: retirees, professionals, homemakers, students, as well as service clubs and organizations. If you like people and care about our country's natural resources, the Forest Service needs your time and talents. The Intermountain Region has a great program with many opportunities.
The Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) is a summer youth employment program that engages young people, ages 15 to 18, in meaningful work experiences on national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, and fish hatcheries. Youth are engaged in fun, exciting work projects designed to develop an ethic of environmental stewardship and civic responsibility such as include work such as building and repairing trails; preserving and repairing historic building; removing invasive species; helping with wildlife and land research; and leading environmental education.
The Boise National Forest has YCC members from the local communities within the Emmett, Idaho City, Cascade and Mountain Home Ranger Districts. There are no living quarters available and YCC applicants must live within the community. If you need further information, you may call 208-615-2726 or 208-488-2191.
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is the Nation’s foremost Federal forestry organization, providing leadership in the management, protection, use, research, and stewardship of natural and cultural resources for the country’s vast forests and grasslands. People are the U.S. Forest Service’s most valuable asset. The organization functions within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), propelled by the dedicated workforce of permanent and temporary seasonal employees that totaled over 40,000 employees during the peak summer work season in FY2015. This workforce included a permanent workforce of over 28,000 employees and a temporary workforce of over 12,000 employees.
With such a large permanent and seasonal workforce, it stands to reason that there is a large volume of hiring done each year. For example, in FY15 there were over 19,000 positions filled, with about 7,200 of these being permanent employees and over 12,000 being temporary employees. Of the approximately 7,200 permanent hires done, about 1,800 were new to the Agency.
The U.S. Forest Service provides the opportunity for people to enjoy the National Forest lands. When you work with us, you are sustaining the nation's forests and grasslands for future generations. Working for the U.S. Forest Service has long lasting impacts, we want you to be a part of it.
The mission of the USDA ForestService is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. For more information on working for nature, check out our USDA Forest Service You Tube (link is external) channel.
Getting started...
USAJOBS.GOV is the place to apply and acquire all jobs within the U.S.D.A. Forest Service and other federal agencies.
This user-friendly website has been updated to better serve users searching for their ideal job.
Some advantages with a website designed to find you a career:
You can now search for jobs by unique hiring paths.
You can now use one or more filters to search by pay, department, work schedule and more.
Job searches were made more intuitive by combining the basic and advanced search options into one search view.
Search technology was replaced to deliver faster and more relevant job search results.
To ensure continued interest and availability, applicants need to keep their applications current by updating every 60 days.
Make sure you have the correct OCR (job announcement number) for your application.
Many summer job opportunities begin the application process as early December and continue through June.
Helpful Links
Forest Service Outreach Database: The US Forest Service Outreach Database is used to search for up-coming job announcements and current job opportunities. Access the database to explore opportunities prior to applying in USAJobs.
Putting Your Best Foot Forward:Take the time to figure out who you are, what you like to do, what you are best at, and what strengths, skills or competencies you offer employers.
What to include in your resume: If you have never applied for a federal job before it would benefit you to follow the template in USAJobs as it has you follow the process of everything that needs to be in your resume.
Check out our employees who really enjoy their careers!
A career with the Forest Service will challenge you to manage and care for more than 193 million acres of our nation’s most magnificent lands, conduct research through a network of forest and range experiment stations and provide assistance to State and private forestry agencies. It’s an awesome responsibility and the rewards are as limitless as the views. The Boise National Forest offers many different types of challenging and rewarding careers.
A wise man once said, If you love what you do the money will come"....
Other types of Vacancies:
The Pathways Program
The Pathways Programs offer clear paths to Federal internships for students from high school through post-graduate school and to careers for recent graduates. More Information.
United States Forest Service (USFS) is committed to recruiting and employing qualified veterans. We actively recruit eligible veterans for multiple occupations.
The greatest number of the seasonal jobs are fighting fires. Seasonal jobs in firefighting may include working with a local unit handcrew, rappel crew, hotshot crew, or engine crew. Remember, these are tough jobs usually performed in primitive, backcountry conditions.
