Fee Ranger Fall / Winter 2020 - 2021

Requirements:

We are seeking fee rangers for the Oct. 21, 2020 through February 28, 2021 season.  You must be available for the entire season. We anticipate filling three positions this season.

Single individuals are encouraged to apply. We will consider couples if we can find an appropriate position for your partner.

The Fee Ranger Position requires that you work three and 1/2 days per week, eight hours per day for three days and one four hour day Oct. 26, 2020 through February 28, 2021. Your lunch break will be one hour.

You may be required to have a federal background investigation completed for this position.  If you have had a favorably adjudicated federal background investigation completed, please indicate the year and agency you were working for on your application.  You will be required to submit your fingerprints and personal identifying information. 

Must be able to stand and reach out fee booth window to carry out transactions. The fee booth is furnished with office style chairs so that you can rest between vehicles and read a book or work on your own laptop or other electronic device. Protective barriers will be in place and you will be provided with personal protective equipment that may be required during the COVID-19 pandemic. You will be asked to comply with COVID-19 safe work practices to protect yourself, your fellow team members and the public.

Must have basic math skills for handling transactions involving money. This is a great position for someone that enjoys working independently and takes pleasure in the quiet time in between the little rushes of visitors.

You will be required to complete a free online defensive driving course, if you have not completed one in the last three years.  

CORE DUTIES: 

Meets and cheerfully greets visitors while staffing the refuge fee booth. Explains basic refuge regulations to visitors such as areas open for biking, hiking, and walking dogs. Offers basic wildlife observation advice and gives driving directions. As a public point of contact receives reports from visitors about rare wildlife sightings, problems or violations and calls for appropriate refuge staff to deal with the issue.

Concisely explains the refuge entrance fee options. Operates a cash register to account for entrance passes sold. Uses a calculator to balance money in cash drawer and complete end of shift report form. Maintains security of fee booth, collected funds and accountable stock (i.e. refuge passes, senior passes, military passes and inter-agency passes) by locking doors and transporting money to refuge headquarters using a government motor vehicle.

Interpretive roving and assigned tasks such as: Restocks brochure dispensers at kiosks and trailheads. Safely picks-up and disposes of litter found along roadways, trails and visitor areas.

Maintains fee booth in a clean and tidy condition. Cleaning may include, sweeping, washing fee booth windows, wiping counters, emptying trash cans and other tasks as assigned or as seen as needed by the volunteer.  Washes assigned government vehicles

The fee booth has a heater, electrical service and great views of wetland habitats and distant mountains. The fee booth does not have a landline phone so you would not be answering or transferring phone calls.

COLLATERAL DUTIES:

Assists with other projects as assigned based on the needs of the refuge which could include assisting with janitorial duties. The daily mail run to San Antonio for the refuge and cooperating association, pick-ups and distributes government and personal mail and packages. Maintains the volunteer's portable toilet located adjacent to the fee booth.  The COVID-19 pandemic could result in operational changes.  If the Fee Booth is closed the volunteer will be required to take on other duties in order to fill a minimum of 24 hours per week.  These duties could include tasks that are more physical in nature such as assisting with; landscaping, invasive plant removal, painting, minor carpentry, organizing and cleaning refuge warehouses and many other projects that are on the refuge “long-term to do list”.

Complies with volunteer uniform policy. Maintains a neat and professional appearance.

Recreational opportunities, available services and weather:

Bosque del Apache NWR is located 90 miles south of Albuquerque and 18 miles south of Socorro, New Mexico.

The town of San Antonio eight miles north of the refuge along paved Highway 1, has three restaurants, a small convenience store with excellent fudge, ice cream and unleaded gasoline.  The City of Socorro has; a small hospital and a Presbyterian run medical clinic as well as other doctors, a dentist and eye doctor,  Walmart Super Center with a pharmacy, a John Brooks grocery store with a pharmacy, multiple restaurants, two hardware stores, three auto part stores, vehicle maintenance and repair services, three banks, churches and is home to New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology a beautifully landscaped university campus with a public golf course, public coffee bar and dining hall, Mineral Museum and performing arts center.

Albuquerque offers all the amenities you would expect of a major metropolitan area.

The refuge is located in the northern part of the Chihuahuan Desert and experiences the dramatic night to day temperature change typical of desert environments (40 degrees or more).  Anticipate freezing temperatures during many nights.  The mountain ranges to the west and the Rio Grande Valley to the east give the area a moderate climate throughout the year. Approximately five inches of precipitation occur during the period November through March. Summers can be hot and dry.

We are close to National Forests, spectacular Bureau of Land Management scenery, interesting National Park Service historic sites and state and county parks. There are numerous opportunities to hike, bike and explore historical sites as well as wilderness, ponderosa pine forests and beautiful canyons.

For additional information pleas visit the refuge website:  http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Bosque_del_Apache/  and folow us on Facebook