Backcountry Horseback Naturalists

Job Description: Experience the best backcountry Yellowstone National Park has to offer! Use your wildlife and botany knowledge to work as a naturalist for Yellowstone Wilderness Outfitters. You will have the opportunity to view grizzlies, black bears, elk, and wolves all while interpreting Yellowstone’s hottest conservation issues for our guests. Guiding horseback tours in Yellowstone is the adventure of a lifetime. You are not just a tour guide; you are a Yellowstone ecology expert. You’ll learn all about the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and add extensive backcountry experience to your resume.

Interpersonal skills are vital to interacting with our guests. A guide must be able to field any and all questions about Yellowstone National Park. Knowledge of wildlife, wildflowers, general ecology, geology, and history is essential. We will point you toward materials that will help you prepare. You are essentially naturalists working on horseback. There is also a very physical side to the job. The job requires lifting 50 lbs or more, working in all weather conditions at altitudes of 6,000 to 10,000 feet, very long hours, and very few days off.

We are based out of Gardiner, MT, the North Entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Housing is required on-site in a huge, nice camper trailer, shared among other guides, and costs around $200 per month. Pets and personal horses are not allowed.

If you plan to spend all your time in the local bars, please don’t waste our time (and yours) applying. We expect all applicants to have a genuine desire to work in Yellowstone National Park.

Qualifications:
We are looking for a motivated individual who can follow basic directions and multi-task! Applicants must want to be part of a hard-working team; teamwork is what makes horseback trips run smoothly. Because you will be spending a great deal of time with our guests, you must desire to work with people and be happy to go the extra mile for our guests. Hours are long and in all weather conditions, but the reward is the Yellowstone backcountry! This is an outdoor job and you will be required to provide the equipment necessary for working in the backcountry. At a minimum, this must include: waterproof boots, western wear and hat, rain and winter gear, headlamp, Leatherman Wave, and a zero degree sleeping bag.

Specific qualifications include:
Commit to the season: June through September 2015 (exact contract dates to be determined). Be able to demonstrate experience with horses and possess competent riding skills. Video may be required of applicants. A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree is required. Previous naturalist and guiding experience is a plus, but not mandatory. Any experience with the public is beneficial. All positions are very labor intensive and applicants must be physically fit. Applicants must be at least 18 years old and arrive with valid First Aid and CPR certification. At this time, we are only able to hire US citizens or those with a U.S. work visa in-hand.

Position Descriptions: We will be hiring 1-3 guides.

Day Ride Naturalist Guide. We run half and full day rides in the Mammoth Hot Springs area. Your duties will include catching, saddling, and loading horses into a trailer; driving the trailer into the Park to meet your guests for the day; taking care of your guests along the trail and give info on YNP; serving lunch on the trail; and returning to the barn to unsaddle and check over horses and tack. You are also responsible for barn chores: basic horse health care, putting out hay, cleaning water tank, shoveling poop, and truck/trailer inspections.

Backcountry Naturalist/Wrangler. We run trips lasting four to six days every week for 13 weeks in a row. Pack trips are camping trips into the Yellowstone wilderness on horseback and take place throughout the Park. We camp in tents and sleeping bags and ride horses 15 miles per day. Your duties will include saddling horses and mules, setting up our portable electric fence, setting up camp, assisting with camp and kitchen tasks (tending the fire, fetching water, washing dishes, etc.), packing food and equipment in panniers, and assisting guests on horseback and around camp.

Backcountry Naturalist/Camp Cook. We run trips lasting four to six days every week for 13 weeks in a row. Pack trips are camping trips into the Yellowstone wilderness on horseback and take place throughout the Park. We camp in tents and sleeping bags and ride horses 15 miles per day. Your duties will include a combination of saddling horses, cooking breakfast and dinner, packing food and equipment in panniers, and assisting guests on all of our pack trips. This position requires a great deal of interacting with our guests. You will help them on the trail and discuss Yellowstone with them over breakfast. Backcountry and/or cooking experience not required.

For Application Instructions, please visit our website at  http://www.yellowstone.ws/jobs.html The application is very detailed; please be sure to follow all directions carefully and answer question fully. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Salary: $350.00 per week plus tips.

Application Deadline: We will begin reviewing applications as they are received, but must be
submitted by January 31, 2015.

Website: http://www.yellowstone.ws/jobs.html
Contact: Carrie Byron
E-mail: cbyron@yellowstone.ws