PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
14 JANUARY 2025
CONTACT: Gabriel Howe, Executive director
Siskiyou Mountain Club
gabe@siskiyoumountainclub.org
(458)-254-0657
SiskiyouMountainClub.org
Pacific Northwest Trails Group Hiring 2025 Interns: "A new generation is stepping back in, literally."
14 JANUARY 2025 | GOLD HILL, OR. -- Siskiyou Mountain Club is hiring interns to serve on the nonprofit's Wilderness Conservation Corps trail crew for the 2025 season. Interns come from all over the country and work directly with stewardship professionals to rebuild trails fading from remote national forests across the Pacific Northwest.
Crews onboard remotely in the spring, start work in June, and earn an $1,800 monthly stipend through the summer. They backpack into remote work sites where crews camp out for up to two weeks sawing logs, clearing brush, and digging out trails "lost underneath a 30-year-long divestment from America's great national forests," says executive director Gabriel Howe. "A new generation is stepping back in, literally."
To read the full program description, learn more, and apply, go to siskiyoumountainclub.org/wcc2025. To sign up for an informational Zoom call scheduled for January 30, February 13 and February 27, email alex@siskiyoumountainclub.org or call 458-254-0657.
"This program is for anyone who is eager to do the hard work it takes to restore public lands in the 21st century," says Howe. "SMC crew members are serious about their commitment." One of those crew members was 2024 intern Brynn Chambers of Illinois.
"It was one of the most challenging experiences of my life," says Chambers, who applied in part to make meaningful connections with professionals in the field. "Now I'm applying for ranger jobs with different parks." Many SMC interns have gone on to pursue careers in natural resources, and some stick with the Club, promoting into seasonal staff positions.
This season, crews will find themselves working throughout the Pacific Northwest in wildernesses like the Marble Mountain, Sky Lakes, Kalmiopsis, and others. Sometimes the groups are packed in with horses and mules to lighten the load of 50+ pound packs plus tools.
The Club provides accommodations for off-trail days which include visits to local destinations like Crater Lake, the Redwoods, and the Oregon Coast. Those visits are paired with workshops designed to drive professional development. There is an emphasis on teamwork, and interns live and work undistracted by phones or technology, which they leave behind during work hitches.
In addition to spending around 50 days in the backcountry, interns can accrue a list of industry credentials and SMC managers help interns build their new skills and experience into new or updated resumes. Some interns build portfolios of writing, photos, or video to chronicle their experience (see below).
"You get what you put into it," adds Howe, "and we don't sugarcoat anything." Projects are funded through agreements with the USDA Forest Service, Oregon Recreational Trails Program, Mid-Klamath Watershed Council, the Club's 2025 sponsors, and over 1,800 annual members who support the mission to restore and maintain trails in the Siskiyou backcountry and beyond.
Resources and links
Learn more and apply: www.siskiyoumountainclub.org/wcc2025/
Email alex@siskiyoumountainclub.org to join information Zoom sessions on January 30, February 13 and February 27.
Watch 2024 intern Joseph Spencer's portfolio, a five-minute film: "A Drop in the River"
Watch A Long Way to Nowhere, 30 minute film follows 2023 intern across the Kalmiopsis Wilderness
Siskiyou Mountain Club Youtube channel, a great place to watch short films from the wilderness: https://www.youtube.com/@SiskMtnClub
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