Wilderness & Trails Internship

Position Overview:

The SBFC Wilderness & Trails Internship program (formerly Wilderness Ranger Fellowship) provides an immersive experience in Wilderness trail conservation and management through hands-on stewardship. Position Overview:

The SBFC Wilderness & Trails Internship (WTI) program provides an immersive experience in Wilderness Trails conservation and management through hands-on stewardship. Your internship will provide you with the opportunity to learn: 

1) All manner of wilderness trail maintenance skills, and real-world, in-the-field decision making that public land managers require of their wilderness stewards;

2) The ability to safely and proficiently hike, backpack, and work in a backcountry setting for 8 or more days at a time; 

3) From SBFC staff wilderness trail professionals, as well as USFS wilderness trail technicians; 

4) Alongside other interns as well as volunteers from the public;

 5) To be an on-the-ground leader for Wilderness access, education, and protection through your words and more importantly, your actions.

POSITION details:

Start Date: May 13, 2026

End Date: August 10, 2026

Compensation: $11/hour plus overtime. (Interns can expect to make about $6,000 in wages during a full season.)

Housing included in the form of group campsite.

Keep reading for more details, FAQs, and more!

Benefits:

• Housing will be provided in the form of a shared group campsite outside of Missoula during local training days and days off. Amenities at the site include potable water, restrooms with heated showers, laundry facilities (pay-to-use), a fitness center, heated swimming pool, and wi-fi. Days in the backcountry “on hitch,” are spent backpacking and living in your tent! 

• Although personal intern vehicles are rarely needed for work purposes (and having a personal vehicle is not required), we pay the federal mileage reimbursement rate of $0.70/mile for personal vehicle use for work. (This is not a relocation package, and does not cover travel to Missoula for the internship program)

• When meals are not provided, Interns will receive $80 per 8 day hitch to help cover food costs.

• Wilderness First Aid/CPR training and certification.

• 2 SBFC uniform shirts, work tools, and personal protective equipment.

• USFS Crosscut Certification.

• 11 days of trails & Wilderness training, five 8 day hitches of boots-on-the-trail, hands-on-the-tools experiential learning, working and living in the Selway-Bitterroot and/or Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness areas and surrounding wildlands, and 4 days of season presentations in communities surrounding the SBFC Wilderness complex.

Training:

Upon arrival on May 13th, interns will receive 11 days of training led by SBFC staff, external instructors, and professional Forest Service Wilderness & Trails managers. Training topics will or may include the following:

• Wilderness First Aid/CPR certification 

• USFS Crosscut Bucking certification

• Fundamentals of trail maintenance to various specifications

• Wilderness Act of 1964 history and significance

• Conducting Campsite Inventory and Solitude, Primitive and Unconfined Recreation (SPUR) Monitoring

• Leave No Trace principles and ethics

• Backcountry packing/nutrition/travel/navigation/communication

• Introduction to horsemanship and stock packing

• Leadership development, crew dynamics and interpersonal communication

location:

Homebase for the Wilderness & Trails Interns is a shared group campsite located just outside of Missoula, Montana. Field work takes place in the Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness areas in Idaho & Montana.

SBFC annually partners with all four National Forests that manage the Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Areas: the Nez Perce-Clearwater, Bitterroot, Salmon-Challis, and Payette National Forests. We occasionally even perform Wilderness trails maintenance on other National Forests! 

Each intern will have the opportunity to experience and work on several, if not all four, of the National Forests that we primarily partner with. The Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Areas are collectively over 3.6 million acres, with the lowest elevations at 1,500 ft above sea level and the tallest peaks reaching above 10,000 ft. Temperatures can range from 20 degrees F in the spring and fall at higher elevations to over 100 degrees F at the lower elevations in July and August. Depending on location and time of year, entire projects can go by without precipitation, and others can have heavy rain (or snow) multiple days in a row. 

Training will be located in the field, at provided camp sites, or in Missoula. The final week of the internship will be spent visiting the local communities surrounding the SBFC Wilderness complex, sharing your experiences from the season, and front country camping.

 Minimum Required Experience, Education & Qualifications

• Education beyond a high school diploma is not required, but our internship position is designed to fit as many college summer schedules as possible, and college students are encouraged to apply.

• Must be at least 18 years of age at the start of the season.

• Ability to commit and be present for the entire internship of 5/13/26-8/10/26.

• Coursework/experience in conservation, land management, sciences and related fields is encouraged but other disciplines and backgrounds are welcome.

• Effective communication skills and ability to be open to new experiences.

• Willingness to live in a backcountry setting out of a tent without Wi-Fi and cell service for 8 or more days at a time. Opportunities for “mini-immersions” could lead up to 19 consecutive days in a backcountry setting.

Physical requirements:

• Ability to hike 10+ miles a day for several days at a time, in difficult terrain, with a 60+ pound backpack including hand tools.

• Ability to lift up to 35 pounds repeatedly and use hand tools. 

• Willingness and excitement to work long, physically-demanding hours in all weather conditions.

Eager to learn more?

• Read blog posts from previous Wilderness & Trails Interns

• Learn about alumni interns (previously called Fellows) and their career paths

• Meet the 2025 Wilderness Ranger Fellows (i.e. Wilderness & Trails Interns)

• See how a 2022 Wilderness Ranger Fellow packed his backpack

• Read the full 2026 position description

• Ready to apply? Apply here!

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