OUTREACH NOTICE District Ranger COMING SOON We are recruiting for the District Ranger position on the North Fork RD with duty station in Orofino Idaho. |
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The North Fork |
WHY COME TO NORTH IDAHO AND THE CLEARWATER NF?
- Friendly small-town living in Orofino - population 3,500.
- Not a single traffic light in Clearwater County - We sometimes have a "rush minute" though.
- Only an hours drive to Lewiston ID - a city of 35,000 with most large city amenities and stores.
- Miles and miles of gorgeous streams and rivers including Kelly Creek - world renowned for cutthroat trout.
- Lewis & Clark and Nez Perce National Historic Trails
- Motivated and committed project teams.
- An amazingly mild four-season climate in the Clearwater Canyon at Orofino but all the winter and snow you'd ever want just minutes above.
THE OPPORTUNITY
The North Fork District Ranger is a member of the Forest Leadership team for the Nez Perce and Clearwater National Forests. This is an exciting time for the Forests as they are currently seeking approval for an adminstrative combination. This is an opportunity to lead change on the two Forests.
The Forests operate with a unified budget and program of work. The Forest leadership team has a strong colloborative ethic and we share many positions between the two units. After years of informal sharing of positions between Districts we are now looking at geographic zones where some District personnel are shared. The North Fork District primarily shares people with the Palouse District which is located about 1-1/2 hours away in Potlatch, Idaho.
Teamwork and collaboration both internally and with external partners and the public are highly valued traits on the Forest.
A decision on the Clearwater NF Travel Plan is expected before summer 2011 and it will result in some notable changes to trails and areas open to motorized recreation on the District.
The sheer size and remote nature of the District means that some District personnel spend considerable time in the summer working out of the work Centers at Canyon and Kelly Forks. The entire District fire organization moves to these stations from roughly May through October.
North Fork RD
- 777,000 Acres - almost 99% National Forest land within the boundary and over 74% roadless.
- About 210,00 acres of the District is considered roaded and hosts a wide variety of timber species growing on very productive sites.
- 146,000 acres recommended for Wilderness by the Forest Plan in the Mallard Larkins and Great Burn (Hoodoo) areas. These areas are located contiguously to areas recommended for Wilderness on adjacent NF's.
- Aggressive program to restore historic vegetation patterns using prescribed fire
- A history of promoting and utilizing managed wildfire across the vast backcountry to restore natural processes and improve wildife habitat.
- Moderate-scale vegetation management program using timber harvest as the primary tool in the roaded landscape
- Vast, steep, heavily timberered landscape
- Small minerals program primarily composed of recreational suction dredgers Moose and Orogrande Creeks
- No grazing allotments or range program.
- Energetic recreation program focused primarily on dispersed camping much of which occurs along the many large streams on the District including the main North Fork Clearwater, Kelly Creek, Skull Creek, and Orogrande Creek.
- Ongoing and very popular program to develop quality ATV trails in the developed landscape.
- Ten outfitters provide mostly hunting opportunities but also some fishing and summer trips.
- Four rental cabins/lookouts with two more in development
- Extensive trail system of nearly 800 miles primarily in the backcountry.
- 130 miles of the North Fork Clearwater, Kelly Creek an Cayuse Creeks recommended for Wild & Scenic River designation
- 5 Research Natural Areas including the Aquarius RNA which hosts a coastal disjunct plant community and is the largest RNA on the Clearwater NF.
- Multiple public partners doing things like trail and recreation maintenance, backcountry monitoring, and weed inventory and monitoring.
- Some of the wettest country in the Rocky Mountains with much of the District in the 50 inch plus annual precip range and some places receiving almost double that..
THE LOCATION
The North Fork Ranger Station is co-located with the Forest Supervisor's Office in Orofino, ID, a full-service town of about 3,500 people located along the main Clearwater River, which is the duty station for this position. During the field season you may also stay intermittently at Canyon and Kelly Forks Work Centers (see photo) while doing project work in the more remote areas of the North Fork. Canyon and Kelly Forks are remote stations served by generators and only satellite and radio communications.
INTERESTED?
Let us know by filling out the outreach response form and email or fax it to us.
NEED MORE INFO?
Contact: Ralph Rau, Deputy Forest Supervisor at (208) 983-7017 or by email rerau@fs.fed.us
More info about the forest and duty station.
Clearwater National Forest WWW Site: www.fs.fed.us/r1/clearwater
Community Information: www.orofino.com
Lower Cayuse and Kelly Creeks |
Canyon Work Center |
Kelly Creek and Hanson Meadows |
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Irish Railroad Rapids - North Fork Clearwater River |
North Fork Clearwater River |
Orofino Area |
Orofino |
Shale Mountain - Great Burn Recommended Wilderness |
Visitor at Weitas Guard Station |
The Endless Sea of Mountains Described by Lewis & Clark |
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