Jobs with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
The Bureau of Land Management tends 270 million acres of land across the United States. They help to manage and protect public lands focusing on preserving the natural resources and commercial interests of the land. Most land controlled by the bureau is wildlife refuges, trails, recreation areas, and scenic rivers and byways.
Jobs with the Bureau of Land Management are awesome jobs if you can get your hands on them. They are jobs similar to jobs offered in the National Forests or National Parks – they keep you outdoors in the natural environment that you love. It’s interesting that there are more seasonal jobs available at the Bureau of Land Management than full time positions. This is great for people trying to make some money over their summer vacation or taking a gap year.
Most jobs available are in fire control or surveying, but there are other jobs available too. The Bureau of Land Management usually does not require much experience and they are more than happy to help college students with jobs that relate to their majors, especially if their majors are biology, wildlife, or forestry.
The Bureau of Land Management pays on the government approved pay scale. It’s decent money, but the true value is in what you are doing.
Most jobs are located west of the Mississippi, and there are always seasonal positions that need to be filled. A few of these seasonal jobs are surveying aids, forestry technicians and aides, range management, and biological aides and technicians. All of the jobs work toward restoring damaged ecosystems to their full potential. You may spend your season assisting surveyors, monitoring equipment, marking and inspecting trees for various diseases and insects, enforcing trespassing rules, compiling reports, or studying soils or fish habitats.
If you want to work for the Bureau of Land Management, you need to apply through state offices for the region that you’re interested in because there are no Bureau of Land Management offices. Depending on where you apply, you may be hired by state employment offices or by the district offices. Either way, you’ll be working for a season in the great outdoors and seeing some beautiful scenery while you do it.