Alaska State Parks Volunteer Program Campground Host Positions - 2012

Chugach Area Office
18620 Seward Hwy
Anchorage, AK 99516
phone: (907) 345-5014
fax: (907) 345-6982
email: csp@alaska.gov

Note: Please be sure to check the general information page for instructions on applying! Don't forget to look at the More Information on Campground Hosting page. Click here to return to the area listing of host positions.

The following host positions are all located within Chugach State Park. The half million acres of Chugach are mostly wilderness with rugged mountains, sweeping glaciers, and abundant wildlife. The park is next door to Anchorage and offers a wide variety of outdoor recreational opportunities.

Glen Alps Caretaker Cabin - Hillside Host
Summer Season: The Anchorage Hillside Host is responsible for providing basic services at four popular Chugach State Park trailheads: Glen Alps, Upper O’malley, Upper Huffman, and Prospect Heights. During summer, Glen Alps is one of the busiest areas of the State Park system drawing thousands of visitors weekly. Common activities in the area include wildlife viewing, hiking, dog walking, climbing, berry picking, and biking. Job duties include restroom cleaning, garbage pickup, visitor counts, incident reporting, visitor interaction, and other duties as assigned. Requirements of this position include working with minimal supervision, exercising good judgment, and maintaining high maintenance standards.
Summer Season: 5/15 - 9/15
Contact: Ranger Kurt Hensel
Phone: 907-345-5014
Fax: 907-345-6982
Email: kurt.hensel@alaska.gov

Winter Season: Winter duties include those described above although on a smaller scale due to decreased visitation. The winter position can be physically demanding. Duties during winter include snow removal (snow-blower/shovel), maintaining access to fee stations and latrines, snowmobile operation, and winter trail maintenance. Activities during winter include skiing, hiking, sledding, wildlife viewing, and snowmobiling (depending on snow-pack). Experience in winter-based activity is especially helpful for this position.
Winter Season: 9/15 - 5/15
Contact: Ranger Kurt Hensel
Phone: 907-345-5014
Fax: 907-345-6982
Email: kurt.hensel@alaska.gov

BIRD CREEK CAMPGROUND IS CLOSED PENDING RECONSTRUCTION
AND WILL RE-OPEN SUMMER 2013

Bird Creek Campground
Bird Campground is located at mile 101 of the Seward Highway approximately 20 miles South of Anchorage. The campground is located between the highway and the picturesque Turnagain Arm, which is famous for its Bore Tide and its Beluga whales. Towering spruce trees and stands of birch surrounding the campground provide an attractive background for 28 camping sites. The campground is popular due to its proximity to Bird Creek that is a stocked salmon fishery managed by the Department of Fish and Game. The campground receives high use on holidays with moderate to high use on most weekends. A hand water pump provides potable water but no pressurized water is available. Water can be brought in from the overflow campground across the street. The host site has electrical hookups. Many visitors stop on their way through to Seward or the Kenai Peninsula for fishing or travel. Bird Campground is within easy travel of Anchorage which includes amenities such as sanitary dump stations, visitor information center, supermarkets, hotels, gas stations, mechanics, restaurants, and hospitals with ambulance service, State Troopers and a local fire department.
Special Projects: Visitor information, daily visit counts, light maintenance, and park watch. Need to possess a high interest in public contact and offering public information on trails, hazards, and directions. Position offers great opportunities and physical exercise for the recreation minded person.
Amenities: Expense allowance, phone, electricity.
Season: 5 months, 5/1 – 9/30, entire season desired.
Phone: 907-345-5014
Fax: 907-345-6982
Email: csp@alaska.gov

Bird Creek Campground Overflow
Bird Campground Overflow is located at mile 101 of the Seward Highway approximately 20 miles South of Anchorage. The overflow campground is located above the highway with views of the picturesque Turnagain Arm, which is famous for its Bore Tide and its Beluga whales. The campground is popular due to its proximity to Bird Creek that is a stocked salmon fishery managed by the Department of Fish and Game. It is well known for its quiet family atmosphere that people return to year after year. The campground receives high use on holidays with moderate to high use on most weekends.  The host site has electrical, water, and septic hookups. Many visitors stop on their way through to Seward or the Kenai Peninsula for fishing or travel. Bird Campground Overflow is within easy travel of Anchorage which includes amenities such as sanitary dump stations, visitor information center, supermarkets, hotels, gas stations, mechanics, restaurants, and hospitals with ambulance service, State Troopers and a local fire department.
Special Projects: Visitor information, daily visit counts, light maintenance, and park watch. Need to possess a high interest in public contact and offering public information on trails, hazards, and directions. Position offers great opportunities and physical exercise for the recreation minded person.
Amenities: Expense allowance, phone, electricity, water, and septic.
Season: 5 months, 5/1 - 9/30, entire season desired.
Phone: 907 345-5014
Fax: 907-345-6982
Email: csp@alaska.gov



McHugh Creek Day Use Area
Located at mile 112 of the Seward Highway, McHugh Creek provides stunning views of the Kenai Mountains and Turnagain Arm. It consists of 30 parking spaces, latrines, picnic tables and fire pits. Belugas and the popular bore tide are often summer time attractions. A jumping off point for the Turnagain Arm area, many people use McHugh to access the many trails paralleling the Seward highway. McHugh is also an access spot when hiking to picturesque Rabbit Lake. On weekends, McHugh creek fills with picnickers and nature viewers. During spring and early summer it is common
to see moose calves wandering with their mothers throughout the area.
Special Projects: Visitor information, daily visit counts, light maintenance, and park watch. Need a high interest in public contact and offering public information on trails, hazards, and directions. Applicant should have a strong interest in hiking and biking. Position offers great opportunities and physical exercise for the recreation minded person.
Amenities: Expense allowance, phone, electricity, water, and septic.
Season: 5 months, 5/1 - 9/30, entire season desired.
Phone: 907-345-5014; Fax: 907-345-6982
Email: csp@alaska.gov

Eklutna Lake Campground (2 host positions)
This 50-unit campground also has an 8-site overflow, two group camping areas, picnic area and trailhead to 30 miles of trail. It is located one hour north of Anchorage at the western end of 8-mile long glacier fed Eklutna Lake. There are mountains, glaciers, and wildlife viewing for Dall sheep, mountain goats, wolves, coyote, moose and bear. The area offers opportunities for hiking, biking, ATV'ing, horseback riding, paddle boating, and Dolly Varden fishing. Host duties include welcoming campers and day users and acquainting them with the park area and facility; informing visitors of the park regulations, policies and fee requirements; staffing an entrance fee station on the weekends and holidays to collect fees and answer questions regarding the park, as well as local and statewide attractions; deterring vandalism/criminal mischief; responding to emergencies by contacting the appropriate law enforcement or EMS agency; and informing the area ranger of any problems. Assist the area park ranger and staff with the day-to-day operation and maintenance of the campground facilities including traffic control, janitorial maintenance of latrines, light repairs, painting, litter pickup, cleaning fire rings, some documentation and office work. There are two positions, one for the main campground and one for the overflow campground. Applications must be received prior to February 1st.
Special Projects: As assigned.
Amenities: Subsistence check which may include propane cost. Electricity, phone, water, and dump.
Season: 5 months, 5/1 - 9/30, entire season desired.
Phone: 907-345-5014
Fax: 907-345-6982
Email: csp@alaska.gov

Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge: Potter Marsh (1 host position)
This 32,467 acre state wildlife refuge cradles the southern and western edge of the City of Anchorage and protects a variety of habitats including tidelands, coastal and freshwater marshes, small ponds and streams, and uplands forests.  Over 130 species of birds, 20 species of mammals, 5 species of Pacific salmon and other wildlife are found in the refuge.  Potter Marsh, a 520 acre freshwater marsh, is the most accessible and popular area of the refuge and contains several day-use wildlife viewing sites including a half-mile of elevated boardwalks, viewing decks, spotting scopes and interpretive panels.  The marsh provides habitat for shorebirds, waterfowl, bald eagles, moose, brown and black bears, beavers, muskrats, spawning salmon and many other species.
Special Projects: Overall supervision of visitor use sites, greet visitors in an informal setting on boardwalks and viewing sites, provide information and answer questions, light maintenance (pick up litter, empty trash cans, clean and restock restrooms, etc), and provide general security at primary access sites.  Other duties include staffing wildlife viewing sites (note that these duties are flexible and require only a general familiarity with bird identification).
Amenities: RV/Trailer host parking area (volunteer must provide own RV or camper), wastewater holding tank, expense allowance, subsistence stipend, electrical generator, showers at nearby refuge facility, cell phone.
Season: Mid-May through mid-September, entire season preferred but may be split.
Contact: Joe Meehan
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
email: joe.meehan@alaska.gov
333 Raspberry Road
Anchorage, Alaska 99518
phone: (907) 267-2281
fax: (907) 267-2344
website: www.wildlife.alaska.gov (follow links for "Refuges and Sanctuaries").