Saguaro National Park (SNP) and FOSNP will join together in partnership to create a new program for youth employment and economic opportunity in Southern Arizona, entitled the Next Generation Ranger Corps.
Using funds from the National Park Service, FOSNP will recruit and hire local youth interns
to be placed with Saguaro National Park working with native and invasive plants as Next Generation Ranger Corps members, hereafter referred to as NextGen Rangers.
The NextGen Rangers will be assigned to the Division of Resource Management at SNP.
The incumbents will be mentored by Perry Grissom, Restoration Ecologist, and given opportunities to participate and lead efforts in native plant management including buffelgrass management, monitoring of saguaros, rare plants, and forest trees, service learning projects, wilderness character, natural resource education, and citizen science.
The assigned NextGen Rangers will have opportunities to work alongside park Resource Management staff in a variety of projects to better understand the profession of Natural Resource Management, especially vegetation management, in the National Park Service.
The assigned Next Gens will receive training in all of these activities and will have additional cross-training and professional training opportunities.
The intern will meet regularly with the assigned mentor, and report on activities and accomplishments.