Volunteering at the BLM

Thank you for your interest in becoming a BLM-Alaskan Volunteer. Volunteers make a difference in restoring the health of our public lands and providing needed services to users of our public lands. Individuals like your self and community organizations are actively involved in a broad spectrum of activities and jobs. Join us and the thousands of Americans who are making a difference in the future of the country's public lands by volunteering with the Bureau of Land Management in Alaska.

What Volunteers Do

BLM Volunteers are involved in a multitude of individual and group projects to care for public lands.

Recreation

Volunteers serve as campground hosts in scenic areas like Paxson Lake and conduct orientation sessions for visitors at BLM's Coldfoot Visitor station on the Dalton Highway.

Anchorage volunteers' have repaired trails at the Campbell Tract Facility by removing obstacles such as fallen trees and filling in areas that have been damaged by erosion.

Volunteers have helped BLM professionals with field inspections as well as updating mineral survey maps and computer data.

Archaeology and History

Volunteers locate, and record findings at remote archaeological sites. Anthropology student from the University of Alaska at Fairbanks have excavated the remains of archaeological sites and cataloged artifacts.

Botanical Inventories

Volunteers assist BLM professionals in conducting botanical inventories. Volunteers explored, documented, and collected data on many diverse habitats.

Administrative Support

Volunteers help with various administrative functions by sorting and routing mail, cataloging library books, answering telephones, and by assisting the general public in BLM offices.

Fish and Wildlife

Volunteers assisted BLM professionals in conducting breeding bird surveys. These surveys require mapping wetland areas and identifying different species of waterfowl. Volunteers have worked on sockeye salmon restoration areas and helped count young salmon as they migrated out of glacial lakes to the ocean.

 Environmental Education

Volunteers instruct grade school children in environmental education at the Campbell Creek Science Center. Volunteers conduct qualitative inventories of the terrestrial invertebrates and conduct water and plant surveys to determine different varieties of species located on Campbell Tract.

Work Experience

Volunteer experience may be helpful in meeting job experience requirements for new careers; You also meet new people and utilize your skills in a different work setting. Volunteering may also help students to meet school and college course requirements

Volunteer Projects

The volunteer coordinator attempts to match a volunteer's background and interest with available positions or projects.

Normally, a volunteer will be required to pay his or her own expenses to and from Alaska. (Expenses may be tax deductible, however, volunteers need to evaluate their specific situation.) Any additional daily living expenses while working as a volunteer will vary depending on the type of work assignment.

The outdoor work in the field may be hard, the conditions harsh and living quarters primitive. The project leader determines the nature of individual assignments.

Volunteer Quarters

We regret, the BLM-Alaska is unable to provide living quarters for volunteers in Anchorage. However, quarters for a limited number of positions are available in Fairbanks and Glennallen.

Links to Specific Volunteer Opportunities in BLM Alaska and Who to Contact

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the following: