Need a job? NJ Department of Environmental Protection is hiring

Albina Sportelli
NorthJersey.com

Need a job? The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is accepting applications for hundreds of seasonal positions.

The openings, most in state parks, forests and natural and historic sites, include naturalists, history educators, visitor service assistants, trail stewards, office assistants, lifeguards and maintenance personnel.

“From leading nature tours to patrolling with our State Park Police, spending the spring and summer at work in New Jersey’s state parks can be a great entrée to an environmental career,” said acting Commissioner Shawn LaTourette.

Siblings gather clay from a pond at Owens Station Crossing  in the Wallkill River Wildlife Refuge in this file photo from November, 2020. Wildlife refuges, along with other parks and forests, have seen much higher numbers of visitors this year.

The State Park Service follows all COVID-19 protocols and provides all employees with the essential personal protective equipment needed while at work.

To learn more about which locations are accepting applications or to apply for a specific position, visit nj.gov/dep/workinparks.

Applicants should check with the park office of interest by March 12 for specific positions. 

“Our seasonal employees are key to the State Park Service’s ability to offer high-quality recreational and educational opportunities to millions of visitors every year,” said Robin Madden, acting director of the Division of Parks and Forestry.

Due to COVID-19, state parks and other outdoor recreational facilities in the state became a refuge for individuals looking for something to do while keeping socially distant. 

In fact, officials at the federally owned Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and the several wildlife refuges in North Jersey said they had three or four times more than their regular numbers of visitors during the summer months.

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"Our visitation this year far exceeded past visitation numbers, and the data that we collected also indicated that our numbers in a 'normal’ year are likely a lot higher than recorded," said Kathleen Sandt, public relations specialist with the recreation area, a unit of the National Park Service.

The jobs available will run mostly from Memorial Day through Labor Day, although some parks fill part-time positions year-round depending on need. The State Park Service and State Park Police will work with applicants, such as students and teachers, whose availability may sometimes be limited to weekends, officials said.

Applicants must be 16 years of age or older to apply.

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Hundreds of positions are open and vary in fields and salary. Some start at $12 per hour, while lifeguard salaries begin at $13 per hour in most areas, and oceanfront guards at Island Beach State Park start at $14 per hour. Trail steward positions are available for those 18 years and older and pay $12 to $16.

Seasonal staff are required to work weekends and holidays because park facilities are open seven days a week. Most jobs are outdoors.

The jobs, officials said, will be much sought after, as unemployment numbers remain high due to the pandemic.

The mandatory shutdown of businesses and stay-at-home orders to prevent the spread of the virus resulted in the loss of about 757,700 jobs in April 2020 and the state’s unemployment rate topped 15%, according to estimates released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

The state’s unemployment fell to 7.6% in December 2020, primarily due to New Jersey residents leaving the labor force rather than finding employment, according to the state Department of Labor.

Unemployment struggles were worsened by the breakdown of New Jersey's claims system, as workers were unable to reach agents and were desperate for help in filing for benefits. 

To file for unemployment benefits in New Jersey visit: myunemployment.nj.gov/labor/myunemployment/before/about/howtoapply/.

To apply for NJ DEP jobs visit: nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/parks/jobs.html