New Hampshire Conservation Corps - Field Crew Member

The Student Conservation Association (SCA) is the largest provider of hands-on environmental conservation programs for youth and adults. Program participants protect and restore national parks, national forests, wildlife refuges, marine sanctuaries, cultural landmarks, community green spaces, and much more across the country.

 

The SCA NH Corps is a collaboration between the SCA, the New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR), and AmeriCorps. Since 1994 the SCA NH Corps has provided over 1.4 million hours of service to New Hampshire while training young adults to do valuable conservation work. Each year young adults, from diverse backgrounds and from across the US, contribute thousands of service hours. Interpretive Rangers provide environmental education programs to the state’s residents and visitors and Field Crew Members complete service projects to improve and protect the state’s natural, cultural, and recreational resources. Both positions serve throughout NH, from the Atlantic Coast to the White Mountains and beyond. 

 

Position Description: 

March 30th– October 29th, 2026 

 

Most of the Field Crew Member position is dedicated to hands-on, outdoor conservation projects ranging from trail construction and maintenance to habitat restoration and invasive plant species removal. Each service project period or hitch is 11-days in length requiring collaboration as part of a five or six-person crew. Each member will serve as a crew leader for at least one 11-day field project. Upon completion of each hitch, crews return to Bear Brook State Park for a three-day break between hitches. To prepare for field/hitch season members attend training, earning certifications, to learn the necessary skills needed for the service term. Additionally, communal living is a large component of this program with simple rustic accommodations at Bear Brook State Park and camping in tents while on hitch.  

 

What makes SCA NH Conservation Corps a unique program: 

• NHCC is the SCA’s oldest residential corps program, beginning in 1994. 
• Offers 11 weeks of skill development to ensure members are adequately trained! 
• Based out of a 40+ acre summer camp located in the largest developmed NH state park. 
• This is the only SCA corps program to serve with local, state, federal, and non-profit partners. 
• Only SCA program in the northeast serving with the U.S. Forest Service and in designated wilderness areas

Training Season: 

This season runs from the start of the position in March through mid-June. During the training season you will learn from experienced staff and instructors as you engage in a wide-ranging curriculum that covers the hard and soft skills needed for a career in outdoor conservation/recreation management. Orientation includes SCA, AmeriCorps, and NH State Parks policies and protocols, leadership development and teamwork discussions and scenarios, and a conflict resolution workshop. In preparation for the field season, members will participate in camp skills training, Leave No Trace (LNT), drivers training (large vans & trucks), and more. Technical skills are a large portion of training and include trail construction and maintenance, carpentry, chainsaw or rigging and griphoist use, and Wilderness First Responder.   

 Conservation Season: 

This season runs from mid-June through October. During this time members will serve in the field on “hitch” crews of their peers for periods of 11 days (10 service days with 1 day off). Hitches consist of high priority conservation projects with a focus on public lands access, visitor experience and safety, and recreation site protection. NH Corps crews use traditional trail and land management techniques, carpentry, and physical labor to complete an array of projects while camping for the duration of each project period. Service locations vary from frontcountry campgrounds to backcountry sites in the White Mountain National Forest (WMNF).  

 

The WMNF includes a variety of landscapes from mountainous

hardwood forests to majestic alpine peaks, which includes the tallest mountain

in the Northeast – Mount Washington.  Field Crew Members will have the

opportunity to serve on WMNF projects. By continuing to maintain and keep this valuable recreational resource safe, you will become part of the WMNF’s storied history. 

 

Beyond the WMNF, you will have the opportunity to serve at several of NH’s

beautiful state parks.  These parks may include Monadnock (most hiked mountain in North America), White Lake, Franconia Notch, and Craw