This hands-on education and skills training program is focused on teaching participants about local ecology, issues facing public lands, environmental education, community outreach, habitat restoration, and recreation management from U.S. Forest Service staff and partners. This summer, two crew leaders and six crew members will be hired through HISPANIC ACCESS' MANO Project starting in May. Applications for crew leads are due on March 31, 2024 and applications for crew members are due on April 28. Interested individuals should apply for the Field Ranger Program by Sunday, April 28, 2024. For additional information about the program, visit NFF’s Field Ranger’s website.

After a five-year hiatus, the Field Ranger Program kick-started last year funded by a $432,259 grant awarded to NFF from the Los Angeles County Regional Park and Open Space District’s Youth and Veteran Job Training and Placement Program under Measure A.

“The Field Ranger Program provides paid work experience and mentorship to youth in Los Angeles County who are interested in careers in the outdoors,” said Roman Torres, forest supervisor of the Angeles National Forest. He added, “Last year, the Field Rangers provided additional assistance to high-use sites on the forest and provided crucial information to forest visitors.”
“Los Angeles is bordered by the 700,000-acre Angeles National Forest, yet more than half of the County’s population live in areas without access to a nearby park. The Field Ranger Program seeks to bridge this gap and plays a critical role in connecting diverse local youth to their public lands,” said Felipe Lepe, Southern California program coordinator for the National Forest Foundation. “The NFF believes the impact of this program will extend far beyond the boundaries of the Angeles National Forest and will empower the next generation of public lands stewards.”

"We are excited to continue our partnership with the National Forest Foundation and Angeles National Forest as we grow our summer Field Ranger Program,” said Nina Marti, director of the MANO Project Program. “Through this MANO Project program, the crew can serve their community while gaining paid experience in a competitive field that is lacking in representation of Latinos and people of color."