Animal Packer

Trout Unlimited•Bishop, CA

14d

About The Position

The California Inland Trout Program is excited to announce a collaborative position in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service – Inyo National Forest Pack Stock Program. The Inyo National Forest (INF) covers 2 million acres, mostly on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, of some of the most beautiful and remote terrain in California. This position will work with the Pack Stock Center to support personnel and projects in national forest wilderness areas. Trout Unlimited is hiring an animal packer position to dually serve TU’s Inland Trout Program and the Inyo National Forest. This is a temporary position located on a Forest Service Ranger District. The incumbent of this position will become skilled in packing supplies and equipment to backcountry locations by horse or mule. The incumbent is responsible for aiding with the complete care of the stock, including training, feeding, shoeing, and first aid needs. They will also assist with the responsibility for ranch and pasture management including the design, building, maintenance, and safety inspections of stock facilities.

Requirements

Skill and experience safely packing a variety of equipment and supplies of awkward size and weight on pack animals. Skill and experience building balanced loads on stock, using pack bags, slings, boxes, manty loads with sling ropes, pack racks, etc.
Ability to evaluate medical conditions of stock and skill in assisting with required medical attention.
Skill in riding animals and leading pack animals in order to reach destination without injury to pack stock or to the cargo.
Have a class A driver’s license. Ability to drive both manual and automatic transmission vehicles in mountainous terrain and severe weather conditions, including snow.
Knowledge of ranch and pasture management, including forage management, with the ability to design, build, maintain and safely inspect stock facilities and fencing using various hand and power tools such as drills, saws, hammers and chisels.
Skill and experience properly fitting a variety of riding saddles and pack saddles.
Skill in correct shoeing methods for horses and mules working in mountain conditions.
Ability to clean and repair saddles, pack saddles and pack equipment.
Ability to tie multiple types of hitches using sawbuck and decker saddles.

Responsibilities

Works as a member of a crew that is responsible for packing horses or mules for project crews and their equipment such as food, tents, and various tools such as crosscut saws, chainsaws, rock drills, rock bars, grip hoists, wheelbarrows and sleds.
Assists with packing construction materials such as poles, cables, lumber, sand, gravel and bridge materials.
May provide pack support for fire crews (if needed and packing in the same location should there be a fire) including food, water, saws, fuel, hoses and portable pumps.
May supports a variety of resource crews by packing netting, plant presses, screens and fragile survey equipment.
Under supervision selects the proper type of pack equipment for the loads to be packed.
With minimal supervision incumbent builds and packs loads and strings of animals together.
Builds balanced loads using pack bags, slings, boxes, manty loads with sling ropes, pack racks, etc.
Ties multiple hitches (e.g. box, diamond, sling, etc.) as appropriate to the load.
Properly fits all types of riding saddles and pack saddles to mules and horses.
Responds to medical conditions and emergency situations safely for animals and humans.
Acts as “Wilderness First Responder” for the animals, providing first aid as needed including administering shots and wound care.
Assists with the safe use of restraints for doctoring, shoeing, training, or containment purposes.
Recognizes the shoeing needs of horses and mules for working in a mountain environment.
Responsible for aiding with the ranch and pasture management including the design, building, maintenance, and safety inspections of stock facilities.
Maintaining fences (including board, pipe, wire, and electric fencing).
Flood irrigation of native pastures and forage utilization monitoring of annual grassland pastures.
Operates ranch equipment such as a tractor with an auger to make post holes.
Pulls a gooseneck stock trailer and bumper-pull stock trailers to safely haul stock on rugged mountain roads.
Hauls gear, equipment, supplies, and hay on flatbed trucks and trailers.
Hauls tractors and equipment for other functions.
Reports mechanical or equipment performance problems to the supervisor.
May spend up to 10 days camping in the wilderness utilizing Leave-No-Trace skills.
Responsible for all animal care in wilderness settings.
Provides assistance in training firefighters, trail crews, wilderness rangers, project crews and volunteer groups how to work safely around pack stock.