Public Safety Interns
Lake O' the Pines includes about 18,700 acres of water and 9,000 acres of land located in the piney woods of Northeast Texas. The lake is located partially in Marion, Harrison, Upshur, Morris and Camp Counties. Recreation opportunities are numerous with camping, boating, fishing, hunting, watchable wildlife, and bird watching, including wintering bald eagles.
You will provide educational outreach and interpretive programming, as part of a team, that encourages public safety which includes all aspects of recreation safety on USACE lands and waters. The primary focus is on water and boating safety for all ages, but with an emphasis on, and targeting of, the highest risk group - 18-35 year old males. Your primary responsibility will be educating public visitors regarding public safety through face to face contact. This personal contact will take place at beaches, boat ramps, boat patrol, campgrounds, and other venues where you have direct contact with the visitors. Additionally, you will be responsible to summarize your contacts by utilizing a standard checklist/questionnaire. Other responsibilities will include developing outreach mechanisms for this target audience, update bulletin boards, maintain life jacket loaner stations, organize events, conduct campfire talks, hikes, and tours, and will also include interacting with park visitors. You will assist in search and rescue as needed, and potentially serve as a second (safety) person for boat patrols made by park rangers. Moreover, you will increase safety awareness through communication, and lead by example anytime you are near the water or participating in water-related activities, providing valuable information on how to improve our programs by maintaining open communication with rangers and managers, passing on ideas for improvement gathered during daily contact with visitors, and finally, keep our parks friendly places for outdoor recreation and socialization by assisting park rangers and other employees as they perform their routine tasks pertinent to their natural resources/recreation management and public safety programs.
