Kyle Dash ‘13

Age: 23

PSC Program: Forest Biology

Job Title: Forestry Technician (Recreation)

Agency: US Forest Service, Tongass National Forest, Juneau Ranger District

Current Location: Juneau, AK

How did you end up in this position?

I came up to Alaska in May of 2014. I wanted to explore the country, and gave Alaska a shot.  At that time I was really into dog sledding so I applied to a guide job on the Herbert Glacier for the summer tourist season, and got it.  After that, I was hooked on Juneau and wanted to spend time here.  This past winter a job posting came up on USAJOBS for a Forestry Technician position, so I applied and got offered the job.

We’ve all heard horror stories about USAJOBS and applying to a federal job. How was your experience and how did it compare to what you’ve heard?

Yes, I always heard horror stories about USAJOBS.  How they never respond to people, how they never hire you, and so on. Throughout college I would apply to scores of jobs every year and not hear back from a single place.  However, with input from a fellow alum, I began to understand how the site worked and what people were looking for in employees. So I spent a good three or four days working on my (USAJOBS) resume and cover letter and editing them to make sure they were perfect. And what do you know! Three or four weeks after I applied to the Juneau job, I got a call to come in to do an interview.  Patience and getting to understand how the USAJOBS website works really helps out.

So, what does a Recreation Technician do on the Tongass NF?

I work at the developed rec sites here in Juneau.  We have two picnic grounds, Skater’s cabin (a Civilian Conservation Corps-era day-use cabin), two campgrounds, as well as 11 cabins that we take care of in our district.  All of these areas are heavily used and we always attempt to improve them, whether it is by tidying up sites, fixing paths, rebuilding bridges, digging ditches, improving and updating sign boards, removing hazard trees and trying to keep the aggressive rainforest growth back.  We are responsible for taking care of and improving rec sites, and making sure that tourists and locals have places to recreate and call their own – all the while maintaining native cultural sites and creating a safe, family-friendly atmosphere. For example, we just got a backlit totem pole that we will erect at one of our day-use sites. This rec site was once the winter camp of the Auk-kwaan clan, so to respect the wishes of the native community we are improving the site to honor the tribe and generations past. I also work with National Visitor Use Monitoring, which are surveys to track visitor use in rec sites.

Can you give some examples of the work you do?

Typically I go to the day use sites and clean up the messes.  Naturally, campers are messy, and with lots of campers comes lots of trash.  Afterwards, we go forth and complete whatever needs to be done on our master list.  Last week, we filled in potholes prior to that we had to remove hazard trees from the campgrounds and this week we’ll be painting gates throughout the district.  The cabins I mentioned earlier? We clean the whole area- scrubbing the cabin, and making any repairs whether deck, dock, roof, outhouse.  A lot of our cabins have propane, and have to use helicopters to sling new tanks into the cabins. We always have to make sure aircraft (seaplanes and helicopters) have access and a place to land, so we remove hazards such as trees or vegetation to allow them to land or drop sling loads, like the propane, safely.

I’ve heard that life in Alaska depends a lot on planes and boats. You’ve already mentioned helicopters and aircraft, do you work with boats at all?

Sometimes we haul material for our trail crew up the glacier fed rivers to our trails via jet boat. We access most of our cabins via jet boat as well, so we must practice safe boating practices and pack the cargo evenly, so the boat stays stable.  The rivers we run are approximately 35⁰F, so safety is an absolute necessity. Running these glacial rivers is extremely dangerous during high water, because there are so many boulders and trees that are constantly moving around on the river.

You mentioned rainforest growth? In Alaska?!

The Tongass NF is the largest temperate rainforest in the world.  Warm Pacific temperatures mixed with mountains, glaciers and cool, dry interior air means that a lot of rain falls here.  An average year sees over 60 inches of rain.  This July alone we saw over 10 inches of rainfall. As a result, trees and plants grow incredibly fast, especially during the summer months when we see about 22 hours of light a day.  Grass can grow six inches in two weeks!  We are constantly trimming and weeding the rec sites just to delineate rec areas from the rest of the forest.

What sort of training did the USFS provide you with?

We got first aid training, bear safety training, a cultural workshop from the local native association, boat and aircraft passenger safety, chainsaw safety, driving with a trailer and heavy duty truck training and licensing.

Favorite part of your job so far?

My best memory will be jet boating up to the Berner’s Bay cabin.  It’s an eight mile journey from the end-of-the-road boat launch here in Juneau, but along the way we saw seals swimming alongside us, Coho salmon running up the creeks, and lots of active bear sign.  When we landed on the beach of the cabin, we found fresh bear tracks at the base of the cabin steps (a rifle and bear spray is carried at all times). While unloading the boat we noticed we were watched by 8 river otter.  The rain cleared up, the mountains had fresh snow, and we were the only people for many, many miles around. Few people can have a back-country cabin experience like this.

How did your time at PSC prepare you for this job?

PSC taught me to respect the land, and to work with people of all sorts.  Juneau is eclectic; with traditional native cultures to a large Filipino population, as well as your stereotypical rural, blue-collar folks.  PSC taught me to respect all of these cultures and learn to become part of it.

Future plans?

I’m hoping to eventually land a job as a forest pathologist or work with lands management to maintain timber harvest areas, mineral rights, recreation, wilderness, etc. Along with forest pathology, I wouldn’t mind working to understand the effects of climate change on forests, especially up here in Alaska.  I’m a science guy, and that’s truly where my heart is at, but for now I’m enjoying working recreation and making the most out of my experience here in Juneau, capital of the 49th and by far the most beautiful state!

Finally, have you found any Smitty connections up there?

Here at the Tongass, I work for a 1985 PSC graduate, Rob Morgenthaler!  He’s been here since 1992 after serving stints as a back-country ranger in the Adirondacks and in Arizona.