Undergraduate
Natural Resource Recreation
Natural
resource recreation is focused on management of the recreational
use of settings such as national parks, national forests, beaches,
wilderness areas, state parks, refuges, preserves, nature centers,
trails, public and commercial campgrounds, greenways, rivers,
lakes, aquatic parks and cultural sites (historic battlefields,
lighthouses, monuments, archeological sites, etc.). There are
hundreds of these public areas in Florida and thousands in the
USA and other countries.
The
primary focus is on management of the "human dimensions" of natural sites, that is, managing
personnel, "the public," visitors, residents and tourists
and the budgetary, legal, policy, conflict, economic benefits,
public safety, interpretation, communication, marketing and multiple
use issues associated with park, beach and forest operations and
management. Other related areas include outdoor leadership, entrepreneurial
tour, guide or expedition leadership, ecotourism, rural tourism,
charter boats, raft trips, whale or porpoise watching boat trips,
commercial scuba diving businesses, summer camps, wildlife programs,
youth-at-risk outdoor challenge programs, special needs outdoor
challenges programs, ski resorts, environmental education, rope
challenge courses, and environmentally oriented, non-profit, "NGO’s" that
deal with public conservation-recreation issues (e.g., Nature
Conservancy, Center for Marine Conservation, Save the Everglades
coalition, etc.). |
 |
Traditionally,
the operation of most public natural areas, occurs within the
federal, state or county levels of government. Thus, there
are employment opportunities with agencies such as the National
Park Service, the National Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife
Service and Bureau of Land Management and their state or local
equivalents. [See: http://www.usajobs.com/ click
on "Search
Jobs"; under the "Keyword Search" window, type
the word "park", then click "Search for Jobs" at
bottom of page to see federal agency park jobs currently available.]
If you locate your state park agency (see: www.myflorida.com for
Florida), you can often do a similar search. There are also
opportunities available with the Americorps program.
Click
on the following link to view
samples of past job announcements in natural resource recreation.
Some
tourism planners work primarily with natural resource attractions,
especially in rural areas
or in towns near national parks or forests. With the tendency
for governments to downsize, these positions are more competitive
than in the past; however, work experience and a
college degree will generally make the candidate more competitive.
Increasingly, there are private-enterprise opportunities,
as some areas privatize and more resource based companies
(mining
companies, timber companies, power companies, etc.) open
their lands for outdoor recreation.
Entrepreneurial
outdoor leadership small business opportunities (http://www.americaoutdoors.org/)
are growing, as a glance in the "want-ad" section
of most recreational, vacation or conservation magazines
will demonstrate (e.g., raft trips, birding trips, bicycling
trips,
canoe outfitters, etc.). [See: www.coolworks.com or http://gorp.away.com/gorp/eclectic/jobs.htm ]
Even some resorts are coming to recognize the need for
a staff "naturalist" to answer guests questions
and offer tours and lead sightseeing trips. Some commercial
theme
parks (DisneyWorld, Silver Springs, Marineland, etc) seek
employees with natural resource recreation training.
Summer
camps and year-round camps [see: http://acacamps.org/jobs/ ],
ski resorts, tour boats, bed and breakfasts, park or beach
concessionaire businesses, water
parks, marinas and outdoor equipment stores are just
a few examples of potential employers. Perhaps
a good example of the recognition of the growth opportunities
in these areas
is that DisneyWorld’s recent theme park Animal Kingdom
is an outdoor adventure-wildlife park. Disney, Inc. would
not have
invested
millions of dollars in that park if they did not have market
research demonstrating it was a growth opportunity area.
Internships
Arthur R. Marshall Everglades Summer Intern Program
|
