Hoosier National Forest Hiring Perry County Seasonal Workers Starting Feb. 20

Hoosier National Forest is recruiting seasonal employees for the upcoming recreation season, and applicants can begin submitting applications through USAJOBS.gov on February 20, 2026, station coverage and local reporting confirmed following a WJTS newscast reported February 13, 2026. WBIW’s Bedford dateline and 18 WJTS’s website both state the Forest Service is urging local residents to consider the openings when the application window opens next week.

The hiring push includes positions explicitly described as recreation and visitor services, trail and facility maintenance, trail maintenance, recreation assistance, visitor services, and related field work, according to the WBIW item and the partial WJTS newscast summary. 18 WJTS notes these seasonal roles are in addition to seasonal fire hire events, which are already underway, signaling two concurrent streams of summer hiring at Hoosier National Forest.

Local outcomes emphasized in WBIW coverage include improvements to trails, campgrounds, and facilities for safer, more reliable, and enjoyable recreation experiences for all. WBIW quotes Mike Chaveas saying, “Our seasonal employees are the backbone of summer operations - keeping our campgrounds, trails, and recreation sites open, safe and welcoming for visitors.” WBIW also preserved Chaveas’s point that “Seasonal jobs can be a first step into a natural resources career, a way to build experience, or simply a chance to spend the summer working outside.”

Applicants are reminded that application periods, qualifications, and start dates vary by position and that job announcements should be reviewed carefully for deadlines and required materials, according to 18 WJTS guidance. The station’s item repeats that applicants can view open job announcements and submit applications through USAJOBS.gov beginning February 20th, 2026, and points readers to the Forest Service careers page for more information on careers, benefits, and upcoming hiring events.

WBIW’s report further notes that visitors can expect to see clean and safe visitor facilities as a result of seasonal hires, and includes an “About the Forest Service” paragraph describing the agency’s century-long conservation role and stewardship responsibilities, including management of 193 million acres of public land and involvement with roughly 900 million forested acres; that paragraph in the WBIW excerpt is truncated where it begins to describe urban forests. The original WJTS newscast summary also outlined job types and began to describe basic eligibility and application instructions but was truncated in the supplied excerpt.

Perry County residents interested in these seasonal positions should plan to check USAJOBS.gov on February 20, 2026 for full announcements, specific job titles, duty locations, pay information, application deadlines, and required materials, and can consult the Forest Service careers page for additional hiring information. Local listeners who want to follow station coverage can contact 18 WJTS at its Jasper studio, 458 3rd Avenue, Jasper, IN 47546, by phone at (812) 482-2727, or by email at gm@dcbroadcasting.com.