Traditional Trades Advancement Program (TTAP) Member - Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Location: Empire

Traditional Trades Advancement Program (TTAP) Member - Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Summary American  Conservation Experience, a nonprofit Conservation Corps, in partnership with the National Park Service, is seeking 1 member to contribute to projects alongside NPS Staff.

For more information about ACE, please visit our website.

Start Date:

10/19/2026

Estimated End Date: 04/17/2027
* a 26-week minimum commitment is required
* Location Details/

Description:

The intern's primary service location will be at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Empire, Michigan. Most daily assignments will originate from the park's maintenance facility, with work taking place throughout the park as operational needs require. The intern will support the Roads and Trails team and park mechanics by maintaining vehicles, equipment, and small engines used across the park's mainland and, as needed, supporting maintenance activities at other park locations.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore protects nearly 72,000 acres of world-renowned dunes, forests, inland lakes, wetlands, historic farms, and more than 65 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline. The park offers exceptional opportunities for hiking, camping, paddling, and exploring historic and cultural landscapes. Nearby communities such as Empire and Glen Arbor provide grocery stores, restaurants, and other essential services while offering the welcoming atmosphere of northern Michigan.

Cell phone reception is generally available in developed areas and nearby towns but can be intermittent or unavailable in more remote areas of the park, including portions of the backcountry and shoreline. This internship provides the opportunity to gain hands-on experience maintaining the equipment that supports one of the National Park Service's most iconic landscapes while living and working in a nationally recognized outdoor recreation destination.

For more information about Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, please visit the NPS website.

Position Overview:

The intern will work primarily with the Roads and Trails team under the guidance of the park mechanic. Day-to-day responsibilities will include performing preventive maintenance, assisting with diagnostics and repairs on park vehicles and equipment, maintaining service records, organizing tools and parts, and supporting repairs on tractors, trucks, trailers, water pumpers, mowers, and other small engines. The intern may also assist with maintaining roads, trails, historic apple orchards, the park nursery, and other cultural landscape features as operational needs require.

The position involves working outdoors in a variety of weather conditions, lifting equipment and materials, and following established safety procedures while operating tools and machinery.

This individual placement is meant to facilitate professional development and promotes exposure to land management agencies and networking with professionals. This could include gaining experience in different conservation fields and shadowing different work groups.

Schedule:

"5/4/9 Work Schedule" Mon-Thur 7:00am – 4:30pm;
Fri 7:00am-3:30pm. Every other Friday off. Position Benefits Living Allowance:
The ACE Member is expected to contribute ~40 hours/week and will receive a living allowance of $720/week to offset the costs of food and incidental expenses, dispersed bi-weekly.

Public Land Corps Hiring Authority:
Members serving under this agreement may be eligible for a federal hiring authority upon completion of their term of service and 640 hours of service. If the duration of a PLC-eligible term is not long enough for Members to accrue 640 hours of service (~16 weeks), the total hours served at the completion of the term may be eligible to be combined with hours accrued from another PLC-eligible term to meet the 640 hours requirement.

PLC projects also include specific eligibility requirements such as age and citizenship. Please contact ACE staff with questions about eligibility, or view general eligibility information on our website.

This position is part of the Public Land Corps Hiring Authority:
Members serving under this agreement must meet the PLC Eligibility…