Kittitas Volunteer Stewardship Coordinator

The Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust works to steward a diverse landscape that stretches 100 miles from the shores of Puget Sound across the Cascade Mountains to Central Washington. Designated a National Heritage Area in 2019, the Greenway encompasses 1.5 million acres (with 900,000 acres in public ownership), two million people, 28 cities, three major river systems, and two Interstate highways. Its working lands support vast hay fields and grazing cattle to the east, evergreen timber to the west, and farms from organic produce to solar energy. Its protected alpine wilderness includes recovery corridors for wolves, grizzly bears, and other species once hunted to regional extinction. Its expansive access to nature, including 1,600 miles of trails, is the heart of Washington’s $20 billion outdoor recreation economy.

Vast natural resources, the nation’s 15th largest metropolitan area, and many competing interests create the potential for conflicts. Navigating these conflicts, with the goal of conserving that precarious balance between natural and built environments, is the founding and enduring purpose of the Greenway Trust.

An early pioneer of what is now known as “collective impact,” the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust was founded on the belief that to grow in harmony with nature instead of consuming it, the full community must be engaged. The goal of conserving this region’s wild and green character brought together the spheres of government, industry, and private nonprofit organizations for the first time. Collaboration, compromise, and common good were the rules of engagement. We are proud to say that, three decades later, they still are.

Job Description: The Kittitas Volunteer Stewardship Coordinator will work with a wide array of partners in Kittitas County, organizing participation of local, regional, and underrepresented community members in bolstering the sustainability of recreation on lands open to the public.

Applicants may have experience running volunteer programs, working on or leading trail crews, planning or implementing restoration efforts, or fostering a sense of teamwork among unlikely partners. Candidates must be able to demonstrate experience incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion principles into their work. The successful Coordinator will demonstrate a passion for connecting people and the outdoors, strong planning skills, understanding of or willingness to learn technical trail skills, adaptability to changing conditions, and the ability to work independently in the field. This position is ideal for an outgoing, energetic, independently driven AND community focused person.

Desired Skills – Some combination of at least three of the following:

• Strong communication skills, both public-facing and internal to the organization
• Experience with event planning and logistics
• Experience coordinating with land and/or recreation management agencies (federal, tribal, state, county, and city all applicable)
• Experience speaking in front of, training, and leading groups of people of various ages and backgrounds in the outdoors, to conduct projects or share recreation education information
• Familiarity with trail construction and upkeep, as well as tool applications and maintenance
• Establishing and maintaining partnerships and relationships

Primary Responsibilities:

• Recruits, trains, and oversees volunteer community members acting as Trailhead Ambassadors, who provide Leave No Trace and responsible recreation education to members of the recreating public
• Coordinates scheduling and deployment of Trailhead Ambassadors volunteers in partnership with land management agency staff
• Collaborates with agency staff to develop and disseminate recreational guidelines and other relevant information
• Works with land manager partners to identify their recreational or restoration maintenance needs, lay out priority projects, and report on conditions and issues in the field
• Recruits, trains, and supervises volunteers on restoration and maintenance of front-country recreation infrastructure (campgrounds, trailheads, invasive weed management, etc)
• Tracks event metrics, mailing lists, tool conditions and repair needs, and vehicle upkeep
• Scouts conditions at worksites and trails to identify project tasks and safety concerns
• Collaborates with Greenway colleagues on stewardship event planning and outreach initiatives
• Maintains database of contacts for event outreach, planning, and reporting

Salary & Benefits: $23.08/hr to $27.88/hr ($48,000 to $58,000 annually). The Greenway Trust offers a generous benefits package to our employees including an employer-sponsored medical, dental and vision plan, paid vacation and sick leave, retirement plan and more.

Reports to: Kittitas Programs Senior Manager

Work Schedule: Full-time non-exempt position. Position typically works Monday to Friday, shifting to a Tuesday to Saturday schedule during the summer volunteer season. Infrequent evening meetings with partner groups are also anticipated.

Work Location: 110 East First St, Cle Elum, WA, 98922. This position is hybrid, with much time spent planning and scouting in the field, and flexibility to work from home or the Cle Elum office location. Field work will be located within Kittitas County, and monthly meetings with the full Greenway staff will occur at one of the Seattle offices.

About the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust

Mission: The Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust leads and inspires action to conserve and enhance the landscape of the Mountains to Sound Greenway, ensuring a long-term balance between people and nature. 

Vision: The Mountains to Sound Greenway National Heritage Area is an iconic 1.5-million-acre landscape that connects Central Washington, the Cascade Mountains, and Puget Sound. The Greenway promotes a healthy and sustainable relationship between people and the land by preserving a balance between built and natural environments. The Greenway landscape provides places for nature and wildlife, for culture and tradition, for outdoor recreation and education, for working forests and local agricultural production, while embracing vibrant urban areas. The Greenway is valued by a broad cross-section of society, working together as an effective coalition to conserve this place and its heritage for future generations. 

The Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust exists to serve as the agent of our community’s collective will to care for the lands and waters that are so foundational to the quality of life here in this place. The Greenway Trust is a beacon for optimism and a model for how things can be accomplished when we come together under shared purpose in an otherwise politically and socio-economically polarized world. The Greenway Trust provides the “table” for collaboration and serves as the glue that combines resources and expertise from across the community to do good for this place. This is reflected in our large and diverse Board of Directors and in the varied backgrounds of the Greenway Trust’s stakeholders. The Greenway Trust, at its essence, is a coalition consisting of nonprofit organizations, businesses, public agencies, community groups, recreational organizations, local governments, and passionate volunteers, working together on a common objective: to protect and preserve the precious natural heritage that is the Mountains to Sound Greenway. The work of the Greenway Trust benefits each of the millions of people who live in or regularly visit the Greenway each year. Even for those who do not actively use its hundreds of trails, rivers, or parks, the Greenway brings enormous benefit to residents. Its forests clean the air they breathe, its rivers provide the cleanest drinking water in the nation, and its connected natural lands promote a thriving ecosystem.

Values:

Inclusive: We engage, listen to, and learn from people with diverse perspectives and experiences. We challenge ourselves to reflect our diverse and changing communities.

Collaborative: We accomplish more when we work in partnership with others. We celebrate the accomplishments of our partners.

Trusted: We demonstrate integrity through our actions and build long-term relationships based on mutual respect. We deliver on what we promise and strive to exceed expectations.

Positive: We seek common ground. We stay focused on the promise of our long-term vision for the Greenway, even when challenges are great. We search for the “yes.” We enjoy each other’s company.

Pragmatic: We seek actionable solutions that steadily advance our long-term vision and achieve greater good.

Impactful: We are creative problem solvers who focus on achieving tangible results. We take a holistic view that considers how parts fit together.

Equal Opportunity Provider: The Greenway Trust is committed to providing equal opportunity for all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, creed, national origin, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, ancestry, genetic information, use of a service animal, honorably discharged veteran, military status, political ideology, personal appearance, family responsibilities, or any other characteristic protected under federal, state or local law. Each person is evaluated on the basis of personal aptitude and merit.