Range Rider

Compensation: $3,000/month plus housing, vehicle use, field equipment, horse pasture, hay, and farrier costs.

Time Period: June 1st – October 31st. Start date is flexible, but applicant must be able to commit to working through most of October.

Position Description: The Centennial Valley Association (CVA) is looking to hire two dedicated individuals to join us as Range Riders for the 2026 season. Range Riders report directly to the CVA’s Wildlife Program Coordinator and will be responsible for closely monitoring multiple cattle herds, primarily on horseback, with the intent of minimizing losses due to depredation, as well as tracking wildlife across the Centennial Valley. Range Riders will work as a team to accomplish these primary goals:

• Documenting key wildlife and their movements in the Valley, predominately grizzly bears and
• Minimizing wildlife-livestock conflict, especially
• Reducing the number of unconfirmed cattle
• Removing or relocating cattle carcasses when and where
• Effectively communicating information about range riding and wildlife activity to the
• Maintaining equipment and practicing responsible animal-

Position responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Riding on horseback through cattle herds and adjacent areas 4-5 days a week, often in remote and rugged areas with recent grizzly bear and wolf activity.
• Reducing predator-livestock conflict by increasing human presence across the
• Monitoring and reporting on cattle health, infrastructure (i.e. fences, water, salt), and other observations of concern (i.e. forage conditions, theft, predators, etc.).
• Finding and reporting carcasses of domestic and wild animals around cattle.
• Removing or relocating carcasses when appropriate for human or livestock
• Assisting Wildlife Services to locate and investigate carcasses when requested by livestock
• Placing and monitoring game cameras in areas of high predator use, carcass locations, or other areas of interest, checking them periodically, and processing associated data.
• Tracking wildlife in areas used by cattle to determine wildlife presence and how that presence may be affecting cattle. Riders will track wildlife by searching for sign, using game cameras, and
• Communicating daily with the Wildlife Program Coordinator, ranchers, landowners, and community
• Contributing to accurate data management by filling out daily data entry forms on range riding activities, completing daily time logs, and uploading pictures, GPS points, and GPS tracks to a CVA shared drive weekly.
• Operating and maintaining ATV/UTVs, manual/automatic transmission vehicles, and horse

Required Qualifications:

• 5+ years of horseback experience, preferably with cattle and in remote, backcountry locations, or verifiable horsemanship qualifications via references or training experiences, or a combination of the two. Preference will be given to applicants with more years of experience related to this job
• Ability to ride long distances on horseback (15+ miles/day) in remote settings (often alone) with large predators and hazardous conditions (i.e. bogs, downed wire, inclement weather, etc.).
• Ability to care for horses and practice responsible animal
• Willingness to work long and odd hours (early mornings, nights, weekends, and holidays).
• Will carry bear spray, GPS tracking system, and satellite communication devices on horseback (provided by CVA).
• Ability to work independently and as a part of a team in a small organization where your co-workers are possibly your roommates in a field camp setting.
• Self-motivated, flexible, and can remain neutral on whether predators are good or
• Willingness and ability to take direction from the Wildlife Program Coordinator and/or CVA’s Wildlife & Conflict Mitigation Committee.
• Willingness to handle cattle in manner that owners prefer, including learning and practicing low-stress.
• Must bring own tack, and any items needed to care for horses (i.e. saddle, halters, ).
• Applicants must be 18 years or

Desired Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree/working towards a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Management, Agricultural Sciences, or related field, or >3 years applicable job experience in wildlife or agricultural fields, or a combination of both.
• Experience with ranching operations, cattle handling/monitoring, and small, local
• Ability to accurately assess sickness and stressed behavior in
• Although not required, preference will be given to applicants with 1-3 broke working
• Familiarity with predator behavior and movements, particularly wolves and grizzly
• Experience working in grizzly bear
• Experience with GPS units, or the OnX smartphone application, and Microsoft Office
• Experience operating an ATV/UTV (training course will be provided, and is required by CVA).
• Strong problem-solving skills, and ability to assess risk and take appropriate safety
• Excellent communication
• Familiarity operating manual/automatic transmissions and hauling trailers, especially on rough dirt
• Verizon cell phone service (this is the only carrier that works in the Centennial Valley).

About the Organization: CVA is a locally based, landowner-driven nonprofit organization whose mission is to preserve traditional ranching as a way of life in the Centennial Valley, and to maintain quality open space, wildlife habitat, water quality, and wildlife migration corridors as they exist today for future generations. CVA unites local ranchers, community members, agencies, NGOs, and other groups to collaborate on local conservation issues, such as invasive weed management, maintaining and monitoring migration corridors, drought awareness, mitigating wildlife conflict, and providing outreach and education opportunities for the community and visitors.

Location: Centennial Valley, Montana. Nearest towns with amenities: Lima, MT and West Yellowstone, MT. The Centennial Valley is an extremely remote, high-elevation valley in southwestern Montana. Access to work sites may require up to 1 hour of travel on marginal dirt roads. Residence in provided seasonal housing is required for the position.