Graffiti Removal Trip on Lake Powell (2-nights remote camping)

Join Glen Canyon National Recreation Area’s Graffiti Removal and Intervention Team (GRIT) for a three-day, two-night lake-based backcountry stewardship trip, November 27–29, 2026, combining graffiti mitigation with a dark-sky quality measurement component associated with Rainbow Bridge National Monument.

Up to five volunteers will meet the trip leader at Wahweap Marina on the morning of November 27. Participants may park near the Government Dock at the location identified by the trip leader. The team will travel by NPS motorboat for the duration of the backcountry operation and will return to Wahweap Marina on November 29.

The detailed itinerary, GRIT treatment sites, camping locations, and Rainbow Bridge dark-sky measurement logistics are TBD and will be provided to selected volunteers before the trip.

Volunteers must be comfortable with:

• Tent camping for two nights in remote backcountry conditions.
• Traveling and working from an NPS motorboat on Lake Powell.
• Boarding and disembarking the vessel and loading, unloading, and securing personal and project gear.
• Performing outdoor labor in potentially cold, hot, windy, wet, or otherwise variable late-November desert and lake conditions.
• Repeated kneeling, bending, gripping, reaching, and use of hand tools such as hammers, paint scrapers, and wire brushes.
• Limited cellular connectivity and potentially delayed access to commercial or medical services.
• Participating in a nighttime dark-sky quality measurement activity.
• Following changing itineraries or operational decisions resulting from weather, lake conditions, vessel status, resource concerns, or safety considerations.

Volunteers will work under the direct supervision of the trip leader and must follow all instructions from the Boat Operator in Charge. Volunteers are passengers only and will not operate or refuel the NPS vessel. Graffiti removal will be performed only at locations and within treatment areas designated by the GRIT lead, using NPS-approved tools and methods.

NPS will provide the motorboat, personal flotation devices (PFDs), GRIT tools, safety glasses, gloves, and an operational communication device. A tent, warm-weather sleeping bag, and shared camping stove/fuel may be available by advance request, subject to availability. Volunteers should come prepared for cold weather camping, as conditions in late November may include low temperatures, wind, and precipitation. 

Volunteers are responsible for their personal transportation to and from Wahweap Marina, food, appropriate footwear and clothing, headlamp, personal medications, camping gear not confirmed as an NPS loan, and other personal equipment identified in the final trip instructions. NPS reimbursements are not provided.

Applicants must be at least 18 years old before signing their Volunteer Service Agreement and before service begins. Selected participants must create a Login.gov account, apply through Volunteer.gov, review the position description and Job Hazard Analysis (JHA), and complete an OF-301a Volunteer Service Agreement before the event.

No separate advance training course is currently planned. Mandatory event-specific safety, GRIT tool/PPE, boat-passenger, backcountry, and dark-sky briefings will be provided before the applicable activities begin.

Because of the remote transportation and overnight logistics, selected participants must be available for the entire November 27–29 trip. Partial participation cannot be accommodated.

Application deadline: ASAP

Final report time at Wahweap Marina: 9:00 AM

Anticipated return time on November 29: 12:00 PM (Noon)

Submission of an application does not guarantee selection. Final participation is contingent upon applicant review, completion of required volunteer documentation, and final operational approval.