The Inner Monologue

Across the nation’s campgrounds, tens of thousands of people quietly wake before dawn to clean restrooms, greet visitors, collect fees, and patrol trails. They are the first smile travelers meet and often the last face they see when leaving America’s public lands. They are known as campground hosts—yet the title belies the reality of their work.

Despite their long hours, mandated duties, and critical presence, these workers are typically labeled “volunteers,” compensated not with wages but with a free campsite, utilities, and sometimes a small stipend. The term “paid volunteer” is a bureaucratic oxymoron masking a deeper inequity. These individuals are, in every meaningful sense, employees—and it is time they be recognized as such, through GS-1 classification under the General Schedule.

The Illusion of Volunteerism

At its core, the government’s reliance on “volunteer” hosts exploits a linguistic loophole. True volunteers act from civic duty or personal passion, serving when and how they choose. Camphosts, however, are bound by written agreements, schedules, and performance expectations.

They are required to remain on-site, often seven days a week, with limited personal freedom. They collect and safeguard government funds, handle visitor complaints, manage emergencies, and maintain facilities. They undergo background checks, follow standard operating procedures, and are evaluated by agency supervisors. In labor law and common sense alike, that is employment.

This misclassification benefits the agencies, not the workers. It allows land management agencies to sidestep payroll costs, employment protections, and benefits—an arrangement that may save money in the short term but undermines fairness, transparency, and long-term workforce health.

GS-1: A Modest but Meaningful Reclassification

The GS-1 pay level exists precisely for work of this nature: entry-level positions requiring dependability, not advanced education. Campground hosting perfectly fits this definition. The GS-1 hourly rate, roughly $13–$15 depending on locality, would hardly enrich anyone, but it would transform the moral landscape of federal employment.

Reclassifying hosts as GS-1 would:

Ensure compliance with federal labor standards and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Provide worker protection under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA).

Establish consistent training, supervision, and timekeeping.

Offer a clear path for advancement into seasonal or permanent federal roles.

Most importantly, it would affirm that the people maintaining our parks and forests are workers, not invisible helpers.

The Fiscal Reality: Recognition Without Ruin

Critics may argue that converting hosts to GS-1 would balloon budgets, but the arithmetic tells another story. Agencies already compensate hosts in kind through free housing, utilities, and travel reimbursement. Many of these benefits, when monetized, rival or exceed the GS-1 pay rate.

Moreover, by putting hosts on payroll, agencies would gain better oversight and accountability. Cash handling would be more transparent, safety and training could be standardized, and the risk of labor disputes or liability exposure would decline. A phased approach—starting with high-traffic or fee-collection sites—could demonstrate cost neutrality while improving service quality.

Equity and Dignity in Service

America’s public lands depend on an aging, often retired population of hosts. These are people who have spent careers in public or private service, now offering their time and labor to keep the nation’s outdoor heritage alive. Many live on limited fixed incomes. When they clean the toilets, scrub graffiti, or calm a panicked family in the dark of night, they do not deserve the fiction that they are “volunteering.”

Reclassifying them as GS-1 would not only correct an administrative oversight—it would acknowledge their dignity. It would affirm that the federal government values work, not just words. And it would signal to future generations that public service, however humble, is honored with fairness and respect.

Administrative Feasibility

Implementing this change is neither revolutionary nor complex. OPM and the Department of the Interior could issue guidance allowing agencies to convert “volunteer” roles involving regular, compensated duties into GS-1 temporary positions under excepted service. The move would formalize what already exists—supervised, essential, compensated labor—within the General Schedule system.

Pilot programs could begin within the National Park Service, Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management, focusing on hosts who perform fee collection or full-time on-site duties. The transition could be budget-neutral, especially when paired with modest reductions in redundant seasonal contracts.

A Moral Imperative for Fair Government

At a time when faith in government competence and fairness is waning, symbolic acts of integrity matter. Correcting the misclassification of camphosts is not about bureaucracy—it is about credibility. It demonstrates that the government holds itself to the same labor standards it demands of the private sector.

Our campgrounds, parks, and forests are places of national pride. Those who maintain them deserve not to live in a legal gray zone but under the clear light of recognition.

Reclassify them. Pay them fairly. Give them the dignity of a title that matches their contribution: GS-1, United States Government Employee.