TUSAYAN, Ariz. — Bruce Staggs has never lived on a farm, and never owned a tractor, unless you count lawnmowers. Yet, he is employed by USDA – he and his wife, Bonnie, are campground hosts at the Kaibab National Forest Ten-X Campground in Tusayan.

“All of the National Forest Service campsites are run by the Forest Service under USDA,” Staggs said.

This is different from the national parks, which come under the domain of the U.S. Department of the Interior, he said.

They live in a trailer at the campground from July 15 until Sept. 30. “We’re just caretakers,” Staggs said. “Our duties here are very small – to get up in the morning and go around to all the campsites to make sure everybody has a ticket in their box, and that the ticket matches the payment envelope. Once a day, we take the tickets to the ranger station and deposit them in the safe.

“After that, our duties for the day are done. We can leave for the day. It’s just a vacation for us.

“We get paid $3 a day for gas, for going back and forth to the ranger station,” Staggs said. “That’s a four-mile round trip. We each get $3.50 a day for food. It’s basically a volunteer position. We’re not here for the money, that’s for sure.”

A retired chiropractor, Staggs goes above and beyond his required duties. He has a friendly greeting for visitors, suggests available campsites, rewards kids for picking up litter, answers questions about the region, offers advice about visiting nearby Grand Canyon, offers brochures and sells firewood.

“The fun thing about this is you get to meet so many people,” he said. “We’re service-oriented people, so we’re here most of the day. We do our best effort to greet people when they come in and tell them about the campground.”

The position of campground host in national forests is divided into two sections – April 15 through July 15 and July 15 through Sept. 30. At the end of two-and-a-half months, the Staggs were about ready to return to their home in Prescott, Ariz.

“It’s getting a little old, in the sense that we’re always here,” Staggs said. “We missed my wife’s family reunion because our supervisor got called off to a fire. There was nobody to watch the campground. We had permission to go (to the reunion), but we just felt the responsibility.

“This has been a great opportunity,” he said. “We feel that if we assist people when they come in here, it’s a ripple effect.”

According to the USDA Forest Service website, campground hosts are of different ages and backgrounds. They are friendly, cooperative and like to help others. They enjoy the outdoors and are eager to learn and share knowledge about their forest area.

For more information, visit the Forest Service online at www.fs.fed.us and type “Campground Hosts” into the Search box.