Fish and Feathers Internship - ONSITE - Redwood National & State Parks

Start/End Dates: May 12, 2024 - August 2, 2024
Compensation: $600 per week + housing
Application Due: February 6, 2024

Fish and Feathers Internship Program seeks to engage ethnically and racially diverse young professionals in natural resource careers.
You must be (additional requirement):

• a U.S. citizen or legal resident

* Applicants must have a valid driver's license and a good driving record. 

 * Personal vehicle is recommended but not required for this position.

Position Description: 

Fish and Feathers is a program funded by the National Park Service (NPS) and administered by Environment for the Americas. Our goal is to provide our national park partners with talented interns who are eager to learn and to engage with local communities. The intern will focus on supporting, implementing, and leading community outreach programs that focus on fishing and birding activities. The overall goal is to increase diverse community engagement with NPS partners during the program and in years to come.

Responsibilities:

• Reach out to local communities through outreach and educational activities to increase engagement in fishing and birdwatching
• Create new materials (i.e., social media, educational games/activities, signage, etc.) to provide visitors with information about fish and birds at the NPS site
• Understand regulations regarding fishing and ethical birding and communicate this information to participants
• Establish or build upon fishing and birding programs at the NPS site
• Manage and maintain program equipment
• Meet deadlines for Environment for the Americas program requirements 

Qualifications:

• Ability to hike and conduct field operations as part of a team and/or independently in an outdoor setting.
• Experience giving presentations and ability to learn new skills and transfer the knowledge to participants.
• Interest in learning fishing regulations and bird identification for program development and implementation.
• Ability to learn methods employed in fish and wildlife management.
• Strong interpersonal, oral, listening, and written communication skills.
• Interest in learning new skills such as rafting, canoeing, and kayaking.

Major studies relevant to this position: 

Successful candidates will have a background and/or coursework in the following areas or a strong interest in the outdoors with experience fishing and/or birdwatching.

• Biology
• Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences
• Ecology
• Aquaculture
• Communications/Marketing
• Environmental Science
• Recreation
• Interpretation/Education

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About this Site:

The position will be based in the Interpretation Program directly providing interpretive programming and services for the visiting public.

Visitor Services:

The intern will develop and lead at least two different, recurring interpretive programs. One program will be a talk focused on condor reintroduction work at REDW. The park, in partnership with the Yurok tribe, reintroduced condors in 2022. This program will be given daily and serve traditional park audiences. 

The second program will be a recreation-based experience designed to reach new audiences. Depending on the interests of the intern, the program will be either a guided birding walk or a fish-with-a-ranger activity. Either program will be offered at least twice weekly. 

The intern will also support visitor center operations approximately 25% of their time by staffing an information desk, helping the intern gain fluency in common visitor interests and park resources.

Development: 

The variety of formal programs will provide the intern valuable experience at public speaking. Skills in research, organization, and interpretive presentation methods will be gained through program preparation.

The intern will shadow staff and activities in other programs at least one day per pay period. Opportunities could include fieldwork with biologists and ecologists; law enforcement ride-alongs, or; maintenance/restoration work. The intern will assist the park’s two visual information specialists with development of videos or digital content about fishing or birding opportunities in the park. The experiences will create a potential pathway to future paid work with the NPS through direct experience in multiple operations.

Support:

The intern will work five 8-hour days and be based in the park’s south district. The area’s beaches, streams, and forests are a draw for visitors, providing both audiences and easy access to the ecosystems critical to program success.  Their work will be scheduled and monitored on a day-by-day basis by the local lead interpretive ranger. They will report directly to the deputy program manager, which will include weekly meetings to discuss progress toward internship goals.

The park owns fishing tackle and birdwatching equipment for use by the public as part of interpretive programming. The intern, working with senior staff, will partner with local recreational programs in gateway communities to host recreational programs aimed at local youth and families. Redwood Parks Conservancy, official partner of REDW, can provide free transportation for up to 12 participants to and from these programs throughout the park.

Deliverables:

By the end of the internship the intern will produce these tangible results:

•        A detailed program outline and SOPs for presenting the bird walk/fishing program, and a detailed outline and props for the condor talk. These products will provide future staff with a template for giving these programs in subsequent years.

•        At minimum 30 formal interpretive talks about condor biology and reintroduction and 20 birding/fishing programs.

•        A summary 30-minute presentation for interpretive managers and staff on program successes, challenges, and opportunities for future program growth.

Interns in this program will receive 480 hours towards Public Land Corps (PLC) Hiring Authority. See below on information about:

Public Land Corps Non-Competitive Hiring Authority (PLC)
The Public Land Corps Non-Competitive Hiring Authority is a special hiring authority available to qualifying interns. The intern must be between the ages of 18 and 30 years old, inclusive, or a veteran up to age 35 and complete 640 hours of work on an appropriate conservation project to be eligible for this hiring authority. Upon successful completion of the PLC project(s), the intern is eligible for two years to be hired non-competitively into a federal seasonal, term, or permanent position. The applicant must apply to a PLC-eligible position advertised on USAJobs.gov and selected off a non-competitive certificate of eligibility. For more information, see DOI Personnel Bulletins 11-02 , 12-13, and 17-03.

EEO Statement

Environment for the Americas provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employmentand prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.