Fish and Feathers Internship - ONSITE - St. Croix National Scenic Riverway

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. 

 * No personal vehicle is 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:

This internship, housed within the Park’s Interpretation and Education team, will receive support from the Natural Resources team and staff of Wild Rivers Conservancy (Conservancy), the park’s official non-profit partner.  This internship will help prepare, expand, and conduct birding programs and fishing programs and community outreach events, such as the Musky Fest in Hayward, WI. Incorporated in these programs are the development and implementation of Jr. Ranger programming, specifically for Jr. Angler.  In addition, the intern will help develop and implement a summer birding festival.    

•        Research and present thematic programs, especially Jr. Angler programs, the formal fishing, and birding programs, as well as short pop-up programs

•        Learn NPS interpretive methodology to develop the fishing and birding programs.           

•        Contact visitors and conduct informal programs at park landings, along trails, and on river in kayaks. 

•        Work with staff on implementing the fishing and birding programs, the summer birding festival and other events, outreach, and educational programs. 

•        Expand the fishing program to integrate education goals and standards to create a solid group school program. 

•        Conduct all on-the-job activities safely and contribute to a safe work environment. 

•        Contribute positively to the team environment and communicate within and between the organizations.

•        Work with other park and Conservancy division staff to learn the overall mission and operations of the park. 

The intern will work with diverse community groups with which the Conservancy and park already have relationships as well as work to expand these existing relationships and extend to other community groups.  Existing working relationships include:

•        The Hmong Ambassador program, a newly developed program, with Hmong outdoor leaders and the Hmong community, creating opportunities for the Hmong community to experience and establish a positive relationship with the Riverway.

•        Advancement of Hmong Americans - Empowering community through engagement, knowledge sharing, and self-determination. We provide hikes, ice fishing, birding, snowshoe hikes, shore fishing, and kayak adventures for families throughout the year. 

•        Baztec Fishing - The first and only platform in Spanish dedicated to fishing in Minnesota. We partnered with Baztec Fishing during Latino Conservation Week to provide an all-day birding, kayaking, and fishing event at a local state park. 

•        BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin - A community of people of color who love the outdoors, birds, and beauty of natural Wisconsin. Hosted the Club for a 3-day, 2-night birding-filled adventure with kayaking and hikes. 

•        Huellas Latinas - Born to inspire and empower Latinx communities to embrace and engage in outdoor recreation. Partnered with Huellas Latinas to provide a kayaking trip on the St. Croix River for Hispanic families. 

•        Lac Courte Oreilles Boys and Girls Club - A place for youth to go to be safe, learn new skills, enhance their education and life views, and just have fun! Support 8+kayak trips on the Namekagon River for native youth. 

•        Valley Friendship Club - Helping to build friendships, create connections, and enhance lives for those with disabilities. Provide bi-monthly outdoor recreation and exploration opportunities, including birding, fishing and kayaking, to youth and adults with disabilities, and their families. 

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.