Fish and Feather Internship Program - ONSITE - Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve

Start/End Dates: May 11, 2025 - September 6, 2025
Compensation: $640 per week housing
Application Due: February 9, 2025

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.

• 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: 

Park Headquarters in Copper Center is 1,000 ft above sea level. Weather patterns change frequently and rapidly throughout the year, with extreme weather possible during any season. While the intern will be based out of the Headquarters Copper Center area, they will have opportunities to travel to different locations around the park, including coastal Yakutat, and Slana and Kennecott, both over 2,000 ft in elevation. 

In the summertime, average temperatures range from lows in the 40s to highs in the 60s and 70s, but can easily drop below freezing and soar to the 90s between May and September. While drier than coastal Alaska, there can still be quite a lot of rain throughout the summer. Mosquitoes, present during the peak summer months, are numerous. Plan to cover up with long sleeves and/or bug repellent, especially in June and July.

The town of Glennallen is a 12-mile highway drive north of Park Headquarters. This town includes amenities like a grocery store, bank, gas stations, vehicle repair, and general stores. Halfway between the Headquarters and Glennallen is a medical clinic and gas station with a convenience store.

Wrangell-St. Elias employs staff from the lower 48 as well as the local community. The Headquarters area has beautiful views of the park and the Wrangell Mountains and is situated along the Alaska Highway system. Exploring the local communities or taking a hike or backpack inside the park does require transportation. Public transportation in the area is limited to non-existent. Summer staff often appreciate the flexibility of having a vehicle, but it is not required. The housing community helps each other out with carpooling to town for groceries or other off-time activities. With a focus on the local community, we hope to potentially select an intern who has familiarity with the challenges and opportunities of living in rural Alaska.

The physical area that the intern would be based would be the Headquarters Visitor Center of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve in Copper Center. Much of the daily work is indoors, but many of the programs (including ranger walks, pop-ups) and community education programs and events (Jr. Angler programs, Salmon Days, and culture camps) will be outdoors. The Headquarters area has multiple short trails through the boreal forest as well as a historic section of the Valdez trail. There are overlooks of the Wrangell Range to the east, as well as the Chugach Range to the south, and even the Alaska Range to the north. Boreal forest wildlife including moose, bears, lynx, and wolves could be present at any time. Other fauna include red squirrels and a multitude of migratory and resident birds. Mosquitoes and other biting insects are present during the peak summer months. Most of our team works on their feet for most of the day, although accommodations can be made for an intern with different physical requirements. Light lifting, bending, and carrying may be necessary, especially at education programs and community events. Slips, trips, and falls can occur on uneven outdoor surfaces, and we cover this as well as wildlife safety (bear spray training) with all staff.

The work culture at our park grows out of our team, so it shifts from season to season based on the talents, cultures, and strengths of our seasonal staff. That being said, we are intentional about building solid work and team expectations early in the season. It is always a top priority to nurture a caring, empathetic, and respectful team of people where everyone can develop as a learner at their own pace. Interns would be mentored by the visitor center supervisor as well as one of the lead rangers.

Interns in this program will receive 680 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.

Salary : $640