What are the responsibilities and job description for the Biological Field Intern position at Trout Unlimited?
Description
Trout Unlimited is looking for energetic, intelligent, and motivated individuals to join our staff for seasonal employment in 2025. The job will assist activities that support native trout and aquatic resource conservation. We are looking to fill 3-4 summer internship positions with a start date of May 27, 2025. The team will work 40-hour weeks (typically 4 days at 10 hours/day) that require driving on rural roads with limited cell phone coverage, traversing difficult terrain while carrying field gear up to 50 pounds and working in all types of weather conditions.
Requirements
Duties and Responsibilities
- Assist with culvert assessments using the North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative (NAACC) protocol.
- Collect field data through activities such as electrofishing, benthic macroinvertebrate surveys, water quality sampling, and fish habitat surveys.
- Assist with restoration project implementation.
- Maintain rigorous data collection and assessment protocols; identify and report any concerns to supervisor.
- Wade streams and rivers in a variety of flow regimes and weather conditions.
- Maintain equipment and report maintenance/equipment needs to supervisor.
- Provide data entry and database management, as well as prepare maps and assist with reports.
- Assistance to other program staff as needed.
- Maintain a high level of integrity while on the job.
Requirements
- Current undergraduate or graduate student pursuing a degree in environmental science, fish and wildlife biology, biology, ecology, or related field of study.
- Demonstrable experience with physically demanding work.
- A valid driver's license and the ability to pass background checks for employment.
- Ability to quickly acquire skills and learn new techniques.
- Willing to work long days in outdoor field conditions.
- Willing to frequently travel overnight throughout Pennsylvania and potentially neighboring states.
- Possess strong organizational and communication skills.
- Desire to learn about stream ecology and watershed science.
- Ability to work cooperatively in a team with varied skills, abilities, and perspectives.
- Ability to think creatively, keep and open mind, and take constructive criticism.
Travel away from the teams' home base may be provided by or reimbursed by TU. It will be necessary for the chosen applicant to relocate to the team's home base or be within driving distance to the office. Travel to and from home base will not be included in the reimbursement strategy.
At TU, we value a diverse representation of staff, and we actively seek candidates for this position who come from communities that have been historically under-represented in conservation and those who have been most impacted by degraded rivers and streams. We are committed to building space for all people to participate in our work to care for trout and salmon and clean our shared waters. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and welcome you to read more about TU's equity practice and values https://www.tu.org/equity/.
