Start/End Dates: May 11, 2024 - August 1, 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.
* A personal vehicle is recommended 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:
Qualifications:
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.
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About this Site:
Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) is unique in that it is part of a rural/suburban environment but within a reasonable (less than 30 minutes) driving distance to Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. The intern will have access to nearby world-class medical care, museums, shopping, live music, and more. The park offers numerous cultural, recreational, and educational experiences available to the intern throughout the year. Seasonal park staff and interns live in a community of park housing within walking distance of one another, fostering a close-knit community of like-minded individuals.
CVNP has many trails for hiking, mountain biking, casual biking, trail riding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and running. Various locations throughout the park contain educational information. CVNP features both valley-bottom landscapes and rim features surrounding the valley. The highest point in CVNP is 1,164 feet, and the lowest is 590 feet, making the area accessible for people of reasonable health and ability.
All cultural, recreational, and educational activities are within walking, biking, or driving distance from park housing. The distance from park housing to the intern’s primary work location is 4.51 miles, so a personal vehicle is strongly recommended. At least five grocery stores, a popular farmers market, and a farm stand are within 10 miles (15-minute drive) of staff housing. Three hospitals, three Walmarts, one Costco, five Target stores, and over a dozen gas stations are also located within a 15-mile drive.
Weather in northeast Ohio is generally moderate, with four distinct seasons. Winters are cold and sometimes dry, with occasional heavy snowfall. Spring is known for heavier rainfall. Summers are warm and humid, with temperatures reaching 90°F on about 11 days per year. January is the coldest month, and July is the warmest, with an average high of 74°F.
The intern will be stationed at the park’s co-managed volunteer office, working with professionals from the National Park Service and the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park. A 40-hour workweek is typical, which may occasionally include early mornings, evenings, or Saturdays. Spring, summer, and fall are the busiest program seasons, when the intern may spend significant time outdoors, often working with or leading volunteers on physically demanding projects in varied weather. Daily meetings assess weather conditions, and safety protocols are in place to reduce risk. Poison ivy and ticks are common, but northeast Ohio has no major predators, venomous snakes, or highly venomous spiders. Friendly wildlife, including deer, squirrels, turtles, beavers, bald eagles, and foxes, is abundant.
Upon arrival, the intern will receive a government PIV card and government email to ensure access to NPS sites and materials. In the office, they will be assigned a workspace in the Volunteer Office and will work closely with NPS rangers and staff from the Conservancy in the Volunteer Management Office, receiving a wide range of support. Daily supervisor meetings and weekly Volunteer Office meetings will allow regular check-ins. The Volunteer Management Office also collaborates with the Interpretation, Education, and Visitor Services Division and the Resource Management Division, providing opportunities for the intern to broaden their experience and support field-level assignments.
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.