Fish and Feathers Internship Program - ONSITE - Indiana Dunes National Park

Start/End Dates: May 11, 2025 - 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:

• 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: 

Indiana Dunes National Park encompasses over 15 thousand acres, 50 miles of trails and 15 miles of Lake Michigan's southern shoreline. The trails range from easy to rugged. These trails travers diverse, complex ecosystems such as dunes, wetlands, prairies, and old-growth forests, this makes Indiana Dunes National Park a destination for outdoor adventurers of all kinds. Recreational opportunities in the park include hiking, biking, fishing, kayaking, birding and winter cross country skiing. 

The communities that surround the park are just as diverse as the flora and fauna the park is bound to protect. To the west we have the cities of Portage, Lake Station, Hammond, East Chicago and Chicago each with strong Latino communities. To the East we have Michigan City, South Bend and Elkhart also with strong Latino communities. The weather conditions in Northwest Indiana can vary due to its close proximity to Lake Michigan, but Indiana as a whole has a humid continental climate; hot and muggy summers and cold snowy winters. In addition to the sometimes rough, sandy or muddy trails, the heat, sun, rain, Poison Ivy and insects are always a concern in the park during the spring and summer.

Housing consists of three, 3–4-bedroom houses that are located in the park. These accommodations are shared with other interns and seasonal staff. Occupants would share common space but have their own lockable bedroom. Interns with transportation will have no problem getting to nearby grocery stores, laundromats, restaurants, theaters, urgent care facilities, and hospitals. 

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.