Environment for the Americas

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: 

Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park is comprised of six noncontiguous sites in northern Rhode Island and central Massachusetts. Located between two major cities, Providence, RI (population approximately 190,000) and Worcester, MA (population approximately 205,000), the Blackstone Valley is home to a diverse and often underserved population. Many people in this Valley continue to live with the adverse effects of the Industrial Revolution, a story we share and interpret within the Park. 

The Park is in a temperate climate. Summers can often be hot and humid with an average temperature around 82 degrees Fahrenheit. Severe thunderstorms are possible during the summer months. The intern’s office will be located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Pawtucket is within the larger Providence metropolitan area. There is easy access to grocery stores, healthcare facilities, pharmacies, recreational outlets, shops, and stores.

The intern can expect to work an even split between office and fieldwork. Office work will be based at a desk. An intern might expect long hours in front of a computer on office days. Fieldwork will be primarily based in outreach events. During these events, interns should expect long days on their feet, walking moderate distances, moving tables and chairs, setting up pop-up tents and birding equipment, baiting fishing hooks, and unhooking fish. Programs might be held in light rain, but programs will always be canceled if there is a heavy rain or thunderstorm.

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.