Conservation and Land Management (CLM) Intern

PURPOSE: Each year, approximately 100 biologists and graduates from universities across the country receive five-month paid CLM internships to assist professional staff at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service (NPS), or U.S. Forest Service (USFS). Internships are primarily located in one of the thirteen western states, including Alaska.

These internships involve work in botany or wildlife-related fields, or combinations that may include monitoring or assessing threatened and endangered species and habitats.

Internship Benefits

The CLM Internship Program enables interns to do the following:

• Receive a stipend of $11,000 for each 5-month internship, paid bimonthly
• Make connections in various governmental and nonprofit organizations
• Learn what it's like to work at a federal agency
• Explore their career goals and expand their resume
• Experience new landscapes, habitats, and species diversity in the beautiful western United States
• Apply their education to important conservation questions

Internship Details

Our interns have degrees and/or experience in, but not limited to, the following areas:

• Biology
• Botany
• Ecology & Evolution
• Entomology
• Environmental Studies
• Forestry
• Natural Resources Management
• Recreation Management
• Wildlife Biology
• Zoology

Internships are primarily located in one of the thirteen western states, including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Prior to starting their internships, all interns will attend the CLM workshop where they will learn skills that will be used at their placement office. Please read the section below about the workshop to learn more about it.

As an intern, you will assist your mentor in a wide variety of projects determined by the needs of your assigned Field Office. Most internships involve work in botany or wildlife-related fields that may include monitoring assessing threatened/endangered species and habitats. Interns have worked in biology-related fields, i.e., fire ecology, fisheries, livestock utilization, and native plant materials. A few have completed internships in archaeology, planning, and recreation. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data have been an important component of numerous projects.

For more information, please visit www.clminternship.org/faq/.

The Training Workshop

An intensive all-expenses paid, one-week Training Workshop prepares interns for their respective internships by providing an overview of the agencies, policies and expectations, as well as serving as refresher courses in their field of expertise. With advice from their mentor, each intern signs up for specific workshop sessions that provide background information on topics relevant to the projects they will be responsible for during their internship experience.

Benefits of the Training Workshop are numerous and provide a great opportunity to connect with other interns. These workshops are led by experts in their field and cover topics including the following:

• Introduction to the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and U.S. Forest Service
• Endangered Species Act Legislation 101
• Plant Monitoring
• Plant Identification
• Seeds of Success - Seed collecting demo
• Wildlife Management
• Map/Compass/GPS Skills
• GIS Computer Skills - Basic and Advanced
• Safety 101
• The Mentor Experience — What to expect from your mentor, and what your mentor expects from you
• The Intern Experience — What to expect for your internship

History of the CLM Internship

In 2001, in partnership with The Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) the Chicago Botanic Garden's Division of Plant Science and Conservation launched a mentoring program that trains and employs science graduates from a wide variety of fields to assist land managers with their huge task of preserving and protecting our public lands. Since then, the National Park Service (NPS) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) have also become valued partners.

To date, the program has successfully placed hundreds of Interns in BLM, NPS and USFS Field Offices, providing them with a rich experience from which to launch their professional careers.

To apply, follow the link below:

http://www.clminternship.org/php/application.php