Welcome to the Public Lands Internship Program (PLIP)

Position title: Natural Resource Restoration Internship

Start date: November 2023

Estimated time Commitment: 20+ hours, up to 40 hours/per week on site

This position is currently accepting applicants.

Details:

The Natural Resource Restoration Internship position is located at the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Page, AZ.. This internship will allow the individual the opportunity to experience working in a greenhouse and assisting with restoration projects. The intern will gain experience with data management, planning, vegetation monitoring, wildlife management and working with youth crews. This position encourages working both independently and in a team setting. During this internship the intern will be hiking over rough terrain and in varying weather conditions.  As part of the invasive plant species removal, the individual will be required to use herbicides. This position will require a valid state drivers license and the completion of a federal background investigation. The position offered is contingent on available funding. Park housing for this position is available for rent.

Position title: Public Educator Intern

Start date: December 2022

Estimated time Commitment: 20+ hours, up to 40 hours/per week

This position is currently closed, please contact Sanoma Boynton for more information and future opportunities

Details:

The Public Educator Intern will provide front-line information, orientation, education and interpretive services for
visitors, families and school students regarding Glen Canyon National Monument and Rainbow
Bridge National Monument in AZ and UT. Additionally, the intern will work with park staff to
develop and present informal presentations on various park resources (including but not limited
to archeology, geology, history, biology, and diverse recreation opportunities) at a visitor center
and along trails. There may also be opportunities for cross training with other park programs and
disciplines. This position requires a federal background investigation. Housing is not available.

Position title: Public Educator Intern

Start date: Spring 2023

This position is currently closed, please contact Sanoma Boynton for more information and future opportunities

Details:

The Public Educator Intern will provide front-line information, orientation, and interpretive services for visitors and families at the Montezuma Well unit of Montezuma Castle National Monument in Rimrock, AZ. The intern will work with park staff and volunteers to develop and present a variety of informal presentations on various park resources (including but not limited to anthropology, archeology, geology, and biology) along the trail. There may also be opportunities for cross-training with other park programs and disciplines. This position requires a federal background investigation. The position offered is contingent on available funding.

Position title: Education Specialist Intern

Start date: Spring/Summer 2022

This position has been filled for the season. Please contact Sanoma Boynton for more information and future opportunities.

Estimated time commitment: 20+ hours per week on site

Details:

The Aztec Ruins National Monument (AZRU) internship, is a nine month long internship, located in New Mexico, is focused on assessing and updating the park’s current education program, developing a plan moving forward, and providing programming to a diverse audience with an interdisciplinary approach. The intern will have a variety of programs in place that can be presented at the park and in the classroom. The programs available to the intern will cover a variety of topics and park themes, including, but not limited to, archeological, anthropology, geology, and ecology. The intern’s role will be to plan, develop, coordinate, present and evaluate formal educational activities that support the park’s mission. While programs are primarily presented to elementary and middle school ages, some high school, college, and adult education programs can occur. Management of the program includes scheduling, publicizing, promoting, and maintaining the reservation system, as well as training and mentoring interns and other staff members in providing education programs. The intern participates in division-wide planning, coordinates with the lead interpretive ranger to arrange supporting staff for education programs, and plays a key role in developing and maintaining good working relationships and collaboration with park partners and the education community. The incumbent may also conduct other interpretive programs, help plan park special events, and work at the visitor center front desk giving orientations and answering questions. A degree in education is preferred, but candidates with experience teaching students will also be considered. The position offered is contingent on available funding.

Position title: Cultural Resources InternStart date:  Spring 2023

This position is currently closed, please contact Sanoma Boynton for more information and future opportunities

Details:

In the early stages of this internship, the intern will work closely with an NPS archeologist to learn the cultural history of the different monuments within the Flagstaff Area National Monuments and to design an independent field research project focused on the archeology within one of the three monuments (Wupatki, Walnut Canyon, Sunset Crater Volcano). The goal of this internship is to train students in archeological field methods and data management and to present research findings at the NAU Undergraduate Expo and Symposium, usually held in April. The intern will work alongside NPS archeologists to perform condition assessments on historic and prehistoric archeological sites, and conduct preservation on prehistoric, masonry sites within WUPA and WACA. Anticipated timelines and duties follow:

Mar./Apr. – May 2022/23: 5 hours/week x 18 weeks (90 hours). Duties include receiving training from FLAG NPS archeology staff on FLAG cultural history and, archeology data entry, monitoring field training, historic preservation training, and designing an independent archeological project.

Jun. – Aug. 2022/23: 40 hours / week x 12 weeks (480 hours). Duties include working alongside NPS archeologists to conduct monitoring and preservation at archeological sites within WUPA and WACA.

Sept. – Dec. 2022/23: 10 hours / week x 12 weeks (120 hours). Duties include archeological site data entry and report writing.

Jan. – Apr. 2023/24: 5 hours / week x 12 week (60 hours). Duties include preparing for April NAU Undergraduate Expo and Symposium

Position title: TEK Internship

Start date: May 2023

Estimated time commitment: 20+ hours per week on site

Housing Provided: Yes, available on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.

This position is currently closed, please contact Sanoma Boynton for more information and future opportunities

Details:

The internship will support Grand Canyon National Park’s Interpretation and Science and Resources programs by supporting the integration of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) into the park and elevation of First Voices in the Canyon that 11 tribal communities call home. TEK is the on-going accumulation of knowledge, practice, and belief about relationships between living beings in a specific ecosystem that is acquired by Indigenous people since time immemorial through direct contact with the environment, handed down through generations, and used for life-sustaining ways. The wealth of TEK tribal members have, and are willing to share with park managers, enriches our ability to be good stewards of the park and has led to successful collaboration.

The intern will collaborate with regional tribal communities and work closely with park scientists to expand knowledge, understanding, and application of TEK practices.  The intern will also be supported by park interpreters to engage the public in TEK centered in-person programming (indigenous plant walks; ethnobotany, ethnoecology, and ethnogeology talks; etc.), web articles, social media, and park public information (brochures, signs, waysides, etc.). There is also potential to create a database of TEK resources to be used park wide. This position encourages working both independently and in a team setting. This position requires a federal background investigation.

Position title: Biological Science Technician

Start date: May 2022

This position has been filled for the season. Please contact Sanoma Boynton for more information and future opportunities.

Estimated time commitment: 20+ hours per week on site

Details:

This Internship is Celebrating Women in Science. The main purpose of this position is to support the park’s herbarium and provide park education programs to the public with an interdisciplinary approach. This position will work with the park’s Science and Resource Management Division and the Division of Interpretation and Resource Education. The incumbent will collect plant voucher specimens, catalog specimens in the herbarium, prepare and present ranger programs and write an article on their experience for publication. The position will highlight the work of botanist Rose Eudora Collom, an influential woman in science, and recognize women who are currently working in science and resource stewardship for the National Park Service. The incumbent will share the work that Ms. Collom contributed to the park’s scientific records and follow in her footsteps by collecting voucher plant specimens. The position requires travel to remote locations of the park, backpacking into the canyon and hiking to conduct field work in variable weather conditions and challenging terrain. It also requires the incumbent to be comfortable with public speaking, developing and presenting a ranger program, and writing an article for publication. The incumbent will work closely with park biologists and education specialists to perform field work and will participate in programs that require some evening and weekend work.  The position offered is contingent on available funding. Park housing is available for the Grand Canyon National Park headquarters.

Position title: Recreation Use Monitoring Intern

Start date: Summer 2023

Estimated time commitment: 20+ hours per week on site

This position is currently accepting applications

Details:

Description: Visit trailheads, visitor contact stations, traffic counters, and other sites in the Lower Sonoran Field Office, including the Sonoran Desert National Monument to survey types of recreational uses on public lands and record visitors engaging in those activities at regular intervals. Limit impacts to wildlife and landscape as much as possible.

1. Location: Lower Sonoran Field Office, including the Sonoran Desert National Monument, specific locations determined in project planning
2. Time/schedule commitments: Special projects planned and announced in advance, 6 to 10 hour workday, or longer depending on location.
3. Use of government vehicle: Will be operated by government employee as needed to reach work site. Will ride as passenger in government vehicle to survey location.
4. Use of personal vehicle: For volunteer’s personal transportation to meeting point.
5. Tools and equipment: TrafX Counter downloader and other recording devices, GPS, clipboard and survey forms.
6. Personal tools and equipment: Gloves and personal protective clothes and footwear. Drinking water and food/snacks, hat, sunblock.
7. Skills and abilities needed: Walking on rugged, rocky, natural terrain.

Training and certifications: Knowledge of recreational categories and associated activities, survey techniques, and GPS device use.  Recognizing potential hazards encountered along trails and throughout landscape.

8. Level of physical activity: Moderately strenuous due to walking, hiking through brush.
9. Hazards or risks: Walking outdoors on natural terrain, uneven and rough ground, sometimes in remote locations. Potential cuts and punctures, potential pathogens, hazardous materials.  Hazardous materials will be reported to BLM representative on site, and will not be handled or removed by volunteers. Encounters with stinging and biting insects, wildlife, allergens (dust, pollen).  Encounters with undocumented immigrants, drug smugglers, hunters.