Land Use Management Internship

This internship is offered in partnership with Wild Rivers Conservancy and the National Park Service at the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. 

Wild Rivers Conservancy is recruiting applicants for up to two Land Use Management internships at the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway during the summer of 2025. Positions will be temporary, full-time, with a minimum of 10 weeks, beginning May 29, 2025, through mid-August. 

The Riverway, one of the nation’s first wild and scenic rivers, is a national park consisting of 255 river miles that flow through some of the most scenic and least developed land in the Upper Midwest. Learn more at: www.nps.gov/sacn. 

Wild Rivers Conservancy is a nonprofit organization that works to inspire stewardship to forever ensure the rare ecological integrity of the St. Croix and Namekagon Riverway. 

Learn more at: www.wildriversconservancy.org  

Position Summary 

These positions are duty stationed at the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway headquarters in Saint Croix Falls, WI, and are supervised by the Riverway’s Lands Program Manager. Students are provided with practical work experience in the field of public land management via on-site scenic (conservation) easement monitoring as well as creating data folders, collecting data in the field, and documenting current situations all of which are associated with public land management. Land Use Management Interns will be exposed to several National Park Service career opportunities with a special emphasis on public land-use management. As a Land Use Management Intern, students will fulfill a critical role in helping to achieve the goals of the scenic easement program and protecting the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway for this and future generations. 

Core Functions 

Both interns will work with the Lands Program Manager and may work as an independent team to monitor scenic easements at the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. 

• 70% of the time will be spent (includes office and field time):

(1) creating field information folders for easement tracts. This includes gathering data and legal document information from in-office historic tract files and County websites while using Microsoft Office products and ArcGIS or other mapping software to create maps.

(2) Field folders are used to conduct on-site visits and monitor scenic easements in the field. Monitoring visits are essentially physical reviews of the scenic easement property to ensure the terms and conditions are being observed and honored by the landowner. Monitoring requires good communication skills and being able to work with landowners as well as skill with a camera, GPS, and tablet for field data collection. This is coupled with visual inspection and observation skills. It also requires an understanding of how to read maps and wayfinding to locate property on sometimes unmarked roads. 

(3) Conducting proper file management to compile and document data gathered during monitoring activities 

• 25% of the time will be spent working directly with lands staff members to evaluate landowner requests
• 5% Other duties as assigned

Qualifications 

• Must be a US citizen or permanent resident of the United States
• College student with coursework in natural, physical, or cultural sciences; land use planning; GIS; database management; park/recreation management; outdoor recreation; natural or cultural resource management; or resource interpretation
• Ability to work well both independently and as part of a team, be detail-oriented and organized, and follow oral and written directions
• Good oral and written communication skills. Ability to provide information to both the visiting public and private property landowners
• Basic computer familiarity, Microsoft Office programs, basic understanding of ArcGIS Pro and/or Google Earth preferred
• A valid state driver’s license is required
• Ability to lift and carry up to 25 pounds independently, 50 pounds with assistance

Work Site and Conditions 

• The intern will be based at the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway headquarters office in St. Croix Falls, WI
• 50% of work will be in the office manipulating data with various computer software and may include some repetitive tasks
• 50% of work will be in the field conducting easement monitoring and this will involve some physical activity, including walking on uneven terrain, standing for long periods, and in some cases paddling a kayak or canoe, in various weather conditions
• Work schedule is Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with a standard 40-hour work week preferred. Some flexible scheduling may be negotiable
• Must be able to begin internship on Thursday, May 29th, 2025

● A background check and fingerprints are required