In its second year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Conservation Intern Program is proving to be a rewarding partnership. CIP, a joint program of the Service’s Northeast Region and the Student Conservation Association, introduces students from culturally and ethnically diverse backgrounds to careers in natural resources. 

For many years the Service has partnered with SCA, whose mission is to build the next generation of conservation leaders by engaging young people in hands-on service to the land. In 2007, the Service’s National Wildlife Refuge System in the Northeast Region initiated a search for methods to enhance diversity recruitment and targeted SCA for assistance in developing CIP.

The Northeast Region’s CIP brings young students, typically college freshman and sophomores, together with Service employees, and introduces them to a wide range of the work and responsibilities of a career in natural resources.

The program, which NWR staff members manage and organize, provides students with a week-long training session at an NWR. Following this session, students participate in a 12-week learning and training experience on an NWR in the Northeast Region. Students have the opportunity to experience a broad range of natural-resource-management activities and work on an array of projects. Projects range from biological monitoring and habitat restoration to refuge maintenance and recreational public-use programs.

Realty specialist Rick Jorgensen played a key role in developing and establishing the CIP for the Northeast. “Being afforded the opportunity to inaugurate the Northeast Region Conservation Internship Program has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my career,” Jorgensen said. “The investment our National Wildlife Refuge System, Senior Leadership Team is making in diversifying the USFWS workforce has already begun to pay dividends.”

In 2008 the Service hired 20 students for the summer program; and in 2009, it increased that number to 30 students. The Service recruits students nationwide to work throughout the Northeast Region. For many, the program offers a unique opportunity they may not otherwise experience. “I am very inspired by the efforts to make this program happen,” said CIP participant Abisola Adeosun, who is working at Silvio Conte NWR in Massachusetts. “It is exciting to know there are people who care enough to give us a chance to gain experience throughout the summer. This has driven me to learn more about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and possible careers that are open to me.”

This innovative and mutually beneficial program directly complements the recent signing of a historic Secretarial Order that establishes the Office of Youth in Natural Resources at the U.S. Department of the Interior. The new office will play a lead role in developing a signature program referred to as the “21st Century Youth Conservation Corps.” This program aims to put thousands of young people from diverse backgrounds to work on public lands. Interior is hopeful that the dramatic expansion of youth programs will not only provide needed jobs but will also help develop the next great generation of conservationists, land stewards and public servants. The Service’s Northeast Region’s CIP will undoubtedly play a vital role in accomplishing this mission.