About CLM 

 

Internship Benefits
Internship Details
The Training Workshop
History of the CLM Internship

 

Internship Benefits!

The CLM Internship Program has numerous benefits, which include:

Stipend of $11,000 for each five-month internship, paid bi-monthly
Make connections in various governmental and non-profit organizations
Learn what it's like to work at a federal agency
Explore your career goals and expand your resume
Experience new landscapes, habitats, and species diversity in the beautiful western United States
Apply your education to important conservation questions

 

Internship Details

Each year, approximately 100 college graduates take part the Conservation and Land Management Internship Program (CLM). Internships generally last for five months and include a stipend of $11,000, paid bi-monthly.

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: 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.

Approximately 40-50% of all interns participate in the Seeds of Success (SOS) Program. To learn more about SOS please visit http://www.nps.gov/plants/sos/

For more information, please visit the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page.

 

The Training Workshop

This year's workshop will take place June 27 - July 2, 2010 at the Horace M. Albright Training Center, located within the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. If you are attending the workshop this year, please visit www.clminternship.org/workshop for more information!

The Grand Canyon National Park offers an ideal indoor and outdoor learning laboratory for our new CLM interns. The Albright Training Center has been preparing new employees to the mission of the National Parks Service for nearly a half-century, and we are thrilled to bring our 2009 CLM interns to help plant the seeds for future preservation and public service! To learn more about nature and science projects going on at the Grand Canyon, be sure to visit http://www.nps.gov/grca/naturescience/index.htm.

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. Each intern will participate in 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 US Forest Service
Endangered Species Act Legislation 101
Plant Monitoring
Plant Identification
Seeds of Success, seed collecting demo
Wildlife Management
Map/Compass/GPS Skills Safety 101
The Mentor Experience - What to expect from your mentor, what your mentor expects from you
The Intern Experience - What to expect from 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.