One Day, One Internship » Montana

Project Vote Smart

Willy Franzen — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 15:55:19 +0000

We’re in an election year, and it’s a key one (is it ever not?). If you’re not already sick of political ads, you better get ready to be bombarded with misinformation. Politicians spend a huge amount of money trying to convince you that they’ll fix all of our society’s problems (and that their opponents are evil and hate children—seriously I saw an ad in Illinois that said that), yet the facts about every politician are out there and easy to find. A big part of the reason why is Project Vote Smart, a non-profit organization based on a ranch in Philipsburg, Montana. According to Wikipedia Project Vote Smart was founded in 1992 by “40 national leaders, including Barry Goldwater, John McCain, former U.S. Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.” PVS calls itself “The Voter’s Self-Defense System,” as it operates with the goal of collecting and distributing information about U.S. political candidates in a non-partisan way. They want voters to be able to make informed decisions based on personal values, regardless of what they may be, not political hyperbole.

Are You Smart Enough?

It’s hard to believe that an organization started by politicians is actually non-political, but it is. PVS only takes money from individual contributors and non-political foundations, and they only allow board members to join if they join with a political opposite. Project Vote Smart is all about preserving Democracy and ensuring that we the people are well enough informed to vote in a way that actually aligns with our beliefs. The best way to learn more about PVS is to watch the video embedded below. It’s a little long, and looks a bit outdated, but the content will tell you all of the basic information that you need to know about the organization.

If you like what you saw in the video, then you should check out internships at Project Vote Smart. The positions are unpaid, but you’ll get to live on their Montana ranch/research center, which is surrounded by wilderness, elk, moose, and lots of outdoor opportunities. There are also internship opportunities in their Tuscon, AZ office. They provide a ton of information on their Internships page, so you can get all of the details there.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

National Parks Conservation Association

Willy Franzen — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 12:11:58 +0000

Having grown up in Connecticut and now living in Illinois, I’ve lived in areas that don’t have too many National Parks. Luckily, I’ve had the chance to see Yellowstone and Grand Teton. They are unbelievable. Our National Parks here in the US are one of the best things that the government has done – they’re a big part of what makes this country so special. Unfortunately, the same government that gave us those parks doesn’t always seem to have their best interest in mind. That’s why National Parks Conservation Association exists. They are a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, DC that is focused on “working on key initiatives to restore America’s national parks by the centennial anniversary of the National Park Service in 2016.” If you’ve never visited a National Park, you should. You can use this locator provided by the National Park Service to find the park closest to you.

These Internships Are a Walk in the Park

If you love the outdoors as much as I do (or dig historic sites, which many National Parks are), and you want an internship that is going to put you to work protecting what you love, then the NPCA may be the place for you. They have a great website that is filled with information about what they’re doing to protect our National Parks. The best way to get a quick introduction to the organization is probably to check out their video, which does a nice job of presenting their story. Put simply, the NPCA is all about making our National Parks’ 100th birthday a real reason to celebrate. 2016 is still far enough away that a lot of meaningful work can be done before then, which is why you should check out internships with the NPCA. Right now there’s only one internship listed, but they seem to have a pretty strong internship program in general. Right now they’re looking for a Web/Communications Intern in Washington, DC. You can apply online, and the internship may or may not be paid (duh!). NPCA does offer paid internships, but not all of them are paid, as I understand it.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite National Park?

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

Willy Franzen — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:01:49 +0000

Although I got to work at a private fishing club during one summer in college and spent two summers interning at Orvis, I still wish that I could have done something like interning with Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks. Being a lover of the outdoors, I can’t imagine many things better than spending a summer in Big Sky Country. In case you’re not familiar with what Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is, they’re Montana’s state agency charged with managing conservation of many of the state’s natural resources. Obviously, much of what they do is centered around managing fishing and hunting regulations, but they also have a huge responsibility of managing all of state parks (and there’s a whole lot to manage in a state like Montana).

The Last Best Internships

To get more specific, here are some of the projects that Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks are focusing on tackling this year:

Continue working to get the grizzly bear and wolf delisted so that management reverts back to the state; boost efforts to address the issue of brucellosis transmission by elk and bison; improve public access for hunting, fishing, and other recreation through the Habitat Montana, Block Management, Access Montana Initiative, and other programs; and enhance our system of state parks and fishing access sites, especially in and near Montana’s growing urban areas.

That’s just a taste of what FWP is working on, and you can get a better idea of what they do by looking at what kind of internships they’re offering this summer. You can find general information about their internships here, and then you can check out specific openings with Montana FWP to see if there are internships that interest you. There are 22 internships listed, they’re located all across the state, and most are paid. Internship options include a Warden Trainee Program, Park Management, Natural Resources, Interpretative Technician, Webmaster Assistant, Construction Technician, Fisheries Technician, Fish Culture Technician, Big Hole River, Mountain Lakes, Fisheries, Recreation Management & Angling Education, Visitation, Parks, Parks Interpretive, Madison River Survey Coordinator, FAS Weed Management, Park Ranger Generalist, Loon Ranger, Wildlife Research, and Sate Parks Enterprise Marketing. You can apply for all of these internships directly from the listings on the FWP site.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever been to Montana?