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DEC Wetlands Program - Mapping Intern

Internship Site: Montpelier, VT; weekly field work will occur throughout Vermont, with the majority of travel in Northwestern Vermont.

Description: Spend you summer helping the State of Vermont cataloging and mapping valuable wetland ecosystems. The internship will focus on updating Geographical Information Systems (GIS) mapping products, as well as providing assistance in the form of data management and field work. In this internship the individual will learn about the Vermont Wetland Rules and environmental regulations, how to identify wetlands remotely and in the field, and how integral mapping is to the success of wetland protection.

In-the-office support will focus on developing and improving wetland mapping products in the Esri ArcMap environment. Tasks will include; digitizing and coding historic wetland delineations, editing existing wetland datasets, and learning how to map wetlands remotely via “heads up digitizing”. The intern will have the support of professionals with mapping experience who will provide training in aerial interpretation and other mapping tools. At the end of the internship, mapping efforts will be reviewed and then published publicly online to the VT Natural Resources Atlas.

Field work will be variable and may include; ground truthing to verify mapping products, provide regulatory site visit support, and assist with wetland bio assessment surveys. All field travel will leave from and return to Montpelier using ANR vehicles. In doing so, intern will travel with regulatory and non-regulatory staff throughout the State to visit our most exceptional and irreplaceable wetlands.

Start and End Dates: June 1st to August 30th, but dates are negotiable.
Total Hours: 32 hours/week for ~11 weeks, not to exceed 360 hours.

Desired qualifications/skills/coursework:
-         Successful completion of coursework in GIS (including experience with ArcMap and ArcCatalog) a must, and has experience using databases.
-         Prior coursework and interest in any of the following areas; natural resource management, earth sciences, and biology. Course work in soils, hydrology, botany, and/or ecology a plus.
-         Position requires a highly organized individual with attention to detail. Flexibility is also important, with the ability to maintain focus while performing a diverse set of tasks.
-         An ability to work under adverse field conditions (adverse terrain in hot, humid and/or rainy weather).

Supervision: Intern will be supervised in the Watershed Management Division by the Wetlands Program and will work daily with DEC staff. All field work will be conducted with a Wetlands Staff member. 

If you are offered and accept this internship, please be aware that this program is co-funded by the Robert R. Churchill Internship fund and the State of Vermont, therefore you will be required to complete funded internship paperwork through the CCI office.