See below for more information about this opportunity in VT and along the Northern Forest Canoe Trail corridor (NY, VT, NH, and ME). A link to the full description is here.

Overview

This is an opportunity to work and learn in the middle of some of the most important conservation work taking place in America today.   The National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) program provides assistance to community-based projects that conserve rivers, create trails, and protect natural areas for conservation and recreational enjoyment.   While this internship is offered through the RTCA Program, the position will be working with the Northern Forest Canoe Trail.

The internship will

• Provide an opportunity to work with the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) on a Long Range Management Plan

• Learn about the National Park Service RTCA Program

• Help nonprofits and local governments that partner with NFCT and NPS

• Build connections across many organizations and disciplines

• Help the NFCT expand its sustainability via increased GIS trail data.

Focus of Activities  

The National Park Service is sponsoring an intern for the NFCT through Conservation Legacy’s the Environmental Stewards Program. RTCA is partnering with the NFCT, and this position will benefit the NFCT. The focus will be to further the NFCT’s Long Range Management Plan. The specific projects that the intern will be working on include:

• Developing a system to collect images and enhanced data for NFCT campsites. The NFCT has an Adopt-a-Segment Program where volunteers adopt a 10 to 15-mile section of the NFCT. We are getting prepared to add detailed information about campsites to our Trip Planner Tool, including site photos, lat/log, landowner information, if reservations are needed, if fires are permitted, use limits, etc. The intern will help develop this system and begin to populate the database.

• Integrate our user data into our ArcGIS program. The ideal product is an attribute table where we can add the vital user data taken from our sign-in sheets for both portages and campsites. The product will be a map that displays a gradient of line weights or point sizes based on:

• Total number of sign-ins

• Percentage of growth compared to the previous year and all previous years

• Create an interactive map listing all of the water gauges across the NFCT. Assist with outreach to American Whitewater to determine if we can use data that they have compiled.

• Support the NFCT Trail Director in developing updated landowner agreements. Tasks will include the development of stewardship plans for each private parcel, creating parcel polygons in ArcMap with developed attribute tables, and creating maps showing parcel data in relation to NFCT infrastructure.