News from Conservation and Land Management Interns

CLM interns in the field

The hiring process for the 2013 Conservation and Land Management (CLM) Internship Program is nearly complete, and newly hired interns are just beginning their experiences in unique locations across the western U.S.!

Sclerocactus glaucus, endemic species of western Colorado, in bloom (Photo ©Peter Gordon)

Since 2001, the Chicago Botanic Garden and many federal agencies (Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA Forest Service, and U.S. Geological Survey to name a few) have combined their strengths to train more than 700 college graduates through the CLM program, primarily in 13 western states. These internships involve work in botany and wildlife-related fields, or combinations that may include monitoring or assessing threatened and endangered species and habitats. As 2013 CLM interns begin a new journey, many of last year’s interns are finishing up, and still others continue their internship experiences into spring. Three interns recently shared their thoughts and experiences on the CLM blog:

  • Lauren Stevens worked in Phoenix, Arizona, and reflects on her time there with a poem.
  • Carson Moscoso just started his internship in Las Vegas, Nevada, and explains the excitement of upcoming fieldwork.
  • Darnisha Coverson, an intern in Lakewood, Colorado, tells about the duties of an intern during the winter months.

©2013 Chicago Botanic Garden and my.chicagobotanic.org

Published by

Krissa Skogen

Krissa Skogen, Ph.D., is a conservation scientist and manager of the Conservation and Land Management (CLM) Program at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Her research focuses on pollinator ecology, plant reproductive biology, and population-level studies to explain variation in neutral traits (molecular markers) and those under selection (floral attractants, rewards, etc.). Her current work focuses on an endemic evening primrose, Oenothera harringtonii, and other species pollinated by hawkmoths and bees. The CLM Program places between 80 and 100 interns with federal biologists in the western United States each year.