Experiential Learning & Job Opportunities

Summer Internship – Town Forest Management in greater Burlington area

University of Vermont
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
Internship Description

Internship Title: Town Forest Management Internship

Internship Site: Town forests in Chittenden County

Description: Today, there are over 67,000 acres of forestland owned by 168 municipalities, all open to the public to enjoy. Town forests in Vermont contribute to the regional landscape by keeping productive forestlands in timber management, protecting physical and biological diversity, maintaining connectivity between larger patches of forest and providing public access for recreation, hunting and other uses. Approximately 8,500 acres of community forests are conserved with the Vermont Land Trust, a non-profit conservation organization, thus protecting them in perpetuity. Several of these conserved town forests are found in Chittenden County, including the Andrews Town Forest in Richmond and the Maple Shade Town Forest in Westford. These town forests are managed almost entirely by volunteers, with some assistance by the Chittenden County Forester and the Vermont Land Trust, and often lack the means to do stewardship work such as forest management planning, boundary line maintenance and invasive species control.
This intern will assist the Chittenden County Forester in these management duties on conserved town forests in Chittenden County. A large part of this job will be “cruising,” performing inventory for future forest management plans, but duties will also include boundary marking, non-native invasive plant inventory and control, and trail mapping and maintenance. The internship is entirely field-based. This internship will help provide the intern with some of the field skills required when starting off as a forest technician or field forester.

Desired qualifications/skills/coursework:
– Course work and strong skills in tree and plant ID, forest measurements and mapping, silviculture, and forest management planning.
– Ability to work independently, and be comfortable alone in the woods for a day.
– Ability to walk for an 8-hour day over steep and rough ground in all conditions, including extreme heat, rain, and bugs.
– Good time and project management skills.
– Enthusiasm for conservation and forest resource management.
– Access to a car.
Supervision: Supervision and training will be shared between Caitlin Cusack, Stewardship Forester, Vermont Land Trust and Ethan Tapper, Chittenden County Forester, VT Forests Parks & Recreation.

Start and End Dates: Summer 2018 (10 weeks between May 21, and August 17, 2018, dates flexible)

Estimated hours per week: 16 hours/week

Compensation/Willingness to support students to earn credit: Stipend available and willingness to support student in earning credit.

How to apply: Send a cover letter, resume and three references to Caitlin Cusack at caitlin@vlt.org.

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