Conservation internship position is available

     Are you a college student or recent college graduate looking for an internship in conservation and/or agriculture? The Jones Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) has an internship opportunity this summer that may interest you. The position is at the SWCD’s office in Anamosa, and will cover Jones County. Applications are being accepted through the end of February.

     The internship offers experience in providing technical assistance to landowners and operators in order to carry out the mission of the Jones SWCD. The intern will work in office and in the field on the promotion, documentation, contracting, installation and maintenance of conservation practices for both state and federal financial assistance programs, with a significant portion of time spent on Conservation Reserve Program activities.

     The intern will also assist field office staff with engineering surveys, designs, seeding plans, layout and checkout of conservation practices, resource inventory, status reviews and follow up with landowners. Conservation practices may include grassed waterways, shallow water areas for wildlife, windbreaks, contour buffer strips, grass filter strips, riparian forest buffers and others. Additional duties for the intern will be to assist with website maintenance, writing news articles, organizing field days, informational meetings, educational/outreach events to schools and other groups, and other tasks as needed.

     To qualify, the applicant must provide evidence of ability to assist with fieldwork. He/she must possess good communication skills in order to provide one-on-one assistance to landowners to ensure that procedures are followed to receive cost-share funds. A valid driver’s license is also required, along with a federal background investigation and fingerprint check. Wage will be $10 per hour, with a maximum of 480 hours. Starting date is flexible, but no sooner than May 1, and ending date is also flexible, but no later than Dec. 31.

     Interested candidates should contact Sonya Ellison, Secretary, at 319-462-3196, ext. 3 or Sonya.Ellison@ia.nacdnet.net for more information, or simply submit a resume to her by Feb. 28. The office is located in the USDA Service Center at 300 Chamber Drive, Anamosa, IA, 52205.

     For more info on soil and water conservation, stop by the office or visit www.jonesswcd.org.