I first applied as to the Directorate Fellows Progrm (DFP) internship with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as an opportunity to gain some much needed experience in my field of study. Navigating through my academic journey, I've relied primarily on my food service and bartending experience to make ends meet for the past decade or so. But finally, this new journey has allowed for me to pursue my passions of building a career that addresses western U.S. water resources issues and conservation. My time with the Service has been both exciting and challenging, but it's an experience that has opened many doors for networking, career advisement, skill building, and my own personal growth. The purpose of this passage is to inform readers of my current project as a DFP intern and to highlight other positive experiences gained from my first month with the U.S. Fish & Wildife.
As anyone currently interning could atest, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented a number of challenges, with many forced to work remotely and meet and greets limited to the virtual world. Luckily, I was fortunate enough to have been placed right in the town where I live and attend graduate school, Albuquerque, NM. Though my work is primarily remote, my placement here has provided many fieldwork privileges at my study site, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, where I've been able to collect and analyze primary data for my project. So what is my project, you ask? Well, in a nutshell, I'm working with hydrologists to quantify groundwater flow through the refuge that might inform policies and practice concerning water rights, land management, and habitat maintenance for endangered species, like the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse, among other species. Groundwater/surface water interactions are becoming increasingly important in places like the Middle Rio Grande where compact agreements, fully allocated surface water resources, and climate change related impacts are forcing irrigators to rely more and more on groundwater pumping to sustain current practices.
My work as an intern has, so far, been very fulfilling. Plus I've been able to add a whole lot of other resume-building experiences to the list of things that will help me succeed in water resources management. Specifically for the project, I've collected and analyzed groundwater monitoring well data, performed slug tests to determine aquifer properties, and strengthened my ArcGIS skills. Aside from project-related work I've also dug my first monitoring well, learned about equipment used for studying jumping mouse habitat, and later this month I'll be taking part in a seepage run study that assesses areas of a stream that are either gaining or losing water to the underlying groundwater system. The greatest part of this work so far, though, has to be all of the amazing people I've met who come together and make huge efforts towards conservation and land managment that benefit wildlife and humans alike. I've gained such a tremendous amount of personal growth and belonging, but as I look forward to my final month as an intern, I'm excited to see what more the Fish & Wildlife has to offer. I'm sure it'll be challenging but that only makes the reward that much more worth it!
Agency: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Program: Directorate Fellows Program
Location: Southwest Regional Office