This Internship is designed to offer two students direct exposure to their current coursework in fields related to Land and/or Water Resources or Conservation: in coordination of their college coursework, professor and/or academic counselor.This internship is preferred to be a "for credit" summer internship position. Student can expect to gain a wide range of work experience in a county conservation department, including:

Collect lake and stream water samples for lab analysis.
Assist with aquatic plant surveys and shoreline surveys.
Assist with aquatic invasive species monitoring.
Tablet based GPS inventory of conservation practices, culverts, and terrestrial and aquatic invasive species.
Assist with public educational events.
Assist with county-wide surveys of agricultural cropping practices.
GIS based land use delineation on lakeshores and watersheds.
Assist with miscellaneous projects as required.

Qualifications: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education/Experience Requirements:
Students applying for this internship should be a Biology, Environmental Science, Hydrology/Water Resources, Agricultural Sciences, Agronomy, Soil and Water conservation, Soil Science, Natural Resource Management, Conservation and Environmental Planning or related major.

Competency Requirements:

Customer Service and Community Relations – Meets the needs of both internal and external stakeholders. Delivers high-quality services; is committed to continuous improvement. Communicates/interacts with members of the public and other key stakeholders in a way that elicits positive response, which on occasion, may include interaction either one-on-one or with several stakeholders at one time to present information and/or represent the organization's interests.
Honesty & Integrity - Contributes to maintaining the integrity of the organization; displays high standards of ethical conduct and understands the impact of violating these standards on an organization, self, and others; is trustworthy.
Accountability – Assumes responsibility for successfully accomplishing work objectives and delivering results; sets high standards of performance for self and others.

Preferred Student Qualifications:

Positive attitude
Strong work ethic and able to work with minimal supervision
Good driving record
Experience with lake sampling, aquatic invasive species, and aquatic plants
Geographical Information System (GIS) experience or training
Knowledge of computer programs Excel, Word, and PowerPoint
Ability to drive a boat and trailer a boat
Boater safety certification
Ability to work outdoors in various weather conditions
Ability to swim
General interest in the outdoors
Familiarity with Polk County or ability to read a map for navigation

Physical Requirements:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to sit, walk, stand, use hands to finger, handle or feel, reach with hands and arms, climb and balance, stoop, bend, kneel, talk and hear and smell.
The employee must be able to lift and carry up to 50 pounds.
Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, distance vision, depth perception, peripheral vision and ability to focus.

Work Environment:
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, outside weather conditions, sunlight, airborne particles, dust, smell, outside weather during all seasons. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.Duration of internship: 40 hours per week for 12-week period (480 hours total)
Work schedule: Monday through Friday - 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Preferred Start Date: June 1, 2026

Housing/Lodging: Polk County does not offer internship housing. It is the responsibility of the selected candidates to secure housing within a reasonable distance during the internship period.

Polk County (WI)

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Conservation Technician