Mohonk Preserve helps protect the Shawangunk Mountains region and inspires people to care for, enjoy and explore their natural world. The Preserve manages 8,000 acres of the northern Shawangunk Mountains in Ulster County, NY through four integrated programs – Conservation Science, Land Protection, Land Stewardship and Education, and is a regional model for large-scale conservation planning.

Mohonk Preserve has received grant funding from the Land Trust Alliance to integrate climate resilience and mitigation considerations into our organizational decisions. The Land and Climate Intern will report to the Director of Land Protection and work with key staff, Board committees and the Climate Change and Sustainability Task Group to:

•  Integrate carbon sequestration and resilience considerations into land management plans for both forests and grasslands in a manner that balances the Preserve’s varied management objectives;
• Integrate climate resilience metrics into land protection criteria to bolster the Preserve’s ability to identify and protect lands with the greatest potential to support local ecosystem resilience against the negative impacts of climate change and to accommodate species flow in response to a changing climate;
• Share project findings with the public and the land trust community via press releases, e-blasts, social media and public presentations.

The goal of this project is to prepare Mohonk Preserve to be a leading voice for natural climate solutions in our region and beyond. The project will help optimize the climate mitigation and adaptation potential of our lands and will provide a foundation as we develop a vision for Mohonk Preserve’s role in addressing climate change. This internship is one element of a broader organizational initiative related to land and climate, in which the intern will be an active participant.

The selected intern will be responsible for completion of key grant deliverables (e.g. revisions to land management plans & land protection criteria) and will present their work in an oral presentation at the completion of the internship. The internship may be completed partially or fully via remote work.

Duration: 8 months (Feb – Sept 2021; part-time, flexible) Location: Mohonk Preserve Visitor Center OR remote

The selected intern will be responsible for completion of key grant deliverables (e.g. revisions to land management plans & land protection criteria) and will present their work in an oral presentation at the completion of the internship. The internship may be completed partially or fully via remote work.