The Housatonic Valley Association (HVA) is seeking applicants for our River Stewards of Tomorrow Internship positions, available for summer 2022. River Stewards will work on a variety of projects related to water resource management, wildlife conservation, and land protection. River Stewards will be based out of the office in Stockbridge, Massachusetts office and work mainly in Berkshire County, with potentially work in Columbia County, New York and northwest Connecticut. We anticipate that each River Steward position will be part-time (4 days/week, 30 hours) and last 12 weeks from late May until mid August. See a Story Map about the position created by one of our 2018 interns here.

Internship Overview

The 2022 River Stewards will be supervised by HVA’s Watershed Conservation Project Managers, but will also work with other staff on occasion, including the Land Protection Team and Communications/Development Team. Work will include a mix of office and field-based activities (approximately 80% field-based and 20% office-based). Projects that the intern may be involved with include but aren’t limited to the following (in order of estimated proportion of time spent):

• Road-Stream Crossing Assessments: Visit and assess bridges and culverts (using the North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative protocol) in Pittsfield, Stockbridge, Lenox and New Marlborough to identify barriers to fish and wildlife passage, and assist with post-assessment data management and processing.
• Social Media/Communications/Development: Assist Communications/Development Team in creating online content, providing photos and written summaries of summer tasks, and other tasks as needed.
• Culvert Rod and Level Surveys: Assist Watershed Conservation Team staff in collecting topographic data on existing structures and stream channels, at priority culverts. Data will be collected using a rod and prism, a Leica Total Station, and a Trimble data collector, and will advance preliminary design development for replacement structures.
• Environmental Monitoring (pollution trackdown): Assist Watershed Conservation Team staff in water quality monitoring: surveying stormwater outfalls in dry weather and collecting/analyzing water samples if discharge is observed, temperature monitoring, and collecting surface water samples for bacteria analysis.
• Restoration project monitoring and maintenance: Assist with maintenance of rain gardens in Pittsfield and riparian buffer projects (tasks include weeding, sediment and trash removal and invasive plant removal).
• Outreach and Engagement: Assist with river cleanups, public paddle trips on the Housatonic river using canoes, tabling at various community events.

Qualifications

Candidates must be detail-oriented, passionate about conservation, and able to succeed both independently and as part of a team. In addition, the ideal candidate will possess:

• Enthusiasm for outdoor field work, including working under potentially inclement environmental conditions (hot, rainy, etc.);
• Strong interpersonal skills, and the ability to represent HVA in a professional manner;
• Strong organization and data management skills, and ability to follow detailed protocols;
• Ability to problem-solve and think creatively while out in the field.

Requirements

Daily access to a reliable personal vehicle is a requirement of the position
(HVA does not have a field vehicle, so all field work, including any work in New York and Massachusetts, will be done in personal cars with mileage reimbursements.) The intern must also be physically able to participate in potentially strenuous field work (i.e., physically active work outside for several hours at a time during the heat of the summer).