Southeastern American Kestrel Partnership Intern

Agency: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Working Title: Southeastern American Kestrel Partnership Intern

Compensation: Unpaid, College Credit Eligible, Travel costs covered via reimbursement

Posting Closing Date: 06/14/2024 (applications beyond this date may be accepted)

Appointment Start Date: 07/01/2024 (flexible – within the month of July)

Appointment Length: 6-months or 1-year, whichever is preferred

FWC Mission Statement:  Managing fish and wildlife resources for their long-term well-being and the benefit of people.

Supervisor:  Madison Cole

Region:  Northeast, North Central, Southwest (FWC Region Map)

County:  Citrus, Hernando, Levy, Marion (fieldwork); potential remote options for office work

Working hours:  16-hours a week (flexible schedule with a preference for 2 committed days); schedule may require 20+ hours during the field season; potentially remote work-eligible

Residency requirement:  Preference for Alachua, Marion, or Polk; Citrus, Clay, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lake, Levy, Pasco, Putnam, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, Volusia, or within reasonable driving distance to preferred counties (acceptable)

Internship is contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

Preferred Qualifications:

Some bachelor's credit hours with a focus on biology, ecology, environmental science, geography, zoology, or a related field from an accredited college or university. At least 9 credit hours at the advanced level in courses related to the topics above is preferred.

Professional or nonprofessional experience as described below can substitute for some educational experience.

KSA’s (Knowledge, Skills and Abilities): 

• Ability to manage multifaceted projects under various time constraints in compliance with Florida Statutes and Florida Administrative Code.
• Ability to climb a ladder while handling equipment including power tools.
• Ability to identify and age or sex southeastern American kestrels from a distance.
• Ability to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS). GIS training and experience is preferred.
• Knowledge of southeastern American kestrel habitat requirements and/or Florida’s various landscapes and habitats.
• Ability to travel across central Florida’s beautiful landscape for up to three, consecutive days occasionally throughout the year to conduct site visits, kestrel habitat assessments, kestrel surveys, assist with the annual kestrel nest box maintenance and monitoring, and present at the FWC’s Avian Assembly meeting.
• Florida Driver’s License and ability to operate a state-owned vehicle required. 

Position description and duties: 

Description: 

The position advertised is for a Southeastern American Kestrel Partnership Intern in the Wildlife Diversity Conservation section of the FWC’s Division of Habitat and Species Conservation.  The Division of Habitat & Species Conservation is comprised of six Sections and two offices.  The Wildlife Diversity Conservation Section (WDC) is seeking a part-time intern for an exciting opportunity to benefit southeastern American kestrel conservation across the Central Florida area.  This position will provide ample opportunities for a student or an early career biologist to gain valuable skills including field survey and monitoring techniques, grant and budget management, and experience with power tools as well as GIS.

This part-time internship position is eligible for 3-6 college credit hours depending on length of internship and weekly hour commitment. Additionally, this opportunity offers numerous agency mentorship opportunities for professional development.

The intern will be responsible for supporting monitoring and maintenance for kestrel nest box program partners.  Additional responsibilities include assessing each current nest box’s placement, microhabitat, and productivity to determine if boxes should be relocated or require additional management.  The intern will conduct habitat assessments across the current right-of-way nest boxes in Levy County, Marion County, City of Ocala Parks, Hernando County, and potentially Citrus County.  These habitat assessments will contribute to a large-scale inventory of the current kestrel nest box program. Each nest box will be assessed at the microhabitat scale to determine if placement is appropriate.  If placement is not appropriate, the nest box will be given a recommendation for management or change in location (i.e., box should be moved).  Monitoring events will occur as-needed up to bi-weekly nest box checks during the breeding season (March – August). Nest box checks will be planned around volunteer activities to optimize intern time, monitoring coverage to determine nest box productivity, and limit disturbance.

The person in this position serves as the Southeastern American Kestrel Partnership Intern across Central Florida.  This position will require the incumbent to travel across multiple county lines.  Overnight budget and support are available by reimbursement through a Conserve Wildlife Tag Grant from the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida.  The intern will be reimbursed for all travel-related costs.  The FWC staff will provide all equipment and property required for the project.

Duties:

• Initial feasibility assessment to determine if intern has capacity to measure levels of disturbance.
• Inventory existing kestrel nest boxes and conduct habitat assessments for each nest box to provide management recommendations where appropriate (i.e., should nest boxes be moved, has the area been burned recently, etc.).
• Monitoring support for 2024 & 2025 breeding seasons.
  • Monitoring events may require overnight travel.
• Maintenance support for 2025 breeding season.
  • Maintenance events may require overnight travel.
• Assisting with the development and updating of GIS data.
  • Develop and update GIS layers to identify priority kestrel partnership parcels based on habitat suitability.
• Present at the 2024 or 2025 Avian Assembly meeting.

Expected Deliverables:

• An updated list of nest boxes scored by habitat factors most highly correlated with kestrel nest box success and use.
• A list of kestrel boxes placed in locations that are not considered suitable and may be discontinued in monitoring efforts or relocated.
• A coarse map of localities providing the most suitable habitat for nest box placement.
• A presentation on the project to serve as in-reach and outreach for the Southeastern American Kestrel Partnership.

To Apply

Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis.  Please email a cover letter, resume, and completed “Kestrel Internship Application Form” to Madison.Cole@myfwc.com and title the email “Kestrel Internship Application - [LastName].”

The State of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer and does not tolerate discrimination or violence in the workplace.

Candidates requiring a reasonable accommodation, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, must notify the agency hiring authority and/or People First Service Center (1-866-663-4735). Notification to the hiring authority must be made in advance to allow sufficient time to provide the accommodation.