Summer Internship Opportunity

The Wisconsin State Cartographer’s Office at UW-Madison is hiring two undergraduate student interns for the summer of 2024. The interns will help produce a habitat map of the St. Louis River Estuary in partnership with the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve (Reserve). This map will show land cover and dominant species and be produced from high-resolution remote sensing imagery.

Through the summer internship students will participate in field work at the Reserve. The students will collaborate with Reserve and SCO staff, and project consultants. Student field work will be vital to create an accurate habitat map while also providing important learning and professional development opportunities in GIS and remote sensing technologies, and ecology of Great Lakes estuaries, all skills that will be taught to the student hired.

The Lake Superior Reserve (lakesuperiornerr.org), designated in 2010 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is one of a system of 30 Research Reserves nationwide committed to long-term research, education, outreach, and stewardship to improve the understanding of coastal systems and the practice of coastal management. The Reserve has a conference room, exhibit hall, offices, and laboratory on the waterfront in Superior, WI and is a fun and dynamic place to work.

The State Cartographer’s Office (SCO) is a special program in the Geography Department at UW-Madison. The SCO collaborates with partners across the state to help them achieve their geospatial-related goals.

Duties and Skills Developed:

● Learn to identify plant species and use a field guide to identify habitat types in a variety of aquatic, wetland, and forested habitats
● Use handheld GPS and geospatial technology in the field
● Learn about how field data collection is used in creating land classification maps, and other remote sensing and field geospatial techniques
● Work collaboratively with staff from the State Cartographer’s Office, Lake Superior Reserve, and other project partners to identify field sampling areas
● Field work will include hiking and canoeing

Eligibility and Qualifications:

● Student status at an accredited institution (actively enrolled Fall 2024). This includes but is not limited to Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, UW-Superior and other UW campuses, UMD and CSS
● Must be able to independently reach the Reserve office where fieldwork will commence
● Able to work collaboratively in an office environment and in the field
● Reliable work ethic
● Capable of completing tasks independently
● Comfortable working outdoors in various weather conditions
● Ability to walk for ~ 5 miles on uneven terrain and have an interest in canoeing or learning to canoe
● An ideal candidate would have knowledge of one or more of the following topics:
o Hands-on experience including coursework in digital remote sensing and/or GIS software and methods.
o Some knowledge of local plants or ecology, aquatic environments, and the Great Lakes region

Rate: $16/hour
Dates: June-August, 2024, 16-24 hours/week but can be flexible
Position is open to all majors and international students
Review of applications begins: April 8, 2024