Public Policy Department Internship

January 14, 2009

The Wilderness Society's Public Policy Deparment is responsible for the public advocacy of The Wilderness Society’s agenda. Through its staff in Washington, DC, the department lobbies Congress, works with federal land management agencies, communicates with the media, and builds grassroots support for proper land preservation and management. The department’s staff includes program specialists in all aspects of federal lands policy and with knowledge and expertise about federal lands issues and how to affect public policy.

More about The Wilderness Society's internship program.

Internships are available on the following annual basis:

• Spring (Jan - May)
• Fall (Sep - Dec)
• Summer (Jun - Aug)

Volunteer, School Credit, or Stipend terms are considered. Part-time is a minimum of three consecutive days, 23 hours per week. Positions are open until filled.

Interns are assigned to one of the following program areas.

National Forests Program: Intern to assist in the tracking of legislative and administrative actions affecting our national forests system and the national wilderness preservation system; gather information and write responses to questions on issues such as ancient forests, below cost timber sales, wilderness and forest management.

Energy Program: Intern to assist with furthering Energy Program priorities through administrative and legislative channels. Intern will gather and prepare information for action alerts, lobby materials, and media on pending legislation and administrative activities. Intern will attend Congressional hearings, participate in lobby meetings, and prepare and deliver mailings and information to congressional staff. Intern will also closely monitor administrative processes, participate in public meetings, and assist staff in preparing technical comments. Additionally, interns will participate in regular meetings of the TWS Energy Team and external collaboratives as appropriate.

Climate Change Program: Intern needed to assist the Climate Change team in tracking, influencing and promoting policies to prevent global warming pollution and to assist the adaptation of land, habitat and wildlife to survive the rising temperatures that are already unavoidable. Capping emissions of greenhouse gases, enhancing the use of forests as carbon sinks, pressing for natural resources adaptation funding, are among the policy priorities of the team. The Climate Change Intern will be directly involved in all aspects of this urgent agenda, including efforts to educate membership, influence Congress, and steer executive branch agencies toward aggressively addressing the dangers of global warming.

Alaska Program: Intern to assist in tracking legislative and administrative actions affecting the conservation system and other federal lands in Alaska; help secure support for protecting the wilderness in Alaska, including the Arctic Refuge coastal plain, through mailings to activists and visits to Capitol Hill; help prepare and deliver mailings on wilderness, R.S. 2477 (right-of-way) regulations, and the Alaska rainforest; assist in preparation of reports and fact sheets; maintain files.

Legal Intern: The intern will conduct legal research and prepare memoranda on issues relating to ongoing or potential litigation projects, assist in the preparation of position papers, interact with clients and coalition partners, prepare comments on proposed agency actions, and assist in legislative analysis and the drafting of testimony. The ideal applicant should have a solid understanding of environmental legal principles, public land and administrative law statutes, excellent library research skills and an interest in policy and legislative analysis.

If interested, please mail, fax or email a cover letter, writing sample and resume to:

Internship Coordinator
The Wilderness Society
1615 M St NW
Washington, DC 20036
fax: 202-429-3945
Louise_Tucker@tws.org