Coastal North Carolina National Wildlife Refuge Summer Internships

Are you hardworking, adventurous, and fascinated by the outdoors? Would you like to use a school term or break to explore job paths, gain field experience, or add some career traction? Would you like to establish relationships with professionals in wildlife management, environmental education, fire management, or wildlife biology?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offers summer internships on refuges in eastern North Carolina. Housing and a living allowance are provided.

Internships rotate through different program areas, exposing interns to many aspects of managing a refuge. Internships consist of a mixture of projects including refuge maintenance, biological work, and educational programming. 

Alligator River and Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge interns present public outreach programs such as guided canoe tours and open-air tram tours; perform biological duties such as installing beach nesting bird protection areas, mapping and treating invasive plant species, sea turtle monitoring, shorebird surveys and water level monitoring; and assist with refuge maintenance duties, including mowing, trimming, trail work, sign maintenance, stocking refuge brochures, trash and recycling collection and assisting other staff with a variety of projects.

Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge interns work with refuge maintenance, including mowing, trimming, trail work, sign maintenance, light carpentry, trash collection and pickup. Biological work could include amphibian, mammal, and pollinator surveying, conducting community science projects, and habitat monitoring. Pocosin wetland restoration work includes clearing, monitoring, and measuring water control structures to record water levels within a habitat management unit. Educational programming assignments include leading/assisting with interpretive black bear tours on the refuge, Red Wolf programs at the Red Wolf Center, preschool wildlife programs, and restocking brochures across the refuge. 

Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge interns work with refuge maintenance, including mowing, trimming, trial work, sign maintenance, light carpentry, and assisting other staff with a variety of projects. Biological work could include water quality sampling, submerged aquatic vegetation monitoring, and assisting with ongoing research on the refuge. Less frequent assignments may include greeting visitors, answering questions, presenting/assisting with educational programs, restocking brochures across the refuge and occasionally assisting in the visitor center.