Laramie, WY

Position Title: Internship Opportunity

Organization: Western Landowners Alliance

Location: Laramie, WY

Organization Overview: The Western Landowners Alliance (WLA) was founded in 2012 by landowners dedicated to keeping working lands in the American West whole and healthy. They advance policies and practices that sustain working lands, connected landscapes, and native species. WLA is a West-wide organization, operating programs for landowners and managers across the 11 states west of the 100th meridian. WLA ensures the voice of landowners is represented in policy making, provides opportunities for peer-to-peer learning, and helps the public understand the value of working lands and private stewardship. 

Position Overview: WLA is partnering with the Haub School at the University of Wyoming to recruit a student intern to join our fully remote team across the West. The paid internship will be 5 to 10 hours per week through the 2021-22 academic year. Currently there are three different opportunities available for an intern at WLA. One or two positions will be filled depending on the interests and skills of applicants. If you’re hard-working, creative and passionate about whole and healthy landscapes in the West, Western Landowners Alliance is the place for you!

Duties:

Working Wild Challenge: WLA’s Working Wild Challenge (WWC) program seeks an intern to help support the Conflict Reduction Consortium (CRC) led by WLA. The CRC works to reduce human-wildlife conflict through collaborative learning, research, and improved management practices, and to develop and share policy recommendations and educational resources in support of the vision. Six subcommittees within this group of about 40 individuals meet monthly. Subcommittees focus on scaling up conflict reduction efforts, supporting the economic viability of working lands challenged by expanding wildlife species like grizzly bears and wolves, and creating mutual understanding across the rural urban divide. While working closely with Working Wild Challenge program staff, you will attend and coordinate collaborative stakeholder meetings. Specific responsibilities include alerting meeting participants of upcoming meetings and assignments, taking and synthesizing meeting minutes, facilitating meetings, and distributing follow-up communications. An intern in this program will put theoretical knowledge about collaboration into practice and learn about policies, management practice and research related to livestock-carnivore conflicts on working lands.

Communications: WLA’s Communications and Marketing team seeks an intern to help connect with the constituency and the public regularly via email, social media, and through the website. In particular, they are currently seeking someone to support content production for the digital side of the magazine On Land, “The voice of stewardship in the American West,” and event promotion for WLA events across all programs. The communications and marketing intern would provide support for WLA and On Land according to communications and marketing plan, under supervision of Communications Director and other staff as directed, create compelling creative and expository written and visual content for the web, create compelling marketing email and social media content to engage constituents and convey impact, and assist with organizing development and program events, including online (webinars) and in-person events.

Policy & Economics: WLA’s Policy team seeks an intern to help with the work to ensure that state and federal policy supports land stewardship and conservation on private lands and working landscapes in the West. WLA’s policy work spans a diverse set of issues such as: state and federal wildlife management; federal land management, including grazing and forestry; conservation finance; and human-wildlife conflict reduction. Under the supervision of the Policy Director and other staff as directed, the policy intern would conduct research and policy analysis, assist in the development of written materials such as internal memorandums and external letters, track key state and federal legislation, and assist in coalition development and facilitation.

Qualifications:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills and comfortable operating in a virtual environment.
• Good judgement and the ability to recognize sensitive subject matter and seek assistance in communications accordingly.
• Study in related field
• Quick study and enthusiastic teammate
• Experience and/or demonstrated interest in agriculture, ranching, land stewardship and conservation
• Passionate about the landscapes of the West and the role of private land stewardship in keeping them whole and healthy

Additional Qualifications: