Botany Intern
Great Smoky Mountains National Park has the most biological diversity of any area in the world's temperate zone and is a sanctuary for a magnificent array of animal and plant life. Outdoor recreational opportunities also abound in the park and local area. GRSM alone contains 10 campgrounds, 2,000 miles of stream, more than 800
miles of trails, and 89 backcountry campsites. The park boasts sections of three long-distance trails, including over 70 miles of the world-famous Appalachian Trail.
You will monitor the status and trends of vegetation communities: Assess impacts to target plant species and vegetation communities: and protect rare and endangered plant species.
DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES
-Vegetation Plot Monitoring: Assist with field sampling of overstory and understory
communities, forestry measurements, and plot set-up
-Rare Plant Monitoring: Assist with field monitoring of threatened and endangered plants.
-Wetlands Identification: Serve on a field crew that locates, inventories, and maps wetland
communities in select watersheds
-Elk Exclosure Monitoring Project: Assist crew with field sampling of exclosure and control plots to assess elk impacts to vegetation composition.
-Other short-term duties include: Laboratory work on plant specimen identification and
preservation; Herbarium specimen preparation; Computer data entry; Assisting with other
ecological projects in the park
-All projects will involve backcountry navigation, utilizing Trimble XT and DNR Garmin software,
field sampling, and detailed data collection.
