To further its historic preservation (HP) goals and mandates, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is looking for a 12-week full-time intern to assist the Regional Historic Preservation Office (RHPO) in the sorting, updating and digitization of HP program files and possibly conducting occasional field reviews into heritage assets and museum property owned and managed by the USFWS within the Midwest Region (aka Region 3). The Midwest Region encompasses the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The intern will work in the office with HP program files, which are housed at the Midwest Regional Office (MRO) in Bloomington, Minnesota. This is not a remote work or telework position.
The intern should have a strong college background in archaeology and familiarity with ArcMap and/or ArcGIS Pro and should be able to edit geodatabase features and attribute tables with confidence. The USFWS will provide access to a dedicated laptop computer for this project for use by the intern. However, the intern who will sign into the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) secure network will have to pass a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) background check. They would also need to secure a DOI Access Card and receive IT Security Training.
The goals/tasks of the project are three-fold, in order of importance:
1) HP Program Files: Heritage Assets (75%). The intern will examine the physical and electronic HP program files at the MRO related to USFWS Heritage Assets (defined as archaeological sites, standing structures and traditional cultural properties and landscapes) within the region. Using this data and information gleaned from other outside organizations (various historical societies, libraries, State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO), Offices of the State Archaeologist (OSA) etc.), the intern will create and update physical and electronic “Resource Files” (patterned after those used by SHPOs) using “Fred” – a USFWS national cultural resources relational database. The locations and metadata of heritage assets will be prepared and entered into attribute tables of the MRO’s Geographic Information System (GIS) heritage geodatabase (in development).
2) HP Program Files: Museum Property (20%). The intern will examine the physical and electronic HP program files at the MRO related to USFWS Region 3 Museum Property (defined as object/items within USFWS’ long-term ownership/control, falling under 8 broad categories: Archaeology, Art, Ethnography, History, Archives, Biology, Paleontology, and Geology). Using these data, the intern will create and update physical and electronic “Collection Files” (patterned after those used by curation facilities) using “Fred” – a USFWS national cultural resources relational database.
3) HP Field Review: Heritage Assets and Museum Property (5%). On rare occasions, in furtherance of National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) Section 106 and/or NHPA Section 110 goals and Museum Property mandates, the intern will work closely with the RHPO in the field examination of important heritage assets and museum property within the region. Travel arrangements will be variable and will depend upon the project details and role of the RHPO. While the heritage sites fieldwork will be almost always outdoors, the museum property work will require traveling to selected USFWS field stations within the region and assisting the staff in conducting an assessment of the museum property within their offices. Connections with non-USFWS repositories holding USFWS collections will be done largely through telephone and email.
Compensation
– $600/week* Living Allowance
– $1,100* To/From Travel Allowance, paid once with first paycheck
– Eligible for AmeriCorps Education Award of $1,718.25, received upon successful completion of position
*All Allowances are subject to applicable federal, state, and local taxes
Please note that housing is NOT provided for this position.
It is SCA's policy that all AmeriCorps-required background checks must return cleared results prior to the position's start; this includes being fingerprinted for the FBI check. Otherwise, the AmeriCorps award will be removed or the position's start date will be delayed due to non-compliance.
For SCA’s COVID guidance, please refer to www.thesca.org/covid.
Position ID: PO-00734846
Expected Dates: May 22, 2023 - August 13, 2023
Location:
5600 American Blvd W.
Suite 990
Bloomington, MN 55437
US
Training Provided: There may be some on-line GIS related opportunities available.
Educational/Recreational Opportunities: Currently, there are no educational or recreational opportunities available. However, the intern will work closely with RHPO staff.
Handicap Accessible?: Yes
Main Area of Focus: Cultural/Historical Resource Mgmt
Further Details
AmeriCorps Eligible: Eligible
Driving Logistics: Recommended
Housing or Stipend Provided?
D. No housing is available
Indoor/Outdoor: Inside
US Citizenship: Yes