Long-lasting Partnerships

Wild Rivers Conservancy of St. Croix & Namekagon Mission

Wild Rivers Conservancy is the official nonprofit partner of the  St. Croix National Scenic Riverway . We inspire stewardship to forever ensure the rare ecological integrity of the St. Croix and Namekagon Riverway. Thanks to our supporters, we work throughout the watershed to protect and enhance this national park that flows through its heart.

Wild Rivers Conservancy's three core focus areas are:

• Land Conservation
• Stewardship
• Outdoor Education

Since 2014, the Summer Internship Program at Wild River Conservancy of St. Croix & Namekagon has been hugely successful in building the much-needed capacity for both Wild Rivers Conservancy and the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, which is part of the National Park Service (NPS) managed lands. The internship program is designed to give future conservation leaders practical skills and experience in the conservation field while creating pathways to pursue educational and career opportunities in the outdoors. The impact of this program is significant and far reaching, evident by the expansion of program offerings, the number of applicants each year, and the dollar value of the hours devoted to the program.

The Vision

The internship program would never have existed without Wild Rivers Conservancy’s first Executive Director Deb Ryun, who served from 2009-2024, and former NPS Chief of Interpretation Julie Galonska, who is currently the Superintendent of Lowell National Historical Park. Together, these women created the internship program and the partnership between the Conservancy and NPS to solve a seasonal staffing problem during federal sequestration. According to Julie, “On the park service side, we had been talking about the idea of a park based internship program for a while, a couple of years. At the same time, Wild Rivers Conservancy had started to really build up what they were doing. We were building our partnership [and] Deb and I started speaking. What if we tried this? Do we have support on both sides? One thing led to another.” Both the Conservancy and the Parks Service were able to meet their goals through building a partnership based on mutual benefit and respect.

Early Days

While these leaders were trail-blazing the new program, they ran up against both financial and logistical challenges. In order to be successful, they “had to create something on the cheek,” says Deb Ryun. Interns were hired by the Conservancy and were embedded volunteers for the NPS, working on projects for both partners. They wanted to make sure interns had a safety net so they also set up reimbursements for costs of living. Julie Galonska says a major focus from the beginning was “How can we provide some value built into this internship?” Along with making sure it was a paid opportunity, they wanted to make sure to provide plenty of opportunities for professional growth and continued education with tuition reimbursements. “We were pretty intentional about making it a cohort and bringing interns together outside of their respective internships to do activities or learning that was more general. We did how to write a federal resume or apply to a federal job. Go out on a river trip. Being able to sort of step away from day to day work and have some time to get to know fellow interns and reflect in a different setting,” Julie fondly remembers.

Recruitment was another hurdle to be overcome in the first year. Reaching out to personal connections and recruitment centers of local colleges helped spread the word to young professionals about this new internship opportunity. The result of overcoming all the many challenges was six interns in 2014 from various fields, including art, who were interested in conservation work. By the end of the summer, the interns had impressed their supervisors with their enthusiasm and skills and the program continued, all parties confident in the value of the hard work of all interns.  

Program Success

From there, the internship took off, with most years averaging around seven interns, but some years had as many as nine to eleven! According to Deb, the internship program is so successful because of what the program offers to interns. Thanks to the partnership with the National Park Service, interns are offered a job that comes with prestige and experience working for the federal government, which gives them career connections. They also get to see what working for a non-profit organization in conservation is like. The program has also expanded with more partnerships and networking opportunities. Interns have performed projects such as fish electro shocking, invasive zebra mussel surveys, bat monitoring, etc with partners such as US Fish & Wildlife and the Department of Natural Resources of Wisconsin and Minnesota. To explore more projects and partners, read the poster below highlighting these partnerships and/or watch a video of interns helping with trout surveys.

No matter who they are working with or where along the St. Croix and Namekagon rivers interns are operating, they make meaningful contributions to conservation in their community. You can hear from past interns themselves about the impacts of the internship further below in StoryMap sections Celebrating Internship Work & Projects and Past Interns. You can jump ahead to those sections using the buttons at the top of this web page.

Long-lasting Partnerships

Looking back, both women say the internship program just made sense for them to work on together. “We had an inkling of fit [at the time] but didn’t fully understand that because the internship program was a success [it] was a major foundational moment of building [a] friends group relationship. We wouldn’t be the kinds of partners we are today without that partnership,” shared Julie. The missions of both the Wild Rivers Conservancy and the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway are to serve and protect the riverway and make sure that people today and in the future have opportunities to appreciate the riverway and participate in conservation. The internship program is just one of many ways for people to have those meaningful stewardship experiences. The internship provides “unique, life changing experiences that [interns] get to have that they may otherwise never experience,” concludes Deb. 

Looking Towards the Future

Wild Rivers Conservancy expects the internship program to continue on its path of growth and hopes to see it attain full funding someday. “The fact that people go into it, have a good experience, then have a career in natural resources is one of our [internship’s] biggest successes” says Deb. The Internship Program at Wild Rivers Conservancy continues to build upon this legacy of service and learning. This StoryMap project celebrates the past 10 years of successful internships while looking forward to what comes next for the program. 

Internship Office

Interns spend a fair amount of time exploring the riverway and many consider it to be their office!

All Wild Rivers Conservancy Interns commit to working at least 10 weeks minimum in the program, typically over the summer months.

Interns are stationed either with the Conservancy itself or the National Park Service.

Wild Rivers Conservancy and the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway work throughout the St. Croix Watershed, an area about the same size as the state of New Jersey! Depending on the role, internships are stationed at the Wild Rivers Conservancy office in Osceola, WI, or at one of the Visitor Centers for the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway in St. Croix Falls, WI, or Trego, WI. Travel throughout the watershed is standard for most internship roles as part of their job duties.

• Internships that are stationed with Wild Rivers Conservancy receive a wage of $15/hour.
• Internships that are stationed with the National Park Service are provided a monthly reimbursement of $500, a $1,500 tuition reimbursement, and housing for the summer.

Since the beginning in 2014, this internship has had reimbursements or wages to ensure the needs of interns are met.

Interns receive either Conservancy or Park shirts with the logo on them, a field hat, and water shoes to ensure they can perform their duties for the public!

What can interns expect to experience in the program?

Click on individual bios to read more details about a specific intern. If you click on a photo it will show the full photo as well. When looking at an individual bio, click the X to go back to viewing all interns.

You can also click on the red pins on the map to see which interns live there!

If you are a past intern, please join the Wild Rivers Conservancy Intern Alumni Group on  LinkedIn . We would love to offer opportunities for interns to remain connected with one another and support each other.

If you are not already subscribed, click    HERE  to sign up for the Wild River Conservancy’s online newsletter. And don't forget to follow the Conservancy on  Instagram ,  Facebook  , and  LinkedIn .

If you or someone you know is interested in joining our internship program, click  HERE  to learn more about how to apply and what internships are currently available! 

Jaime Webb was the Wild Rivers Conservancy’s first ever Communications Intern in Spring 2024! Their internship project focus was the creation of the Story Map you have been reading through. From interviewing past Conservancy interns, collecting data, and creating informational graphics, Jaime weaved together the story of this successful internship program to celebrate the conservation efforts of interns past, present, and future. 

The Wild Rivers Conservancy of St. Croix & Namekagon would like to thank our wonderful partners who make the Internship Program possible: 

Thank you for reading our StoryMap and celebrating our interns with us!