2017 Summer Newsletter

The Great Northern Summer Influx
Summer in the northern parts of the North American
continent brings not only an influx of visitors, but also
seasonal residents like migrating birds, fireweed and
summer interns.
For many northern non-profit facilities like the
American Bald Eagle Foundation (ABEF) and
the Yukon Wildlife Preserve (YWP), interns play
a crucial role in ensuring all of the summer work
(which has stacked up over a usually long winter)
gets accomplished. Additionally, interns are essential
for helping us interact with guests so that our
organizations can fulfill our missions of educating and
inspiring people about wildlife conservation.
The American Bald Eagle Foundation internship
program accepts six interns each year to participate.
While at the Foundation, they learn animal
husbandry, public speaking, community outreach and
collaboration skills. The applicants come from varied
backgrounds and life experiences, and the six that
are chosen represent the applicants who have shown
the most initiative and passion in the field of wildlife
conservation.
The internship program is mutually beneficial for
both interns and full-time staff. The majority of our
interns are university students who are looking for
real-world application for the
skills they learn in the
classroom. Many of the
students come from
academic backgrounds
in wildlife biology,
ecology, conservation
biology, fisheries and
wildlife management
or veterinary medicine.
Those who are accepted
into the program learn
to hone skills they are
interested in such as
positive reinforcement
training, creation of
enrichment for animals
in human care, and
effective and engaging
education and outreach.
In the North, life is all
about working together
for a greater good. With less people and vast
open spaces separating us, collaboration with other
communities becomes an important part to the way
many municipalities function. Between Haines, Alaska
and Whitehorse, Yukon a highlight of the ABEF
internship program is a two-week volunteer rotation
at the Yukon Wildlife Preserve. This allows interns
to also get experience working with large mammals
in husbandry and enrichment settings. They may
also have the opportunity to learn some wildlife
4
Above: ABEF 2016 intern Ashley Santiago asks ABEF’s ambassador Eurasian
eagle owl to the scale for a voluntary weight check. This is done on a daily basis
so staff can better monitor the birds’ health.
Volume 12, Issue 1