Conservation Policy Intern — Seattle, WA

Organization: Forterra

Job Title: Conservation Policy Intern

Location: Seattle, WA

Hours and Compensation: 10 hours/week — Unpaid

Application Deadline: Sep. 30, 2012

Position Dates: Oct. — Dec. 2012

Posted On: Sep. 19, 2012

Organization Overview

Forterra fills a unique and important niche as the largest conservation and community building organization in Washington State. We are working to build the foundations for our region’s sustainable environmental and economic futures in the face of a rapidly growing population. For over 20 years, Forterra has led efforts to conserve more than 173,000 acres of forests, farms, shorelines, parks and natural areas and restore critical landscapes.

Description

The Policy Department at Forterra is looking for a graduate-level intern for Fall 2012. We are currently working on projects at the county and city levels to help design a number of market-based resource land conservation programs. Half of the work would focus on assisting Forterra with implementation of a regional transfer of development rights program and researching and drafting summaries of land use policies and regulations to understand how communities can better serve their residents.

The remainder of the work would focus on updating our national Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) program database. This database is a compilation of information specific to the over 200 TDR programs across the country and used to inform the various projects, presentations, and conservation panels in which we are involved. This work would entail researching specific TDR programs to get up-to-date information on each program’s progress.

Qualifications

• Current graduate student in a related field.
• Research skills: Intern must be proficient and comfortable utilizing various research methods for a variety of topics. The intern should be familiar with generally accepted practices for citing references.
• Writing skills: Interns must be able to communicate complex ideas/concepts through written reports/memos.
• Organizational skills: Intern should be able to work independently wih a broad scope of work and be responsible for managing workload to meet deadlines.
• Planning/Policy background: General experience with planning and land use policies required.
• Graphics skills: Desired, not required. Intern may be asked to help design report formats and layout.

How to Apply

This is an unpaid internship. This internship provides an excellent opportunity to:

• Learn about current land use issues and the various approaches and solutions in Washington State
• Learn the planning processes and how land conservation policies are advanced
• Gain an understanding of how land use policies can help achieve growth and conservation goals across the region
• Attend public meetings
• Meet with practitioners to learn about this field

Apply online at http://forterra.theresumator.com/apply/FlYxtH/Conservation-Policy-Internship.html?source=idealist