The Internship Program is Currently Unavailable
The World's forests are undergoing a crisis of survival. In the United States, of the 1 billion
acres of original forests that once towered over America,
only five percent now remain. The timber industry and the
United States Forest Service are destroying our nation's
remaining forest ecosystems by logging in the last regions
of Ancient and wild forests.
Save America's Forests is a nationwide educational and organizing
campaign working to change United States policy to protect and restore America's last wild and natural
forests. We provide support to environmental and
citizens groups and business in our coalition, and represent
their views to Congress, the Administration, and the national
press. We promote legislation that will end logging in the last Ancient Forests on our federal forestlands, end clearcutting and restore the native biodiversity of these forests, and protect places like the Giant Sequoia National Monument.
In addition, we work to protect forests around the world and the indigenous peoples who live in them. We have a major campaign to protect forests of the Napo Moist Forest Region in the Amazon of Ecuador and Peru. These forests are not only the most biologically diverse forests in the world, but they also are inhabited by thousands of indigneous people of different groups, including some who are uncontacted and live as traditional hunter-gatherers with no modern tools of any sort.
Internships are available for students with a background
in ecology, forest protection, and politics. Preference
is given to candidates with experience in environmental
or legislative organizing. Applicant must possess
excellent writing and typing ability, a desire to learn
and improve skills, and a strong personal belief in forest
protection. Advanced skills in web design, science writing
and research, and/or publishing a strong plus. Fluent Spanish is important for work on the Amazon project. Both teamwork
and independent initiative will be important aspects of
this position. Assignments vary, from lobbying Congressional
staff and research projects to data base management and
membership mailings. Opportunities to meet and assist U.S. forest activists
and indigenous forest people from all parts of the United States and overseas.
Minimum work commitment: one semester, spring, summer, or
fall, with minimum attendance of three days per week.
To Apply
To
apply, email (preferred) word documents or pdf attachments
- a cover letter
- your resume
- one or two recent writing samples, one preferably about the environment
- a list of 2 or 3 references
intern@SaveAmericasForests.org
or
Save
America's Forests
Internship Director
4 Library Court, SE
Washington, DC 20003
Phone 202-544-9219 -- If you have any questions, please
do not hesitate to call.
Contact or send resume and supporting
material as detailed above
==============================================
Please
read the following sample letter from one of our former
interns.
September 10, 1996
Dear Carl:
My internship at Save America’s Forests this last summer
was outstanding, and has served as a perfect transition
into my senior year at Yale. I chose Save America’s
Forests over several other organizations for its small size,
uncompromising politics, and sincere commitment to citizen
mobilization and systematic change. I was not disappointed;
my summer with you and Mark was outstanding. I would highly
recommend such an internship for students interested in
Washington politics, environmental policy, and forest protection.
When I came to D.C. I knew very little about federal politics
and environmental policy. A summer with Save America’s
Forests was a crash course in policy-making, grassroots
organizing, environmental philosophy, and even database
computer skills. I left with a much better understanding
of how D.C. actually works and where the environmental movement
has gone and could go.
I especially appreciated the extensive responsibility that
you and Mark allotted to us interns. It’s no surprise
you needed us to do a lot of work—you and Mark’s
zeal and ambition leads you to take on a range and intensity
of projects that much exceeds Save America’s Forests
small staff size. I was truly shocked and excited that after
only a week of furious self-education, we were given the
opportunity to lobby in the House of Representatives on
behalf of your forest protection legislation and your letter
to the President. Lobbying was exciting and challenging,
as well as extremely educational.
Besides lobbying, our responsibilities included office management,
writing and editing stories for the winter newsletter, and
researching various topics. Unlike many other summer internships
in the capital, we did not spend the majority of our time
photocopying and serving as receptionists (although we gladly
assumed those tasks as part of the overall functioning of
things). The office was always teeming with tasks and goals,
but interns nevertheless had ample time to read relevant
materials and become educated on forest protection politics.
You and Mark supported our efforts to educate ourselves
on current happenings and were always open to our questions.
Discussions among staff members on relevant issues were
frequent; a fact that fostered an expanded and better informed
understanding of environmental policy.
By the end of the summer it was clear to me that Save America’s
Forests is a small organization, but it is needed and appreciated
nationwide. Every day, we received calls from individuals
and coalition group members who sought updates on forest
politics and recommendations for activism. Such callers
frequently praised us for our work and expressed their deep
appreciation that someone in Washington was “telling
it like it is.” While conducting interviews for the
newsletter, I spoke with several significant members of
the forest protection movement who praised Save America’s
Forests as their critical arm in the Washington. One environmental
lawyer said something along the lines of: ‘I’m
sure you’d rather be working for a big environmental
organization like the -------------, it’s wonderful
that you chose Save America’s Forests. They’re
the only ones in D.C. who are honest about what’s going
on.” (In fact I would not have preferred an internship
with a larger environmental organization, but the comment
was memorable and much appreciated all the same.)
Save America’s Forests combines many of the best assets
of a policy think tank and a grassroots organization. It
made for a memorable, engaging, and VERY educational job
experience. Thank you for the opportunity to benefit from
your expertise and the excellent summer it offered me.
Sincerely,
Michelle Anderson
.
