D

Ag/NatR Internship:  Wildlife Management

 

Name:

Major:

Summer:

Russell Kleinschmidt

Wildlife Management

2003

 

 

Place of Employment:

Address:

City:

State/Province:

ZIP/Postal Code:

Company/Org. URL:

 

North Dakota Game and Fish Department

403 Dakota Ave

Riverdale

North Dakota

58565

http://www.state.nd.us/gnf/

 

Supervisor/Position:

Phone Number:

Dan Halstead, Wildlife Biologist/Supervisor

(701) 654-7475 ex. 21

 

 

Job Title:

Seasonal Wildlife Aide II

 

 

Job Responsibilities:

I did a lot of things during the summer including fence maintenance, noxious weed control, Private Lands Initiative signing, upland game surveys, mourning dove banding, heavy and light equipment maintenance and operation, mowing trails and tree plantings, planting trees, shop cleanup, map hay fields, painting WMA signs, welding, maintained rifle range, miscellaneous field work, etc…

 

Summarize Your
Experience:



 

I started working for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department in the middle of May, and from this time until the middle of June I mostly did fence maintenance.  I took our unneeded old fence, repaired broken fence, and constructed new fence on the many wildlife management areas (WMA).  Then the second half of June and beginning of July I mostly mowed noxious weeds, mainly Canada thistle, and I also mowed some trails.  The rest of July and the early part of August I sprayed noxious weeds such as Canada thistle, leafy spurge, and absinth wormwood.  However, for most of August I signed many new private lands that were put into the Private Lands Initiative (PLI).

     Some other things I did was to band mourning doves, do late summer upland game roadside surveys, ,maintained and repaired heavy and light equipment, welded, planted trees, and various other general field work.  I also helped the boy scouts plant trees on a piece of reclaimed mining land, and helped the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with the annual Green-wing days at Audubon National Wildlife Refuge.  These and various other tasks were the responsibilities I held during the summer of 2003.

 

What I liked most about
the job:

 

I learned the most from talking with my supervisor, wildlife biologists, and the wildlife technicians.  They helped me better understand the field of wildlife management.  I learned many different wildlife habitat management techniques such as spraying, mowing, planting, etc.  I also was interested in the flora of the prairie ecosystem, and learned to identify them.  I was also amazed at the abundance and diversity of the upland game, waterfowl, predators, fish, and big game of the Riverdale area.  All of these aspects are what I liked most about my job, and has made the summer very memorable and educational.

 

Challenges on the job:

 

 

The most challenging aspects of the job were making independent decisions, learning how to keep track of my hours and type of work on the Cost Tracking System (CTS) database, and learning to work well with others under many different circumstances.   These challenges forced me to take initiative and build my leadership skills.  Without these challenges I would not have had as good of an internship, and I would not have learned as much.