From Great Falls to Mount Vernon, there is a scenic roadway honoring the nation’s first president. The George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP) is one of the ten most visited National Park Service (NPS) units with 7.2 million annual visitors. Kayaking at the Great Falls, having...
I have dreamed of doing park planning work for years. I have wanted to be in a role just like the one that I am in. I was extremely excited when I learned I would be working at a park as a trails planner, but...
Driving up to Saguaro National Park begins to unfold the beauty of the sprawling desert-scape. The road winds through the city, with suburbs giving way to fields filled with saguaro cacti. As you climb up the base of the Rincon mountains, you really get a...
Picture of the old Sunken Forest in the sand Dunes of Fire Island National Seashore. Fire Island National Seashore is located on the southern coast of Long Island, NY. Fire Island National Seashore was established on September 11, 1964, as an effort to protect 26...
Washington Monument at the National Mall. My first two weeks have been nothing but amazing! I have learned so much about the different tree species and how to identify them. Not going to lie, I was a little bit confused at first, but I am...
A view at the salt marshes of Watch Hill at Fire Island National Seashore. The "heart" of the magical Sunken Forest is where all trails converge. In this part of the forest, American Holly trees grow tallest and this is one of the oldest part...
As the title says, "Welcome to Biscayne", and what a welcome I have had. To start off, I'd like to introduce this park to anyone who may have not ever heard of it. Biscayne National Park is located in Miami with 95% of its domain...
Have you ever felt like a voyager and had a calling towards the sea? Well, here at Salem Maritime National Historic Site you can fulfill the curiosity of traveling the open ocean. Salem Maritime National Historic site consists of nine acres of land which includes...
Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo, San Antonio, Texas Hello everyone! My name is David José González Nevárez, a second-generation university student getting a major on History at the Americas and a minor on...
Before my internship at the Grand Canyon, I never thought I would get the opportunity to river raft, especially not through the famous Colorado River. The purpose of the river trip was to monitor the effect that Glen Canyon Dam has on the riparian zone...
Although this is the last day of my internship, and the summer is coming to a close, I am not sad. Instead, I am excited about the future. I have learned so much about being a scientist and a steward of our lands. I have...
Monarch butterflies (Danaus Plexippus) have suffered a grave decline as population size has plummeted from 4.5 million in the 1980s to fewer than 30,000 individuals in 2019. In 2020 the USFWS placed monarch butterflies as a candidate species under the Endangered Species Act. When I think...
As “Sound Technician”, my primary directive for my summer project is to document, analyze, and edit the sounds of the Sonoran summer. My supervisors have provided to me a few ideas, in addition to plenty of other resources to contact, as they themselves have no...
I can't believe the conference is here already! The summer has truly flown by so fast, it's almost sad to think about the fact that my time at my park is coming to an end. Thankfully, I live within driving distance of Fire Island and...
The last week of the internship is here and all of us interns are presenting our results to our fellow peers, hiring authorities, and the public online. Watching a coalition of people working towards diversity in a remarkably homogenous workforce is comforting. Some seek to...
When I first arrived at Point Reyes National Seashore, I knew there were a lot of unknowns and exciting adventures ahead. Coming from San Diego, I was very unfamiliar with the area up in Northern California. As I am nearing the end of my internship,...
When I arrived at Rock Creek Park for my first day, I felt like a little bird trying to take everything in. Realizing I knew very little about the native and invasive species, the intricate trails available, and the wide array of resources, partners, and...
As I look at all of the exciting experiences, I was able to fit into the last two and a half months, it is exceedingly difficult to identify a distinct favorite. Though after much consideration, I feel that as much as I value the time,...
So, I have been nothing but entrenched in the archives of The Outer Bank's group Museum Resource Center in the past couple of weeks. Sifting through the archives, I go through folders and folders, looking for any mention of the Ocracoke ponies in notes...
The history of Bent’s Old Fort includes a host of colorful characters that lead extraordinary lives that were historically meaningful. Unfortunately, in the 19th century Hispanic persons were not recognized as historically significant, and many of their individual stories were lost - but this...