I have reached the halfway point of my position in the Directorate Fellowship Program (DFP) with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). At this point, I have developed a much better perspective on the work I am doing here and the opportunities that I have. As a conservation banking intern, part of my job is reading and organizing information from legal agreements and land management tasks for the different conservation banks that I am tracking compliance on. Despite the unglamorous description, my project supervisor has been very adamant about ensuring that I have the opportunity to go on site-visits to the different conservation banks I am working on. This allows me to see the results of what managing and monitoring conserved land in perpetuity looks like in-person. I have spent the majority of these last few weeks out in the field conducting site-visits to the conservation banks and learning the details of what conserving sensitive habitat and species really involves off paper and on the ground. 

The site-visits typically consisted of meeting with the bank manager and a field biologist who would give us a tour of the bank property, discuss the ongoing management and monitoring of the habitat, and answer any questions we had. Just by being there and listening, I learned a lot about the challenges of managing and maintaining protected land when it comes to issues like regulating public access, removing invasive species, and planning habitat restoration efforts. I especially enjoyed learning about the local ecology from the biologists on site who essentially gave us an interactive wildlife tour of the sites and explained the fundamental science behind the management actions being taken. In addition to the USFWS, some of the banks I visited were also established under the California Department of Fish and Game and US Army Corps. I was able to meet people from those agencies as well and learn about their jobs and career paths they had. I am seeing how much collaboration between different people and agencies goes into fulfilling the overall conservation mission that these banks were created for. 

Even though everything I learned on the site-visits was not all directly part of the work I am doing for my supervisor, I was exposed to various fields and disciplines that I may want to consider pursuing a career in. I feel that this was very valuable and informative in allowing me to expand my knowledge and experiences outside of the classroom by immersing myself in the diverse working environment that a career in conservation involves. This is one of the many ways in which I have seen how the DFP program is much more than just the official project you are given. It is also an opportunity to network and have new experiences with different professions, learning more about yourself and your interests in the process.

Off-roading on-site. This was taken on our visit to the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge which consists of multiple conservation bank properties managed by USFWS themselves. To get to the Rancho San Diego site, the refuge managers opened up the private access gate for us to follow them in with our cars. That definitely felt pretty cool, but I had no idea we would be driving over giant potholes and rocks. I’m glad my car made it and still worked after. 

A cowbird trap seen at San Luis Del Rey Mitigation. Cowbirds are invasive nest parasites that are largely responsible for the decline of native bird populations throughout the country. This trap was set up on site as one of the management actions for conserving the population of Least Bell’s Vireo, a federally endangered songbird native to California. 

This was taken at the peak of Monserrate Mountain on our visit to the Heights of Pala Mesa Conservation Bank. A trail circles around the bank property so we opted for a walking tour which turned out to be a really fun hike. Technically, it is illegal for visitors to leave anything inside the bank property and that flag and decorations are not allowed to be there. But the managers mentioned how controversial it would be to remove something like that with symbolic value to the visitors, even though any items humans leave in the preserve are considered “litter”.

Lunch with a view. This was also taken during our visit to the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge. We stopped to get lunch and drove onto the refuge to eat. This is overlooking San Miguel mountain and the sweetwater reservoir. Probably one of the coolest places I’ve eaten tacos.

Agency: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Program: US Fish & Wildlife Service - DFP

Location: Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office