WildEarth Guardians

A Force for Nature

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Learn more about WildEarth Guardians Internship Opportunities

Internships

Are you interested in playing a pivotal role in protecting the wildlife, rivers, climate, landscapes, and communities of the American West? You’re in luck because we are interested in helping mentor the next generation of conservation advocates and activists.

WildEarth Guardians’ Intern Program offers opportunities to students and recent graduates to learn and work in our four program areas (wildlife, wild places, wild rivers, and climate and energy) and in each of our legal, policy, organizing, communications, and development departments. We are committed to providing interns with real world experience and quality mentorship from one of our many exceptional staff members. We hope you will consider sharing your skills and passion with us in the fight for a more just and sustainable planet.

Why Choose an Internship with WildEarth Guardians?

WildEarth Guardians is a west-wide nonprofit environmental advocacy organization headquartered in Santa Fe, NM with offices in Denver, CO, Missoula, MT, Boise, ID, Seattle, WA, and Tucson, AZ. With a 33-year history of bold environmental action, we wage innovative legal, political, and grassroots campaigns to protect and restore wildlife, wild places, wild rivers, and community health in the American West.

Guardians advocates in the courts, in the halls of Congress, and on the ground in western communities to secure stronger protections for landscapes, rivers, imperiled species, and healthy communities. We are known for developing and executing cutting edge litigation that serves as a lever for sweeping policy changes to combat the climate crisis, secure wildlife coexistence, restore living rivers, and stop extinction. Our work is housed in four program areas:

Wildlife. The wildlife program advocates for the intrinsic right of native species to thrive across the West. With a focus on protecting biodiversity and ensuring coexistence between native carnivores and people, we work to eliminate cruel and indiscriminate killing tools as well as to implement systemic change to ensure that wildlife is protected according to the best available science.

Wild Places. The wild places program works to protect and connect the West’s vast landscapes. With a focus on federal public lands, we work to reclaim places for the wild and reconnect wildlife habitat and waterways for ecosystems to thrive.

Wild Rivers. The rivers program advocates for living rivers across the American West. With a focus on the Rio Grande, Colorado and Willamette River Basins as key geographies, we work to safeguard clean water, revive dynamic flows, reform western water policy, protect imperiled fish, wildlife and plants, and restore healthy and sustainable aquatic and riparian ecosystems to support all life.

Climate and Energy. The climate program advocates for a fossil-fuel free American West. We work to expose the true cost of oil and gas extraction and leverage environmental and health liabilities to advance climate justice.

Testimonials

The impactful projects and travel opportunities my Wild River Program summer internship provided were guided by both timely river protection initiatives and my own professional interests in watershed management and instream flow programs in the arid West, allowing me to explore and refine my career trajectory in water conservation while building tangible work deliverables and learning from diverse WildEarth Guardians staff and partners.
Lydia Bleifuss

Wild Rivers Intern, 2017

Working at WildEarth Guardians has provided me with valuable experiences that have not only benefitted me but has also positively impacted my community. My internship has provided excellent mentorship that has helped improve my professional communication, writing, and project management skills, in addition to plenty of networking opportunities.

Javier Gallegos

Photography Intern, 2021

My internship with WildEarth Guardians was instrumental in providing me with real-world experience in wildlife advocacy. I had the opportunity to explore my interests, grow and develop important skills, and make lasting connections with many people in the field.
Mikaila Wireman

Wildlife Intern, 2021

Former Interns and Fellows

Nicholas Bascom

Wildlife Program Intern

Kayleigh Dearstyne-Hulin

Wildlife Program Intern

Javier Gallegos

Photography Intern

Simon Miller

Intern

Megan Paschke

Legal Fellow

Rachel Pemberton

Intern

Reza Sadeghzadeh

Wild Rivers Program Intern

Siera Schroeder

Intern

Megan Sweeney

Wild Places Program Intern

Hailey Zimber

Research Intern