Housing Support: On-site housing available, at no cost to Fellow

Housing Description: The Fellow may live on-refuge at Wertheim NWR (first 5 weeks) in a ranch style house or duplex. For the remaining 7 weeks, the Fellow would live at Morton NWR, Noyac NY, in a ranch style house. The ranch-style house has 3 bedrooms, a living/dining room, a kitchen, and laundry facilities. The duplex at Wertheim is a 2-bedroom house with a kitchen, living room, and laundry facilities. The houses may be co-ed and will be shared with 2 shorebirds or invasive species interns hired through American Conservation Experience. At Morton, Seasonal RV volunteers may also live on the refuge and share the use of the housing facilities, primarily the laundry facilities. To meet position needs and facilitate onboarding and project development, the Fellow may first house and report to Wertheim and then move to Morton.

Generally speaking, Long Island is expensive. Morton NWR is in a suburban area in Sag Harbor, NY. It is part of the Hamptons, specifically Southampton, so it can be very pricey. Wertheim NWR is in Shirley, NY, and is generally less expensive than the east end of Long Island.

Valid Driver’s License: Required

Transportation Support Description: A government furnished (GOV) vehicle will be stationed at both Wertheim and Morton that will be shared between the Fellow and the biology interns. Long Island staff will coordinate schedules based on project priorities. The GOV will be available only for work tasks.

A personal vehicle is highly recommended/required and helpful for getting groceries, running errands, sight-seeing for use during the Fellow’s non-work hours.
Should a Fellow not have a personal vehicle, they would be placed in the Duplex while stationed at Wertheim, which is located .75 miles away from Headquarters. The Fellow could walk on refuge roads/trails to report to work during the first 5 weeks. The Wertheim site offers limited public transportation in the form of a county bus and the Long Island Railroad, which are within walkable distance. Rideshares or taxis could be secured from the headquarters building or the maintenance/ residential refuge entrance.

The Morton site housing is located adjacent to the Visitor Contact Station (VCS). There is no public transportation within walkable distance from housing/VCS. A personal vehicle or alternate mode of transportation (such as ridesharing via Uber, Lyft, etc.) at the Fellow’s expense, is required for use outside of work hours for personal use such as getting groceries, running errands and sight-seeing.

A variety of stores, restaurants, outdoor, and cultural activities are available in both Shirley and Sag Harbor. For additional information about public transportation can be found https://www.sct-bus.org/sctmap.html and https://new.mta.info/agency/long-island-rail-road.

Position Description: The populations of most shorebird species are in steep decline, and there's a widespread recognition that more must be done to protect shorebirds while also promoting responsible public uses of refuge beaches. The selected Fellow will continue work started in 2023 in collaboration with researchers at Virginia Tech to implement Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM) at the Long Island NWR Complex in New York.

CBSM uses psychology and marketing techniques to encourage people to change their behavior. CBSM works at the community-level to promote engaging in a desired behavior by removing barriers/constraints and increasing the benefits of practicing a behavior. You'll have the opportunity to learn about cutting-edge research that operates at the intersection of biological objectives and human behavior, which will be invaluable for future conservation-based projects or jobs.

This position will build upon CBSM strategies that encourage beachgoers to walk around shorebird flocks, to leash dogs, and to take other actions that reduce human disturbance.

To implement this position, the selected Fellow will be responsible for:

• Organizing and/or hosting community outreach events,
• Developing message-tested signs for beach entry points,
• Creating and maintaining a “leash board” that provides leashes with positively framed messaging (“Wildlife beaches have dogs on leashes”) for beach-goers to use, and
• Collecting data on if and how disturbance is affecting migratory shorebirds.

You'll be challenged to be creative, persevering, and thoughtful, and to collaborate with a variety of professionals from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and local partners. As the work progresses, the you will have ample opportunity to refine the techniques and messages and leave a lasting impact on refuges in Long Island and beyond.

When not at the office at Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge or meeting with partners, you'll be working primarily at Elizabeth Morton NWR and Amagansett NWR on Long Island, NY. Morton NWR and Amagansett NWR are home to beautiful beaches that are popular with both people and wildlife, and you'll be part of a regionwide effort to reduce human disturbance impacts on migratory shorebirds.

Minimum Education Level: Open for consideration to undergraduate rising seniors/seniors and graduate students who will not complete their degree requirements before September 22, 2024.

Fields of Study:

• Biological Sciences
• Education/Outreach
• Human Dimensions/Social Sciences/Humanities/Liberal Arts
• Law Enforcement/Criminal Justice
• Communication/Marketing

Working Conditions Requirements: 

• Ability to work in hot or humid conditions
• Ability to walk in sandy or uneven terrain
• Ability to carry signs or other equipment, up to 30 pounds
• Long Island is home to a very healthy population of ticks (additional measures are taken to provide appropriate personal protective equipment [PPE
• Use of a government-owned vehicle and UTV
• Adherence to JHAs, Policy and Training Requirements

Desired Characteristics: 

• Well-developed communication skills
• Comfortable interacting with partners or the public
• Ability to de-escalate conflict
• Ability to create partnerships
• Good organizational and time-management skills.