The National parks conservation association is proud to offer its ANNUal

Land & Seascape Conservation Fellowship

This fellowship is exclusively available to graduate students enrolled in Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and will be administered through NPCA’s on-campus conservation partner, the Park Institute of America.

in partnership with

 

&

 

Fellowship Summary

We are seeking two student fellows to support NPCA’s role in the global 30x30 Initiative. The fellows will learn NPCA’s approach to data application by developing spatial resources that empower large land and seascape conservation around U.S. National Parks.

Location - REMOTE; optional opportunity for a 2-3 day park landscape visit

Duration - 12 weeks with flexible May start date; 40 hours per week

Compensation - $7,000 stipend

Application window - Jan 6th through Jan 26th via the Handshake portal (position linked here and in Application Details section below)

 
“This fellowship experience has given me a much clearer understanding of how data-driven tools can lead to meaningful conservation efforts.”
— Ellie Harrigan, 2024 Fellow
 
 
 

NPCA Conservation Science Team

Fellows will work directly with the NPCA Conservation Science team under the supervision of Nik Moy with additional guidance and professional development provided by Amy Tian, Ryan Valdez, Tyler Sammis of the Park Institute of America, and NPCA regional program staff based on the assigned landscape.

Nik Moy

Senior Program Manager

Amy Tian

Geospatial Science Fellow

Ryan Valdez, Ph.D.

Senior Director

Program Goals

National Goal - Conserve 30% of US lands and waters for biodiversity by 2030.

NPCA Conservation Science Goal - Within park land and seascapes, help protect multi-dimensional conservation values from the most immediate climate-related impacts and land-use changes by 2030.

Fellowship Goal - Jump start this process by working with NPCA Science to build a geospatial resource of future national park landscape priorities and threats. Each student will focus on a single land or seascape, but work together on national level products and datasets.

Description of Work

Each fellow will work with NPCA’s Conservation Science team, the other fellow, and a representative from the respective NPCA regional staff to collect an up-to-date, relevant, and science-based database of publications, spatial data, and partner contacts that informs the future protection of a park landscape.

 

Primary Task - Develop a landscape science toolkit for NPCA regional staff that empowers their work in the landscape. This toolkit will be rooted in a research database that informs conservation prioritization.

Landscape topics fellows may be examine includes:

  • Indigenous land use priorities

  • Climate resilience

  • Connectivity and corridor pathways between parks

  • Carbon/forest resources surrounding parks

  • Energy resources and threats

  • Environmental justice values

  • Wildlife habitat and ESA

  • Human-dimensions including equal access and heritage resources

  • Development threats

  • Conservation/restoration potential

Secondary Task - Report on findings to the NPCA team. Help facilitate the use of this new resource to inform the delineation of the landscape and the prioritized conservation areas within it.

Tertiary Task - Create and pursue a tailored focus depending on career interests of each fellow with some combination of:

  • Mixed media data storytelling with writing/PowerPoint/StoryMap

  • Infographics

  • Scientific illustration

  • Landscape Indicators – summary statistics created through analysis

  • Remote sensing

  • White paper brief for political audiences

  • Cartographic map

Examples of Work Outputs

Explore various formats of communications outputs from previous fellows.

StoryMap

Flyer

WebApp

Description of Study

Concurrent with the execution of work tasks, fellows will receive weekly cohort training on NPCA’s approach to conservation data management. The purpose of this instructional program is to:

  • Expand fellows’ science communications skillset

  • Foster cohesion, collaboration, and information sharing among cohort fellows

  • Ensure consistency of data management practices

Syllabus - Each week’s instruction will cover a distinct conservation science topic including:

  • Large Landscape Conservation and Consulting Regional Conservation Staff

  • Sourcing High Quality Data

  • Building a Database in ArcGIS Online and Metadata

  • Configuring a Web Application in ArcGIS Online

  • Landscape Indicators

  • Science Communication

  • Science for Policy

  • Presenting Your Results to Regions

  • Science Careers

Fellowship Impact

Read about the work of our 2024 fellows and the conservation impact of their experience.

National Program Spolight

Fellowship featured on pages 29-38 of NPCA’s quarterly conservation science publication

Fellowship Testimonial

Student Analyzes Data for Conservation at Park Institute of America & National Parks Conservation Association

Program Impacts in Practice

Fellow’s work shaped the Southern Appalachian Landscape Coalition’s
inaugural meeting

Potential Park Landscapes

Park landscape assignment will depend on student’s preference, location, and current NPCA priorities.

  • Greater Everglades (FL)

  • Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (WY)

  • North Cascades (WA)

  • Delaware River (PA)

  • Chesapeake Bay

  • Georgia Rivers

  • Alabama Rivers

  • Delaware River

  • Maine’s 100-mile Wilderness

  • Calumet Landscape (IL, IN)

  • Grand Canyon Landscape

  • Western Arctic Caribou Herd Landscape (AK)

  • The Lands Between (UT)

  • Dinosaur Landscape (UT, CO)

  • Rim of the Valley (CA)

  • Avi Kwa Ame (NV)

  • Crown of the Continent (MT)

  • Chuckwalla / Joshua Tree (CA)

Potential Partners

The Nature Conservancy

Defenders of Wildlife

Resolve

Center for Biological Diversity

NatureServe

The Conservation Fund

US National Park Service

UC Berkeley Institute for Parks, People, and Biodiversity

 
“I love the crucial relationships this experience helped validate, between data science and storytelling, biodiversity and anthropology, large landscapes and individual stories, all of which made this summer invaluable!”
— Hope Liu, 2024 Fellow
 

Skills Required

This fellowship is highly multidisciplinary. Data types, stakeholders groups, and project priorities will likely vary substantially depending on assigned landscapes. We are looking for fellows motivated to learn new skills and techniques across data analysis, communications, and policy frontiers.

  • Applicants should be familiar with spreadsheets, ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online

  • Strong interest in science communication and applied science

  • Strong interest in conservation, landscape ecology, mapping, wildlife, national parks, land protection, and/or the 30 by 30 initiative

  • Comfortable in a team setting and working over video conference and email with partners

  • Productive when working independently and/or remotely

  • Strong organizational skills and with an eye toward quality control

  • Desire to grow knowledge base with complementary skills

Application Details

Eligibility - This fellowship is offered exclusively to MEM or MF students enrolled in Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment who will continue to pursue their full-time studies in Fall 2025.

The 2025 application period is OPEN until 11:59pm Sunday, January 26th.