Individual Placement-Alaska- Visitor Services

Position Summary 

Are you interested in visitor use management? And have experience with data entry in Excel and Access? Arctic Refuge is currently seeking someone with your skillset!

This internship will be based in Fairbanks, Alaska, with housing provided. As a visitor services assistant for the largest National Wildlife Refuge in America, you will be helping our permit specialist with administrative paperwork and special use permit data entry. The visitor use data that you will be working with includes air taxi, guided recreation, and guided hunting trip records. The long-term dataset will be used to look at trends in visitor use across the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge over the last 10+ years. This data directly contributes to management decisions and changes within the special use permitting program.

Other expected tasks around the office include re-organizing the office space and sorting through our cache of field gear to ensure field readiness and effective organization. As a member of the refuge Visitor Services team during the internship, you may also help with behind-the-scenes efforts to develop informational pamphlets and other materials regarding updates to permit conditions. There may also be opportunities to travel for training or to assist with field projects.

Hosting Organization

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Maria Berkeland: maria_berkeland@fws.gov; (907)888-5704

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Visitor Services Placement

Location 

Fairbanks, AK

• This position is primarily in an urban setting where emergency services, public transportation, and cell phone reception are available within 30 minutes . Interactions with members of the public are regular and frequent.
• This position may conduct work in an urban setting where emergency services, public transportation, and cell phone reception are readily accessible. Interactions with members of the public are regular and frequent.

• This position may conduct work in a backcountry setting where emergency services are limited and may be delayed by several hours to days. Access to public transportation at work site is not possible. Cell phone reception is limited, spotty, or not available.

Schedule 

October 18, 2026 - April 17, 2027

(Start and end dates are flexible by 1-2 weeks on either end, the internship also includes 2 weeks of unpaid leave during the holidays which can be flexed throughout the internship)

Key Duties and Responsibilities 

· Assisting with special use permit reporting and data entry

· Helping with permit processing and filing documents

· Checking data (quality assurance/quality control, QA/QC) for the permitting database

· Assisting with generating reports of visitor use from the permitting database

Marginal Duties 

· Organizing office space, files, and gear

· Developing informational pamphlets and materials regarding updates to permit conditions

· Checking the mail and permitting email as needed

Required Qualifications 

· High attention to detail

· Willingness to learn

· Proficient typing and writing skills

· Ability to work independently once shown how to do tasks

· Verbal and written communication skills

· Ability to work well with others

This SCA Position is authorized under the Public Land Corps Authority. All participants must be between the ages of 18 and 30, inclusive, or veterans age 35 or younger. Participants must also be a citizen or national of the United States or lawful permanent resident alien of the United States.

Hours served can be applied toward the Public Land Corps (PLC) hiring authority. Participants must possess a high school diploma or its equivalent or agree to obtain one or be enrolled in an institution of higher education.

Preferred Qualifications 

· Previous data entry experience

· Some experience with Microsoft Excel and/or Access

· Basic coding knowledge

Working Conditions

• Work schedules and projects may change on short notice or be ambiguous.;Work settings require the ability to positively interact with people of varying perspectives.
• Work settings may be located in natural environments and regionally significant locations that require respect for the land and local peoples.
• Work environment may be in inclement and severe weather conditions, including heavy rain and flash flooding, gusty and strong winds, foggy or decreased visibility, lightning events, and/or decreased or inclement air quality conditions due to wildfire smoke or smog.
• Work may take place in cold temperatures and adverse winter weather which could include temperatures in some regions -20°F or colder with wind, snow, and sleet.
• Work settings may involve exposure to natural and environmental hazards, such as poison ivy, poison oak, or poison sumac; harmful, poisonous, or disease-carrying ticks, mosquitos, insects, snakes, bears, and other wildlife. 

Hours 

40 per week

Living Accommodations 

Housing is provided in the Arctic Refuge bunkhouse in Fairbanks, which will be shared with other interns/seasonal workers and traveling FWS staff. Rooms have multiple bunks, but there are usually only one or two people staying in the bunkhouse at any given time throughout the winter.

There is running water and laundry on site. The bunkhouse is a one-minute walk from the federal building where the bulk of the internship will take place.

Fairbanks is Alaska’s 2nd largest city, nicknamed the “Golden Heart City” because of its rich history as a gold mining town, the resilience and warmth of the community - even during extremely cold winters, and it is also in the center of the state. Winters in Fairbanks can be harsh (with temperatures sometimes reaching -50 F or colder) but are also full of opportunities.

Some popular wintertime activities in and around Fairbanks include downhill and cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, aurora viewing, visiting hot springs, trekking to public use cabins, dog mushing, ice fishing, hunting, and lots of indoor community events. If you like winter, Fairbanks is the place for you!

Compensation  

$600/week living allowance

$1500 one-time roundtrip travel allowance

AmeriCorps eligible (must complete 900 hours of service to earn $3,697.50 award)

All allowances are subject to applicable federal, state, and local taxes. 

Personal Vehicle Information

Driving

Driving a motor vehicle for the partner agency/organization is a requirement for this position.

To be able to drive a motor vehicle for the SCA, you must:

• Be able to complete or fulfill all partner driving requirements.  

Additional Benefits 

Defensive Driving Training

AmeriCorps: Eligible/Optional

Equal Opportunity Statement 

SCA is an equal opportunity employer. Selection decisions are based on merit, qualifications, and performance, without unlawful discrimination.