CK Associates internship position

We have an opening for an internship in our Lake Charles office.  Jr, Sr or graduate students, contact:

Jesse Bertrand, M. S.
Environmental Scientist
jesse.bertrand@c-ka.com
700 Pujo St. Ste B
Lake Charles, LA 70601
Office (337) 625-6577 ext. 2002
Cell (337) 794-2316
(Baton Rouge, Lake Charles,
Shreveport, Houston

Research Internship

Coastal Prairie Research INTERNSHIP, Part Time

Location:  Gray Ranch, Vinton, LA

Supervisor:  Brian Early

Background:  Coastal prairie was once expansive in southwestern Louisiana, occupying 2.5 million acres.  Due mainly to conversion of prairie land to agriculture uses, only an estimated 0.2% of this grassland remains.  The most promising coastal prairie remnants in Louisiana are found on private ranches in the Lake Charles area and are utilized as rangeland.  Through ongoing Coastal Prairie Stewardship and Research efforts, LDWF is providing information on the recovery potential of coastal prairie following heavy grazing and has performed habitat stewardship, including prescribed burning and chemical brush control, on several rangeland prairie remnants to enhance prairie habitat in southwest Louisiana. 

Project Scope:  The student intern will contribute to a long-term field experiment designed to determine the recovery potential of wet coastal prairie that has experienced historical episodes of heavy grazing. The study site supports remnant coastal prairie with the vegetation consisting of conservative prairie species as well as “increasers” and weedy taxa typical of disturbed soils.  Grasses that typically dominate prairie communities have been reduced in extent by incompatible grazing.  In 2013, a series of nine cattle enclosures were erected. The study area has been burned annually since 2015 and will be burned again in early 2018. The student intern will collect and analyze quantitative vegetation data and make inferences about the treatment effects on plant species diversity and floristic quality. Vegetation data collection will require 5 to 7 days of fieldwork and would best be timed to coincide with peak fall flowering (late September to early October).  Reptile and amphibian traps will be deployed in 2018 on a subset of the treatment areas. The student will also use vegetation data to test for possible influences of habitat variables on reptile and amphibian trapping results.

Timing:  2018 Fall Semester (August 20 - December 31, 2018); 20 hours per week.  Data collection is ongoing and began in January 2018; data analysis will take place from September to November 2018; writing of research paper in late November to December 2018. 

Compensation: Student intern will receive compensation at the rate of $10.00/hour. College credit will be contingent upon university approval.

Housing:  There are no LDWF lodging facilities in the area.

Note:  Student intern will be required by the landowner to sign an indemnification form.

To Apply:  To apply for this internship, please submit your cover letter, resume, and student application via email to Carey Lynn Perry at cperry@wlf.la.gov.  The deadline to apply is July 20, 2018. This internship would take place during the 2018 Fall Semester (August 20 - December 31, 2018).