California State Lands Commission
Marine Invasive Species Program Internship
Host: The
California State Lands Commission (CSLC) manages 4 million acres of tide and submerged lands and the beds of natural navigable rivers, streams, lakes, bays, estuaries, inlets, and straits along the entire coast of California and out to three miles offshore. The CSLC protects and enhances these lands and natural resources by issuing leases for use or development, providing public access, and resolving boundaries between public and private lands. Through its actions, the CSLC secures and safeguards the public’s access rights to natural navigable waterways and the coastline and preserves irreplaceable natural habitats for wildlife, vegetation, and biological communities.
The
California State Lands Commission – Marine Invasive Species
Program (CSLC-MISP) is a statewide program tasked with developing and implementing science-based policies to reduce the risk of introducing aquatic nonindigenous species into California waters through commercial shipping activities. The CSLC-MISP accomplishes this goal by identifying and funding targeted research, convening stakeholder discussions to inform policy development, and conducting outreach and enforcement of existing policies.
Location and Format: This internship will be completely remote and can be done from anywhere in CA. However, there may be opportunities for office-based or field-based projects if the intern is located near Long Beach or within the greater San Francisco Bay Delta region.
Internship Dates: June 3 - August 16, 2024
Stipend: $8,000
Time Commitment: The internship is full time, 11-week commitments. Over the 11-week period, the intern may take up to five days off for personal reasons, vacation, or illness. If participation is less than 100%, the stipend will be prorated.
Position Description and Responsibilities: California receives approximately 10,000 vessel arrivals at its ports every year. Each of these vessels may introduce nonindigenous species into California waters through either vessel biofouling or ballast water, or both. Biofouling refers to the organisms attached to underwater vessel surfaces (e.g., barnacles on a vessel hull). This is one mechanism by which species can move to a new location. Another mechanism is the discharge of ballast water. Ballast water is water taken up in one location for vessel stability and then discharged in another location. This may result in the introduction of nonindigenous species to a new area.
The CSLC-MISP is responsible for the development, adoption, and implementation of regulations to reduce the risk of shipping-mediated introductions of nonindigenous species into California waters.
This internship will include three projects:
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The intern will perform several comparisons of CSLC-MISP shipping behavior data and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data to identify similarities or differences between state and national vessel fleets pertaining to ballast water and biofouling management actions.
The intern will perform a literature review covering research published in 2022 and 2023 that focuses on invasive species and commercial shipping. The intern will summarize the literature in a format that can be included in the 2025 Biennial Report on the California Marine Invasive Species Program. This project will lead to coauthorship for this legislative report.
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An additional project, if the intern is geographically located near Long Beach or the greater San Francisco Bay area, will be to assist with ballast water sampling from commercial ships. This project will include dedicated testing of a portable rapid compliance assessment device to compare with laboratory-derived data.
The intern will produce a summary report covering the first and third projects. The report will include a summary of the projects, any methods used or results produced, and any appropriate recommendations to the CSLC-MISP. In addition to producing the report described above, the intern will have the opportunity to present their results during informal web-based “lunch and learn” talks to CSLC colleagues.
Preferred Experience and Capabilities: Basic knowledge of marine biology, invasion ecology, basic statistics, GIS, and lab methods is preferred but not required. Experience with Excel and PowerPoint is a plus. The intern must be well organized and be capable of effective communication.
Skills Gained: The intern will gain a solid understanding of how shipping activities facilitate the movement of organisms around the world. The intern will gain firsthand experience working within a statewide program focused on prevention through vector management. The intern will have the opportunity to:
- Interact with an extensive network of state, federal, and international scientists and other stakeholders;
- Observe and participate in California’s process of developing and implementing regulations that will impact a global industry.
Eligibility/Requirements: The intern must be able to work independently and interact in a professional manner with MISP management, scientists and inspectors, and other stakeholders. Applicants are also subject to general eligibility requirements.
Return to Announcement for Application and Additional Requirements