Bitterroot Wildlife Internship 2021 Program Report

The Bitterroot Wildlife Internship (BWI) is a collaboration between MPG Ranch and Ecology Project International that provides local high school students with field experience and mentorship in conservation and biological science. Interns are paired with research mentors, who guide students through the research process—from developing a research question and designing a research methodology, to collecting and analyzing data and presenting their results. Interns leave the program with a hands-on understanding of the natural world, skills and experiences that support them in pursuing a career in the fields of conservation or ecology, and a desire and the tools to make a difference and support conservation in their communities. In the summer of 2021—the 8th season of BWI— eleven high school students from Missoula, Moscow (ID), Corvallis, and Gardiner MT spent four weeks on MPG Ranch conducting field research, completing service projects in support of the ranch’s conservation mission, and learning about local ecology, place history and science through hands-on lessons and self-guided explorations.