2025 MKWC Youth Summer Internship
One of the best ways to strengthen your connection to a place is to do the work of that place. This summer, a group of local youth experienced this first hand by participating in MKWC’s youth summer internship program. We are excited to share some highlights from the summer as well as links to some informative (and entertaining!) independent projects completed by this year's MKWC youth interns.
In the summer of 2025, nine high school students and recent high school graduates signed on to do work that restores the river systems and upslope habitats of the Mid Klamath region. The job took them to a variety of new places in the watershed, from the watery depths of our streams to the remote slopes and ridges of our mountains. Along the way there were memorable wildlife sightings, botanical discoveries, and refreshing swims in pristine streams. The interns strengthened their bonds to each other and to the landscape, but it was the watershed restoration work that brought focus and meaning to the experience.
The internship started off with a blaze through participation in two prescribed fires during the second week of July. At Butler Flat on the Salmon River, interns used flaming pitch sticks, a traditional Indigenous fire lighting technique, to help treat the dry meadow with fire in collaboration with cultural practitioners. With the Butler Fire burning on the slopes above and a cultural burn happening at the adjacent property, this prescribed fire helped to safeguard the property by removing volatile fuel in a controlled manner and establishing a large safe zone adjacent to homes. Days later when the wildland fire did eventually reach the property, the meadow was an asset to firefighters and residents rather than a hazard. Two days later the interns were back at it at Blue Heron Ranch on the Klamath River where they spread out with drip torches and laid progressive lines of fire across the meadow during the cooling evening hours. Never before in past years have MKWC interns had the opportunity to actually put good fire on the ground. Interns expressed that working with fire in a hands-on way was exciting, empowering, and a highlight from the summer.
In the weeks that followed, the interns gained a diverse array of work experiences across MKWC’s programs. Within the Fisheries Program, interns conducted fish passage work at the mouths of 14 streams along the Klamath, a favorite task among the interns. Fish passage work involves moving river rocks to create pools and shoots that enhance the passage of juvenile and adult salmonids into the tributaries. Bundles of willow branches are suspended at the mouth of the stream to provide cover for fish taking refuge in the cold water, and each stream is surveyed with mask and snorkel to count fish populations of juvenile Steelhead, Coho salmon, and Chinook salmon. The interns also completed adult salmonid surveys on Indian Creek, Elk Creek, and the Salmon River witnessing miles of underwater habitat and some truly massive fish. In total, interns surveyed over 11 miles of stream for juvenile and adult salmonids. Additionally, they spent 3 days building and maintaining Beaver Dam Analogs at Sandy Bar Creek hauling buckets of gravel and weaving willow branches into simulated beaver dams to improve fish habitat. With the Plants Program, interns scouted for and removed priority invasive plants on river bars and mountain roads. Interns also collected native seeds in remote areas of the watershed to be propagated and used for restoration projects in the future. Interns also worked within with the Community & Stewardship Program on community and youth programs. Interns helped plant, weed, and harvest at the Tishaniik Farm in Orleans. They also supported other youth events throughout the summer including hosting a tubing event for the Happy Camp Summer Day Camp, leading a field trip for the Junction Elementary Summer Program, and assisting with the Firewise Youth Day in Happy Camp. Congratulations and gratitude are certainly in order for the 2025 youth participants and adult staff from all the MKWC programs who were involved in the summer internship!
Each year MKWC provides summer job opportunities for youth 15-18 years old. The paid internship positions expose local youth to a variety of career pathways in watershed restoration. Interns work in all four of MKWC’s program areas to give them a chance to experience field work as a fisheries technician, a plants technician, an outdoor educator, a member of a prescribed fire crew, and more. For many interns it is their first job and gives them an opportunity to develop resume and job interview skills in a supportive environment. MKWC staff supervise and mentor every step of the way, encouraging the interns to develop the kind of organizational skills and work ethic needed to be successful in any profession. Whether they go on to a career in watershed restoration or not, their experience as a MKWC summer intern puts them on a path towards a lifetime of watershed stewards.
Intern crew ready to dive the Salmon River
Interns use drip torches to conduct a prescribed burn.
Removing invasive weeds.
Maintaining a beaver dam analog.
Fun times on a summer steelhead dive.
Interns geared up for a prescribed burn.