The Grays Harbor Estuary is the point of confluence between fresh and salt water ecosystems in the Chehalis River Basin, discharging water through numerous rivers, creeks, and sloughs into open water, marshland, and tidal mudflats. As one segment of the much larger Washington State-sponsored Chehalis Basin Aquatic Species Restoration Plan (ASRP), the Grays Harbor Estuary features a history of multiple water-related industries (some current, some now past), many overlapping but distinct stakeholders, communities traditionally included and excluded in its shared outdoors, and above all, a lack of centralized information regarding water quality and habitat. For these reasons, understanding effective baselines and starting points for ASRP projects is very difficult; moreover, community participation in the natural resources of Grays Harbor is complicated by the relative dearth of sustained engagement between government land managers and community members or groups.

Purpose

With this context in mind, the Coastal Interpretive Center has developed a staff-led college internship program that seeks to offer opportunities for local college students to begin building a vital water quality and habitat data set that the CIC will utilize in restoration planning and community engagement efforts. While a primary focus will be on developing intern skills, equally important will be creating the data that the CIC and partners can use in future ASRP project planning.

The Intern will fulfill three programmatic objectives during Summer, 2025: (1) Conduct basic science and monitoring at tidal locations across Grays Harbor, (2) Teach community members how and why their work is important, (3) Prepare a community exhibition (explanatory poster) about their summer experience for display at the CIC museum.

Outcomes

Project metrics are separate from the actual measurements and mapping conducted during the weekly project site visits. Metrics will measure student success and the utility of data gathered.

The first measure will regard student success (that’s you!): college interns will be surveyed before and after their experience with the CIC to determine their (1) understanding of technical abilities, (2) comfort with public science communication, and (3) project management skills.

The second measure will regard utility of data gathered: the CIC will, in our post-grant report, explain how the data gathered has or has not successfully substantiated further grant applications (from either the CIC or partner organizations) to larger Washington State granting programs, such as the ASRP, WCCRI, or federal funding opportunities. This will help inform how the CIC might add, subtract, or modify a potential scope of work with the Rose Foundation in years to come.

Fourteen potential project sites: (1) Damon Point, (2) North Bay Natural Area Preserve, (3) Chenois Creek, (4) Humptulips Grass Creek Wildlife Area, (5) Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge, (6) Bowerman Basin, (7) Mouth of Hoquiam River, (8) Confluence of East and West forks of Hoquiam River (9) Mouth of Wishkah River, (10) Mouth of Chehalis River, (11) Chehalis River Surge Plain Natural Reserve Area, (1-132) South Grays Harbor Wildlife Area, at least two sites, (14) Bottle Beach State Park

Nine potential types of data collection: (1) Biofilm data, (2) Water Temperature data, (3) Microplastics data, (4) Water/soil salinity, (5) Dissolved oxygen content, (6) Eelgrass mapping, (7) Rearing and off-channel habitat in surge plain and tidal reaches mapping, (8) Surveying for any notable invasive species populations, (9) Mapping of large wood deposits on shorelines and tidal wetlands

Compensation, Time Commitment, Transportation

This is a paid internship. The rate of pay is $21 per hour.

The intern will spend no more than 30 hours per week on internship activities.

The intern must have a valid driver’s license and car to travel around Grays Harbor County.

If all of the above sounds interesting and valuable to you, please continue with the internship application!

Please email any questions to Becky Stitt, Education Manager: bstitt@interpretivecenter.org