Fisheries Monitoring Intern

We Are Herrera

Envision yourself at a growing, employee-owned company that inspires and empowers you to deliver your best performance while making a difference in the world.

We are Herrera, a science, planning, and design consulting firm dedicated to working with clients to develop holistic solutions that provide social and environmental benefit. We protect the environment every day by providing a diverse range of consulting services to cities, counties, state and federal agencies, Tribes, non-profits, and private clients throughout Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, and western Canada.

For over 40 years, Herrera has cultivated a collaborative, caring, and values-driven culture that empowers our employee-owners to achieve excellence while ensuring we have fun along the way. By providing our employee-owners with the autonomy to pursue their professional interests and through encouraging them to grow, we benefit from high employee-owner retention that contributes to our longstanding partnerships with clients.

Our Values

• Treat everyone with respect and dignity, always.
• Insist on integrity, objectivity, and social and environmental ethics in our work.
• Act as stewards of the environment upon which we depend.
• Research and outreach, learn and teach.
• Employee owners, employee leaders.

Your Opportunity

We are seeking a motivated Fisheries Monitoring Intern to join our team in Bellingham for a hands-on learning experience supporting salmon spawning ground surveys. This recruitment may be used to fill between one and three internship positions. In this internship, you will gain practical field experience conducting field-based data collection in streams and rivers while contributing to important fisheries monitoring efforts.

This position will support salmon escapement estimates through foot surveys in local watersheds. Work will include identifying and counting live and deceased salmon by species, identifying and GPS-locating redds, and entering field data into a field tablet. The position may also include using hand tools to trim vegetation, maintaining field equipment, and communicating professionally with landowners, city staff, and members of the public.

This internship will involve primarily outdoor fieldwork, with some office-based coordination. It offers the opportunity to apply field data collection protocols in real-world fisheries monitoring while gaining valuable experience alongside experienced environmental professionals. Fieldwork will require the use of company provided person protective equipment (PPE), participation in safety briefings, and adherence to established field safety protocols.

We are dedicated to providing our interns with meaningful learning experiences that foster professional growth and skill development. As an intern, you'll have the opportunity to work alongside experienced professionals, contribute to impactful projects, and gain valuable insights into your field of interest.

Minimum Qualifications

Education, Experience, & Licensure/Certifications

• Current enrollment in or recent graduation from an associate, bachelor's, or graduate degree program in fisheries, environmental science, natural resources, biology, or related field.
• Valid First Aid/CPR Certificate or ability to obtain within 2 weeks of hire.
• Valid driver's license and ability to safely operate company-provided or personal vehicles (milage reimbursement provided for authorized use), to travel to and from field sites.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Interest in fisheries, salmonid ecology, natural resources, or environmental science.
• Self-motivated and dependable, with the ability to maintain consistent field schedules, complete assigned survey reaches in accordance with established survey protocols and 7- to 10-day survey rotation and collect accurate field data under variable field conditions.
• Ability to maintain professionalism, including punctuality and reliability, and consistent communication with field leads and field staff.
• Ability to work effectively as part of a two-person field crew in dynamic outdoor environments while maintaining a positive attitude in variable weather conditions, including rain, cold temperatures, and extended periods outdoors.
• Ability or willingness to learn to identify salmonids and redds.
• Ability to maintain company-provided field equipment such as tablets or data forms, measuring tapes, sampling equipment, and other survey tools as well as personal protective equipment (PPE), including chest waders, wading boots, high-visibility apparel, gloves, eye protection, and personal floatation devices.
• Ability to hike up to 5 miles per day and conduct surveys on foot through streams, rivers, riparian areas, dense vegetation, and uneven terrain while carrying field equipment and supplies.
• Ability to work in and near water while adhering to a health and safety plan, participating in safety briefing, recognizing field hazards, implementing appropriate risk management measures, and properly using and inspecting PPE.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous volunteer or professional spawning ground survey or stream survey experience.

Application Instructions

CRITICAL NOTE

Application Deadline: August 21, 2026.

Additional Information

This is an hourly, non-exempt, temporary internship position. The pay rate is $23.73 per hour. The position is expected to average 7 to 16 hours per week and is anticipated to run from September 1 through the end of December 2026. This position is not eligible for benefits except where required by applicable city, state, or federal law.

The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.

We Are Committed to Equal Opportunity, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At Herrera, we celebrate our differences as much as our similarities. We know the best outcomes come from interdisciplinary, diverse, and inclusive teams. Our values are ever-present in the people, culture, and work we do, they are not just a few sentences on our website. We treat people with respect and act with integrity and objectivity. Our employment decisions are based on knowledge, skills, and abilities, and have nothing to do with your race, color, gender, age, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, medical history, reproductive health decisions, political ideology, veteran status, or physical appearance. As an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer, we encourage women, minorities, veterans, disabled veterans, and individuals with disabilities to apply for our open positions. We are also a member of E-Verify. To learn more about E-Verify, read the E-Verify Notice and the Right to Work Notice.