Swan Intern

Meet the 2021 Swan Intern

June 22, 2021 By Annie

A vernal pool filled with moss, leaf litter and a spotted salamander egg mass. — A spotted salamander egg mass.

We asked FSM’s 2021 Swan Intern, Anna Fitch, to tell us a little bit about herself and her first few weeks as an intern with FSM. Here’s what Anna had to say:

Growing up in Maine and having an innate sense of wonder for the natural world from a young age set me up for a career in conservation. My earliest memories are of camping and exploring throughout Maine with my family. As soon as I could walk I powered up countless mountains on my little legs and fell in love with adventuring. I remember even at age three crouching down in awe of frogs the size of my fingernail or pondering the delicate way snow balanced on the needles of evergreens. To say I have always loved wildlife, nature, exploring, and learning is a profound understatement so ending up in the Wildlife Ecology program at the University of Maine Orono (UMO) just made sense.

Yellow-spotted salamander. Photo by Pamela Wells

I found out about the Forest Society of Maine (FSM) during my first semester at UMO. I had transferred from the Wildlife Conservation program at the University of Delaware and had a couple years of school left. Kristen Hoffmann, FSM Forestland Steward, came to my silviculture class for a presentation on conserving land in perpetuity and to introduce us to the Swan Internship. Knowing I wanted a career in conservation and previously having been an intern with the Downeast Lakes Land Trust, I loved the idea of working for a statewide land trust that valued conserving our state’s forests, mountains, shorelines, and wildlife habitats—the same ones with which I grew up falling in love.

2021 Swan Intern Annie Fitch stands along a forested wetland. — Intern Annie Fitch stands in a forested wetland in Tearmunn Hardwoods.

I spent my first few weeks with FSM up north in Van Buren, a part of the state I had never seen before. I met Craig and Nancy Troeger, forestland owners of Tearmunn Hardwoods (conserved in 2007 and 2009), and surveyed their land for vernal pools. Vernal pools are intermittent pools that form in the spring from snowmelt, creating breeding habitat for at least one of four species: wood frogs, spotted salamanders, blue spotted salamanders, or fairy shrimp. I spent hours traipsing through breathtaking forests, counting salamander and wood frog egg masses and cheering the little fellas on through what little rain we’ve gotten, and learning how to tackle big projects independently in the field. I was even fortunate enough to become close friends with the Troegers. It has been a blessing to already have met some kindred spirits through my work with FSM.

As I move forward in my time with FSM and my conservation career, I hope to make a difference while doing what I love. Maine has planted deep roots in my heart and I plan to give back to this beautiful state by working in conservation here for many years. I also love traveling and would love to make it out West at some point, but we’ll see what life has in store for me. I’ve always thought I could be quite happy anywhere, as long as I’ve got nature.

In 2019 the FSM Swan Internship Program was created thanks to a generous bequest from long-time donors and Attean Circle members Hank and Freda Swan. The goal of the program is to introduce students to FSM’s land trust work through a range of professional experiences in conservation practices and field work. Read more.

Swan Intern, 2019: My Time at FSM

January 28, 2020 By Annie

This summer FSM launched the Swan Internship Program, funded by the generous bequests of Hank and Freda Swan. The goal is that one college student each summer will have a chance to experience the breadth of FSM’s work as a land trust. Carlton was our first intern under this program.

By Carlton Scott

Before this summer, my knowledge of how land conservation works was limited, but I was eager to gain experience. I’m interested in a career in conservation and an internship at FSM was a great opportunity to learn more about what it would be like to work at a land trust.

2019 Swan Intern in the woods holding a moose shed he found with a black dog standing next to him. — Found a moose shed!

In the office, I worked on a variety of projects. I used ArcGIS, a type of mapping software, to make maps of new project lands, wetlands, and other significant land features and trails. I read over conservation easements familiarizing myself with the language to get a better understanding of how an easement can be written to conserve different values of land. I also read various land trust magazines and literature, which gave me a deeper understanding of how the land trust community balances their objectives. Some organizations are more policy-oriented and others are more focused on direct on-the-ground action.

On field days, I participated in annual monitoring trips. I even got to fly over the Attean Pond conservation lands as part of FSM’s aerial monitoring. Other days, I rode to different parts of the Moosehead Region Conservation Easement and to areas in western Maine. While hiking around Violette Brook Reservoir I saw an area where some beavers had turned a once small stream into a decent-sized pond, flooding nearby trails and attracting great blue heron. I was able to see new and developing projects, such as the soon to be completed Fish River Chain of Lakes easement land.

Another part of my time this summer was spent attending meetings, the biggest of which was the FSM annual board meeting, where I met many of FSM’s board members. At these different meetings I sat in on some very interesting and productive discussions about current issues facing Maine’s North Woods.

View from the window of a small plane looking down over the Moose River, near Attean, Maine. It's spring so the leaveas are bright green and you can see mountains in the distance, beneath the wing of the plane. — View from the plane of the Moose River while aerially monitoring near Attean Pond.

One of my major work assignments this summer was writing the first draft of a Baseline Documentation Report. I started by making maps and identifying points of interest, followed by a two-day field trip to the site, and eventually creating the written report. This was a great chance to use what I’ve learned in my studies as well as skills I picked up at FSM.

It’s hard to believe my time here has come to an end, but I feel as though I have done so much and I appreciated the opportunity to learn and grow.

Originally published in the FSM biannual newsletter, Forest View, in fall 2019.