08/19/2026
We spy with our little eye...two Wildlife Technology students! Congratulations Ben Salapek and Cameron Kerr on securing these competitive internships and thank you to the Pennsylvania Game Commission for providing valuable opportunities for future natural resource professionals.
If you didn’t have a summer full of hands-on experiences, special skills building, and wildlife, what are you doing?
For our Northwest region interns, this summer may have included marking timber, banding geese, teaching con-ed programs, and more, but most importantly, these students made the most out of their three months!
As their capstone project, the interns worked together to create a Comprehensive Management Plan for the area surrounding our Northwest Region headquarters in Franklin, PA.
These plans are created for every state game land to establish wildlife management goals during a 10-year period. The students learned how to identify habitat types, determine wildlife species use, and establish goals that will benefit eight species of greatest conservation need.
They also assisted with rehabilitating our Ford Island Nature Trail at the Pymatuning Wildlife Management Area.
Tree removal, mowing, replacing signage, and painting improvements were made in preparation for our new Pymatuning Wildlife Learning Center’s grand opening in the fall of next year.
Thank you all for your dedication to wildlife management and for choosing to spend your summer with the Pennsylvania Game Commission! We can’t wait to see where your talents take you.
Do YOU want to experience the thrill of a Game Commission internship? Check back in late December/early January for internship opportunities for 2027.
Interns pictured L to R: Hayley (biology), Taylor (habitat management), Dayton (habitat management), Jess (biology), Bryceton (forestry), Ben (forestry), and Cameron (information & education).
