In the Summer of 2009 Nick Deyo worked for Five Valleys Land Trust (FVLT) in Missoula, MT, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of opens space, working agricultural lands, and wildlife habitat on private lands in Western Montana. 

He coordinated with landscape planning consultant and former SNRE professor Donna Erickson to create a strategic conservation plan for this organization.  He began this project  by helping FVLT staff to define their conservation goals and objectives.  Then he created a GIS analysis to identify private lands with greater conservation value within 5 separate focal areas in the FVLT service area.  Nick planed meetings, gave presentations, and drastically increased his knowledge of ArcGIS software throughout the duration on the internship.  As a side project, he drew illustrations to represent varying development scenarios for the community of Woodworth Meadows near Seeley Lake, Montana. These experiences helped Nick to network within the conservation community of Western Montana, an area he would like to pursue a career after graduation.

Internship Details