California Trout, Shasta-Klamath Regional Internship, Summer 2026

Every summer, The Bill Lane Center for the American West offers many opportunities for Stanford undergraduates (including graduating seniors and co-terms) to work with organizations throughout the West. Through these internships, students can explore careers in natural history, conservation, land use, museum curation, resource management, energy and more.

All internships are full-time for nine to ten weeks during the summer. They are fully funded by the Lane Center with stipends ranging from $7,500 to $10,000.

The Lane Center has placed hundreds of interns in positions across the West since 2005. It has developed strong relationships with host organizations and works hard to ensure interns have successful and enriching experiences.

For more information about the internship program, please visit the FAQs page, or email Education Manager Corinne Thomas.

Details about previous summer student interns and their placements can be found here.

Student reflections about the internship experience can be found by visiting the Out West student blog and the Lane Center Instagram channel.

Stipend Information:

The Bill Lane Center will provide a base stipend of $7,500 with additional funding for student financial aid and location, if applicable, up to $10,000. The stipend is provided to cover living expenses and, if applicable, part of the summer earnings expectation of the Office of Financial Aid.

The stipend is not intended to be, and is not, a paid, hourly wage. An internship is an educational and experiential learning opportunity intended for the student to apply their academics and gain real-world experience.

Description of the Organization: 

California Trout's mission is ensuring healthy waters and resilient populations of wild fish for a better California. 

At California Trout, we work to ensure healthy waters and resilient wild fish for a better California. Our Mt Shasta-Klamath region works to protect and restore the spring-fed cold water river systems that, in the face of drought and climate change, sustain native salmonids, support the local economy, supply water throughout California, and provide critical habitat for trout, steelhead and salmon.

Our vision is of a California where water flows free, clean and cold from headwaters to sea – a vision of watersheds teeming with native, wild fish whose resilience and diversity match that of the people throughout this great state we call home.

Internship Overview:

The intern will primarily assist with a diverse range of science and restoration projects at CalTrout’s Shasta/Klamath Office. This will include field data collection —such as instream work (e.g., discharge measurements and downloading data loggers)—as well as office tasks (e.g., analyzing reports, developing summaries, and attending meetings). During the summer, with their mentor's advisement, the intern will develop and complete a project on a relevant topic of their choosing. Additionally, the intern will also have opportunities to network with partners and CalTrout staff across the state.

Day to day work:

The intern will primarily work directly with supervisor/mentor Tyanna Blaschak (project manager), with some independent work, and occasionally with other project managers in the office and the regional director, Damon Goodman.

The intern will interact regularly with other team members in the office, occasionally working more closely with specific project managers depending on the task. There may be occasional opportunities to work with other college-age students.

The intern will work in an office of about 10 people with their own desk space. The intern will participate in staff meetings and check-in regularly with their mentor/supervisor, with a mix of field and office tasks depending on the day. Field work will be done in either pairs or teams, with the supervisor, another project manager, or partners, including scientists and restoration practitioners.

Location: Mt. Shasta, California. The office is located in a small town. The student will stay in one place, with occasional travel to field sites.

Internship Work Environment:

This internship will be in person only with 30% field work and 70% office work. 

Housing:

There is no on-site housing available, Mt. Shasta is a small community and the team will will do its best to support the intern with their housing search, including providing appropriate housing options that may not be advertised. The past Lane Center interns are also happy to help and advise. 

Car: It *will* be necessary for the intern to have their own vehicle. Given the rural nature of Mt Shasta and the surrounding area, public transportation is very limited and so it is car-dependent. There may also be occasions where the student would need their own vehicle to assist with field work.