Henry's Fork Foundation, Snow Hydrology Internship, Summer 2025

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: 

Henry’s Fork Foundation (HFF) is a non-profit organization that works to conserve, protect, and restore the unique fisheries, wildlife, and water resources of the Henry’s Fork Watershed and larger Upper Snake Basin. HFF uses a collaborative, science-based approach to achieve its mission and works closely with water users, hydroelectric power companies, government agencies, and other nonprofit groups. 

Science has formed the core of HFF’s fisheries conservation approach since it began funding university research in the 1980s. HFF hired its first research director in 1994, marking the founding of its in-house science program. 

From operating fish ladders to providing real-time water quality data to quantifying recreational use, HFF’s current science and technology team brings the latest information to a broad range of watershed stakeholders and issues. HFF’s scientific knowledge and data are translated into high-quality fishing experiences through collaborations with agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and water users such as hydroelectric companies and irrigators. 

The Snow Hydrology Internship Overview:

This is an in-person internship: 70% office work; 30% field work

The Snow Hydrology Intern will assist a Boise State University post-doctoral researcher and HFF staff in pursuing a federally-funded project’s objectives, with specific tasks dependent on the intern's skills and interests and on permission from government agencies to begin weather station installation.

The Intern will be working with partner organizations and other HFF staff to complete the project needs.
HFF will conduct orientation upon the arrival of the 2025 interns so that have all of the information needed
to integrate effectively with their team.

The intern will be mentored by HFF Science and Technology Director, Rob Van Kirk.

The intern will also have the opportunity to work with other HFF staff members and the other interns on various tasks.

Additional Work Expectations:

• The Intern may be asked to assist with other various Henry’s Fork Foundation projects including, but not limited to, restoration projects, water quality monitoring, outreach events, and various other activities. 
• Interns will contribute to the HFF intern blog where they will provide a weekly update on their work to our membership.

Day-to-day Work:

Interns are expected to work 40 hours per week, on average. Work weeks start with a mandatory staff meeting at 9:00am on Monday. It would be optimal to have the intern work from June 30–September 5, 2025. Dates are negotiable but this would be preferable due to project needs. 

All field work will require driving to/from field sites, usually 20-45 miles one way. Some field work will be done in teams with the intern’s mentor and possibly other interns, staff or volunteers, while other tasks will require the intern to work alone in remote, rural settings. 

As a Henry’s Fork Foundation intern, you may be required to occasionally assist with fundraising and member events, education, outreach and other projects as needed, including water quality monitoring, field work in hydrology and stream ecology, maintaining fish passage facilities, installing/maintaining livestock fences, and staffing HFF’s interpretive center.

Occasional evening and weekend work will be required for these tasks.

The intern will work on the following:

• Expand an existing water management model and supporting data to predict water supply, irrigation demand, and water right priorities.
• Install six new weather stations that collect wind speed, humidity, soil moisture, precipitation, snow depth, air temperature, and incoming and outgoing radiation data that are not currently available for high elevations of the upper Snake River watershed.
• Use these meteorological datasets to create short-term streamflow forecasts that integrate physically- based snowmelt processes using the iSnobal energy balance snow model.

Weather Conditions:

Field work will be done in all types of weather, aside from lightning and severe thunderstorms. In June, temperatures can be below freezing, and snow is possible at high elevations. During the rest of the summer, temperatures range from 40 degrees to 90 degrees, sometimes spanning that range in a single day.

Expect wind, low humidity, and bright sun, all of which add to the physical stress of working at high elevations, especially for those not accustomed to the climate and altitude of the arid western U.S. At the same time, afternoon thunderstorms are possible on any given day, usually producing some combination of strong winds, heavy rain, hail, dangerous lightning, and sudden temperature drops of up to 40 degrees.

Please note that orientation and training will cover procedures for conduct under these conditions.

Mentor/Supervisors:

Rob Van Kirk, rob@henrysfork.org

Rob first fished the Henry's Fork in 1977, worked for Henry's Fork Anglers from 1981-1987, and was HFF's first research director, from 1994-1998. After 14 years as a mathematics and statistics professor, he returned to HFF in 2013. He has published over 30 peer-reviewed scientific papers and book chapters covering topics ranging from theoretical population biology to groundwater-surface water interactions.

Rob is known for his expertise in the latter subject among hydrologists and water managers in the Intermountain West. 

Housing: HFF does not charge for intern housing.

Interns from out of the Henry’s Fork area will live in a co-ed dorm space at HFF’s campus in Ashton, a farming community of 1,000 people. The campus is housed in Ashton’s old community hospital, which was completely refurbished in 2017 to house HFF’s offices, laboratory, interpretive center, and intern/graduate student housing.

The dorm space consists of two bunk rooms, two large bathroom/shower facilities, a large open kitchen, laundry facilities, and a living room. Bunk rooms and bathrooms will be gender-separated, but all other living space is shared. Housing, including linens and all kitchen implements, is provided by HFF, but interns are responsible for their own meals.

Please note: If any intern would like to live in separate housing, it is their responsibility to find and pay for separate housing arrangements before the internship begins. They will also be responsible for driving to and from HFF in their own vehicle without fuel reimbursement.

Location: Ashton, Idaho

Other than businesses oriented primarily toward tourism and agriculture (auto parts and repair, hardware, etc.), services in Ashton are limited to a small health clinic and pharmacy, one grocery store, a dollar store, and five small eating establishments (Mexican, three traditional American diners/drive-ins, and a pizza/sandwich shop). 

The grocery store is well stocked for a small town but does not carry much in the way of organic and natural foods and is difficult to access from HFF’s campus because of a busy highway crossing with no stoplight or pedestrian facilities. 

The nearest large supermarkets, Walmart, drug stores, and other businesses are in Rexburg, about 25 miles southwest of Ashton. There are a few restaurants with broader menu options located in the tourist area of Island Park, 20-30 miles north of Ashton. 

The closest natural-food stores and restaurants, “finer” dining establishments, and “night life” (e.g., weekly outdoor concerts) are in Teton Valley, 40-50 miles southeast of Ashton. 

The closest regional airport is in Idaho Falls 53 miles southwest of Ashton. The closest international airport is in Salt Lake City (SLC) 220 miles south of Ashton. The Salt Lake Express shuttle runs from the airport Salt Lake City International Airport to Rexburg several times a day, but should be booked in advance. 

The west entrance to Yellowstone National Park is a one-hour drive from Ashton, and Jackson, Wyoming is about a 90-minute drive. The best climbing and hiking opportunities are 45-60 minutes from Ashton, although outstanding fly fishing can be found 5 minutes away from the campus. An out-of-state fishing license costs $108. Some of HFF’s boats and rafts are available for intern recreational use after hours and on weekends, when not being used for HFF’s field work. 

A personal vehicle is strongly recommended to allow full enjoyment of the area’s recreational opportunities.  

Transportation & Having a car:

HFF provides company vehicles for work but does not provide vehicles for interns to use on their personal time including grocery shopping or other transportation needs.  It is strongly encouraged that interns have their own personal vehicle due to the nature of how rural Ashton, Idaho is. 

HFF is committed to supporting a diverse and inclusive workplace and to promoting careers in the environmental and natural-resource sciences among groups underrepresented in these professions. 

*To see HFF’s full policy on nondiscrimination diversity and inclusion please click here.

If you have questions about field work and physical requirements of this internship, please request more information before you apply.

For additional information on HFF’s Summer Seminar Series and what it entails, please visit https://www.henrysfork.org/internship-program and click on the link under the Summer Seminar Series section.