CMN student Cierra Dickenson's Internship Experience with Natural Resources

College of Menominee Nation student Cierra Dickenson gave a presentation about her internship experience working over the summer of 2012. The internship focused on natural resources with a various team of experts as mentors.  She had the opportunity to work in many fields related to sustainability and the health of the forest on the Menominee Indian Reservation. She worked not only with Paul Crocker, MTE, on GIS inventory, but she got a comprehensive look at many different career options. Thanks to some great mentors, Cierra said they made even the challenging aspects enjoyable.

One of the summer projects detailed working on regeneration surveys with Jeff Grignon. "The purpose was to create a healthy stand in the long-run," said Dickenson. They would record tree population and identify tree species. Another project included working as a fishery biologist with the help of Rich Annamitta. "We shocked the fish which was pretty cool," said Dickenson, "the purpose was to get an estimate on fish population."

Cierra also worked as a water resource technician under the guidance of Joe Lyons, Water Resource specialist at the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin - Environmental Services. They would test water quality and get samples for the lab. In another project, Cierra focused on forest health with Dr. Dave Mausel. "We'd ride down the river to record where purple loosestrife was and how bad it was," said Cierra. "Awesome job," noted Mausel, health forester, who was an attendee at the presentation.

Other summer projects included working on timber harvest with Mike Waukau, fire protection with Ron Waukau, and identifying cultural sites with Jeff Grignon. "He showed us how to identify different kinds of sites," said Cierra.

After the presentation, when Cierra was asked what the most challenging part was, Cierra said the amount of help and teamwork she got throughout the internship made it all manageable. In addition, she added, "The internship helped me figure out what I want to do." She plans on continuing her studies in Natural Resources, and finishing her bachelor's degree, perhaps at UW-Stevens Point.