The National Council for Preservation Education (NCPE)’s Internship Program is a partnership with the National Park Service and other Federal agencies with cultural resource protection and public land management responsibilities. The purpose is to accomplish needed and important work on federally protected lands while providing program participants with professional experience in their chosen fields. Interns work under the guidance of agency staff who are subject area experts to carry out the mission of the park.

To be eligible, applicants must be between 18 and 30 years old (or 35 if a veteran) when starting the internship, a post-secondary student (certificate program, 2-year, 4-year, or graduate level), or a recent graduate (within the past 12 months at the time of application), and a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.  

Job Summary

The Cultural Landscapes Intern will help conduct a condition assessment of Fort Cronkhite’s cultural landscape located in the Marin headlands within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The results of the condition assessment will be incorporated into a draft Cultural Landscape Inventory for Fort Cronkhite.

Job Description

Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) stretches across 80,000 acres north and south of the Golden Gate Bridge and is one of the world’s largest urban national parks, encompassing such iconic sites as Muir Woods and Alcatraz Island. The park manages over 5,000 acres of cultural landscapes, including Fort Cronkhite in Marin County. The Forts Baker, Barry, and Cronkhite Historic District illustrates a century of development in U.S. harbor defenses, from the post-Civil War period through the height of the Cold War. Integral to this military legacy is a maritime history that shares the same geography and purpose in safeguarding San Francisco as the West Coast’s most important harbor.

The intern will assist the park’s Historical Landscape Architect in conducting a condition assessment of the Fort Cronkhite cultural landscape. The project involves field investigation to document existing conditions of historic features and landscape characteristics through GIS data collection. The work includes converting field observations into both internal systems and written narratives. The intern will assist with finalizing the Cultural Landscapes Inventory (CLI) for submission to the State Historic Preservation Office. The position is duty stationed at park headquarters at Fort Mason in San Francisco.

This is an in-person, full-time, 40-hour-a-week internship and includes park housing and a travel/commute stipend. Note that park housing is remote and is not served by public transportation.  A background security investigation may be required before the start date. All NCPE internships accrue 4 hours of Paid Time Off (PTO) for every 80 hours worked.