Sonoran Desert Network Scientists in Parks Interns: Summer 2024–Summer 2025

The Sonoran Desert Inventory & Monitoring Network (Sonoran Desert Network) partners with Conservation Legacy to host interns through the Scientists in Parks program annually. There are two program application periods, one for fall/winter start dates and one for spring/summer start dates. Applications are due in mid-January and mid-June. Open positions can be found on the Scientists in Parks website when available.

The Sonoran Desert Network is based at the Desert Research Learning Center at Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona. Our Scientists in Parks interns work at the learning center and in parks throughout the Southwest. Interns embark on a year-long journey of fieldwork, science communication, and/or natural resource data science.

From summer of 2024 through summer of 2025, the Sonoran Desert Network hosted four excellent Scientists in Parks interns: Justin Sontag, Naomi Friedman, Annika Munson, and Bryn Callie. Each of them had an individualized experience with our monitoring work. Read about their experiences below!

Justin Sontag

Left to right: Justin alongside Southern Arizona parks fire ecologist Gabe DeJong (center) and park biologist Nicole Gonzalez (right) evaluating post-fire communities at Chiricahua National Monument; Justin hugging a saguaro cactus (ouch!); Justin identifying vegetation along the Santa Cruz River in Tumacácori National Historical Park. NPS/S. STUDD/A. PINGATORE/E. SCHNAUBELT

Justin, from Orlando, Florida, came accustomed to the heat but perhaps not the dryness of the Southwest. Justin went to Johns Hopkins University for a bachelor’s degree in environmental science and had a formative outdoor experience while there: for a course about forested landscapes, Justin camped in Shenandoah National Park and spent time “naturalist-ing.” Justin hiked trails while identifying species and studying the ecosystem. After interning with the Bureau of Land Management, the Scientists in Parks program helped Justin continue the mission of serving and protecting public lands. Fun fact: Justin has been to 124 national parks!

Accomplishments

Justin focused on the effects of fire on vegetation during the Scientists in Parks internship, but that’s far from all Justin did. While working at the Sonoran Desert Network, Justin…

• Performed quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) and ran many Generalized Linear Mixed Models on Sonoran Desert Network vegetation monitoring data and NPS Fire Effects program data.
• Performed a focused condition assessment of post-fire vegetation at Chiricahua National Monument, focusing on the longer-term effects on abundance and distribution of Lehmann’s lovegrass (an invasive plant) and changes in woody species composition and lifeform abundance (such as the ratio of shrubs to trees).
• Wrote a report summarizing the focused condition assessment, which will be published soon.
• Collected data for upland vegetation monitoring, riparian vegetation monitoring, wildlife monitoring, and fire effects protocols.
• Became certified in Wilderness Advanced First Aid and trained in field safety procedures.

Parks Justin Worked In

Justin worked on natural resource monitoring projects in four Sonoran Desert Network parks and numerous Pima County properties during multi-day hitches and day trips, including one backpacking hitch into the Rincon Mountains:

• Chiricahua National Monument
• Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
• Saguaro National Park
• Tumacácori National Historical Park

What Next?

After finishing the Scientists in Parks internship, Justin joined a fire effects monitoring crew in the NPS Northern Great Plains Fire Management Office. We are excited Justin is joining the National Park Service!

My favorite park in the network is Organ Pipe Cactus NM. I’m drawn to its incredible diversity of plants, animals, and landscapes—it truly embodies the vast, unspoiled beauty of the Sonoran Desert. The park also brings into sharp focus the complexities of our international border, offering a powerful real-world context for conservation work. What makes it even more special is how deeply the network team values and respects this place. That shared appreciation is moving and meaningful to me.

Where this belongs

• Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
• Chiricahua National Monument
• Coronado National Memorial
• Fort Bowie National Historic Site
• Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
• Montezuma Castle National Monument

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