Conservation Depends on People
Every year, scientists, educators, resource managers, maintenance staff, and seasonal field crews work across Voyageurs National Park to study wildlife, restore and preserve habitat, maintain visitor facilities, protect cultural resources, and connect visitors to one of America's most unique landscapes.
This work is critically dependent on people in the field.
Through philanthropic support, Voyageurs Conservancy helps provide the staffing capacity needed to advance science, stewardship, conservation, and visitor experiences throughout Voyageurs National Park.
Expanding the Park’s Impact
Like many national parks, Voyageurs relies on seasonal staff, emerging professionals, and specialized field crews to accomplish critical work each year. While National Park Service staff lead and oversee these efforts, limited staffing and funding can make it difficult to complete every project needed across more than 218,000 acres of land and water.
Support from Voyageurs Conservancy helps bridge that gap by funding Field Fellows and seasonal National Park Service positions that expand the park's capacity to conduct research, restore habitat, monitor wildlife, engage visitors, and care for park resources.
The People Behind Conservation
Many of the park's science and stewardship priorities rely on seasonal field technicians who collect data, conduct surveys, monitor wildlife populations, restore habitat, and support resource management efforts.
These positions provide critical expertise and field capacity during the busiest months of the year, helping park staff accomplish work that informs management decisions and protects Voyageurs' natural and cultural resources.
By supporting seasonal technicians through philanthropy, donors help ensure that important science and stewardship projects can move forward and that the National Park Service has the resources needed to care for this remarkable landscape.
Seasonal National Park Service Field Technicians
Seasonal technicians provide critical expertise and field capacity during the busiest months of the year. They conduct surveys, collect scientific data, monitor wildlife populations, restore habitat, and support resource management efforts that help inform decisions across the park.
Voyageurs Field Fellows
Field Fellows work alongside National Park Service staff on projects ranging from fisheries research and wildlife monitoring to environmental education, habitat restoration, communications, and trail maintenance. Their contributions provide meaningful support to park priorities while helping launch the next generation of conservation professionals.
Together, Field Fellows and seasonal technicians help accomplish work that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to complete with existing staffing alone.
Impact in Action
Hannah Renslow – Wildlife and Wetland Field Fellow
In 2025, Hannah Renslow served as a Wildlife and Wetland Field Fellow with Voyageurs Conservancy and Voyageurs National Park.
During her fellowhip, Hannah helped restore over 500 acres of shoreline habitat, supported bat acoustic monitoring and loon surveys, and earned valuable field certifications like her Motorboat Operator certification. Her summer at Voyageurs strengthened her connection to her home state’s ecology and fueled her goal of a lifelong conservation career. Hannah encourages future Fellows to “be brave and take the position” – the experiences and people you meet are worth it.
Hannah grew up in Minnesota with a deep love of the outdoors and a passion for conservation inspired by family National Park Service trips. A recent graduate in Environmental Science and Ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, she spent her fellowship season at Voyageurs National Park tackling hands-on work from invasive plant management to wildlife monitoring.
Your Support at Work
Your Support Makes It Possible To:
Restore hundreds of acres of shoreline and wetland habitat.
Monitor fish, bats, loons, beavers, pollinators, and other wildlife populations.
Support fisheries and aquatic research throughout the park's interconnected waterways.
Detect and manage invasive species before they become larger threats.
Maintain campsites, trails, docks, and visitor facilities used by thousands of visitors annually.
Expand environmental education and dark sky programming.
Preserve cultural and historical resources.
Train future conservation leaders through hands-on field experience.
Invest in the Future of Voyageurs National Park
Supporting Field Fellows and seasonal National Park Service staff is one of the most direct ways donors can strengthen Voyageurs National Park.
These positions expand the park's ability to conduct science, restore habitat, engage visitors, maintain facilities, and steward natural and cultural resources. At the same time, they help develop the next generation of conservation professionals who will care for public lands in the decades ahead.
Every contribution helps ensure that Voyageurs has the people needed to protect, understand, and share this remarkable landscape.
Read More Field Fellow Experiences:
“The Field Fellowship was a very positive experience for me on many levels. Professionally, it was a great way to build my resume and gain lots of hands-on experience from people who have been in the Park Service for decades. Voyageurs National Park is a very special place.””
Funding for this program is generously supported by the Fredrikson & Byron Foundation, Elmer & Eleanor Andersen Foundation, and the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
The Trust Fund is a permanent fund constitutionally established by the citizens of Minnesota to assist in the protection, conservation, preservation, and enhancement of the state’s air, water, land, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources.