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HGTC Forestry & Wildlife Students Working in Montana This Summer
Eight students are interning for the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs
(CONWAY, SC) July 26, 2018 - Every summer, Horry-Georgetown Technical College’s (HGTC) forestry
and wildlife students are required to work in an internship, and this summer eight
lucky students are working at the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana with the
U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs. The reservation is located
just outside of Glacier National Park in Montana and provides a unique hands-on learning
opportunity for these students from South Carolina.
Pairs of students work with a tribal member and take forest inventory plots across
the reservation in remote locations. These inventory plots help provide information
to guide the management of the natural resources of the reservation for the next 10-15
years. Students record information on tree species, stem diameter, height, quality
for products, disease and insect damage, mortality, new growth, fire occurrence, and
more. The students have the opportunity to see grizzly bear, black bear, buffalo,
elk, and moose on a daily basis.
HGTC has had a contract with the Bureau since 2000 to provide students with internship opportunities in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, South and North Dakota. Some interns have returned to the area to work full-time for the Bureau or other federal agencies after graduation.
This summer’s interns are:
- Jonathan “Myles” Hutton (Easley, SC)
- Willian “Henry” Olano (Camden, SC)
- Kevin Smith (Bethune, SC)
- Nathan Stalford (Tega Cay, SC)
- Jacob Webster (Florence, SC)
- Jacob Painter (Edgefield, SC)
- John Shaver (Little River, SC)
- Tyler Wiggers (Columbia, SC)
The only accredited associate degree program of its kind in South Carolina, the HGTC forestry management technology program trains students for a successful and rewarding career in wildlife and forestry management and timber harvesting.