Officials with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) say Greenfield native Jared Baier will be spending his summer outdoors, helping to preserve and restore Iowa’s natural beauty through a unique internship program. The INHF selected Baier and nine other students from Iowa colleges as statewide land stewardship interns for the summer of 2014. Baier is a graduate of Nodaway Valley High School. He is majoring in forestry at Iowa State University and expects to graduate in December 2014.

INHF looks for college students who possess a passion for conservation and a desire to learn hands-on techniques for preserving Iowa’s natural areas. Baier said “This is a great hands on experience that will help further my career in the future.” INHF chooses its land stewardship interns based on their dedication to conservation and their devotion to restoring the state’s natural places.

Erin Van Waus, INHF land stewardship director, said “The interns help INHF achieve its goal of restoring rare and special native habitats throughout Iowa, and the enthusiasm and expertise each intern brings to the position is priceless.” The internship program allows INHF to increase its capacity to do high-quality restoration while offering the students a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience.

Baier’s internship is sponsored by the estate of Richard “Sandy” Rhodes II, an INHF member from eastern Iowa known as a prairie restoration enthusiast. INHF is a nonprofit, conservation group that works with private landowners and other partners to protect Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. Since its founding in 1979, INHF has helped protect more than 130,000 acres of Iowa’s wild places.