One day she’s stocking a lake with fish raised in hatcheries; the next day she’s assisting with search and rescue operations. For conservation law enforcement intern Amelia Hughes ’25, this kind of hands-on experience is invaluable as she pursues a career as a conservation officer.
Hughes connected with New Hampshire Fish and Game conservation officer Matthew Holmes through an internship facilitated by UNH Extension. With guidance from Holmes and supervision by Extension forester Ray Berthiaume, Hughes spent the summer of 2024 in Coös County patrolling towns for fishing and off-highway recreational vehicle activity, checking licenses and permits for fishing, off-roading and boating, assisting with wildlife-related calls and creating an interactive map of important conservation officer memorials and sites of interest.
“This is a perfect example of how partnerships with UNH Cooperative Extension have provided opportunities for students to follow their career paths, while helping our partners recruit potential employees,” Berthiaume says.
In addition to her forestry studies, Hughes has worked at the Thompson School Sawmill as a sawmill technician and research assistant with UNH Extension state specialist and professor Andy Fast.
Hughes is just one example of the many UNH students who forge connections every year that lead to professional opportunities. This workforce pipeline is essential for the state to retain hardworking, qualified individuals who support critical industries.
As Hughes looks to her future, she reflects on what makes working in this field so special. “I like that every experience in the outdoors is a little bit different than the last ... There’s always something new to see and learn,” she says.
Developing the North Country Workforce
To help build a sustainable pipeline of workers for rural New Hampshire, UNH Extension partnered with White Mountains Regional High School in Whitefield and the NH Division of Forests and Lands on an event for students in grades 7-12 to learn about careers in the outdoor industry.
At an expo held at the Lancaster Fairgrounds in September 2024, over 1,100 students from northern New Hampshire and northeastern Vermont visited exhibitors representing a wide array of businesses and organizations. Students could ask questions about and see demonstrations for professions like land surveyor, arborist, wildlife biologist, forester, mechanical engineer, heavy equipment operator, welder and logger, just to name a few.
Berthiaume teamed up with Michelle Gross of White Mountains Regional High School to design the event.
He acknowledges that outdoor industry jobs in places like Coös County require hard work, but they also come with lots of benefits — a steady paycheck, minimal traffic and the beauty of wild places.
Support for the expo came from the Coös Economic Development Corporation and several generous sponsors. Extension will continue developing these partnerships to help provide tangible paths forward for students wanting to pursue a profession in their home region.
“We just want to show them that they don’t have to leave their county. They don’t have to leave the state. There are good careers here,” Berthiaume says.
