WILDLIFE -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the country’s 553 national wildlife refuges, plans to hire more than 2,000 young people this year, as it did in 2010.

Now's the time to apply for a summer job on a national wildlife refuge or other public land.

Check out the 2011 Student Employment Opportunities on the Refuge System web site, which lists opportunities and scholarship providers.

Program partners include the Student Conservation Association, The Corps Network and AmeriCorps.

Other 2011 conservation job opportunities with the Department of the Interior are listed at a new web site. DOI manages the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service and several other technical bureaus.

Locally: The Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area will be hiring for 10 Youth Conservation Corps positions.  Work starts in June for 40-hour weeks. Applications are due by March 31.

Contact Sue Halverson, 509-725-2715, extension 20 at Fort Spokane, or Ron Sacchi, 509-633-9441, extension 141 at Coulee Dam, or  Pat Michael 509-738-6366, extension 102 at Kettle Falls.