Welcome Oregon Wild's 2014 Summer Wildlife Intern!

Hello! My name is Danica Swenson and I’m Oregon Wild’s Wildlife Intern this summer in the Portland Office. I’m currently a rising second year law student at Lewis and Clark Law School studying Environmental and Animal law. When I’m not reading for school or work, I’m out adventuring or volunteering at a local wildlife rehabilitation center.

I’m originally from Hawaii, but I’ve also lived in Oregon and California. I recently spent four years in San Francisco, where I received a B.A. in Environmental Studies at the University of San Francisco. I’ve been lucky enough to live in three of the best states for wildlife! Sadly though, wildlife is rapidly disappearing all over the world due to habitat destruction and the consequences of other human-based activities. I was exposed to these issues at an early age living in Hawaii, which has one of the highest amounts of endangered native species (both plants and animals) listed federally.  

While Oregon has a reputation for being very “green,” our policies don’t always reflect this public ethos. Through my work at Oregon Wild, I hope to help give wildlife conservation a voice in the political discourse and keep Oregon a great place for wildlife to live. My projects will be primarily focused on the Oregon Endangered Species Act and issues that Oregon Wild is involved with in the Klamath Basin. I will also be attending this year’s Wolf Rendezvous and hopefully a lot of the hikes. It’s going to be a fun summer!