From Military Service to Monitoring Salmon: A Veteran's Career Transformation

NOAA Fisheries' supports paid, yearlong Veterans Corps internships that give military veterans hands-on experience in fisheries science and habitat restoration. Veterans develop skills that can prepare them for natural resource jobs or university science programs. NOAA partners gain field staff to help restore habitat and monitor fish populations, often in remote areas.

NOAA Fisheries and its partner, the Mt. Adams Institute, placed two veterans with fisheries organizations in northern California as part of the 2025-2026 Veterans Corps internship. This is U.S. Army Veteran Scot Clark's story. Read Delbert Henson's story.

On his first day with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife , Veterans Corps intern Scot Clark climbed into a truck with biologist Colin Anderson. On their way to Prairie Creek, a coastal stream in Redwood National and State Parks, Anderson explained the day's task. As part of a major NOAA-funded stream restoration project , workers were rerouting part of Prairie Creek, and fish remaining in the old stream channel needed to be relocated.

Soon, Clark was wading through the creek, scooping up wriggling juvenile Pacific lamprey from the streambed and moving them to safety. Then the crew brought out an electric fisher, a device that temporarily stuns fish, to catch salmon in the stream.

"I didn't really know what I was doing, but I had a blast," said Clark. "I thought it was such a neat thing that I didn't even think it was possible."

"I had the pleasure of working with Scot on his first day on the job," said Bob Pagliuco, NOAA marine habitat resource specialist. "He helped rescue and relocate thousands of Pacific lamprey and hundreds of juvenile coho salmon so the construction crews could restore the habitat without injuring the fish."

Out of the Fire and Into the Water

Clark grew up in Napa, California, fishing in the Napa River and Tomales Bay. Like Henson, he dreamed of becoming a marine biologist. But after serving in the military, he considered a different career.

"I just got out of the military, and I was set on being a firefighter," Clark said. "And then I realized I don't ever really want to be that hot again."

While helping his wife search for a job online, Clark found an advertisement for a Veterans Corps internship with the Department.

"The internship said veterans wanted, and I was like, 'Oh, this probably could be a nice change of pace for me.'"

At the Department, Clark learned how scientists monitor salmon and steelhead populations in Northern California. The program he works for collects data from rivers between Humboldt Bay and the Oregon border to track population trends and inform fisheries management.

"Scot came to us with a big heart and a lot of enthusiasm," said Seth Ricker, a senior supervisor with the Department. "Within a week or two of learning a new protocol, he was acting as part of the crew."

Putting Military Skills to Work for Salmon

During his internship, Clark surveyed fish in the Mad River, Redwood Creek, and Smith River. He helped capture, measure, and sample fish and implanted small tracking tags that allow scientists to study their movements.

The work took him into challenging terrain. During summer surveys in the Smith River watershed, Clark sometimes crawled on his belly through inches of water, searching for isolated pools where juvenile coho salmon sheltered.

Winter brought long days in cold water. During one survey, Clark stepped into a deep hole in a rocky streambed and injured his ankle. But he was back in the field in a couple of weeks.

"Scot is one tough customer," Ricker said. "Never once did Scot ever think a task was out of his bag. Never heard a complaint from him. All I heard was, 'This is one of the best days of my life. I want to keep doing this.'"

Clark credits the military with teaching him the value of clear communication. He drew on that skill while working with a team to implant acoustic tracking tags in juvenile fish.

"Everything had to be very precise on how we were handling the fish and where the tag needed to sit inside of the fish's body," said Clark. "So, the communication had to be very clear on what we were doing."

From Newcomer to Crew Leader

By the end of the winter netting season, Clark recognized how much he had learned.

"I kind of just stopped expecting everyone to tell me what to do," he said. "I had the skills I needed to actually complete the work without somebody holding my hand."

Ricker said Clark progressed from a newcomer with little fisheries experience to someone capable of leading field crews. Clark now sees fisheries as a career he wants to pursue long term.

"This internship has honestly given my life direction," said Clark. "I was kind of just working at that last job just for a paycheck and not really looking towards the future."

Clark is considering studying marine biology and exploring a career with the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps , whose officers support NOAA missions, including aboard research vessels.

"I'd like to be on a boat," Clark said. "I'm a simple guy."

Benefits for Veterans and Fisheries

For veterans and the organizations that host them, the internships offer benefits that extend beyond job training.

"We host Veterans Corps interns to fulfill our country's obligation to veterans to help them integrate back into the workforce," said Ricker. "But we also do it because it's the right thing to do in terms of managing the resource. The more information we can collect and the higher quality information we can collect, the better job we can do."

Erica Keleher, who coordinated the internships for the Mt. Adams Institute, sees a connection between military service and conservation work. Both can offer a strong mission and opportunities to work as part of a team.

"Conservation careers can be similar to the military in the sense that they both promote that stewardship ethic," said Keleher. "The military has that sense of taking responsibility for something larger than yourself and working as part of a team to protect it or improve upon it. And I feel like that's really similar to our conservation agencies."

"We're proud to support a partnership that gives veterans an opportunity to put their skills and experience to work protecting our nation's fisheries and restoring habitat," said NOAA Marine Habitat Resource Specialist Laurel Jennings. "This Veterans Day, we're especially grateful for their service to our country and for the dedication, leadership, and commitment they continue to bring to this important work."