For my first field visit (commonly referred to as a ‘hitch’), I headed out to Bighorn Canyon recreation area for a week. [caption id="attachment_6812" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Our campsite setup near Ewing-Snell Ranch[/caption] While in Bighorn Canyon, we surveyed various areas for target vegetation species. During the week...
Science I've been thinking about it a lot this past week - what it means to do science, to be a scientist, and all the work that goes into ensuring that science is believable and reliable. After sitting in on "Resources Day," a day revolving around...
Valley Forge National Historical Park holds a rich history in the halls of its timbers and its sprawling fields, memorializing the Continental Army’s grueling stay and transformation into a unified fighting regiment. The Continental army was formed in 1775 to coordinate efforts between the colonies,...
For hundreds of years, foreign species have been brought to America from all over the world. These exotic specimen can range from an insect to a plant to a large mammal. Reasons for why they were brought here vary. In more of the colonial era,...
Luxurious green mountains encapsuled in a white fog. The air is crisp and cool, heavy with humidity along rivers and creeks. The sun rays escape through the spaces between the leaves of the canopy. Everywhere hiked, there is visible variability in flora communities once emerging...
Surrounding regions of Minute Man National Historical Park have transformed from a semi-rural cultural area to established suburbs that face continual pressures from residential, commercial, and industrial development. This development not only impacts historic and cultural site preservation efforts, but also presence of rare species...
This summer is jam-packed. Even though Jewel Cave is a small monument, the resource management (RM) team is tasked with a broad range of important work. Aside from our daily duties, we’re available to assist with cave emergencies, maintenance projects, search & rescues, and decontamination....
Over the week I was able to meet many great new people, including those on the Elk and Vegetation Management Plan crew, which I am a part of. Every day I walk along a beautiful path and over a small bridge to and from work,...
"The chief aim of Interpretation is not instruction, but provocation." - Freeman Tilden How did Mount Rainier come to be? How did the rocks get here? Why are there ridges in seemingly random areas? [caption id="attachment_6643" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Park ranger Curt Jacquot giving an interpretive walk through the...
The project that I will be working on for the next couple of weeks is the Unstable Slope Management Program (USMP) for Federal Land Management Agencies at Coronado National Memorial. This program is meant to assess slope stability transportation related issues on federal lands. Geoscientist-in-Park...