My camera trap project has officially begun! I've been setting up cameras these past two weeks, ten at Wind Cave and four so far at Mount Rushmore. I will set up two more at Mount Rushmore, and next week I'm going to Jewel Cave to...
Although I am conducting my research at Wind Cave, Mount Rushmore, and Jewel Cave, I am most familiar with Wind Cave (WICA) as this is the park I am based at and the one I will be introducing to you all today. Wind Cave National...
Greetings! My name is Brooke and I’m a recent graduate of Cornell University with a B.S. in Environmental Science. I grew up in the suburbs of Irvine, California where I wasn’t surrounded by much nature or wildlife, but my parents always made it a point...
Eleven weeks sure do fly by when you’re having fun. I swear I was just sitting in a room with 30 strangers learning about what the difference between a national park and monument was. Those strangers and I have since been seamlessly woven into the...
I’ve had a blast this summer at Jewel Cave. I’ve done so many cool things in such a short time! Although I didn’t answer every question I had about this place, I know my efforts will help the park solve them in the coming years....
There are many bright minds on the resource management team. One intern who has stood out the most in my mind is Hunter, a Geoscientists-in-the-Park intern. Hunter and I were both hired to do the same job: studying the geology of the monument and a...
Now that I’m about 75% of the way through my Jewel Cave internship, it’s only right that I update you on the work I’ve done these last few weeks. Time just keeps flying by; I feel like I just started yesterday! [caption id="attachment_7630" align="alignnone" width="800"] Here's...
This past weekend I went to Jewel Cave and Wind Cave with some of my fellow interns thanks to the efforts of EFTA (Environment for the Americas). We went to Jewel Cave first, which was an impressive cave system whose walls are covered in calcite...
Jewel Cave keeps me both mentally and physically busy during the work week. In addition to photo monitoring and structure mapping, there are always side projects that need to be done. One such project was installing a 2500‘ PVC drainage pipeline to empty out water...
Recreational caving is new to me. Sure, I’ve poked around in small caves with a flashlight, but they’d either end or become crawlways that I didn’t feel comfortable going through. Prior to this summer, my favorite cave visit was to the Wabasha Street Caves in...