In the southwestern corner of South Dakota lies Wind Cave National Park, the first cave to be selected as a national park anywhere in the world. At 150 miles in length, Wind Cave is one of the longest and most intricate caves in the world....
This season I’ll be in charge of radon monitoring in the caves. Monitoring occurs year-round on a weekly basis, mainly on tour routes. The purpose of radon monitoring is less for the protection of visitors and more for tour guides and cavers who log thousands...
If you didn’t already know, Mammoth Cave is part of the longest cave system in the world. Together with the caves of Flint Ridge and a few more systems, the passages are well over 400 miles and counting. Additionally there are 400 minor caves within...
The focus for this week’s blog is something special. I recently accompanied the fisheries crew for an electrofishing survey! Before we drove out to the site, I got to pick out a pair of waders for the trip and this was my first time...
The Resource Division at Carlsbad Caverns is responsibility for managing the park's natural resources. The resources can be divided into three categories: paleontological (cultural resources), physical (caves, geology, hydrology), and biological (plants, animals). Erin Lynch, Physical Science Technician, Carlsbad Caverns National Park Erin Lynch belaying on the...
Chris Davis is from Scranton, Pennsylvania. He received his bachelor’s degree in biology from Arizona State University. He then went to graduate school at Colorado State University and got a masters in Ecology with a focus on exotic plant management. While attending his graduate school he got to work...
As of late, many more school groups have been taking interest in field trip opportunities here at New River Gorge National River. The ranger staff cannot handle several groups at a time, so unfortunately they have had to turn some classes away. My job for...
The staff at Capulin Volcano is thrilled as our acting superintendent, Fermin Salas, has arrived on-site. Fermin has a lot of great ideas for the park and has been a very warm addition to the group so far. I conducted an interview with him about...
For the past two weeks, I have been tasked to do background research on Guam’s coral reefs and start preparing a draft on a poster that will be used for future outreach events. In addition, I had the opportunity to help my mentor out in...
With my first week at Capulin in the books, I have a pretty good idea of how I’m going to be spending the summer. For the past few years, people in my position have worked hard to create a pollen identification guide for the local...