Week 11

This past week I was in Minneapolis at the annual FWS Student Workshop. Here, CDIP interns and Pathways students from all over Region 3 gathered to share their experiences from the summer and to learn more about the Fish and Wildlife Service. There were several "Open Houses", where we could roam between different program areas to learn more about those that interested us. These included departments I was familiar with such as Visitor Services, Fire, and Biology, as well as those I didn't know much about, like Ecological Services and Fisheries. We also toured the regional office, Minnesota Valley NWR (National Wildlife Refuge), and St. Croix WMD (Wetland Management District). It was a good time to learn more about the Service and to network!

In our free time, my fellow interns and I went to the movies, hung out, and went to the Mall of America! It was really fun!

Nickelodeon Universe (in the Mall of America)

Lego Store! (in the Mall of America)

Weeks 9 + 10

These past few weeks have been busy! We completed the Oak Savanna fire monitoring plots in record time. Having 3 extra people (the YCC helped out) really sped things along! Speaking of fire, we also watched another prescribed burn, as well as mapped a few more fire monitoring plots on the GPS.

Wood Duck Traps

We also set up traps so that we can band and release wood ducks. Sally has been monitoring the traps, but so far most of the ducks that we've caught have been too small to band. Better luck next year! 

Leech

I had a leech on my waders when we came back from setting the wood duck traps. It was the first time I'd ever come into contact with a live one, so of course we had to take a picture!

As far as water goes, we've also cleared the dam on Bohm Pool a couple times in the past few weeks. Those pesky beavers are persistent! 

I also helped Sally monitor vegetation for Minnesota'a PCA's (Pollution Control Agency) WHEP (Wetland Health Evaluation Program). This, in conjunction with the invertebrate data we gathered earlier, will help us to "grade" Sherburne's wetlands for quality!

Thistle

I've also been doing some more invasive species mapping. This time it's Thistle! It's mostly on the road sides. It's also near most water impoundment structures, because the dirt there was brought in from outside the refuge and probably had the seeds in it. 

Other projects include installing the identification cards on the forb garden, trail maintenance, attending an environmental education presentation on soil, and washing cars!

Raspberries!

I used to get really annoyed having to walk through raspberry bushes because of the thorns. Now that there's fruit, I don't mind as much! Doesn't get much fresher than that!

Spawn of Satan

Someone brought this horse fly into headquarters a little while back. It's bigger than my face. I hope you weren't planning on sleeping later, 'cause this thing will haunt your dreams. With that being said, goodnight!

Week 8

Bald Eagle

On Monday, Rylee (one of the YCC) and I went to all of the pools on the refuge to check water levels. We also noted beaver activity and cattail mat encroachment. Some pools are checked more often than others and some I had never actually been to, so it was an adventure finding them all. I really appreciated Rylee's help as my navigator! 

Lupine Seeds

This week I also did some work on our forb garden. We have various wildflowers planted in eight boxes by the old schoolhouse. I made identification cards for the flowers so that visitors would know what we had growing. 

I also transported the seeds that have been collected by our volunteers to storage. Lupine seeds are stored in a tent, as seen above. This is because lupine seeds are in a pod, which pops open to release the seed, which can be kind of messy! 

Speaking of flowers, more pictures! 

Sunflowers

 Purple Vetch

I took the YCC to Crane Meadows NWR on Wednesday to help out on some projects they had. Crane Meadows and Sherburne are in a complex, along with Rice Lake and Mille Lacs. We painted a porch, stained a deck, and helped to dig up their forb garden so it could be replanted. I think I wound up with more paint on my clothes than the porch. It was fun! 

Purple Martin Chicks

Crane Meadows has a couple of pretty cool bird houses dedicated to birds whose numbers are declining due to habitat loss. There is a Purple Martin condo, a box of which is shown above, as well as a chimney swift tower.  Chimney Swifts are on the decline because they traditionally nest in chimneys, which are on the fall due to more energy efficient heating. 

And then we set the refuge on fire. 

Well not me, because I'm not red-carded. But most of the other staff of Sherburne (and a couple of folks from Crane Meadows) performed a prescribed burn on a 60-acre patch of land next to Blue Hill Trail on Thursday. It was amazing to see. The smoke cloud was ridiculous. It also went way faster than I expected, and was a pretty successful burn.  

We walked the burned area after the fire, and found some pretty cool bones left behind.

There was also this dragonfly eating another dragonfly. How rude. 

Week 7

I recently had the privilege of visiting the smallest refuge in the National Wildlife Refuge System. Mille Lacs NWR consists of two islands (Spirit and Hennepin) located on Lake Mille Lacs in Minnesota. Both islands are important to the local Native American people.

Spirit Island

Hennepin Island

In addition, Hennepin Island hosts a breeding population of common terns, which are a state threatened species in Minnesota. We spent one morning on Hennepin Island surveying tern nests and helping to protect them from harm.

Terns are pretty minimalist when it comes to nesting. As the above picture shows, they basically plop their eggs down in sand or gravel and call it a day. The first thing we did was count nests and how many eggs were in each nest. 

Tern Chick

We also installed bird houses to help provide the chicks with some protection from the sun.

Tern nests are heavily predated by gulls, who will peck holes into tern eggs. In order to help combat this, a rope grid is established on the half of Hennepin island that hosts tern nests (the other half of the island only has gull and cormorant nests). While the grid still allows the smaller tern to navigate the land, it prevents the larger gulls from entering and destroying eggs. Unfortunately, if the ropes aren't taut, birds that fly into the grid can get caught. I cut this tern free (it was still alive!), and then we reestablished the grid and tightened all of the ropes. 

Gull Nest

Unfortunately, the grid isn't enough to discourage gulls from using the island. Gull eggs found inside of the grid are destroyed. On the other half of the island, gull eggs are oiled with 100% vegetable oil. Eggs are porous, allowing the chick developing inside to breathe. By applying oil, the pores are sealed and the chick will die, but the adult gulls will continue to care for their nests. This keeps the gulls from laying even more eggs.

Visiting Mille Lacs NWR was fun and informative! 

Back at Sherburne, we completed the forest plots for fire monitoring. We also established new plots for future study in the area where cattle are grazing. 

Dragonfly

Milkweed

Mullen

Black-Eyed Susan

Week 6

Fire monitoring is going well! We only have two forest plots left to complete!

Like most things, fire monitoring plots require some maintenance as time goes on. The poles marking the transect get removed or knocked down and tree tags become ingrown over time, which isn't unreasonable considering these plots were originally established in the nineties. So, we look out for these incidences and try to keep the plots in good repair for future studies. For science! 

Blue Hill Overlook

This week, there was still trail maintenance that needed to be done from last week's storm. I walked Blue Hill Trail with the YCC (Youth Conservation Corps) picking up small debris and watching for larger trees that would need to be cut up later. 

Blanding's Turtle

I marked my first Blanding's Turtle this week! This female turtle was gravid, meaning she was full of eggs that she'd probably be laying soon. We could actually feel the eggs; it was really cool!

Killdeer Nest

There is a killdeer nesting on the Wildlife Drive! Other cool animal sightings of the week include a sandhill crane pair with their colt, a pair of turkeys with their poults (they look like baby dinosaurs, so cute) more snapping turtles, and a COYOTE. So much nature! 

 Froghopper Nymph Cover

When I was out pulling invasive species with Sally one afternoon, I stumbled across a few plants with patches of foam on their stems. Being of a science background, I quickly wondered, who has been throwing foam parties on the refuge, and why wasn't I invited...? It turned out that the residue in question was a form of protection produced by froghopper nymphs, more commonly known as spittlebugs. Spittlebug nymphs tap into plants and use their sap to make a foam casing. The resulting cover protects the young bugs from predation as well as unfavorable temperature fluctuations. Pretty cool!

Week 5

I spent most of this week doing fire monitoring. We're finishing up the forest plots, and then will move on to the prairie and savanna plots in the following months. It looks like prescribed fire has done the refuge some good!

On Thursday night there was a huge storm that knocked trees down all over the refuge and surrounding area. Friday was spent doing maintenance on refuge roads and trails. 

Cattle

It may seem a little funny to see cattle grazing on a national wildlife refuge, but it's actually a really useful initiative! The cattle, which are owned and maintained by a local cooperator, are helping to knock back some of the invasive species on the refuge, and open up the understory of our oak savanna plots for more ideal species! Pretty cool! 

Snapping Turtle Nest

It's nesting season for snapping turtles! Many snapping turtles nest just off the side of the road. Snapping turtle eggs are heavily predated, so we've begun placing cages around the nests to keep out other critters and give the eggs a fighting chance. It was pretty cool to see this nest in tact! 

Week 4

Air Boat!

Steve and Sally

Sally

Getting to go out on the air boat was definitely one of the highlights of my experience at Sherburne thus far. It was amazing to see the refuge from the water as opposed to on land. It was the perfect day for a tour; when the water was calm, it perfectly reflected the clouds and sky above. And while I didn't get to drive the boat myself (the first picture was staged), I was definitely one happy passenger. 

Fire Monitoring with Kris and Pete!

Today was my first day on another project I'll be helping with through out the summer: fire monitoring. There are over 100 plots of land on the refuge designated for this purpose. On these plots, the herbaceous layer (what plants are present?), tree cover (how many living and dead trees are there, what kind are they, and how big are they?), and fuel load are evaluated in an effort to examine the the long-term effects of prescribed burning on the land.  

And of course, more interesting plants and animals! I learned way more plants today when we were out fire monitoring (thanks for quizzing me, Pete!), but I didn't have my camera to take pictures! Hopefully I retain that info! 

Painted Turtle

I rescued this little guy from the road!

Spider Web

The morning dew on this spider web made it really visible and pretty!

Columbine

The flowers on the columbine plant have small edible sap pockets that taste like honey!

This week, I also did some mapping of leafy spurge (another invasive species on the refuge), helped to clear out more woody debris from beaver activity, and did some data entry and analysis on ArcMap (the GIS system).

Four weeks down, eight weeks to go! This summer is flying! 

Week 3

On Tuesday, the weather was finally nice enough for me to hike Mahnomen Trail. It's been raining a lot lately, but I think it's slowing down for the summer. Mahnomen Trail is a 3-mile hike through prairie and oak savanna habitats on the refuge. 

"Mahnomen" is the Ojibwa (a native american people) word for "wild rice"!

I was going to get a map before I started my hike, but then  I thought, hmmm, better not!

Mahnomen Trail

I saw some interesting flora and fauna on the trail! I was about 10 yards away from a deer at one point. I also saw a ton of chipmunks and song birds, as well as some insects (dragonflies and gnats abounded!) and a good variety of plants.

Lupine

Bull Snake!

I stumbled upon this little guy at the very end of my hike. Honestly, I almost stepped on him - I was only about a yard away when I noticed him in the path. Snakes are common on Mahnomen Trail because there is a hibernaculum (a group hibernation chamber, like a winter-long sleepover!) there. It was awesome! Another one slithered right in front of me when I was mapping leafy spurge near headquarters later in the day.

Seed Collector Meeting

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to sit in on Sherburne's annual Seed Collector Meeting. The Seed Collector program is a very valuable initiative for Sherburne. There are a ton of diverse seeds on refuge lands; basically, collecting some seeds each summer saves the refuge from having to go out and buy seed when it's needed in the future. The entire program is run by volunteers, who are gathered for an orientation (or re-orientation) every year right before the peak collecting time begins.

On Thursday, I went to an educational workshop in Elk River focused on using the outdoors as a classroom. It was really informative, and actually peaked my interest in environmental education as a future career path!

Nature Explore Center

An Excerpt from a child's Nature Journal

The second half of the workshop was held on refuge grounds. We gathered on the Oak Savanna Trail on Wildlife Drive to employ some of the observational techniques we'd learned about that morning. 

Replica Eagle Nest

There were some good finds on the Oak Savanna Trail!

Warbler Nest

 Garter Snake

Today I started my summer's main project: mapping phragmites. Phragmites, also known as common reed, has an invasive strain (Type M) that is becoming increasingly prolific on the refuge. In order to  develop a plan on how to effectively manage the phragmites on the refuge, we first have to know where it is has spread to. That's where I come in!

Nomad Trimble (GIS Unit)

I'm mapping phragmites using GIS technology, which was completely foreign to me prior to this internship. It took me a couple of days to get the hang of it, but I know enough now to do what I need to do. There are a bunch of capabilities that I haven't explored yet!

The going was pretty rough at times. Phragmites is a wetland species, so I was effectively walking through marsh/swamp to get to the plots I needed to map. This was only my second time in waders, and I definitely put them to good use. I quickly got a more realistic concept of the phrase "off the beaten path"; blazing my own trail was a lot more intense than I'd anticipated. Finding  solid footing wasn't a luxury I always had; I lost count of the number of times I slipped, slid, and generally got stuck (sometimes up to my thighs) in the mud. Slowly but surely, however, I began navigating the wetland more efficiently. I became better at spotting where to step, and found myself moving with more confidence as the day wore on. I'm nowhere near walking on water, but I'm improving!

As always on the refuge, this expedition was a good opportunity to spot wildlife! In addition to the photos below, there were  tons  of spiders and red-winged black birds.

Water Strider

Frog

Turtle Shell

Bird Nest (look closely!)