The SCA, CDIP and USFWS!

I'm still getting caught up on Alaska entries, and I really wanted to share my room mate's story...even though I've been back for 3 weeks now.

Mercedes was involved in a really cool program through the Student Conservation Association, of which we were both interns. The Career Discovery Internship Program (CDIP), is a partnership between the SCA and the USFWS. It is designed to recruit traditionally underrepresented students for summer internships in the conservation field. Mercedes came all the way from Georgia where she's an undergraduate in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia. Her time in Alaska was not spent in the field office that I worked for, but she worked at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, where we both lived.

Founded in 2008, CDIP introduces culturally and ethnically diverse college freshman and sophomores to careers in the USFWS. The internship equips SCA members with the hands-on learning they need to begin pursuing professional work in the conservation arena.

 

 

To read more about her experience in Barrow, check out the article she wrote for the Peninsula Clarion: Lemmings: Never Too Small to Make an Impact.

 

I had been wanting to share her experiences, to expand on what the Student Conservation Association has to offer. Several other past classmates were and are working for the SCA currently. Please check out their blogs at: Gawn Wilder and Kelly Manktelow. I can not express enough what the SCA has done for me, and I am hoping to get hooked up with the National Park Service partnership for next summer, if I don't go back to the Kenai Peninsula. EVERY conservation student, regardless of age and level in school, should know about this awesome organization.

 

 

Eilson Visitor Center, Denali National Park and Preserve, AK

Rest in peace to those who were apart of the 9/11/01 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

 

 

 

Camera Trap Collection

While I was in Alaska, I just got back to the East Coast about 12 hours ago, I had my Cuddeback Attack Flash set up for most of the time. If you've been following along, you've probably read my complaints that I think this camera is a lemon. It just doesn't work like I believe it should, and how I've come to expect Cuddeback products to perform.

Nonetheless, I was able to get some great shots...and the following are my favorites. Some might be repeats from earlier posts, but I wanted to share them all in one place!

Snowshoe hares

Grizzly bear

Red-backed vole species (unknown)

Porcupine

Snowshoe hare

Moose

Red squirrel

Coyote...talk about timing!!!

And can you believe she was out at that time of day?

Lake Trout Acoustic Tagging on Hidden Lake

During my stint in Alaska this summer (2012), working out of the USFWS Kenai Field Office (Soldotna, AK), I've been involved with several projects. One of the projects I've been involved with is the tracking of acoustic-tagged lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) on Hidden Lake within the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.

To see another entry I wrote about this project, see: Tracking Hidden Lake & Kokanee Otolith Removal.

Hidden Lake has been historically sport-fished for lake trout, and apparently over the last 'X' number of years, there have been complaints by anglers that the fishing is drying up. So, the task has been given to the biologists out of this office to do some research and try to get a population estimate, and also where the trout are hanging out throughout the year, specifically during the fall spawning season.

During this entry, I'm going to share this project and what I literally get paid to do.

Go fishing.

My last few days of work this week consisted of heading to Hidden Lake, which is about an hour from our office, loading gear into a boat, and going fishing. All lake trout that were caught had measurements taken, and some had acoustic tags surgically implanted.

Our days began at 5 am at the office, which is early for me. As the boys I work with learned, this girl is NOT a morning person. But, I had an hour drive to wake up and prepare myself. After unloading the boat and finally getting on the water it was around 6:30 each morning...and we had a gorgeous morning on Thursday (8/15/2012)...

Sunrise over the mountains surrounding Hidden Lake.

The crew: Ken (project biologist), Lucas (seasonal technician), myself (SCA intern/seasonal technician), and last and least, Kevin (seasonal technician)  :)

Captain Ken manning the helm and watching the fish finder...

Lucas

And Kevin teaching me how to "reel down"...

So not to be immodest, but before a series of unfortunate events (which I will eventually get to), I was whooping butt on the fish catching. Ken gave me several options of lures, and I picked the "pretty" one, since I have no idea what works and doesn't. Well, apparently pretty worked!!! I chose a single-hook, blue/silver, KwikFish lure. And the fishing was hot! I have to give credit to Ken for figuring out where the fish were hanging out, and guiding me...but I caught 4 nice lake trout that day that I was pretty proud of!

Photo credit: Ken Gates

Photo credit: Ken Gates

As this was my first lake trout, they initiated me into the "club"...and strongly urged that I kiss my fish!

Photo credit: Ken Gates

I'm an "instant gratification" type of person, one who enjoys seeing a tangible result of effort. So, catching fish when they're biting is really satisfying!

If we caught a female, she would get processed on board the boat. We were only tagging healthy males, and the reason being apparently females can/will skip spawning some years. The biologists are really interested in knowing where the lake trout are spawning in Hidden Lake, so tagging a non-spawning female would be a waste of time, effort, equipment, and stress on the fish.  

Photo credit: Ken Gates

We'd fill a tote with lake water, and that was the holding tank for the fish. We'd try to keep them in the water as much as possible to lessen the effects of being handled.

Photo credit: Ken Gates

We'd then take 4 measurements: a fork length (tip of snout to the fork in the tail), total length (tip of snout to the tips of the tail squeezed together), girth (just forward of the dorsal fin), and a weight.

All of that would take about 5 minutes, with each of us with a "job". Getting the fish in/out of the boat as fast as possible, safely, was key. Of course handling a wild animal always causes some amount of stress and damage, but it's a necessary cost to be able to study and learn.

When one of us caught a male, the protocol was a bit different. We had the processing station set up on an island, as there was too much stuff and not enough room on the boat.

The fish that were deemed healthy enough and of course male, were brought to this spot in their tote, and then were subjected to a bit more than the females.

The same set of measurements were taken (FL, TL, girth, weight), but the fish were also anesthetized to render them still and I'm sure ease the pain of the implant.

A solution of mainly clove oil and water was used, and then the fish was placed in that for a few minutes for it to take effect. The whole thing was really interesting to watch. I couldn't really help, other than take down data, so I was able to really pay attention to the whole procedure. I admire Ken's ethic and attention to detail. He has a protocol, assigned us all a task, and the whole effort moved smoothly. I'm reassured that my personal need for this type of organization and control is necessary.



Ken taking measurements on the left (fish in the clove oil solution), and on right, Ken instructing Kevin on keeping the gills irrigated. There was one container with the clove oil solution, and then when they were finishing, one of fresh water to begin bringing the fish out of it.

After measurements were taken, the fish was then implanted with the Lotek acoustic tag.

Going...

Going...

Gone!

Then Ken stitched the incision back up, and applied a kind of "super glue" to keep the suture knots tight. The thread will eventually dissolve.

After all of this, the fish was moved to the "recovery" cooler, filled with fresh water, and was given probably between 5-10 minutes to come to.

Nurse Kevin, tending the fish :)

The last piece was to get the fish some final bling-bling. The fish would get one of these placed near it's dorsal fin, and the gray part is outside of the fish, so it can be visually identified by us, or another angler if it's caught.

The "Series of Unfortunate Events" that I mentioned earlier HAD to be shared on my blog, as they will make tagging lake trout forever memorable to me.

On our second morning, there was less down time for us. We knew exactly where the fish were hanging out, what lures were working, and we got to business. Within 5 minutes, I had a nice male on my line. We brought him in, and proceeded to implant him with the monitoring devices. When we were back on the water, and the fish was revived, Ken asked for someone to release the fish.

Lucas started to lift the tote, but I jumped in and wanted to release "my fish" back to the wild.

Photo credit: Lucas Young

The tote had more water in it than I expected, and when I lifted it over the side of the boat to dump, it quickly filled with lake water and pulled me off the boat.

I fell OFF the boat!

Photo credit: Lucas Young

Who does that?! I've taken the NYS Boating Safety Course, and the Department of the Interior's Motorboat Operator's Certification Course, American Red Cross life guarding courses...and grown up in/around water. And I fell off the boat! In the middle of the lake, fully clothed and in rain gear/boots too. I was wearing a life jacket though, and popped right up and stared at the guys in the boat in complete disbelief that I was no longer in the boat. It was like slow-motion too, as I was dumping the tote, I said out loud "Haha, I'm sooo going to fall off this boat!". And then I did.

After a beat, I was offered help (amongst much laughing), and I denied it opting to swim to shore instead. It wasn't that far and I was so beyond mad at myself I needed to cool down (literally, figuratively). The water was in the low 50's and the air temp maybe in the high 50's, low 60's, so it was breath-taking, but not immediately debilitating. Many thanks to coworker, Lucas, for acting quick to capture the following moments forever...

Photo credit: Lucas Young

Photo credit: Lucas Young

I think Ken was in disbelief that I wasn't accepting his offered help!

I was SO mad at this moment, but now that I'm reliving it through pictures, I'm cracking up!

No harm, no foul! A great way to end the season and my work time here in Alaska!

Little Miss Quill-Piggy.

I had started another blog posting last night, and I see it got partially published. I will have to delete and start anew. Something just happened, as in mere moments ago, that I must blog about.

For any family, friends, classmates, or blog reader of extended time- you all probably know my Big 3: Black bear, flying squirrels, and porcupines. I've had numerous accounts with the bears and squirrels. They're common-ish where I live in NY, if you know where and what to look for. The porcupine has been the bane of my existence this past year. In every field guide that I've looked in, they're "in range" in Western NY. I guess that doesn't mean that they're common, but they've been spotted before near where I live in the Finger Lakes, even by reliable close sources!

So I KNEW that when I came to Alaska, I'd have opportunity to see them. It's been 4 weeks, and I think I saw one on Friday night as we were whizzing down the Sterling Highway. Or it was a tire. But people here hate them because they are pests! I'm sure people in NY hate them too, but they're considered pests here because they ARE so common. People were in disbelief that I hadn't actually seen one here yet, where I live on the refuge. One guy who lives here, was telling me just before I arrived in May, he rode his bike down the hill (where this story unfolds) and saw at least 10 porcupines in this little field all grazing one night. 10! I don't think he was kidding, maybe embellishing, but serious that multiple 'pines were out grazing together. What DO you call a herd of porcupines anyway???

I've gotten into the habit of going down to the lake here each night to be "one" with nature. I am trying my hand at birding, and I don't know what else to do other than sit still late in the day with a camera and binoculars. The mosquitos are almost winning ...I may or may not need a blood transfusion tonight, even with long sleeves, pants, socks over pant cuffs, bug net, and bug spray (98% deet...). I finally couldn't stand them anymore and decided to walk back up the hill and go to bed.

About halfway back, I see a lump in the road. I literally stopped walking, and swore out loud because I could not believe my eyeballs.

I apologize for the quality...it will get better. This was before she noticed me, even though I did drop a nasty word. Loudly. It's a North American porcupine (Erithizon dorsatum)!!!

As soon as she heard me: quills up! And she stood stock still in the defensive stance. They don't run, as you will see with my following pictures. They just hunker down and let the quills do the talking.

After a few moments of a stand off, she decided to take to the trees.

I would like to take this opportunity before I continue to give myself a bit of a disclaimer. As a budding biologist and naturalist, I of course have the best interest of the wildlife in my mind always. I try to lead by example, and only enjoy wildlife when our paths cross naturally, and from a safe distance. The following pictures are awesome, if I do say so- but really anyone can be a "photographer" with a digital camera and photo editing software. I was incredibly close to this animal, but I didn't touch her or outwardly harass her. I guess my presence could be consider harassment, but I feel like we had an amicable meeting. I have close up pictures due to how close I felt comfortable getting, as well as a 36X zoom :)

She apparently didn't like my company on the ground, so she climbed up this aspen about 12 feet. As I circled around her, she kept her beady little eye on me, and as I stood back and still, she relaxed and scooted around the tree to better see me.

I can tell you that she's relaxed and at ease in this moment. If I moved at all, even just to raise the camera or swat at a mosquito, she would present her rump and stick those quills up.

Did you know porcupines are rodents? They are NYs, and AKs for that matter, second largest rodent after the beaver. Those orange incisors are a giveaway- not all rodents have orange incisors, but they do all have inciscors that constantly grow through out their lifetimes. The constantly grow, so that's why rodents are always found to be gnawing on woody materials, and even bones/antlers.

One thing I love to learn about are the animals feet and the tracks they leave behind. The porcupine was just above my eye level here, and just hanging out. I was able to really look at how strong her feet are. I wish I could've seen the pads of the feet, or tracks, but that didn't happen.

Also, this picture shows why I'm saying this is a female. There are nipples readily visible, and according to everything I've read, they give birth in late spring to a single precocious baby. And here in AK, even though summer officially begins tomorrow, it still is late spring. Everything is a bit behind here, I'm sure due to climate.

Field Camp
May 2012

At field camp last month, John taught students about tracks. Students were introduced to trails, how to measure stride and straddle, gaits, how animals walk, and track characteristics. He has a really cool collection of rubber tracks that were purchased, unfortunately he didn't make them. And I swore I had taken a picture of the porcupine tracks. I remember telling students (I was working as a technician), that I was fascinated by the porcupine's pebbly looking pads, and long nails. It's such a distinctive looking track! They also walk on their full foot, or plantigrade. See the first pic, although blurry, you can totally see it!

Long, long nails. The pads of her feet, I imagine, were like crampons that we'd wear on the ice. Or like those little nubs that Northern river otter (Lontra canadensis) seem to have. And then the nails are like a peevee, a tool used for moving lumber- to keep a firm grip on the wood.

You can't tell me that this is NOT an adorable animal. Quills or not, look at this face!

For a minute, she shuffled around the tree and I think was trying to camoflage herself amongst the spruce needles...

Finally, after about 5 minutes, she determined that I was no major threat and she began her backward shuffle. I guess I was feeling bolder too, so I took a step toward her and stretched out my arm to get this shot. Thank God for a slow porcupine and a digital camera. Several blind shots later, I got this keeper and I have to say, it's a cool shot!

And that was that! Once back on solid ground, she gave her quills a shake and Miss Quill Piggy moseyed on back to the roadside for some grazing. The mosquitos were now REALLY bad because I was in the woods, and so I said goodbye to one of my Big 3, and ran up the hill to write this entry :)