July 10 - July 13.
This week we worked alongside the Heritage crew and the Aquatic Wildlife and Fisheries crew at the Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests & Pawnee Grassland (USFS, ARP).
On Monday, we spent our first field day with the Heritage crew! We learned what the study of archeology is really about and were shown some artifacts that they have collected in the office. We then went out to do a survey of Lost Lake and took a look at a historic site that was previously surveyed three years ago. To survey Lost Lake, we used the pedestrian transect line (PDL) method around the perimeter of the lake utilizing a compass and a buffer of 15 meters. During our surveys, we found some old cans dating up to ~100 years old as well as historic glass!
Photo of the view of the lake (left) and the compasses we used (right) taken by Jennifer Singer.
After the lake, we went to a historic site and found remains of a cabin and some more historic cans/glass. Additionally, we went to a second site with remains that resemble a grave with historic glass scattered around the area. My favorite part was looking at the Aqua and Amethyst historic glass artifacts found at this second site.
Photo of the cabin remains (upper left), the grave (upper right), and the aqua (bottom left) and amethyst (bottom right) historic glass taken by Jennifer Singer.
On Tuesday, we had our tour of the Rocky Mountain Wildlife Refuge by a member of the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife. We were shown around the repository and learned about illegal wildlife trade and trafficking. Within the repository, they had over one million items that have been confiscated that are now utilized for education training for law enforcement and or scientific research. Illegal wildlife trade is a much bigger problem than most people are aware of, and being able to experience the repository first hand made me inspired to make a difference.
Photo of taxidermy that has been confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade taken by Jennifer Singer.
On Wednesday, we practiced fish protocol to experience a variety of skills. First, we conducted an EDNA test using YSI probes that monitored conductivity, salinity, temperature, and total dissolved solvents. We also used a water quality meter to measure pH. After this, we set up nets on either end of a 100 meter creek to conduct electrofishing. We caught Greenback Cutthroat Trout while electrofishing to record population density. We then measured and weighed the fish, entering our data accordingly.
Photo of crew taking EDNA measurements (left) and interns with Greenback Cutthroat Trout (right).
On Thursday, we went out with the Heritage Crew to the Pawnee National Grasslands. Here, we practiced finding and identifying flakes (portions of rock chipped off from an objective piece by a person applying pressure) and historic stone rings (sites of ancient campgrounds). We also mapped a historic campground using Field Maps.
Photo of the Pawnee National Grasslands taken by Jennifer Singer.
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