pics with the southern research station...burned over 25 days, forcing locals to evacuate. we joined...
TRANSCRIPT
PICS with the Southern Research Station
Mim Ra Aslaoui and Kiley Coates
Party Rock with CAFMSConsortium of Appalachian Fire Managers and Scientists planned a bus tour with stops in Gatlinburg, TN, Asheville, NC, and northern Georgia to talk about “lessons learned” from the 2016 fire season. This was an important opportunity to discuss fire safety and management, as well as the importance of collaboration between the Forest Service, fire departments, and city officials. The Party Rock fire burned 7,142 acres of land and burned over 25 days, forcing locals to evacuate.
We joined CAFMS on the hike to where the fire originated, most likely due to an anthropogenic cause. On the top of Party Rock, you can see the communities of Lake Lure and Chimney Rock that were both heavily impacted by the massive fire.
Photo by Kiley Coates.
“We have all been blessed by the manner in which our entire community came together during this time to help and support one another when we needed it most,” says Lake Lure Mayor Bob Keith at the Party Rock Fire Thank You Celebration and Fundraiser.
Photo by John Cayton.
Davidson River with CATTUSFS scientist Craig Roghair and CATT teamed up with acting district ranger Lorie Stroup to conduct a survey of stream habitat along the Davidson river. We joined CATT technician Brandon Fair and got to help out and experience the work for ourselves.
The Davidson River is an important cornerstone of the Pisgah National Forest. “The combination of recreational and ecological values make the Davidson River a high priority for inventory and monitoring programs that help to inform management actions,” says Roghair.
The Center for Aquatic Technology Transfer (CATT) was established in 1995 to marry recent technological advancement with scientific research and management practices.
This new survey in 2017 hopes to identify changes to the Davidson’s stream habitats in response to increased recreation, recent habitat improvement projects, and the effect of wooly adelgid on hemlock trees.
“This survey will provide valuable information for identifying potential stream habitat improvement projects, but can also provide an assessment of the effectiveness of projects completed since 2003, the impact of the 'Don't Move the Rocks' program, and the effect of hemlock wooly adelgid,” explains Roghair.
Photo by Sarah Farmer, USFS.
Photo by Sarah Farmer, USFS.
Photo by Sarah Farmer, USFS.
Russell MineThis project was a joint effort between CATT and the National Forests to determine if
Russell Mine, a legacy gold mine from the 1800s, was affecting the biota of Big Creek.
Preliminary water results showed several chemicals exceeded tapwater RSLs established by
the EPA, such as Arsenic and Chromium. IBI ratings of macroinvertebrates were “good”
across the board, while fish had scattered ratings of “good”, “poor”, and “fair.” So while the
wildlife of the area may not be affected, the water quality still raises some concerns as
contaminated fish and water travel into larger rivers and headwater.
My work involving the Russell Mine involved mainly literature review and discussing the
results with Craig Roghair. I’ll also write portions of the final report. Mim Ra and I took a trip
to the Uwharrie National Forest to see the mine in person.
Photo by Kiley Coates.
Photos by Kiley Coates.
PAO WorkshopWe got to attend a two-day Forest Service Region 8 Public Affairs meeting held in Knoxville, Tennessee. There, we met several USFS communications people from different states around the region.
The agenda included going over the Southern Region Draft 2017 Legislative Strategy, which led to an open roundtable discussion about refining USFS strategies for visits on the Hill.
There were also two guest speakers, Leslie O’Flahavan and Mandy Menaker, who gave presentations on Practical Tips for Repurposing Content, and Structuring your Press Release.
On the last day, we headed out to Gatlinburg to learn more about the great fires, and what Public Affairs lessons might be gleaned from them.
Photos by Kiley Coates.
The Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory was established as an experimental forest in 1934 near Otto, NC.
Their research program uses watersheds as landscape units and is poised to strengthen our understanding of the hydrologic cycle.
It focuses on measuring climate, streamflow, and forest growth, establishing fundamental relationships among vegetation, soils and abiotic factors, and chronicling ecosystem responses to disturbance.
We toured the lab along with a group of region interns from the National Forest Office in Atlanta. This photo was taken at the base of a fire tower we hiked to.
Coweeta Hydrologic Lab
“Forests play an important role in the supply of clean water resources and the uptake and sequestration of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Our ability to understand forest biophysical processes will help us to predict the sensitivity of the hydrologic and carbon cycles are to climatic variability, disturbance, and management practices,” says Dr. Andrew (Chris) Oishi.
Coweeta Experimental Forest entrance sign with administrative building at right, 1942.
Photos by Kiley Coates.
The station has a Pollinator Garden out front that is open to the public. We were able to help out in the garden throughout the summer, as well as with the planning of a couple events.
The largest event was a visit from the Montford Community Center -- we had about 30 kids, and Smokey the Bear even made an appearance!
SRS Pollinator Garden
Photo by Mim Ra Aslaoui
Photo by Mim Ra Aslaoui
Photo by Mim Ra Aslaoui
Photo by Mim Ra Aslaoui
Photo by
Mim Ra Aslaoui
Photo by Mim Ra Aslaoui
Bird SheetsWe researched and developed narratives for 14 different species of birds -- outlining basic things like identification, habitat, and conservation concerns.
This project was created in partnership with the Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society to promote shade-grown coffee for bird conservation. The gathered information will also be used in the development of an educational module for the Eastern Band of Cherokee.
On the left is one example of the completed bird sheets.
Common Garden ProjectJoan Walker, plant ecologist, was the lead of the common garden project located in Columbia, SC. This project was a massive effort to research established seed zones and climate zones in order to aid in the restoration of the longleaf pine’s understory. The diversity in the understory is unparalleled by anywhere in the United States; over 40 different species can exist in one square meter.
We visited the common garden in Columbia and harvested legumes from Tephrosia virginiana. These legumes were later analyzed for quality and differences between plants from different areas in South Carolina. Scientists took into account seed weight, number of inflorescences, and chemical makeup.Photo by Ted Bodner, courtesy of Wikimedia
Commons.
Photos by Kiley Coates.
Bent CreekWe volunteered to help at their event for the Girls in Science camp. Located at the North Carolina Arboretum, the camp aims to “break away from the idea of lab coats and beakers to get outside for hands-on exploration” and meet female professionals engaged in science in Western NC. We helped the girls approximate the age of trees from tree cookies and increment boring. Using the increment borer, the girls were able to tell which trees were hardwood and which were softwood. The National Multimedia team from the Washington Office captured the event to use the photos and video footage in the future.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Photo by Kiley Coates.
Julia Kirschman, information specialist at Bent Creek, also gave us a tour of the experimental forest. It’s one of the oldest forests maintained by the Forest Service and focuses on forest management practices. They test a variety of situations involving fire, insects, disease, and more.
Photo by C.F. Korstain, courtesy of flickr and Forest History Society.
Asheville Tourists GameTo celebrate Smokey Bear’s 73rd birthday, we planned a trip to McCormick Field to watch the Asheville Tourists beat the Lexington Legends! Smokey Bear made an appearance in the stands; he was a hit with everyone, including dogs attending the game for “Doggies at the Diamond.”
We were responsible for the logistics of the game: handling RSVPs, reserving the tickets, and ensuring Smokey would be a welcome guest.
Photo by Monica Schwalbach, USFS.
CompassLive Articles
During the summer, we were invited to try our hand at
science writing by producing articles for the SRS blog
CompassLive.
This process entailed reading some of the recently published
papers by SRS scientists, interviewing them, and working with
an editor at the station.
Our finished articles were then posted online for public
viewing!
Mim Ra’s Stories- “Don’t Forget the Soil Fauna”
based on Mac Callaham’s “Soil fauna responses to natural disturbances,invasive species, and global climate change: Current state of the science and acall to action”
- “Air, Water, and Wavelets”based on Ying Ouyang’s “Identify temporal trend of air temperature and itsimpact on forest stream flow in Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Valley usingwavelet analysis”
- “The Success of Ozark Badger: Pioneering Uneven-Aged Silviculture inArkansas”
based on Don Bragg’s “The development of uneven-aged southern pinesilviculture before the Crossett Experimental Forest”
Kiley’s Stories- “Dairy Queen as an Indicator of Community Health”
based on John Schelhas’s “‘Even our Dairy Queen shut down’: Risk and resilience in bioenergy development in forest-dependent communities in the US South”
- “Urban Green Spaces and Health in Vulnerable Communities”based on Viniece Jennings’s “Emerging issues in urban ecology: implications for research, social justice, human health, and well-being”
- “Generalist No More: Yazoo Darter as a Microhabitat Specialist”based on Ken Sterling and Mel Warren’s “Microhabitat estimation of an imperiled headwater fish, the Yazoo darter (Etheostoma raneyi), in Coastal Plain streams
- “Eucalyptus as a Potential Wood Fiber Crop”based on Chris Maier’s “Comparative water use in short-rotation Eucalyptus benthamiiand Pinus taeda trees in the southern United States”
Blacksburg, VAI visited Blacksburg, VA to meet with Craig Roghair to discuss the Russell Mine project. While I was there, I got to attend another trip in the field. The Forest Service is multiuse, so they cater to timber harvesting, hunting, recreation, etc. We ventured into the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests to classify streams. These stream classifications will be used by timber companies to establish a buffer zone around the water to ensure the headwaters remain healthy.
Photo by Kiley Coates.
Photos by Kiley Coates.
Other Tasks
- FY2018 conference planning
- Filing Grants & Agreements
- Organizing Award Letters
- Attending preliminary meeting at Cherokee to discuss
new wildlife educational module
- Participating in conference calls and brainstorming for
the new Keeping Forests as Forests Initiative
Thank You!
A special thank you to PICS, and to everyone at the Southern
Research Station for making our internship this summer
possible!