My Summer To-Do List
During my time at Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge, I have been assigned a few key projects that Kirbian Peters and I will complete by the end of our internship. These tasks include: Anabat Detector survey, seed collection for the pollinators, breeding bird survey, and daily tasks given to us by our supervisor. The things that I hope to get out of this internship is learn more about conservation and land management, how to manage a refuge in different conditions, and how to get a community more active about the environment.
Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge - Short Summary
What is a National Wildlife Refuge? Refuges are designated protected areas that are managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. These are public lands that are dedicated to conservation and restoration of habitat for plants and animals. All Refuges are different in size, shape, wildlife that is present, and communities in the area. A typical refuge will have a Refuge Manager, an Assistant Refuge manager, a Biologist, a Fire team, Refuge Maintenance, Volunteers/Friends Group, and a Guest Services team. At Patoka, things are a little different due to the size of the Refuge and how our land is acquired. We are a smaller, spread out Refuge with currently 9,007 acres and our acquisition boundary is 22,472 acres. We run with a Refuge Manager, Assistant Refuge Manager, Volunteers/Friends Group, and Interns.
Week one- Orientation 5/21/17 - 5/27/17
- My first experience with the SCA and USFWS was one that I will always remember. I came together with other people my age who are interested in the same things as me. Not only did I make incredible friends, but I met phenomenal leaders in the program. I learned so much about the Fish and Wildlife Service, how to connect people with nature, and what my future could hold. Also got to see the beautiful Sherburne NWR in Minnesota.
Cane Ridge
Week Two- Refuge Living & First Work Week 5/28/17-6/3/17
I arrived at my home for the summer with my Mother, Karen, and we unpacked and got lunch before she departed back to Ohio. That night, my roomies/co-workers, Kirby and James took me on my first hike at the refuge. In one hike I fell in love with a place so close to home. The next day was my first day on the job. I got to meet the refuge manager Bill Mccoy and he told us amazing stories from working at past refuges. Later that day we checked water levels at Cane Ridge, checked out a possible mottled duck sighting (TBD), and did a lot of paper work. The rest of the week consisted of Checking if trail signs made sense and driving out bat survey trails and breeding bird survey trails. Week one was a little slow due to our assistant refuge manager gone for the week at Arches National Park in Utah. First week down and I have learned so much in a short amount of time.
