Musk Thistle Pull and Fuel Reduction Projects

Last Tuesday and Wednesday, Bridger-Teton conducted a few volunteer projects. On Tuesday, I went out to Granite Creek with our wilderness rangers, Melissa and Jessica, to check out a musk thistle pull. The project was Melissa's idea but she had asked me to help with finding volunteers. Unfortunately, we only had one volunteer come out to the musk thistle pull. We still were able to get a lot of work done but the project was lacking the service component.


our volunteer on Tuesday

I already had a fuel reduction project lined out for Wednesday so I decided to use my volunteers to complete the musk thistle project. I was taking my group to Granite Creek already so it worked out great. We had a total of 26 volunteers from Utah, a large group of girls and their chaperones. We sent half of the group to pull musk thistle and half to stack slash.


pulling musk thistle


Both of the projects were very important. Musk thistle is an invasive species originating from Asia. It is very prevalent in Wyoming and is replacing native plants. The fuel reduction project was an effort to reduce the fire risk in the area. By collecting slash under the canopy, it will help prevent fires from starting or spreading very far. The Granite Creek area had a fire two years ago so the possibility exists that another fire could happen there.

We worked for approximately 3 hours before eating lunch and discussing the projects. We were fortunate to have Leslie Williams, our fire prevention specialist, and Chip Gerdin, a fire engine boss, come out to help us with the projects. During lunch, they discussed how both the projects relate to fire management. Also, Leslie talked to the girls about careers in the natural resource management. The girls enjoyed hearing Chip's story about Leslie's 2,700 sit-ups during smoke jumper training.


Chip telling our volunteers about Lesley's 2700 sit-ups

I was grateful to have both our volunteers from Utah and Forest Service employees help with the projects. We would not have been able to complete the work we did without them. We are trying to get another musk thistle pull and another fuel reduction project set up, so stay tuned for news about future projects!

Wednesday's group



Haze in the Landscape

There is something dreadfully beautiful about a wildfire. It is dreadful because there is a possibility for the loss of human life and the destruction of property. But, the smoke from the fire creates a alien landscape that is beautiful to me.

The Fontenelle Fire (http://www.inciweb.org/incident/2934/) is burning in Bridger-Teton Nation Forest 17 miles west of Big Piney, Wyoming. The fire began on June 24, 2012. At this time, the fire is 28,579 acres burning in heavy, dead timber and has burned into the Big Piney Ranger District.

I went down to Big Piney over the past two days and got to see the smoke from the fire up close. On Wednesday, my supervisor invited me to attend a fire briefing. At the fire briefting, the type 3 team in charge of the fire transitioned to a type 2 team. A type 2 team has more resources and more people working on the fire. It was interesting to see the leadership from the incident management team discuss the fire.

Outside, I could see a little bit of ash falling from the sky. The air smelled like a campfire. When I looked to the distance, I saw a menacing plume of smoke. With the wind, I could see it shifting in the sky, as if it was fighting to make it closer to us.

Yesterday, I drove a vehicle to the incident command post for the fire. As I drove through the alien landscape, I noticed that the smoke had shifted. There was smoke in areas that didn't have smoke yesterday. Some places that did have smoke yesterday, now had blue skies. When I arrived at the incident command post at Big Piney High School, the dark plume of smoke had grown. The increase and shift in smoke is representative of the Fontenelle Fire growing from 2,000 acres to 28,000 acres.

Wildifres are deadly. The Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado has destroyed 350 homes, killed one person, and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate (http://www.inciweb.org/incident/2929). President Obama has declared it a major disaster. Here in Wyoming, we are hoping that the Fontenelle Fire does not grow and that the incident management team is able to contain it soon. The haze in the landscape has been a unique thing to witness but I hope that it disappears soon.

Stay Mellow, Pocatello

Hello everyone!

This past week, I was in Pocatello, Idaho for Forest Protection Officer (FPO) training. The training gives me the ability to write citations and warnings to forest visitors that are violating federal regulations on Forest Service land. I will be spending a day a week with the river patrol for the Jackson Ranger District during the summer.

This week, I will be at Guard School to get my red card for wildland firefighting. I'm really excited for this opportunity. I hope that I can get out on a fire during the summer. For people unfamiliar with the Forest Service, fire management is a big part of the agency. Recently, there has been a devastating fire in Colorado (http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20826343/high-park-fire-may-be-12-000-acres). Many Forest Service employees with Bridger-Teton have told me that they think this will be a busy fire season in Wyoming.

With two weeks of training, it has been difficult for me to keep up with other work. Right now, I'm trying to become more familiar with Teton 10, our children's forest initiative (http://www.teton10.org/). Teddi, the program coordinator, has left for another position so I am covering some of her responsibilities for the summer.

I'm also helping in the development of a volunteer event for 8th graders visiting in August. Some ideas have been thrown around, including some work on Snake River. Now that I am back in Jackson, I can give more attention to the event. 

That's all I have for now. Check back for more updates in a week or two. Until then, stay mellow everyone.

Felipe

It's warming up in Jackson

Hello everyone,

It's been a while since I last wrote a blog post. Over the past two weeks, I have been busy working on a Sage-grouse document. The Fish and Wildlife Service has asked the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to compile an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Sage-grouse - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0M8pZnNlnI. At the unit level, Bridger-Teton National Forest, Thunderbasin National Grassland, and Medicine Bow National Forest compiled an Analysis of the Management Situation (AMS) to relay information to complete the EIS. In its entirety, the AMS is about 260 pages with sections from different divisions of the land units such as forestry, recreation, water, wildlife, etc. My role in the project was to bring all the sections together and edit the document. It is interesting to see the coordination between different agencies and land units to get the document done. There were lots of conference calls and emails being sent back and forth. We are nearly done with the document, which I am very excited about!

Enough about Sage-grouse, I have also been helping out with Teton 10 - http://www.teton10.org/. Teton 10 is a Jackson Hole initiative to get kids more active. Teton 10 acts as a platform for kids to find organizations that are holding programs in the Teton area. Teton 10 keeps track of all the programs the kids do and recognizes the kids for their involvement. There are 10 categories of programs, hence Teton 10, that kids can participate in. When all 10 categories are completed, kids are eligible to apply for scholarships when they are in high school. I have created a Facebook page for Teton 10 - http://www.facebook.com/#!/tetonten. I would appreciate if you all liked it if you have a Facebook profile!

Two Saturdays ago, I represented Teton 10 at the Jackson Eco-Fair. Approximately 60 people took brochures to learn more about Teton 10. There were also about 6 people that left their contact information because they were interested in collaborating with Teton 10. There were many positive things said about Teton 10. I also helped Teddi, the Teton 10 program coordinator, at the Party for Trails on Wednesday. The party was organized by Friends of Pathways to recognize and celebrate the opportunities on our pathways and trails. At the party, we saw mostly people that are already very involved in the community. It was great to make new contacts that are interested in Teton 10.

For the next few weeks, I'm going to concentrate my work on Teton 10 and other community programs.  In less than a month, I will go to Guard School to get my Red Card for wildland firefighting, so my responsibilities will change a little bit.

Outside of work, I have been trying to get more involved in the community. I volunteered at a Cinco de Mayo event for the Latino Resource Center two weekends ago. I have looked into volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, so hopefully I will help with a build soon. It's warming up in Jackson. The beautiful weather has allowed me to bike to work. I hope to get out to Grand Teton and Yellowstone before it gets too busy in Jackson. Stay tuned as I update you more about my internship!

Cheers,
Felipe

May Day: A modern-day gold rush

During the past two days, I accompanied David, one of the Jackson district rangers, on his patrol during May Day. May Day is the first day of May and signifies the removal of winter travel restrictions on forest roads. When the restrictions are lifted, people have access to elk antlers that have been shed during winter on forest land. Antlers are collected by May Day participants then usually sold to the furniture industry. For many participants, May Day is an annual event. While many do it to supplement their income, many also do it as tradition.

Yesterday, I walked down the line of cars at Flat Creek with David, as he answered questions for May Day participants. In total, there were approzimately 80 vehicles at the end of Elk Refuge Road. People brought ATVs and horses to use in their mission to grab as many antlers as possible. Horses are the most popular method to get around the forest during May Day.

The National Elk Refuge borders Bridger-Teton National Forest. The Elk Refuge Road leads into Flat Creek Road and Curtis Canyon Road, both forest roads. The restrictions were not lifted until 8am this morning, so the participants had to line up at the end of Elk Refuge Road. Most of the participants had questions about access to certain areas of the forest. Many hoped to get information that would give them an advantage over other participants. People also enter through other parts of the forests. Some of these areas lift restrictions at midnight, giving those participants a time advantage. Most of the participants at Flat Creek were anxious to begin, as they knew others had entered the forest at midnight.

At 6am this morning, I drove out with David and Kerry, the wildlife biologist for the district, to patrol Flat Creek Road. We drove through Elk Refuge Road, where people were preparing to enter the forest at 8am. Once we arrived at Flat Creek, we came upon a handful of people that had entered the forest at midnight through other routes. Most had a few antlers. I only witnessed one participant that came away with no antlers, despite coming into the forest at midnight. The patrol didn't bring up many issues and from what I have heard, it usually does not. The biggest issues are people taking antlers from the Elk Refuge, which is not allowed, and people taking the heads of winter kills without tags from Wyoming Game and Fish. The second issue is usually resolved by people purchasing tags after they take the winter kill.

A winter kill

Around 8am, we turned around on Flat Creek Road and headed back to the forest entrance. As we arrived at the end of Flat Creek Road, people that had lined up on Elk Refuge Road had begun to head into the forest. People came in droves with their horses. There were also many that hiked into the forest or road on ATVs or mountain bikes. At the same time, many people that entered the forest at midnight through different routes were exiting the forest at Flat Creek Road.

Kerry had described May Day as a "modern-day gold rush". I can't find a better way to describe it. The event is important for many people. They were determined to enter the forest today and leave with a sack full of antlers. Many did but many also left empty-handed. The unlucky wants won't let their lack of antlers deter them from returning next year. They will be back, scheming and planning on how to do better than this year.

Two of the lucky ones that walked off with lots of antlers.

Bald eagle along Snake River in Grand Teton NP

Let's celebrate our natural heritage!

I spent Earth Day kayaking on Snake River

Yesterday, I went on a kayaking trip down Snake River in Grand Teton National Park and reflected on my first two weeks in Jackson. It was a wonderful way to celebrate Earth Day. The sun was bright and the water was calm. I am lucky to be so close to so much public land. Bridger-Teton National Forest, Grand Teton National Park, and Yellowstone National Park are all in close proximity. I don't hear people talk about our natural capital very often. I ask everyone to consider how much Yellowstone National Park is worth to you? Yellowstone, along with other public land, belongs to us. Of course, there are restrictions on what you can do on public land, but it is there for our benefit. We should celebrate our natural heritage.

A bald eagle along Snake River 

In my role with Bridger-Teton National Forest, I get to work with the public. Along with other community partners, I will work to provide opportunities for everyone at Bridger-Teton. Last week, I attended a meeting for Teton 10 (http://www.teton10.org/), a new program that allows Jackson youth to access outdoor opportunities. Teton 10 is not a organization per se. It's a platform for kids to find recreational opportunities. Teton 10 is one of many ways that people can access public land in the Jackson area. At the meeting, there were many other organizations that work primarily in our public lands or near them.

 A Teton 10 event in action. Mary Cernicek of Bridger-Teton National Forest educates kids on campfire safety.

I understand that not everyone lives near Yellowstone or any national parks. I ask you to take a look in your town and research public land near you. In Worthington, Ohio, Highbanks Metro Park is a five minute drive from my parents' house. I understand that it is difficult to compare Highbanks to Yellowstone but I have always had a great time running, walking, and recreating in Highbanks. A fun fact about Highbanks is that like Grand Teton National Park, it also houses bald eagles. If there is public land near you, I'm sure you can find enjoyment in it. The Teton 10 meeting also introduced me to unique ways to use our public land. For example. one organization is planning an event in which kids will read a book then go on a hike that mimics events from the book.  How cool is that?

I should rephrase my earlier question and ask how much are our public lands worth to you? I hope that I can help people find enjoyment in our public lands while I am with Bridger-Teton. I also hope that I have motivated some people to get out to a park and have some fun. Let's celebrate our natural heritage!