Land Management
Sagebrush
Demography - Four
college interns, under the direction of ESER scientists, began
collecting data this summer for a sagebrush demography study on the
INL. Data collected, which includes sagebrush size, growth, density, and
distribution within a representative sample of sagebrush stands,
will
add tremendously to DOE’s ability to make knowledgeable land
management and land use decisions. A simple study to establish a
working knowledge of the age dynamics of sagebrush stands will yield
information useful to land management issues including; fire risk
and fuel management, post-fire vegetation recovery, rangeland
health, wildlife habitat management, and land-use planning.
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Information
Long-Term
Vegetation Study - Four
college interns have spent three months this summer, under the
direction of ESER scientists, collecting data for the Long-Term
Vegetation Study (LTV) at INL. Ecological research
at the INL began in 1950 with the establishment of the LTV study.
This is perhaps DOE's oldest ecological data set and one of the
most detailed vegetation data sets in the West
Two
linear vegetation transects cross the INL from southwest to
northeast and from southeast to northwest. Data collected along
these linear transects are used to monitor long-term changes in
vegetation and the impacts of INL activities on the natural
environment. Although the LTV study was initially
established to monitor effects of operations at the INL, and still
provides that function, it has become one of the more significant
data sets for understanding vegetation dynamics of the sagebrush
steppe.
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Education
War on Weeds -
The War on Weeds Project is a “learn by doing” project that employs
students for an six-week period to map noxious weeds using Global
Positioning System (GPS) units and to create weed maps for the Idaho
State Department of Agriculture. This is the sixth year ESER
has sponsored the program and the fifth year and the Idaho
Department of Agriculture has provided grant money.
During the 2006 War on Weeds Project, eight students from Butte
County, under the direction of the ESER Program, mapped noxious
weeds on the INL and in Butte County. Area mapped during the 2006
season included:
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Rocky Mountain Adventure Summer Camp
For Kids:
During the week of June 12-16, the
Museum of Idaho, in cooperation with the ESER Program, held the
Annual Rocky Mountain Adventure Science Camp. During this day camp
for students from fourth through ninth grade, daily field trips
provided participants an opportunity to investigate southeastern
Idaho's forest, marsh, stream, lava field, and desert habitats.
Hands-on activities provided experience in science investigation and
approach. We had fun, made new friends, and gained an appreciation
for Idaho's great outdoors. Forty-nine students attended this
year's camp.
For More Information
For
Teachers:
During the weeks of July
17-20 and July 24 - 27, the Museum of Idaho, in cooperation with the
ESER Program, held the Annual Rocky Mountain Adventure Workshop for
Teachers. Four two-day sessions provided continuing education
credit through Idaho State University. Forty-one teachers
attended at least one of the sessions.
The landscape surrounding Idaho Falls
is unsurpassed in all of North America. Known for its
diversity, the city is bordered by sagebrush steppe, mountain,
wetland, and stream habitats. The Rocky Mountain Adventure for
Teachers provided an opportunity for educators to visit and study
each of these unique natural environments. The goal of the
workshops was promote a passion for these habitats in each of the
attendees and to provide them with new educational resources to
foster that passion in their students.
For More Information
Nature Probe website -
Idaho Nature Probe is a free, web-based, interactive project designed to
engage students and citizen scientists in authentic scientific
processes. The website, created in partnership between ESER, Wildlife
Conservation Society, Idaho NatureMapping and Idaho Fish and Game,
connects Idaho students and scientists and provides a resource to Idaho
teachers in fulfilling the State science standards.
.
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Conservation Management
Plan
Biodiversity Inventory and
Analysis of the INL Developmental Corridor - Five summer interns have
been working with Wildlife Conservation Society scientists as field technicians this summer on a collaborative
Wildlife Conservation Society/ESER project to develop a conservation
management plan for the Idaho National Laboratory. The students
spent three months at INL conducting point counts for breeding
birds, vegetation sampling, reptile trapping, small mammal trapping,
bat surveys, and weasel trapping.
The goal of the biodiversity inventory is to identify and map
occurrences of native plants, rare plant populations, native
animals, and rare animal populations and habitat needs within and
adjacent to approximately 123 square miles within the designated INL
development corridor. This will provide DOE-Idaho with an account of
rare species and ecosystems on the INL in order to make informed resource management and land use decisions.
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Preliminary Progress
2006
- Around 100 pygmy rabbit
burrow systems were found in the southeast portion of the INL.
- Five previously unknown
sage grouse leks were located.
- Eleven burrowing owl
breeding pairs were located.
- Around 120 breeding bird
surveys were conducted.
- Around 300 Reptiles have
been sampled.
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- 103 Townsend Big Eared
Bats were found wintering in Rattlesnake Cave.
- Three Bats were found
using Rattlesnake Cave as a summer roost.
- 800-1000 passes of
bats were detected with echolocation equipment.
- Small mammal and
weasel trapping and vegetation surveys were conducted at about 50
plots.
- Field data on
substrate and vegetation cover have been collected at a number of
locations to facilitate the development of a vegetation
classification system and map.
For More Information
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