Summer has arrived on the sagebrush steppe of southwest Wyoming! Frosty mornings and spring snows feel far away in the baking, dry heat of long summer days. Soils are drying out and the spring annuals I so enjoyed only a month ago have dried up and blown away. The yellow highlights of mock goldenweed (Stenotus Read more about Infiltration: Summer in Sage Country – Rachel Renne[…]
Nome’s only radio station has ruined other variety stations for me. I mean, in the span of 15 minutes this one small station pumps out a current pop hit, follows up with some Rolling Stones, moves to the top 5 songs from 1957, and finishes up the time slot with an elderly man telling an Read more about Nome FM – Adam Eichenwald[…]
Western Research Fellow’s attended their annual retreat from the 23-26th of June. The retreat provides an opportunity for Fellows to check in with Ucross staff and share their progress with each other. The Fellows gathered on Friday Afternoon at Sheridan College’s Spear-O Mountain Campus. There they explored the streams, lakes, forests, and pastures of the Read more about WRF Retreat[…]
A year ago, I traveled out to Wyoming to visit a few properties managed by The Nature Conservancy and test a new field method for measuring soil carbon content. Our initial results from last year’s work suggested we were on to something. The method worked! We were able to successfully use just a simple handheld Read more about Measuring Soil Carbon – Dan Kane[…]
Although Adam was not able to join us at the Western Research Fellowship Retreat this last weekend, he did put together a fantastic presentation to share with the Sheridan/Gillette community during the Mountain Lecture Series event at Spear-O Mountain Campus. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
Alaska is big. Very big. You won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the pharmacist, but that’s just peanuts to Alaska. (Man, the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy really hits it on the nose when it comes to attempts to Read more about Alaska is Big….Really Big – Adam Eichenwald[…]
I’m writing from Red Canyon Ranch, a working ranch and nature preserve owned by the Nature Conservancy. I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to live at the Ranch this summer while working with Conservancy staff on questions related to beaver restoration and water management. Red Canyon Ranch covers some 5,000 acres in the foothills of Read more about Beaver Restoration and Water Management in Wyoming – Austin Rempel[…]
Hello from Bill, Wyoming! I am currently writing from within the Thunder Basin National Grassland where one of my research sites is located. This is by far the most remote place I have ever stayed, in fact Wikipedia says the total population is 11, including pets. I’ve already spent a lot of time on the Read more about Take the Road Less Traveled – Jessica Swindon[…]
“One time I was at my gym in Banff running on the treadmill and I saw a deer giving birth, no one else noticed and I didn’t want to say a thing because I knew everyone would rush over with their cameras. After the fawn was able to take a few steps I exclaimed – Read more about Coexistence in the Northern Rockies – Ross Donihue[…]
Hello all, I am writing to you from Lander – a small town in Central Wyoming that has already won me over. Since my arrival two weeks ago, I have been interning with The Nature Conservancy as a Summer Research Fellow. My summer research will be focused on the feasibility of a decision support tool Read more about The Popo Agie (bonus points for pronouncing this one right!) – Carli Kierstad[…]
Calving bison on the prairie, with nothing but grass and sky as far as the eye can see. It is a scene which, without knowing any better, could have been identical to what I would have seen if I stood on this ridge three hundred years ago. For anyone who knows better, however, it is Read more about Bison Revival – Anthony Bell[…]
What a thrill it is to be back in Wyoming! I arrived in Laramie two weeks ago, shyly crept my Connecticut license plates onto a side street, and dashed off into the field—that is, the sagebrush steppe of southwest Wyoming. Three hours west of Laramie, we turned off the interstate onto highway 191 north. When Read more about The Early Botanist gets the Snow – Rachel Renne[…]
Remember how I said a few posts ago that you don’t want to mess with a female gyrfalcon? Yeah, well one of the female falcons here is absolutely psychotic. When the Peregrine Fund field technicians were doing an aerial survey, she actually flew out and dive-bombed the helicopter. They had to do some quick aerial Read more about Gyrfalcon Attacks Helicopter! – Adam Eichenwald[…]
Fun fact: a gyrfalcon flying at 200 mph hits HARD. Plus, it likes to pluck the feathers from birds it kills. So in the spots where a gyrfalcon has attacked, it looks like a bird exploded. Exhibit A: this picture of me taking a GPS point at what I will now refer to as a Read more about The Batman Effect – Adam Eichenwald[…]
I interrupt my own blog posts to bring you this special news bulletin: yesterday I made a fox poop itself in fear. I was collecting data near a dirt road and watched, bemused, as a red fox came jogging up the path toward me. I had my camera and started snapping pictures. “Wow, it’s so Read more about Fox Time – Adam Eichenwald[…]