Sagehen News

New bird species in basin.

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 11:41:32 PDT

Hey,

We now have a new bird species for the sagehen basin, photos below. He arrived here Monday and has been active in the evenings near the multi road intersection coming into sagehen just off of 89. We are looking for someone to adopt him! He is very aggressive; but, seems used to humans.

--Jeff

New addition to the Sagehen teaching collection.

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:13:36 PDT

The Forest Service is moving to new digs, & there's no room for the mounted bear. So they kindly donated it to Sagehen's teaching collection.

We couldn't resist having a little fun with it while Mark & Barb Stromberg visited from Hastings Reserve.

New cleaning strategy.

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:13:43 PDT

Thanks to volunteer Susi Lippuner [PDF] & Biokleen, Sagehen is now exclusively using low-impact cleaning products, aiding in our ongoing effort to reduce our impact on the Sagehen Basin.

Biokleen generously donated dish soap, laundry soap & household cleaner for station visitors to use. Employing plant extracts as the active ingredients, the products are natural, non-toxic & biodegradable with no harsh perfumes. Since Sagehen's water supply is borrowed from a nearby spring then returned to the ground through septic fields, we are concerned that what we put into the drains does not negatively impact the basin ecology.

Visitor response has been enthusiastic, with younger users particularly excited. Whether due to the quality of the products, clearer consciences about the chemistry, or some combination of the two, the station is staying cleaner than it has in the past.

DRI to measure gravity in Sagehen Basin.

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:12:50 PDT

A DRI team led by Sam Earman installed gravitometer mounts in the Sagehen Basin recently. Amazingly, minute changes in gravitation can be use to track groundwater.

2009 Sagehen Summer Speaker Series scheduled.

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:22:11 PDT

In partnership with the Truckee River Watershed Council & in celebration of the COPUS Year of Science, we've posted the schedule for this year's Sagehen Summer Speaker Series. The first talk is July 9.

Wolverine in Colorado after 90-year absence

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 21:11:41 PDT

Does this sound familiar?

In December, conservation biologists had outfitted the young wolverine, which is part of a reintroduction program farther north, with a tracking collar and watched him make the 500-mile (805-kilometer) journey from the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, crossing rugged landscapes and even busy Interstate-80

This guy's journey from Wyoming is about the same as the California wolverine's must have been from Idaho...only documented this time.

Article.

Professor Karban's work stirs controversy.

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:06:40 PDT

Professor Rick Karban's work on plant communication & behavior is getting a lot of press & stirring up controversy lately, as usual.

In a recent paper in Ecology Letters, he & Kaori Shiojiri suggest that plants have self-recognition, the first step required for several things we typically associate with higher animals; like immune systems & kin selection, for instance.

Here are some links to recent articles:
- No-Brainer Behavior
- Plants "can recognize themselves"
- Plant communication: Sagebrush engage in self-recognition and warn of danger.

You can also watch a video of Professor Karban discussing his work at he Sagehen Summer Speaker Series.

Unusual bird sighting.

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:37:25 PDT

Walter Clevenger & Scott Crosbie, the MAPS project bird banders, caught an unusual, east coast bird here on Sunday: Chestnut-sided Warbler.

Here's Scott's note:

Hey Jeff,

On Sunday Walter and I caught a Chestnut-sided Warbler - this is an east coast species and was the first record of it being sighted in Nevada County. A picture of the bird was posted on the Western Field Ornithologists website.

Thought you would like to know - big news for bird brains. If you want to post a picture on your website that's great.

Cheers,
Scott

Experimental Forest Celebration

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:48:22 PDT

Here's an article about the recent Experimental Forest Celebration at Sagehen, commemorating the 100th anniversary of Forest Service research.

The weather was pretty harsh, but it definitely underscored that our Master Plan is needed to support station research & education efforts, rather than being just some kind of pie-in-the-sky boondoggle.

Hwy-89 Stewardship Team to dedicate new animal undercrossing.

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:31:48 PDT

From "Sierraville (California) Highway 89 stewardship team: ahead of the curve":

"Highway 89 stretches from north to south across California, through Sierra County from Sierraville to Truckee. The highway bisects an important portion of the Loyalton-Truckee deer herd, as well as important habitat for forest carnivores, amphibians and other wildlife on the Tahoe National Forest.

By 2002, several groups were working independently to investigate different aspects of animal-vehicle collisions along the highway.

These groups and their efforts were brought together in 2002 when they were catalyzed by the USDA Forest Service into a stewardship team to work together collaboratively to improve the high wildlife mortality and increasing habitat fragmentation on the highway."

Join the Team as they dedicate their first completed mitigation structure: an animal underpass at Kyburz Flat. directions & more info about event in invitation.

More:

Hwy-89 Stewardship Team videos.
News about the Team.

Wildflower season begins.

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Fri, 15 May 2009 11:28:10 PDT

The wildflowers are starting!

In the past couple days I've seen buttercups, sun-cups, waterleaf, squaw carpet, steer's heads & dandelions.

Al Grigarick has updated his great on-line wildflower & conifer guides if you need help with identification.

Remote camera pics.

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Thu, 07 May 2009 18:09:34 PDT

Today, I retrieved the remote cameras we set up near the bear cub dens. No pictures of the cubs, but this cute little guy showed up quite a bit:

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Tue, 05 May 2009 15:33:30 PDT

Event: Sagehen Experimental Forest Celebration
Location: Sagehen Experimental Forest, 11616 Sagehen Rd; Truckee, CA 96160
Date: June 2-3, 2009

RSVP and send registration fee by May 20, 2009 to: Valerie Hipkins

The US Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station is hosting a Centennial Celebration for US Forest Service Research & Development at the Sagehen Experimental Forest on June 2-3, 2009.

You are invited to this event which is being held both to honor 100 years of Forest Service research at Experimental Forests and Ranges across the country and to develop a long-term research vision for the Sagehen Experimental Forest. Please see the tri-fold invitation for details.

For those who are visually impaired, please contact Larry Rabin to request a Microsoft Word version of this invitation.

Bear trouble.

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Wed, 06 May 2009 13:40:49 PDT

One of the new bear cubs is starting to cause us trouble.

We've been seeing the cub around the station: running across the road, grazing in the meadow, sniffing around in the woods behind the house. We figured he's hanging around here because there is still too much snow for them to disperse away from the low meadows where the only food is right now.

While it's always thrilling to see a wild animal, all our other bears are ghosts & we worry that this might mean that he is not as wild as we thought.

The other night, a bear began tearing at the house to get at a seed cache that rodents apparently made inside the walls. He also uncovered our septic tank. We chased him off without catching sight of him.

He returned the past two nights. We quickly chased him away again & this time, we positively identified him as the same bear.

These are a couple shots of his left ear tag. The radio tag in his right ear is missing.

Cujo lives!

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:24:24 PDT

Today, I decided it was time to clean the fishhouse channel & glass for the first time this spring, now that the snow is gone & the fish are likely to be coming out.

I'm happy to report that our resident Lahontan Cutthroat Trout, Cujo, lived through the winter! He/she is now officially a wild fish. I also got a shot of this rather large Piute Sculpin.

Also, the dipper nest above the fishhouse channel has been renovated in anticipation of some new nestlings.

You can keep track of the fish & the dipper on our fishcam.

Kidzone schedules Family Camp at Sagehen.

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 13:53:20 PDT

Kidzone Family Camp

August 14-16 , 2009

This summer, the Kidzone Museum in Truckee, California will offer a family camp and several kids' camps. Kidzone Family Camp at Lake Tahoe/Truckee - Kidzone Museum programs fill-up quickly, so early registration could be important.

Family Camp will take place August 14 - 16, at the University of California, Berkeley facility, in Truckee, CA, known as Sagehen Creek Field Station. Activities will include: hiking, bugology, fishology, watersheds, camping, making friends, arts and yummy foods. For the second year, Kidzone family camp with feature Micheal Ross as guest educator. Micheal has the amazing gift of being able to teach natural history to adults, as well as young children. He is a prolific author of books about teaching children in nature. Kidzone Family Camp is open to kids of all ages, with their parents. The price for a family of 4 is $350. One parent and one child can attend for $125. An additional person with a family pays $70 to attend.

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 17:16:28 PDT

This week, Jeff & I were in Washington D.C. with an OBFS delegation, sharing information with our elected representatives about the need to fund biological research.

While we brainstormed together before our first meetings, what appeared to be the entire populace of the district lined up for Ben & Jerry's ice cream, for some reason.

We were part of a coalition that included--in addition to OBFS--AIBS, ESA & CoFarm, among other groups. We all received an attentive reception from most representative's offices.

Two years ago when Jeff did this same Congressional Visits Day event, one representative browbeat the group. This was the first time in his long tenure on the hill that field biologists had visited him. He is a biologist & was actually very happy to see the group, so we learned that letters & visits are very powerful, so don't hesitate to get involved!

Baby bears (& other animals) still in area.

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:38:11 PDT

We received an update from CADF&G's Sara Holm about an early April flight to check on our road ecology project deer herd radio collars. Apparently the scientists were also able to check on the baby bear cubs released at & near Sagehen this winter:

"...they've all been picked up by fixed wing telem, 2 stayed in den, 2 were close, all are still in the vicinity."

The road ecology project also sent us some interesting photos from other remote cameras the other day. Here's one:

Sagehen wolverine news.

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:26:09 PDT

The journal Northwest Science has just published a research paper by Katie Moriarty, et al about the Sagehen wolverine.

The article tells the story of the discovery of the wolverine, as well as the fascinating methods used to confirm the animal's species, gender, population source & personal range.

Here's another recent article about a sighting of the wolverine, & a video of the animal.

Geomorph course registration opens

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 09:46:44 PDT

Geomorphic and Ecological Fundamentals for River and Stream Restoration

Sagehen Creek Field Station, Truckee, California 17-21 August 2009

This five-day introductory course emphasizes understanding geomorphic and ecological process as a sound basis for planning and designing river restoration, covering general principles and case studies from a wide range of environments. The course approaches river restoration from a watershed-scale and longer-time-scale context, incorporating insights from recent research in fluvial geomorphology and ecology, developing predictive connections between objectives and actions, learning from built restoration projects, and developing restoration strategies and innovative management approaches based on understanding of underlying causes of channel or ecosystem change, rather than prescriptive approaches. The course includes field trips to the Truckee River and streams in the Lake Tahoe Basin, and workshops on stream restoration problems faced by participants for discussion and ideas on analytical approaches and resources.

The course, now in its 15th successful year, will be held at Sagehen Creek Field Station, 15 mi north of Lake Tahoe (45 min from Reno airport). The station combines a beautiful natural setting with excellent research and teaching facilities, free wireless internet, and excellent meals. Participants can stay on-site ($20/night) or commute from hotels in Truckee (15 minutes). With on-site lodging, the inclusive price (registration, course materials, text, lodging and all meals for five days, and continuing ed credit from UC) is $2,080.

The course is taught by leading researchers and practitioners in the field, who bring cutting-edge expertise and methods to bear on planning, design, and evaluation of river restoration. Collectively, the instructors have broad experience on rivers in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Principal Instructors:

Matt Kondolf, Professor of Environmental Planning and Geography at UC Berkeley, with experience in planning and evaluating river restoration, sediment management in regulated rivers, and habitat needs for spawning by salmon and trout.

Peter Wilcock, Professor of Geography and Environmental Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, authority on sediment transport and integration of fluvial geomorphic analyses in river restoration design and planning, leader of the Stream Restoration program at the National Center of Earth-Surface Dynamics.

Mary Power, Professor of Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley, well-known for her pioneering work on stream food webs, aquatic ecology, and implications for restoration planning.

Jack Schmidt, Professor of Stream Geomorphology at Utah State, authority on geomorphic changes to rivers of western North America and implications for river restoration planning and prioritization.

Mitch Swanson, president of Swanson Hydrology and Geomorphology, has conducted analyses of stream processes and designed successful stream and meadow restoration projects throughout the Lake Tahoe basin.

Scott McBain, principal of McBain and Trush, has led restoration efforts on large and small rivers in California and elsewhere in western North America, including the Trinity, San Joaquin, and Tuolumne.

Other Instructors

Ken Adams, geologist, Desert Research Institute, authority on geologic context of restoration in region

Matt Kiesse, River Run Consultants, design of restoration projects in Tahoe basin

Chad Gourley, Otis Bay Consultants, planning and design of restoration of Truckee River

Jim Litchfield, Fluid Concepts, design of Wingfield Park (Reno0, other whitewater parks

Tom Taylor, fish ecologist, Entrix consultants

Dave Shaw, Balance Hydrologics, Truckee, stream gauging/sediment sampling/surveying

Text and Course Materials

Included in the course fee is the text, Tools in Fluvial Geomorphology (Wiley 2003), lecture notes, and two CDs of spreadsheets for calculating sediment transport and channel dimensions, along with pdfs of relevant papers and reports.

Other Courses in Stream Restoration

Other shortcourses taught by the same instruction team (in various combinations) also emphasize understanding geomorphic and ecological process as a sound basis for planning and designing river restoration. The introductory courses emphasize integration of hydrology, hydraulics, sediment transport, geomorphology, aquatic ecology, fisheries, and riparian ecology, and include field activities in degraded, unimpacted, and reconstructed channels. An advanced course focuses explicitly on geomorphic, sediment transport, and riparian vegetation principles applied to channel design.

Introductory courses offered in 2009:

> Duke Farms in Hillsborough, New Jersey, April 27 - May 1

> Cromwell Valley Park near Baltimore, June 1-5

> Logan, Utah, July 13-17

Advanced design course:

> Logan, Utah, August 10-14

Winter use increasing.

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:20:19 PDT

With the new snowcat, we're able to keep the station access road open & reach the upper basin more regularly. Winter station use is already beginning to rise dramatically.

We've had a number of classes & groups, including Bay-area school kids, Highlands Institute, DRI hydrology graduate student training & recruiting.

UNR has added mercury-monitoring for streamwater, wet & dry atmospheric deposition.

DRI is adding to our Keck project sensing arrays, including snow pillows, precipitation gauges & much-needed technical support.

The Keck Project & Sagehen researcher Chris Skalka are developing desperately-needed data backsides.

DRI researchers are looking at black carbon collection & migration in the snowpack.

Bear cub release at Sagehen.

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:44:31 PST

CA Dept. of Fish & Game released a pair of twin bear cubs here at Sagehen this week.

The pair were orphaned when their mother was killed after repeatedly raiding chicken coops. Here are some links to media coverage of the event:

Sagehen's photos of the event.
Sierra Sun
Reno Gazette Journal
KOLO8-TV, Reno
Sacramento Bee
News10, Sacramento
KNRV, News4

Wolverine program shot at Sagehen.

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 11:48:55 PST

"Nature" is doing a half-hour program about Wolverines.

The opening sequence was shot this week at Sagehen, high in the basin above the recent rain line. Joe Pontecorvo came up to shoot the piece. Take a look at his amazing work at his website.

The sequence dramatizes Katie Moriarty's accidental discovery of the first Wolverine ever photographed in California, & the first documented sighting since 1922.

Expanding network.

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 16:22:45 PST

Today marks a major milestone for us. At this moment, I am blogging from the upper Sagehen basin, where for the first time ever, all of our meteorological towers are on-line simultaneously!

We've spent many hours & days over the years working to get to this point. We've finally reached it thanks to the efforts & contributions of many folks, including the Keck Hydrowatch team, Meraki, Doug Boyle & Brad Lyles at DRI, Kevin Browne & Marshall Minobe. Thanks so much everyone!

You can log on & check out the network here.

Best wishes for 2009!

noreply@blogger.com (Faerthen Felix) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:20:59 PST