Southeast Coast Network News September 2019

Capece Leads Webinar on Diversity

The Southeast Natural Resource Advisory Committee (SENRAC) hosted a webinar entitled "Enhancing Diversity in Natural Resource Management" on August 21. Paula Capece, Network Data Manager and Ecologist, led the webinar along with guest speaker Jamila Blake of The Wildlife Society. The presentation provided an opportunity for discussion on a vision for the future of the science and resource management workforce, highlighted some examples of programs going on in other agencies and organizations, and introduced the Diversity Joint Venture to which the National Park Service is a formal partner.

From left, Wylie Paxton, Allyson Arulanantham, and Elizabeth Rico, SECN Biological Technician, conducting vegetation monitoring at Cape Hatteras National Seashore earlier this summer.

NPS photo / Forbes Boyle

Working with the Fire Team

The Fire Effects Monitoring crew from Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM) provided field assistance in July to the SECN Terrestrial Vegetation Monitoring Program at Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Wylie Paxton and Allyson Arulanantham performed annual quality-assurance measurements on four SECN vegetation plots during the week-long effort. These quality assurance / quality control plots are sampled twice by two different vegetation teams during the same survey event, and data from both teams are compared in order to examine elements of the protocol that are difficult to replicate, and to determine ways to improve the field methods. The GRSM crew also assisted with vegetation plot sampling on other SECN sites located within Cape Hatteras National Seashore during the work week.

Learning the Fundamentals

Wildlife Biologist Michael Parrish attended the NPS Fundamentals Program at Grand Canyon National Park last month. The course is an eight-day training that provides hands-on experience both inside and outside the classroom for NPS employees in their first three years of permanent status. NPS employees learn more about NPS, explore current issues, network with peers, and form a strong foundation for their careers.

Jean Butchart, a Hydrologic Intern at Fort Pulaski National Monument, assisted network Hydrologic Technician Daniel McCay with the Sonde data collection earlier this summer. Above, Jean checks out a sea squirt on the sonde at SECN's fixed station site on Lazaretto Creek.

NPS photo / Daniel McCay

In the Field

Upcoming in September:

• Continuous water-quality data will be collected at Congaree National Park on September 4.
• Benchmark Installations are scheduled for September at Cumberland Island National Seashore. Dates have not been finalized.

Completed in August:

• Terrestrial vegetation monitoring was completed at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
• Coastal Ecologist Lisa Cowart Baron assisted Fort Frederica National Monument with the installation of a no-wake buoy near the park's dock. This was an attempt to help the park reduce wave activity and erosion along the park's shoreline.
• Coastal program Intern Kelsey Mack attended the first session of the Climate Fundamentals Academy Workshop presented by the Association of Climate Change Officers held in Orlando, Florida. The workshop assists participants in training for the Certified Climate Change Professional (CC-P) credential exams.
• Continuous water-quality data was collected at Fort Pulaski National Monument, Cumberland Island National Seashore, Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, Fort Matanzas National Monument and Canaveral National Seashore.

Upcoming Meetings:

• Coastal Ecologist Lisa Cowart Baron, Aquatic Ecologist Eric Starkey, Botanist Forbes Boyle, and Biological Technician Elizabeth Rico will attend the NPS Inventory and Monitoring "Visioning Jam Session" from September 30-October 4 in Boulder City, Nevada. These meetings are intended to elicit feedback from all levels of I&M staff and build a shared vision for a highly successful I&M program.
• Southeastern Natural Resources Training is October 28-31 in Asheville, North Carolina. Meeting and hotel registration are now open. Contact Lisa McInnis ([e-mail]) for more information on meeting logistics. Contact Brian Gregory ([e-mail]) if someone in your program needs travel funds to attend.

• The Fiscal Year 2020 Southeast Coast Network Steering Committee and Board Meeting is scheduled for November 13-14 in St. Marys, Georgia at the city’s visitor center. Meetings will be on both days and a tour of Cumberland Island National Seashore is planned for the second day. More information will follow soon.

Publications

The Southeast Coast Network recently published the following report:

• Wadeable Stream Suitability Assessment for Long-Term Monitoring at Horseshoe Bend National Military Park

Occupational hazard! An unidentified snake pokes it head out from the pipe used to house the new data sonde located at Bannister Bridge in Congaree National Park.

NPS photo / Daniel McCay