A year and a half ago, I started my job at CSERC as the staff Biologist. I have really enjoyed my time here and have learned so much about our forests and wildlife and how to better protect them as I move through my career. When reflecting on my time here at CSERC, I have been thinking about some of the most memorable moments here; wildlife surveys and stakeholder engagement are things that come to mind.
We went to many locations throughout the National Forest from Ackerson Meadow area up Highway 120, Herring Creek Loop on 108, and Ebbetts Pass on Highway 4, searching high and low for Pacific fisher, Sierra Nevada red fox, and wolverine. The wildlife camera survey work up at Ebbetts Pass was hands down my favorite survey location. The high elevation in the mid-summer was a nice escape from the summer heat, the wildflowers were still blooming, and we hiked a couple of miles to resupply all of our cameras. Not only was the hiking outstanding, but the diversity of wildlife that we captured in photos was the best I had seen at CSERC; we even captured a porcupine on camera!
While setting out the wildlife cameras was likely my favorite task, I think that stakeholder group participation was the most eye-opening thing I was introduced to during my time at CSERC. Our YSS stakeholder group is such a great example of how people of very different backgrounds, needs, and perspectives can come together to find common ground to best protect the things that they all care about.
I am now moving to a new job in Colorado so that I can gain more experience in field research. I will be studying the effects of management practices on Burrowing Owl populations. I will bring with me all the valuable things I learned at CSERC as I move on to my new experiences.