Last updated: February 26, 2024
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Intern Spotlight: Joseph Batom
NPS Photo/Ruby Sainz
Meet Joseph Batom, a Water Quality and Wetland Monitoring intern working at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area through Environment for the Americas!
Since I was young, I’ve had an interest in water and the natural world. I love watching how water flows through the contours of a landscape, and I love the organisms that inhabit and use aquatic environments, from fish to herptiles and birds.
This interest led me to pursue a degree in the natural sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz where I obtained a Bachelor of Science in marine biology. Following my graduation, I was looking to begin my career with a position that immersed me in nature, enabling me to be engaged with the marine environment, restoration ecology, and long-term monitoring projects. Upon finding this position, I was ecstatic at the prospect of working at Golden Gate National Recreation Area. As a lifelong Bay Area resident, this park is very special to me. To be a scientist in an area that I’m very fond of seemed wonderful, and I jumped at the opportunity.
How did you find yourself at the National Park Service?
Since I was young, I’ve had an interest in water and the natural world. I love watching how water flows through the contours of a landscape, and I love the organisms that inhabit and use aquatic environments, from fish to herptiles and birds.
This interest led me to pursue a degree in the natural sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz where I obtained a Bachelor of Science in marine biology. Following my graduation, I was looking to begin my career with a position that immersed me in nature, enabling me to be engaged with the marine environment, restoration ecology, and long-term monitoring projects. Upon finding this position, I was ecstatic at the prospect of working at Golden Gate National Recreation Area. As a lifelong Bay Area resident, this park is very special to me. To be a scientist in an area that I’m very fond of seemed wonderful, and I jumped at the opportunity.
NPS Photo/Ruby Sainz
What has been the highlight of your experience as an intern with the National Park Service?
Thus far, the highlight of my experience as an intern has been learning more about the Muir Woods Salmon Habitat Enhancement Project and learning how streams flow. The project aims to provide and enhance habitat for the endangered coho salmon. Riprap was removed and trees were placed within the river to create areas of slow-moving water with ample cover and depth that fish could use as habitat. As time progresses and storm events occur, the stream will move debris around, creating more habitat. I’ve found great joy in walking along the channel and pointing out to myself potential salmonid habitat, peering in the water in hopes of seeing the quick flash of a fish.
There is a lot more to streams than meets the eye! Large amounts of planning and modeling need to be completed before debris is placed or relocated in a channel, and the resultant change in flow needs to be studied to see how the stream is “reacting” to the change. There is a large amount of associated vocabulary, so the learning curve is steep in the beginning. However, after gaining a better understanding of streams, observing a channel flow and listening to the sound of rushing water can captivate me for hours.
As part of ongoing long-term monitoring to support projects in the park, we measure streamflow in various areas, one of which is the Redwood Creek in Muir Woods National Monument. It always brings a smile to my face when a visitor approaches me to ask about what I’m doing with waders on, or what the instrument I have placed in the creek is measuring. Cultivating this curiosity is critical in making the science of ecology, restoration, and sustainability more accessible, and I’m always happy to talk about what it is that we study!
Photo Courtesy of Karl Kindall
What projects have you been involved in so far?
I’ve been involved in winter habitat mapping for Muir Beach and Muir Woods, which involves measuring various habitat features such as undercut banks, woody debris, and pools to create a map of potential habitat for aquatic organisms, such as coho salmon and western pond turtles. These seasonal maps help observe changes in the creek and monitor the ecosystem after restoration efforts.
I also assisted with the planting of Bulrush (Scirpus microcarpus) and monitoring of the gully at the Upper Rodeo Wetland restoration site, a project of National Park Service Aquatic Ecologist Darren Fong. Due to the construction of roads and buildings, the once flourishing wetland has been heavily degraded, and the vegetation, wildlife, and hydrology of the area have been significantly altered. The project aims to restore the wetland by regrading the landscape, removing invasive plants, and replacing them with native wetland species.
As part of long-term ongoing monitoring for San Francisco Bay Area Inventory and Monitoring Network, I collected water samples from various creeks around the park and later tested them for water quality. This data can help indicate how water quality changes seasonally in response to storm events and over larger scales.
NPS Photo/Alex Iwaki
What have you learned that you will take forward in your career?
My internship has really highlighted the importance of recognizing your own, as well as your peers’, hard work and dedication. From showing your appreciation to a peer for assisting you with a small one-off task, to crediting someone for helping you make a new discovery, recognition is paramount during the entirety of one’s career. I’ll definitely be making an active effort going forward to recognize myself and my colleagues for their efforts. I’ve found this especially helpful for field work. For instance, field tasks often don’t go as planned, which is okay. I’ve found that taking a moment to appreciate the work you’ve done to get yourself to the present moment, whether that be just the preparation you did for the field task that morning, or the weeks, months, or years of research that have occurred to prepare a protocol, is pivotal in keeping spirits high and fostering valuable conversation.
What are your goals after your internship at an NPS site?
After my internship here at Golden Gate National Recreation Area, I would like to continue to study hydrology and aquatic ecology with the National Park Service! This internship has emphasized within me my interest in aquatic environments and species and I am excited to continue engaging with the ecosystems around me, both professionally and recreationally. I am deeply grateful for Environment for the Americas and for my supervisor, Kristen Ward, a wetland ecologist, for giving me this amazing opportunity. The knowledge that I’ve gained is invaluable!
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