Science Takes Teamwork

During the summer of 2017, the CCRLC hosted two BioBlitz events: the Waterton-Glacier Mushroom BioBlitz and the Waterton-Glacier Butterfly BioBlitz. Nearly 150 participants joined in helping resource managers gather data on the diverse array of fungus and butterfly species found in Glacier National Park.

For 28 years the Gettysburg Foundation has stood with the National Park Service (NPS) as the steward of preservation, restoration, and education at Gettysburg National Military Park, assisting with ongoing preservation needs of the battlefield, the Soldiers’ National Cemetery, and the Eisenhower National Historic Site.

The Mission Continues volunteered at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in 2018 through a partnership with the National Park Foundation. Members of the Colorado Springs and Denver platoons helped with non native plant eradication and trail maintenance.

In 2022, the Oregon Chapter of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation completed an initiative to replace aging waysides along the Columbia River and Pacific Coast.

In the spring of 2021, three AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) were placed at host sites along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. They collaborated on projects to increase capacity at their host sites.

Working within the structure of the One Tamalpais Collaborative, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy received $400,000 in funding through the California Wildlife Conservation Board’s pollinator rescue program to invest in protection of monarch butterflies in Marin County.

In early October, biologists with the San Francisco Bay Area Network Coho & Steelhead Monitoring Program assisted the California Department of Fish & Wildlife in collecting 40 juvenile coho salmon from Olema Creek. Now, these fish are living in the Don Clausen Fish Hatchery located at Lake Sonoma in Sonoma County.

Successful management of wildland fire is a team effort. National Park Service (NPS) staff in Alaska have formed a unique partnership with the Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service (AFS), which has helped to turn challenges into opportunities, and increased operational efficiency in utilization of helicopters for fire suppression. This partnership has benefited not only Alaska, but also the wildland firefighting effort in several western states.

The Point Reyes mountain beaver—a primitive rodent that isn’t a beaver—is a sort of mythical creature at Point Reyes National Seashore. Almost no one has seen one in-person with their own eyes. Not even National Park Service Wildlife Biologists Taylor Ellis and Matt Lau, who just completed their first season of surveys as a part of a 2-year mountain beaver habitat modeling project in collaboration with UC Berkeley. Still, the survey season was a great success.

Article written by Audrey Nelson for "A Day in the Life of a Fellow" Article Series National Park Service - Workforce Management Fellow in Partnership with Northwest Youth Corps Thumbnail image used reflects two people connecting puzzle pieces in front of the sunrise. (photo credit- unknown)