Another summer in the Gila

Back again for another summer in the Gila. For those of you who are new to “the list”, my current job (going on 3 years now) is to help studying the effects of military jet aircrafts on the reproductive and nesting habits of the Mexican Spotted Owl in the Gila National Forest (that’s more or less the full project title). We live and work in the middle of a beautiful national forest from April through the end of July. We’re camping, I swear, despite all the amazing accommodations we get out here (showers, phone, internet, fridge truck, electricity). We spend the nights and early morning surveying for owls over a portion of the forest (4 USGS quads, 7.5 miles x 7.5 miles each) and then later in the season we observe their behaviors during the day while military jets buzz the treetops. There is also an array of several sound level meters spread through our studyarea that record all the noises in the forest throughout the day and night at two second intervals. I’m a member of as well as supervisor of the behavior crew, and I still spend a fair amount of time making sure all the data is coming in and being recorded properly (which means putting out computer-related fires and working in the office trailer). I wear so many hats out here. Sometimes I still can’t believe this is my job. :)

I spent the last week of March in Silver City, NM with Ann (my boss) and Chris (my co-worker) getting organized and helping to get our two new supervisors (Kevin and Art, both returning owlers) ready for their supervisor positions. Chris and I were able to borrow his brother’s Isuzu Trooper, so the drive out was much more comfortable than last year’s (squashed into the cab of a small truck). The Silver City Forest Service was kind enough to let us use one of their conference rooms for the week and we stayed at the Econo Lodge (which has a pool and hot tub) just down the road. We made it up to camp on the 29th to find all the tents and trailers ready and waiting. Not too many people had shown up yet so I was able to get my same camp spot, which I’ve had for three years now. People started arriving that weekend and we officially started camp on the 31st of March. We went through 2 weeks of training…general orientation to the project, tree climbing, ATV and 4-wheel driving, vegetation, birds, aircrafts, wilderness first aid, orienteering, and owling. We have about half returning workers this summer. Everyone seems to be getting along great and all seem like good workers. I’m still one of the youngest people out here, which can be hard when it comes time to be supervisorial. Camp is set up pretty much the same…office trailers, phones, generator, port-a-potties, work tents, food tent, refrigerator truck, and the circus tent (rec tent) for reading, movie watching and avoiding the weather.

Ah yes, the weather. Well, it snowed the night before we left Silver City, which left us with only a light dusting on the cars. However, camp is at 8000ft (Silver is at about 4- or 5000ft), so there was quite a bit of snow when we got here, and boy was it cold. We’ve had quite a few rain/hail/snow storms, the most recent being about a week ago. That was, of course, the day Chris and I were out on the ATVs. It was fun riding out there, but the wind and snow were pretty overwhelming. I couldn’t see more than 20 feet in front of me, 5 feet for good visibility. We never even made it to our destination, the snow was too deep for the ATV tires once we started heading up Bearwallow Mountain. So we turned around, but before we did so, we took a few pictures and made a few snow angels. We got back to camp just in time for a huge snowball fight. It’s been relatively dry since then, but still cold. I never thought 50 would be warm. :) The wind today decided to snap the line that attached my overhead tarp to the nearby tree. I’m headed to town tomorrow for errand running, laundry, and a trip to the Dairy Queen for some ice cream, so I’m sure I’ll find something that’s hold up to the wind out here.

We’ve found 5 nests so far, which is phenomenal for this time of year. We’re all hoping for a record nest-finding year since it’s was a wet winter (thanks to El Niño). Wet winter = lots of small rodents = happy owls who like to nest and have lots of little owlets. Wet winters also equal fewer forest fires. We’ve been allowed a campfire this year! Last year we didn’t get one until literally the last week of camp. We’re quickly running out of places to survey though since many roads are blocked by snow. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for warmer weather (for the owls, of course ;) ), less wind (there’s quite a gale blowing tonight), and more nests. We’ve been officially owling for a few weeks now and behavior training starts next week (yikes! I’ve got lots to do!). There have been some murmurings about no jets this year because of the war, but nothing definite has been said yet. We get both American (the National Guard in F-16s) and German (German Air Force in Tornados) pilots out here for this study. It’s possible, though unlikely, that we’ll be jet-less this year. And it looks like there’s been one more year tacked onto this study, so I’ll be out here again next summer.

I hope everyone had a great Easter. I’ve already booked my vacation plane ticket home for May 24th – June 1st, just in time to see Dad and Karen run their marathon. Please, send emails (and mail!). I’d love to know what you’re all up to.

Love and sunshine,
Stefanie