Transcript Furman’s Environmental Semester

Furman’s Environmental
Semester:
The Wild Semester
Ladder Ranch, New Mexico
Overview
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Cost
Time Period
Location
Logistics
Academics
Syllabus
Guest Speakers
Engaged Learning/Cooperative Studies
Post-program opportunities
Cost
• Normal Furman fall term tuition, room, and
board
Time Period
• 12 Week Program
• Arrive Furman 21 August for pre-program
preparation
• Depart Furman 23 August
• Arrive Hermosa 26 August
• Depart Hermosa 17 November
• Arrive Furman 19 November
Location
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South Central New Mexico
Truth or Consequences
Gila National Forest
Border of Aldo Leopold Wilderness
Ladder Ranch
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Working bison ranch
Total acreage 289,236
157,041 acres deeded
132,195 acres leased
• 100,636 Forest Service
• 11,480 BLM
• 20,079 State
Ladder Ranch
encompasses
a broad range of
elevations
and habitat types
Location
• Ladder Ranch
– Managed and monitored game species
White-tailed Deer
Pronghorn
Black Bear
Black Bear
Mountain Lion
Bobcat
Javelina
Wild Turkey
Gambel’s Quail
Location
• Ladder Ranch
– Endangered/threatened and Species of Concern
Mexican Wolf
Allen’s Big-Eared Bat
Chiricahua Leopard Frog
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Golden Eagle
Bald Eagle
Mexican Spotted Owl
Goshawk
Peregrine Falcon
Gila Trout
Rio Grande Cutthroat
Location
• Hermosa
• Proximity to diversity of habitats
Juniper Savanna
Riparian
Gallery
Forest
Photo by Mike Evette,
Hermosa 2005 TA
Transition Zones
Mixed Coniferous Forest
Subalpine Meadow
Logistics
• Staffing
– Instructors
• Travis Perry, Ph.D. in Ecology
• Kate Thibault, Ph.D. in Ecology
– Teaching Assistant for labs and field trips
• Claire Fairley
– 2007 Furman Graduate
– Alumna of Hermosa 2005
– Assistants
• Various Forest Service, USFWS, Ladder Ranch
staff
Logistics
• Transportation
– 12 passenger van
• Trailer, if necessary
– 6 passenger 4W drive vehicle
• Housing
– Weekly and some weekends at Hermosa
– Other weekends camping field trips
Logistics
• Food
– Weekly grocery shopping
– Student cooking and cleaning crews
Hermosa 2005 student
Sarah Galloway prepares a
tasty Halloween dish
Logistics
• Field Trips
– Tents and camp cooking
– 3 large 6 person tents provided
– Students need: sleeping bag, large
backpacking pack, hiking boots, water bottles,
etc. (see packing list for complete list);
personal tents optional
– In wilderness area:
• Horse pack train to carry research
equipment, cooking equipment, and food
Hermosa 2005
students setting
out into the Aldo
Leopold
Wilderness about
an hour behind the
pack train
Logistics
• Academics
– Classroom
• Main hall at Hermosa, equipped with
powerpoint projector
– Labs
• Ladder Ranch
• Gila National Forest
• Aldo Leopold Wilderness
• Field trips
Logistics
• Safety
– Radio for emergency contact 7am to 5pm
through forest service dispatch
– Satellite phone 24-7
– Dr. Perry has wilderness emergency medical
first-responder certification
– Hermosa IS the medi-vac landing site for this
region
Academics
• Courses
– Ecology
• Meets botanical diversity requirement
• Environmental studies concentration course
• Meets Ecology requirement for major
– Field Zoology
• Meets zoological diversity requirement for major
– Natural Resource Management
• Environmental studies concentration course
• Lecture
– One hour per course per day
– Ad lib during field trips, dinner, driving, etc.
• Labs
– Two labs per week
– Weekend field trips will replace weekday lab for a given course
during that week
Academics
• Potential Field Trips
• Emphasize a particular course, but much overlap
– Ladder Ranch
– Aldo Leopold Wilderness
– Portal, Arizona: Long-term ecological research
on small mammal communities
– Wheeler Peak
– Wolf Tracking in Gila National Forest
– Organ Pipe National Monument
– Desert big horn/Mountain Lion tracking
– Etcetera!!
Wheeler Peak Wilderness (13,161 ft)
Gila National Forest
Wolf Reintroduction Program
Gila National Forest
Wolf Reintroduction Program
Acclimation pens on
Ladder Ranch
Gila National Forest
Wolf Reintroduction Program
Wolf
transport
pen
Gila National Forest
Wolf Reintroduction Program
Organ Pipe National Monument
Organ Pipe National Monument
Amendaris Ranch:
Bighorn Sheep and Mountain Lion Study
Academics
• Grading
– Exams
• Standard lecture exams will be given four times for each
course during the term
– Assignments: (dove-tailed with cooperative studies)
• Ecology
– Research paper from lab/field study
• Field Zoology
– Specimens
– Field Notebook
• Natural Resource Management
– Term Paper: Management plan for local resource
Time
Activity
6:30-7:30
Breakfast
Break
Field Zoology
Break
7:30-8:00
8:00-9:00
9:00-9:30
9:30-10:30
11:30-12:30
Natural Resource Management
Break
Lunch
12:30-1:00
Break
1:00-2:00
Ecology
2:00-2:30
Break
2:30-5:30
Mon & Wed Free; Tue & Thur Lab
5:30-6:30
Break
6:30-7:30
Dinner and occasional guest speakers
10:30-11:30
August
Date Weekday
Activity
26
Sunday
Unpacking and dinner
27
Monday
28
Tuesday
Orientation to Hermosa and
Ladder Ranch
First day of class. Ecology Lab
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Wednesday Class
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thur
Fri
Sat
Sun
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1 NRM
2 NRM
NRM lab
T or C
Ladder
Ranch
Ladder
Ranch
6
7 Eco
8 Eco
9 Eco
NRM lab
Aldo
Leopold
Aldo
Leopold
Aldo
Leopold
13
14
15
16
Las Cruces
Las Cruces
August/
September
27
Eco lab
3
4
5
FZ lab
10 Eco
11
Aldo
Leopold
FZ lab
17
18
12
NRM lab
19
Eco lab
24
25
NRM
lab
26
20
21FZ/Eco 22 FZ/Eco 23FZ/Eco
NRM lab
Wheeler
Peak
Wheeler
Peak
Wheeler
Peak
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28
29
30
Las Cruces
Las Cruces
FZ lab
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
2
3
4
5
6 FZ/Eco 7 FZ/Eco
October/
November
1
FZ lab
8
9
Eco lab
10
NRM lab
15
16
23
17
18
19
FZ lab
24
NRM lab
29
12
FZ lab
Eco lab
22
11
25
White
Sands
White Sands/
Las Cruces
13
NRM
14
NRM
Wolf
Tracking
Wolf
Tracking
20
21
Las
Cruces
Las
Cruces
26FZ/Eco 27FZ/Eco 28FZ/Eco
Eco lab Portal AZ
Portal AZ
Portal AZ
30
31
1 NRM 2
3 Las
4 Las
FZ lab
Halloween
lab
Cruces
Cruces
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
6
7
8
9 Eco
10 Eco
11 Eco
Eco lab
NRM
Organ
Pipe
Nat Mon
NRM
Organ
Pipe
Nat Mon
NRM
Organ
Pipe
Nat Mon
15
16
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18
November
5
FZ lab
12
13
14
FZ lab
Depart
Hermosa
Eco lab
19
Arrive
Furman
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26
27
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30
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Guest Speakers
• Steve Dobrott, Wildlife Biologist/Ranch
Manager
• Forest Service Biologists
• BLM Biologists
• Range Manager
• USFWS Biologist for wolf reintroduction
Guest Speakers
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Forest Service Wilderness Ranger
USFWS Fisheries Biologist
Mammalogist/Museum Curator
Ornithologist/Contract Biologists
Guest Speakers
• Ecologist/Professor
– Jim Brown, Ph.D
• Environmental Activist Organization
– Gila Watch
– Southwest Center for Biodiversity
• Local Rancher/Outfitter
– Sterling Carter
– Former County Commissioner
• Forest Service District Ranger
Engaged Learning through
Cooperative Studies
• Ladder Ranch is a working ranch with
stated conservation priorities
– Sustainable management of bison and wildlife
for profit
– Protection and management of native and
endangered species
– Requires constant data collection and
analysis on a variety of topics
Engaged Learning through
Cooperative Studies
• Forest Service, BLM, and USFWS have
multiple and ongoing needs for basic
research and surveys in Hermosa area
• ALWAYS in need of outside assistance via
contractors or volunteers
Engaged Learning through
Cooperative Studies
• Museum of Southwestern Biology
– Mission is to monitor the biodiversity of New
Mexico and maintain a research collection of
specimens from around the state
– Priority: To collect specimens from poorly
known areas
Engaged Learning through
Cooperative Studies
• Furman students can:
• MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
• Greatly assist these agencies and
institutions through:
– Unique learning experiences
– hands-on projects
– that meet academic requirements for their
courses
Engaged Learning through
Cooperative Studies
Examples:
– Small mammal survey on the continental
divide in the Aldo Leopold Wilderness
– Aquatic invertebrate survey of Animas Creek
– Fuel load estimates for timber stands
– Effects of bison grazing on plant and animal
communities in riparian habitats
– Forage availability across grazing allotments
– Public opinion surveys on wolf reintroduction
Post-program Opportunities
• Internships and research projects with
– U.S. Forest Service
– U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
– Bureau of Land Management
– Portal, AZ Research Site
– Ladder Ranch
Post-program Opportunities:
Examples from Hermosa 2005 Alumni
• Chris Jones: Internship with Lincoln
National Forest, NM, Summer 2006
• Megan Pitman: Research assistant on
desert bighorn sheep project on Turner’s
Armendaris Ranch, NM, Summer 2006
• Sarah Galloway: Research assistant on
cougar project on Turner’s Armendaris
Ranch, NM, Summer 2006