Dela Anderson

This summer has been spent donning my daily uniform of waders, pockets full of batteries and tools, and a layer of dirt and sweat. On some days, I’m also equipped with a five-pound sonde for measuring water quality or a six-foot pole for finding temperature loggers. My equipment makes me feel like a true scientist, but it often makes the public think I’m something else: an angler.    At first, when I passed curious river users who asked me what I was fishing for, I felt like I was letting them down by not being able to reply with “rainbows” or “whatever will bite.” But as the weeks went on, I began to grow proud of my response: “We’re hoping to catch some data!”  In the past ten weeks as an aquatic ecology technician with the Henry’s Fork Foundation, I’ve done just that. It’s been an honor to share my “catch” with you all, whether that’s through our live river conditions, swapping stories on the water, or here on the blog. Please enjoy the video below as I share what I’ve spent my summer fishing for one last time.  

The call of the Great Blue Heron (Ardea Herodias) when they greet their mate at their nest has been described as a series of squawking “roh-roh-rohs”, also known as a landing call. This is a sound I’ve become familiar with while living in the Great Lakes basin, exploring riverbanks and marshes. This is a sound that makes me feel at home. When I timidly arrived in Idaho in early June, I knew I likely missed the heron breeding season, but that didn’t stop the bird from presenting me with my own “landing call”.  Hi. My name is Dela, and I’m a recent University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate where I earned a dual degree in Environmental Studies and Science Communication. Here at the Henry’s Fork Foundation, I’m the 2025 Aquatic Ecology Intern. I’ll be spending my summer collecting water quality data in Island Park Reservoir and Harriman State Park. But today, I’d like to tell you a story about my first time on the ranch.   It was a balmy Thursday as I loaded our field equipment into a drift boat with my supervisor Dr. Jack McLaren and fellow intern Teddy Montalvo. Curiosities ran rampant through my mind. Will I see a young