Photo I took of the tree line near Last Chance
Hey everyone! I know it's been a while since my last blog post. I have been busy working on quite a few things!
So, as an update, I thought I could talk about an average field work day in my internship.
A pretty average field work day in my internship starts with me getting to the office at around 7:30. I get my waders and boots and head to the Chester Dam. The Foundation has an agreement with Fall River Electric where we help clean and maintain the Chester Fish Ladder. A fish ladder is a way for fish to be able to get around dams. It has steps along the ladder where fish can rest before continuing their swim up the ladder. It gets full of a lot of plant material at this time of year. Sometimes it gets bad enough that the fish can't pass through, so I go out and clean it!
Photos of plants in the Chester Fish Ladder
As soon as I finish at the fish ladder, I head back to the office and gather all the things that I need to fix the fence and head out.
Once a week I do riparian fence maintenance in Last Chance and near Pinehaven. Riparian health, or riverside vegetation health, is vital to the health of the river. The Henry's Fork Foundation puts up and maintains a fence to keep cattle out of the river and riparian zone. The Foundation puts up this fence in the springtime and then takes it down in the fall. My job is to walk the length of the fence and make sure nothing is down or broken, make sure gates are closed, and fix anything that needs it. Make sure you always close the gates otherwise you'll end up with cows in the water while you're trying to fish! I've really enjoyed getting to go for a walk along the river every week and watch summer slowly get closer to fall.
Photo I took on my way to check the fence near Pinehaven
After I finish checking the fence, I head back to Ashton to do my office work with the time I have left for the day. This generally entails sending and responding to emails, working on spreadsheets, or chipping away at my GIS (geographic information systems) projects. Not the most exciting stuff, so that’s why I love that I have to opportunity to go do some field work to break up all the office work.
I still have a bit more time in my internship, and I am excited to see what else I'll have to opportunity to do!