Bragging Rights --

Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery supports Green and Healthy School Program in Kentucky

Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery is committed to helping visitors, especially kids, better connect to the outdoor world around them. The hatchery partners with Russell Springs Middle School as participants in the Kentucky Green and Healthy School Program. Russell Springs is one of 76 candidate schools in Kentucky in the program, and one of the only candidate middle schools.

The Kentucky Green and Healthy Schools (KGHS) Program is a new, voluntary effort to empower students and staff with the tools to take action and make their school operate at peak efficiency. KGHS incorporates a two-pronged approach. New or renovated schools may include a “green and healthy” design from the start. Existing schools participate as students inventory current school operations and implement action plans to improve school health and sustainability. As a community partner, Wolf Creek works with Jean Clement, a teacher at the middle school, to help the students complete the surveys of the school. At the same time, the students also assist in the planning and implementation of different learning activities correlating to the survey topic at hand. Currently, the students are working to complete the Solid Waste Inventory, and Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery’s Environmental Education and Outreach Specialist Amanda Patrick assisted in leading some activities in January as part of the program.

Submitted by Amanda Patrick, Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery, Jamestown, Kentucky

Refuge and Fisheries staff partner to conserve aquatic resources

Personnel from the Warm Springs Fish Technology Center conducted a training session on fish passage and survey techniques for refuge personnel of the Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). Steve Miller, Eva Kristofik, and Greg Scull got hands-on experience in conducting fish passage surveys using the National Inventory and Assessment Procedure developed by the U.S. Forest Service. All staff took turns using equipment needed to conduct surveys; such as viewing though a transit level or holding a leveling rod. They also worked in the streams to get first hand knowledge of stream morphology and ecology. This training will come in handy as the team starts surveying the Cahaba River NWR and adjacent waterways to identify barriers to fish passage.

Submitted by Bill Bouthillier, Warm Springs Fish Technology Center, Georgia

Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery and “Little BiT” are hits with Lake Cumberland Area Regional Health Department District

Wolf Creek has partnered with the Lake Cumberland Area Health Department District (LCAHDD) and the Russell County Wellness Coalition to help get children outside. Led by LCAHDD Health Educator Shirley Roberson, the Coalition is comprised of nutritionists, environmental educators, teachers, and nurses, all whom have a vested interest in helping to increase wellness in the community. Because of the involvement of Wolf Creek and the interest in getting individuals outdoors, the Coalition decided to target getting children outside as their theme for the 2008-2009 school year. The Coalition’s most recent project was the distribution of 3,000 Biologist-in-Training (BiT) rack cards and BiT stickers to all of the pre-schools and Head Start programs in the Health Department’s 10-county region. The rack cards, which are two-sided, provide great information for parents on the health benefits of getting their children outdoors and providing fun, hands-on, sensory friendly activities specifically geared for younger kids. See (http://www.fws.gov/southeast/fisheries/bit/BiTActivityCard.pdf). Upon completion of the activities on the card, the children were given a sticker for their achievement.

Submitted by Amanda Patrick, Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery, Jamestown, Kentucky

Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge hosts youth deer hunt

Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge held its third youth gun deer hunt on December 13, 2008. Twelve youngsters were drawn for this one-day lottery hunt, and they hunted from ground blinds made by refuge staff. The youth enjoyed lunches, t-shirts, hats, and other items provided by refuge volunteer Phil Iacobacci. One deer was taken during the hunt; but, there were stories of “the one that got away.” Providing this type of hunt sparks young people’s interest in wildlife management, the great outdoors, and maintains the strong family tradition of hunting in Arkansas.

Submitted by Carla Mitchell, Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge, Dardanelle, Arkansas

Students do spring cleaning at Natchitoches National Fish Hatchery

Each year, students from the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts are required to come back one week before their winter classes start to participate in Special Projects Week. This year fourteen students chose to work with their teacher David Zolzer to provide public service assistance to organizations in the Natchitoches area. On Thursday, January 8, the group helped the Natchitoches National Fish Hatchery do some spring cleaning around the aquarium. The students trimmed all the crepe myrtle trees lining the hatchery drive, re-mulched all the trees, and painted the hatchery entrance gates and flagpole. In addition to the once-a-year work service project, several other students work at the hatchery on a weekly basis cleaning and feeding in the aquarium, managing the webpage, developing public use presentations, and helping with alligator snapping turtles.

Submitted by Karen Kilpatrick, Natchitoches National Fish Hatchery, Natchitoches, Louisiana

Trees planted to honor sacred ground for Caddo Indian Nation

Natchitoches National Fish Hatchery received 400 trees which were planted in November 2008, as part of continuing efforts to honor the hatchery site as sacred ground for the Caddo Indian Nation. The trees, mostly native varieties in five-gallon size containers, were part of a grant secured from the Apache Foundation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The trees were planted in a three-acre area to restore a small portion of the hatchery grounds as a reminder of what the land looked like when the Caddo Indians occupied the area. The trees were planted by hatchery staff from both the Natchitoches National Fish Hatchery and the Booker Fowler State Fish Hatchery. The work was coordinated by Mike Renfrow, private lands biologist, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Submitted by Karen Kilpatrick, Natchitoches National Fish Hatchery, Natchitoches, Louisiana

Service’s Maintenance Action Team (MAT) to the rescue

What do you do when you have an expensive project and not much money? Call on a MAT for the solution. This is exactly what Welaka National Fish Hatchery did. A hatchery drain line had broken and needed to be replaced but there was not enough money to have a contractor do it. With the assistance of Stan Zazado, Project Leader Allan Brown was able to develop a scope of work, submit the cost estimates, line up some help, and get the project completed in a timely manner.

The Welaka National Fish Hatchery had 1,200 feet of old drain line that had collapsed and prevented the hatchery from utilizing five of its much needed production ponds. After making all the arrangements for equipment rental, and lining up help for a project that could be completed in a weeks’ time, the project was begun. Hal Jones and Chris Allen from North Mississippi Refuge Complex and Chad Shirey from the Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery in Georgia traveled to Welaka on November 16, 2008, to help.

This was a fairly complicated project due to the amount of additional water lines, electrical lines, the necessity of having a very precise grade, and those always hidden surprises you tend to find while digging. With the expert assistance of Hal, Chris, Chad, and the Welaka staff, the new drain line was installed, all the water lines were re-connected, everything was graded to perfection, and grass seed was planted, all within the allotted time frame. From an initial estimated cost of $130,000, this project was completed by the MAT for less than $30,000.

“I am certain that this was done with more pride of workmanship than any contractor,” said Allan Brown, hatchery project leader. “After experiencing first hand how well this process works, I certainly hope to utilize the MAT concept for additional projects.”

Submitted by Allan Brown, Welaka National Fish Hatchery, Florida

Environmental education workshop for Vieques teachers

On January 16, 2009, Vieques National Wildlife Refuge staff from Puerto Rico and Dr. Daniel Sivek, professor at the University of Wisconsin in Stevens Point, provided an environmental education workshop for more than 70 elementary and secondary Vieques teachers. The workshop provided teachers with interdisciplinary environmental education activities that can work in different classes, from biology and mathematics to geography and social studies. Some of the activities were Turtle Hurdles and Wetland Metaphors, adapted from Project Wild. Activities also were provided activities that can be conducted indoors or outdoors. After the workshop, teachers were awarded a certificate of continuing education through the University of Wisconsin in Stevens Point. The workshop was a success, and these activities helped the teachers understand the diversity and importance of Vieques natural resources and that it can be applied in different subjects, indoor or outdoors.

Submitted by Gisella Burgos, Vieques National Wildlife Refuge, Puerto Rico

Wildland fire training at Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge

For two weeks during the month of January, firefighter James Padilla from Cabo Rojo National Wildlife National Wildlife Refuge coordinated various fire trainings for community volunteers, Puerto Rican firefighters, Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources employees, and refuge employees. Retired wildland firefighter Dick Mangan from Missoula instructed Firefighter training, Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior, Portable Pumps and Water Use, Engine Boss, and Wildland Fire Chain Saws for more than 25 participants.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Puerto Rico has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Puerto Rico to assist the refuges in forest fires or natural emergencies. After two weeks, the participants were exhausted, but they all successfully passed the courses, and all are anxious to go on a wildland fire.

Submitted by Gisella Burgos, Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Puerto Rico

Partnering for Mussel Conservation

Nicole Rankin, fish biologist at the Warm Springs Fish Technology Center, visited the Service’s Panama City Fisheries Resource Office and learned to section and age freshwater mussels on December 16 and 17, 2008. Karen Herrington and Laura Jenkins, fisheries biologists at Panama City Fisheries Resource Office, trained her to section mussel valves using an Isomet low speed saw and age mussels using thin sections. She learned to section and age three species of freshwater mussels from the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) river basin: Elliptio crassidens (Elephantear), Amblema neislerii (fat three-ridge), and Elliptoideus sloatianus (purple bankclimber). This year, the Fish Technology Center plans to estimate age and growth and evaluate annual deposition of growth rings for E. crassidens and A. neislerii collected from the ACF river basin. Nicole will be leading this mussel aging project and refining the aging technique for the Warm Springs Fish Technology Center.

Submitted by Nicole Rankin, Warm Springs Fish Technology Center, Georgia

Cape Hatteras Secondary School students continue Pea Island Refuge exploration

Who Goes There? Cape Hatteras Secondary School students discovered the answer on a recent field trip to Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.

These students made their second trip to the refuge to follow-up on research started a few months earlier. This trip had a double focus: study animal tracks and capture digital photos of some of the wildlife.

During an earlier refuge trip, a group of students had placed motion-activated digital cameras at various spots on the North Pond Trail to find out what types of mammals used the trail.

Oon this trip, before heading out on the trail to find out what, if anything, had been captured on the cameras, the group spent some time with Visitor Services Specialist Abbey Reibel learning about the various tracks wildlife leave behind. Students had the opportunity to help find tracks, identify them, and even make plaster casts of some.

One of the most exciting tracks discovered was that of a bald eagle. Apparently, the eagle had been shaking its prey prior to eating. There was quite a bit of disturbance on the soil near the bald eagle tracks.

After studying tracks, the students, accompanied by Reibel and Visitor Services Specialist Cindy Heffley, trekked out to the remote camera sites and recovered memory cards. The cameras were then strategically relocated for another round of pictures. After downloading the photos to a laptop, students learned that there are quite a number of white-tailed deer living on the refuge.

Some of the photos captured by the motion-activiated cameras will be used to create a field guide about mammals of the refuge. Other students are working on guides about birds, reptiles, plants, aquatic life, and other things found on the refuge. This group of students will be returning to the refuge periodically throughout the school year to continue their study.

Submitted by Cindy Hefley, Alligator River and Pea Island Refuges, Manteo, North Carolina

Manteo Middle School Science Club documents wildlife on Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge

On January 26, 2009, as part of a digital nature photography workshop, the Manteo Middle School Science Club participated in a digital scavenger hunt on Creef Cut Wildlife Trail, one of two half-mike walking trails on Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.

Since the beginning of the school year, refuge staff has been visiting Manteo Middle School each month to share educational programs on a variety of topics with the Science Club. Designed as a "Junior Refuge Friends" focus and co-sponsored by the Coastal Wildlife Refuge Society, this partnership involving the school, the refuges, and the Society is one among four similar partnerships- the others in place at Columbia Middle School, First Flight Middle School, and Cape Hatteras Secondary School. Each school developed a way to make the partnership work- a club, a grade, or even the entire school is involved, depending on what worked best for the school.

In the Manteo Middle School Science Club, m any students were familiar with digital cameras and the process of taking photos of their friends and families. However, some hadn’t been to a refuge to take photos and didn’t know the best methods for getting the best shots. A handout with many tips for better wildlife watching and photography was given to the students prior to their trip. They learned how important it is to know about the wildlife on the refuge and how to tell if certain animals are in the area. They were reminded that the refuge is home to many critters and care must be taken to avoid disturbing them. They also learned how to view and photograph wildlife safely.

Armed with all of this information and nine new Nikon Digital cameras, the students were ready to head out to the field to practice their newfound skills. Although they would receive a welcome break from the usual school day, the main objective of the trip was to help them understand the importance of documenting plants and animals. Decisions on managing wildlife must be based on good science. Good science must have thorough documentation. These students were wildlife biologists-in-training for the day. They also learned about biological communications careers, which include nature photography. The students seemed surprised to learn that before photography was invented, the documentation of plants and animals was accomplished through drawings and paintings.

An overview of the 35mm digital camera was given to ensure that the students could easily capture the various items on the scavenger hunt. After a guided hike to the end of the trail, each team was directed to go out and take pictures- one picture to represent each item required on the scavenger hunt. The students were successful at finding answers to all the questions on the scavenger hunt and even came up with some very creative answers. As a bonus, the group moved on to Sandy Ridge Wildlife Trail, off Buffalo City Road, where they continued taking photos and exploring the refuge.

When it was time to return to school, they quickly shared glimpses of all the photos they had taken. Each student will receive a CD with their team’s photos. Although not all the photos they took would be considered biological evidence by professionals, none would argue that all the pictures taken would be considered evidence of a great field trip to Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge! The students were encouraged to bring their families and explore the refuge on their own.

Submitted by Cindy Heffley, Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, Manteo, North Carolina

British Broadcasting Corporation Returns to Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge

In 2007, a film crew from the British Broadcasting Corporation filmed a segment of “Nick Baker’s Weird Creatures” at Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Mr. Baker was featuring the American Alligator Snapping Turtle on a program which aired on Animal Planet. Thanks to Dr. John Carr, biology professor at University of Louisiana at Monroe, and his graduate student, the trip was very successful and the film crew fell in love with the refuge.

In November, 2008, the British Broadcasting Corporation returned to Black Bayou Lake again, hoping to film alligator snapping turtles. This time it was a feature with Steve Backshall, host of “Steve’s Deadly 60.” In spite of the cool temperature, Dr. Carr and his graduate student were again successful, netting three massive snappers in one net. Two of the turtles weighed more than 100 pounds.

The Alligator Snapping Turtle is a “species of concern” and is protected in varying degrees by state laws throughout their range in the Southeast. Under a special use permit, Dr. Carr and his students are documenting the snapper’s nesting habitat, protecting nests from predators like raccoons, in some cases taking eggs to the university incubators. Tagged hatchlings are returned to the lake the following fall, some being released by children during the Black Bayou Lake annual fall celebration. More photos in Photo Album.

Submitted by Gay Brantley, Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Monroe, Louisiana