USFWS National Trails Inventory 2012

America’s last frontier welcomed Team Alpha as they arrived in Anchorage, Alaska for the team’s 3rd and final hitch. Team members Dan Solmon, Michael Molloy, and Mike Vasquez spent their first night exploring the state’s largest city and enjoying some fresh Alaskan seafood. The team would spend the next day at the US FWS office in Anchorage learning about bear safety when it comes to working in bear country. This information would be helpful later when the team went into remote parts of the Kenai Peninsula. On top of this training, Michael Molloy was recertified to be the bear guard for the team as they completed their endeavors.

The following day was spent traveling from Anchorage to Homer where the team’s first refuge was located: the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. On the ride to Homer the crew was ecstatic to see a black bear, a small grizzly bear, and a large moose from on the highway.

The first inventory was conducted the next day on the short Beluga Slough Trail that extended itself throughout the small town’s shoreline community. With one of the trail’s spurs ending near the town’s most talked about bakery, the Two Sisters, the team stopped for coffee and a bite to eat, confirming for themselves why the bakery was so popular. Over the weekend the team checked out an old Russian village, the local farmer’s market and the Homer spit.

On Sunday, the crew traveled to Soldotna where they stayed for the final 2 weeks of the hitch. There the team had roughly 90 miles of trails to inventory at Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. The team spent the first two days taking inventory of the trails near the refuge headquarters and the nearby town of Sterling while the weather was wet and cloudy. Finally, on Wednesday the clouds broke allowing the crew to take a boat ride across Skilak Lake to the Cottonwood Creek Trail. The trail ended in the alpine in a saddle between mountain peaks overlooking the lake and other neighboring mountains. Here the crew stopped for a well deserved break and took in the natural beauty of Alaska that surrounded them. The rain held off just for the day and next day the trio returned to the forest to inventory trails that didn’t offer views quite as nice as the previous day.

After a tough week, the team spent the weekend camping in Seward. Here Dan met up with the trail crew from Kenai and went for a long hike along the Exit Glacier to the Harding Icefield. Michael and Mike decided instead to take a Kenai Fjord Tour on a tour boat. The two were able to catch glimpses of some astounding wildlife including puffins, Stellar Sea lions, orcas and humpback whales. The next day the team visited the Alaska SeaLife Center. The crew learned about some of the history of the fjords that make up the landscape and all of the critters that make their home in the surrounding waters.

A change of pace in Seward was just what team Alpha needed to continue into the second week at Kenai. Although they covered an exceptional amount of ground the first week there was still a lot of work to be done. The final week proved to be a great week for the team. Though the harsh climate of Alaska didn’t always act in their favor, two beautifully clear days were well spent taking inventory of a few trails that offered tremendous views of Skilak Lake, nearby mountains, glaciers and a couple of distant volcanoes. On the second clear day, the crew was escorted by boat to the far side of Tustemena Lake, to a remote portion of the refuge. The trail here led to a cabin by a small lake called Emma Lake. On Thursday, the final day at Kenai NWR, despite heavy winds, Dan and Mike hiked the Seven Lakes Trail and the Egumen Lake Trail. The gang then packed up and headed back to Anchorage the following day and headed back to the lower 48 bright and early the next morning. Both Dan and Mike thoroughly enjoyed their first time experiencing the Last Frontier, and Michael was glad to be back.

Josh Andreska and Ryan Bernardi were assigned as Bravo Team partners for the SCA crew’s final 2012 Trails Inventory hitch. Though the trip was shortened to a two-week hitch, the duo still worked hard enough to have three weeks-worth of adventure while inventorying trails for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Washington State. Setting off from Boise, Idaho on a Monday, the team was able to inventory Toppenish and Columbia National Wildlife Refuges as well as Entiat and Winthrop National Fish Hatcheries by the middle of the week.

Bravo team left the scenic, arid landscape of eastern Washington to visit the even more scenic terrain of the North Cascade Mountain Range. Josh and Ryan had an incredible experience in North Cascades National Park for a night, camping next to a river at a walk-in only campsite. The following two days were spent travelling to and exploring majestic Mount Rainier National Park. While at Rainier, Ryan and Josh experienced difficult hikes, gazed upon beautiful waterfalls, lush sub-alpine meadows, and colorful rock formations, made a new friend, and camped out at another beautiful walk-in campsite located between two waterfalls.

Bravo team finished the weekend with a brief visit to Seattle where they attended annual festivities, ate fresh fruit from famous Pike’s Place Market, and enjoyed seeing the Seattle Mariner’s win a ballgame at home.

The second week began much like the first. It was a quick inventory of Gray’s Harbor NWR’s trail near the coast and then on to Willapa NWR where Josh and Ryan inventoried over 15 miles of trails including the beautifully decorated Salmon Art Interpretive Trail. The highlight though of the Willapa refuge visit was being transported via fan-boat to and from the trails on Long Island on consecutive mornings. Once Willapa’s extensive trail system was completed, only Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge for the White-tailed Deer remained. Josh and Ryan completed their last trail at JBH with ease and it was off for more adventures.

Bravo Team spent the majority of their remaining free-time at Olympic National Park. Here they spent time exploring the 3 major ecosystems the park has to offer: coastal, temperate rainforest, and sub-alpine forest. Highlights included a 9 mile hike through coastal prairies and the Pacific shore, the Hall of Mosses interpretive tour hike within the Hoh Rainforest, and camping one night each in Elwha Valley, Ozette Lake, and Hoh Rainforest. The last night of the hitch was spent camping in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest near Mt. St. Helen’s. Josh and Ryan were able to snap a few photos of the impressive stratovolcano from breathtaking viewpoints before officially wrapping up Hitch 3 and returning to Boise.

Teammates Katie Auer and Michael Vasquez led team Alpha on an exciting 5,000 mile journey to 19 wildlife refuges within 7 states stretching from Idaho to North Dakota, and Kansas to Wyoming. This incredible excursion took the team members to many new places and a few that were familiar. The first leg of the journey took the team through the beautiful mountains of northern Idaho and western Montana, a part of the country rich with Native American history. Spending only a couple of days in the area, team Alpha left the dramatic mountainous landscape and quickly headed east into “Big Sky Country”. Here the group took inventory at refuges that were home to large groups of pelicans, a sight that neither team member expected. Making their way farther east, Katie and Mike spent the weekend at Medicine Lake National Wildlife refuge near the border with North Dakota. The crew was excited to watch incredible thunderstorms that each night in the endless night sky.

The second leg of the hitch proved to be the most demanding as team Alpha took inventory at 8 refuges within a five day span that covered ground from northern North Dakota to southern Kansas. Sweeping through four refuges within 2 days the group took a side trip on Wednesday of this week to see Mt. Rushmore and to camp at Badlands National Park. The hard work put in during the first two days paid themselves off through the incredible sights that the Badlands had to offer. Katie and Mike were amazed at the unique landscape. Spending only a night at the Badlands, the group quickly finished their tour of South Dakota and made their way south to Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge in Kansas. After completing this, the group spent the weekend with another SCA crew stationed in Lawrence, Kansas. After a trying week the generous hospitality of this crew rejuvenated Katie and Mike’s spirits. The best part of the hitch was still to come.

Team Charlie, made up of Josh Andreska and Mike Vasquez, began their hitch through the south at Wheeler NWR near Decatur, Alabama. The inventory there ended with a unique and impressive observation building that was equipped with stadium seating and looked out onto a marsh through 1 way glass. Team Charlie continued through northern Mississippi and spent the rest of the first week in western Tennessee. After completing the first week, Team Charlie spent the weekend camping at Mammoth Cave NP, taking a tour of the cave and enjoying the scenic beauty.

After a wonderful weekend spent in Kentucky, it was back to work, this time primarily in Arkansas. Josh and Mike were pleasantly surprised at the aesthetically pleasing surroundings as they winded their way down Highway 7 in their rugged Chevy Silverado extended cab, destination: Norfork National Fish Hatchery. Facing triple digit heat during the days, taking a dip in Norfork Lake during the evening was quite a relief. By midweek, Team Charlie had finished up inventorying trails at the remaining Arkansas destinations, including rustic trails at Holla Bend and Pond Creek National Wildlife Refuges. Having spent the first two weeks without one single gator spotting, Louisiana was a last hope.

The heat and humidity of the south was no match for Team Charlie. Trudging through the palmetto palms at Bayou Cocodrie, the team encountered numerous banana spiders and feral hogs. The team was also treated at Cat Island by the presence of the largest tree east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, an enormous Cypress. Louisiana provided a landscape unlike anything Josh or Mike had seen before. It was while staying at St. Catherine’s Creek NWR that Josh and Mike saw their first alligator of many alligators.

Strategically planning their route to wind up in New Orleans on the 4th of July paid off in the form of several memorable experiences for Charlie Team. Josh and Mike each got a taste of The Big Easy and were easily captivated by the city’s unique culture. Both agreed it is a city they’d like to return to and experience again. With the memories of a Nawlins 4th of July in the rearview mirror, Charlie Team rolled on to the southwestern portion of the state to inventory several more trails at the gorgeous new Southwestern Louisiana Refuge Complex.

At the end of a very long drive to their final destination, Mandalay Wildlife Refuge, awaited one last well maintained trail, as well as a little relief in the form of light rain. With their expectations of the region greatly surpassed, it was time for Josh and Mike to say “see you later, alligator” to the south.

For Hitch #1, Dan Solmon and Nastia Abramova of Fish TrACS 2012 visited Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Our visit began with flights from Boise to Jacksonville, FL, and then a drive westward to the Apalichicola area of Florida’s Panhandle.
Once in the Panhandle, we began a trip around Florida’s coast. Most of our refuges were in wetlands near the coast, or on small islands. Our first three sites required boats to access. On these islands we helped a biologist track red wolves via radio telemetry, explored a logging town ruined in a 19th century hurricane, and walked the brick paved roads of a fort built to defend Tampa Bay during the Spanish-American War.

After the Tampa area, we visited the endangered scavenging Key deer on Big Pine Key, and surveyed several semi-flooded trails on mountain, or rather swamp/marsh bikes. After a weekend in the Keys, we made a well-timed trip up Florida’s Atlantic Coast, as Tropical Storm Debby drenched the Gulf Coast sites we had just visited, and several Atlantic sites we were son to visit.

The northward part of our trip took us to more Florida wetlands, where we surveyed trails in cypress swamps, man-made mosquito impoundments, learned about ambitious past attempts to drain the Everglades and ambitious contemporary attempts to restore the Everglades, and saw nesting sea turtles crawl to and from the ocean. After finishing the Florida sites with our first hatchery, we crossed our driving path just west of Jacksonville and headed into Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp. We were able to spend part of our second weekend in the swamp exploring the famous canoe trails. We pushed our boat through thick grass under blazing sun at times, and shaded up under dense cypress stands at other times. We finished out our weekend in beautiful, historic, and humid Savannah, GA and on “Savannah’s Beach”, Tybee Island.

Week three began with three refuges in the Savannah Coastal Complex, two in Georgia and one in South Carolina. Highlights of the Savannah Coastal Complex included learning the fascinating history of Harris Neck NWR: from plantation to small farms to Army airfield to corrupt sheriff’s personal fiefdom to National Wildlife Refuge. We enjoyed a hearty cookout with Harris Neck staff and SCA interns, too. We were fortunate enough to visit Wassaw NWR, whose islands have never been logged or farmed, despite being very close to Savannah and Tybee. Our time in the Savannah Coastal Complex ended with a Fourth of July survey of Pinckney Island NWR in South Carolina. Located just across Skull Creek from popular Hilton Head Island, Pinckney’s trail system offered an excellent bench from which to view two of Hilton Head’s three fireworks shows, without the crowds and traffic of the vacation island.

The hitch concluded with two inland refuges, Santee in South Carolina and Pee Dee in North Carolina. In Santee we saw a vast man-made lake, the largest in South Carolina. Many of the farmers in the flooded area were compensated for the flooding of their land in 1941 with chickens, according to Santee NWR staff. After two days of surveying at Santee, we moved over to Pee Dee, in North Carolina’s Piedmont region, where we saw hills and gullies for the first time in three weeks. We finished our last refuge just as the fireflies were beginning to flicker in the darker forests, and set off into the sunset towards a Charlotte, NC hotel, and then back to Boise.

During our three weeks in the southeast, we had a wonderful time enjoying new environments, food, and if you’ll permit me to be trite, true Southern hospitality. It was a wonderful trip, with many new trails, new signs, and new features mapped for the USFWS.

-Dan Solmon

I grew up in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. I graduated from the University of Vermont with a Bachelor of Science in Integrated Biological Sciences. My goal is to become a professional in the wildlife biology field. Most of my work experience has been in a nursery setting, which sparked an early interest in ecology and natural communities. Some of my volunteer work has included being Junior Counselor for the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Green Mountain Conservation Camp, caring for fish and herptiles at a local aquarium, and assisting in a study determining the occurrence of Eastern Equine Encephalitis in White tailed deer in Vermont.

I have spent time hiking and backpacking in Vermont, New Hampshire and northern New Mexico. In the future I would like to spend time mountaineering, mountain biking, and exploring remote parts of the country. I have successfully earned the rank of Eagle Scout and have been Project WILD certified. 2012 marks the beginning of my first internship with the SCA.

The SCA side of this program is based out of beautiful Boise, ID. Here in the SCA Boise office you'll find the home for all planning and operational support. With our access to internet, telephones and voicemails, the full range of office amenities, and a coffee maker we are able to maintain the extensive communications necessary to efficiently run our field visits and also process the considerable amount of spatial data that is collected in the field. This is where the all the pieces are put together both before a hitch and after.

As for housing, the SCA members are living in an apartment building immediately behind the SCA office. There is a male apartment and a female apartment. Between swimming in the pool, playing racquetball, and lounging in the rec. room’s mini theater there are plenty of ways to spend time off. With easy access to the Boise Greenbelt, we are able to get just about anywhere in town within a 20 minute bike ride

I grew up in a suburb of Chicago called Woodridge. Living close to the city I never thought growing up that I would be such an active outdoors man. In my senior year of high school I did a project with Argonne National Laboratory which got published by them. Even after this publication I was not fully certain that I wanted to pursue a career in the sciences. It was not until I was attending college at Illinois State University that I realized how badly I wanted a career dealing with the environment. I have graduated this year from Illinois State University with a double major. One of my degrees is in the field of geology and the other is in the geography field. While in college I had heard of the Student Conservation Association from one of my geography professors. I filled out an application and before I knew it I had received an email to join the FishTrACS program. Once I interviewed for the position I knew right away this was the job for me. I am very excited to travel to parts of the world I have never been to and get to work with other people who have the same passions as I do.

Some of my major hobbies include: snowboarding, trail biking, skateboarding, soccer, swimming, indoor rock climbing, fishing, fixing/making computers, and playing acoustic guitar. Other hobbies that I love, but do not always have the resources to do so are: outdoor rock climbing, white water rafting, wakeboarding/water skiing, boating, camping, hiking, dirt biking, riding ATV’s, and backpacking the country.