Idaho AmeriCorps 2010

The Wildlife Exclosure Inventory project took crew members out into the field to collect data on a variety of fences. Lending support to the wildlife and fisheries program, crew members performed a variety of tasks including: field assessment of existing structural condition of exclosures; collection of GPS data on exclosure condition and location; incorporation of field data into the Salmon-Challis geodatabases; development of a photographic record for monitoring; production of GIS maps; routine maintenance activities such as installing wire, replacement of non-functional posts and braces, and use of native and/or dimensional materials for exclosure repair.

For the past couple months, much of the trail work for the SCA Idaho AmeriCorps program has been focused on the Continental Divide Trail. Some parts of the trail have seen little maintenance this decade and others none. The crews have been rebuilding the tread, pulling boulders and stumps out of the trail, and installing drainage structures from the headwaters of Fourth of July Creek drainage into Sheep Creek, a distance of approximately 7 miles.

Working on this project for multiple months has allowed the members to experience the area in the hot and dusty summer months and the cold and snowy fall at high elevations. But the colder months also bring Huckleberry season and after backpacking in with what seems like a ton of food, the crew hikes back out with a gallon of fresh berries!

View CDT Trail Work in Google maps

Three SCA members and one staff began a new project for the season called uroutes. The purpose of the project is to identify resource concerns on unauthorized routes(uroutes) across the Salmon-Challis National Forest that may significantly impact important watersheds containing bull trout, chinook salmon, and steelhead.

The SCA members traveled to uroutes using Trimble Nomads loaded with a shapefile layer of known routes, approximately 6000 routes totaling over 2000 miles. Each route is walked and surveyed for significant erosion. Additionally all stream crossings, seeps/springs, and wetland areas are identified.

Having graduated from Penn State in May 2009, I packed my bags and left for a 5 month season up in Alaska. After the program, I decided to continue my travels and hit the road with a friend, and we drove through Alaska and Canada to the Pacific Northwest. Eventually, I ended up in Portland for a little while before we split up and I hit the road alone back to Philadelphia. I am a sculptor/potter so if we find some clay, I’d be more than happy to demo for any who wish to play with some dirt.

My name is Joe Pohnan. I’m the middle child in a family of five, and both of my siblings are sisters - who managed to end up with the same birthday. I’m 22 years old and have lived in Illinois and in my home town most of my life. I have also lived in New Hampshire during my first SCA internship. Besides SCA I’ve worked at a café, and have volunteered on farms through WWOOF. I like many things but I spend much of my time reading, biking, and cooking.

My name is Brett Boisjolie, I'm a 23 year old guy from Southampton, MA. My last name means "pretty woods" in French, which makes sense because I grew up on a Christmas tree farm and live for the outdoors. Since graduating from Stonehill College near Boston last May, I've been able to do some pretty solid adventuring. I spent last summer trudging through swamps, hiking through thorn bushes and swimming through rivers as a surveyor on a massive field study for The Nature Conservancy's Connecticut River program focusing on the link between altered hydrology and floodplain ecosystems. This past winter I was a member of a fire ecology strike team - a small 3-person nomadic team who traveled throughout Georgia assisting in, planning, and leading prescribed burns in various forest lands. I spent numerous days riding on ATVs with flamethrowers attached, running from raging head fires, taking down burning snags with chainsaws and other such ridiculous "this is my JOB?!" moments. My work has given me an understanding of and passion for imperiled forest types, and this opportunity in Idaho represents the ideal opportunity to learn more about forestry in order to further my life work in the field of environmental conservation.

I grew up in the same town my entire life, where there weren't too many outdoor activities besides soccer, baseball, and the occasional cub scout camping trip. And I did the same thing that many of my friends did- went to school, got a normal restaurant job, earned money for college, and eventually graduated from college. However, I had recognized early on that the environment was pretty important to me, as I discovered the literature on global warming in the mid-90's and became a vegetarian early on. This is the first time I have had a prolonged period to devote to something non-school related, and the Salmon-Challis intro described the job as good for those who needed to get their hands dirty; thusly, I took the job.

I graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 09, with a major in environmental studies and a minor in education. I studied abroad in New Zealand for a semester and had an amazing experience learning about viticulture, maori studies, and wildlife bio. I enjoy working in the community, I have taught a garden nutrition program at an elementary school, and I worked at the Seymour Marine Center in Santa Cruz managing the volunteers. I am very interested in environmental conservation work, and wildlife as well. I have yet to hone in on a specific career path, but I am looking forward to gaining as much hands-on experience as I can with this program. Apart from my love of the environment, I have a slight obsession with baking and I hope to open my own organic and sustainable bakery in the future.