Archive for December, 2011

Over 300 third graders from five schools in Amargosa Valley and Pahrump visited Ash Meadows this

Students were amazed to see wild bighorn sheep for the first time during their field trip to Ash Meadows! Photo by Cyndi Souza/USFWS.

fall for the 6th season of Ed-Ventures field trips!

Ash Meadows Ed-Ventures is an experiential, environmental education program for third graders in Nye County – a highly underserved area. While meeting important cross-curricular academic standards, the program strives to foster an appreciation for the refuge and its precious biological resources in the desert. The hope is that the Ed-Ventures experience will someday translate into a sense of pride and stewardship for our public lands in southern Nevada.

SNAP educator, Stacy Dahl, leads students on a sensory hike to learn about the plants and animals on the refuge. Photo by Jessica Babbitt/USFWS

Prior to the field trips, Ed-Ventures staff visited each school for two fun-filled hours of educational games, skits, stories, and more. Through these activities, students were introduced to what a national wildlife refuge is, the different types of careers at Ash Meadows, what a wetland habitat is, aquatic invertebrate life cycles, and some of the different animals they might encounter on their field trip.

In October, the students, teachers, and parent chaperones visited the Point of Rocks boardwalk for their field trips. Students always arrived buzzing with energy and excitement – for most students this was their first trip to Ash Meadows and their only field trip of the year! The trips always began with awarm, welcome orientation to the refuge by Alyson Mack followed by a group sing-a-long of “The Ash Meadows Song” (with motions!).

Because of the time of year, almost every student was able to watch desert bighorn sheep in the wild as

“Ranger Alyson” helps students identify the aquatic macroinvertebrates they collected from the stream. Photo by Jessica Babbitt/USFWS.

they travelled up and down the Point of Rocks range to drink from the springs below. These special encounters provided the perfect “teachable moments”, capturing the students’ full attention and filling their curious minds with endless questions and amazement!

Throughout the course of the 3.5 hours trips, students went on a “sensory hike” around the boardwalk, observed plankton under microscopes, counted macroinvertebrates from the stream, watched the endangered Ash Meadows Amargosa pupfish swimming in King’s Pool, and shared their experiences with each other over a picnic lunch. The focus of the trip was for students to “think like biologists” by making observations using their senses, microscopes, and other tools, collecting and recording their observations in field journals, and then discussing and sharing their findings with each other. Students were divided into small groups of ten to facilitate the spirit of collaboration and teamwork – important skills for biologists, and any professional, to have!

Students make observations of zooplankton (animal) and phytoplankton (plant) using microscopes, then make sketches in their field journals. Photo by Jessica Babbitt/USFWS.

The Ed-Ventures program is made possible through a partnership with the Death Valley Natural History Association, the Southern Nye County Conservation District, the Amargosa Conservancy, the Great Basin Institute, and the Southern Nevada Agency Partnership. These groups provide funds for school buses, teaching supplies, incredible staff, and more. A big thanks to all of the truly dedicated and passionate individuals who make this happen each year for the students of Nye County!

- Alyson Mack, Great Basin Institute Environmental Education & Outreach Specialist

Last Saturday, 15 people from Amargosa Valley, Pahrump, and Las Vegas came to Ash Meadows to put

The Bennet-Arcan band made it through Walker Pass, and 2 men have returned with horses, good meat, and oranges – hooray! Photo by Alyson Mack/USFWS

their backcountry navigational skills to the test. The group was divided into three teams – the Bugsmashers, the Jayhawkers, and the Bennet-Arcan group – the actual names of three bands who traversed Death Valley from 1849-1850. These teams then embarked on an orienteering challenge course, using only compasses and a route log. The goal? To make the journey from Mt. Misery, through Death Valley, across the Sierras and into California alive!

The challenge course simulated the actual historical routes that the 49ers followed, with the distances adjusted from hundreds of miles over the course of four months to a distance that could be hiked in a couple hours. Along the way, the teams read true accounts from the 49ers treacherous journey – stories of hunger, scurvy, miscalculations, exhaustion, fear of the unknown, and in many cases, death. Like the 49ers, navigation proved to be a challenge. “We lost our way a few times, as with all the 49ers,” explained SNAP education specialist Stacy Dahl, “but we were able to get back on course.”

The event, made possible through a USFWS Connecting People with Nature grant, aimed to not only teach people basic orienteering skills, but also help people to imagine a life before modern conveniences and technologies. “People used to be more intertwined with the environment they lived in,” explained SNAP education specialist Karl Krebs, “They could read messages in the landscape – the wind, the soil, the stars. As a society, we have gotten away from this, but these are still very important skills to have.”

Digging for “gold”. Photo by Alyson Mack/USFWS

By the end of the event, all three teams successfully made it to Rancho San Francisquito. For one young participant, the day had fully captured his imagination. Upon arrival, he immediately started digging a hole in the dirt. “I’m searching for gold!” he declared.

Alyson Mack, Great Basin Institute Environmental Education & Outreach Specialist

A female desert bighorn sheep watches from the top of the Point of Rocks Range at Ash Meadows NWR. Photo by Karen Dorn/USFWS

Ash Meadows was alive last Saturday when 23 people from Amargosa Valley, Pahrump, and Las Vegas, including crew members from the Nevada Conservation Corps, came for a hike up the Point of Rocks Range. Immediately upon arrival, six desert bighorn sheep were spotted walking up the range. Later on, a ewe and her lamb were spotted as well. During the fall, bighorn sheep are seen almost daily drinking from the freshwater springs and streams at Point of Rocks.

But where do these sheep go for the rest of the year? Do they stay in the same groups? Do they have sufficient food, water, and space to graze? Are they healthy? This species is extremely sensitive to disease – currently a form of sheep pneumonia, contracted from domestic sheep, is affecting populations in southern Nevada. The goal of the event was to begin to explore some of these questions by exposing people to real desert bighorn sheep in the wild and discussing the current research and conservation issues surrounding local sheep populations in southern Nevada.

In the 1980s the Sheep Range at Desert National Wildlife Refuge had the largest bighorn population in NV. In 1985, helicopter surveys found 436 adults, but by 1991 only 195 were seen. What could be causing such a drastic decline? Biologists speculated that predation, disease, drying up water sources and other habitat changes could be responsible, but they didn’t know for sure. To begin to find out, a study at Desert National Wildlife Refuge was initiated in 2010 with the goal of providing information for the protection, conservation and management of desert bighorn sheep on federal lands in southern Nevada. During the hike, people saw the radio telemetry equipment that is used to track radio-collared bighorn sheep and mountain lions in the Sheep Range, providing biologists with useful information on causes of mortality, survival rate, movement patterns, and population size.

A ewe and her lamb at Point of Rocks. Photo by Karen Dorn/USFWS.

Everybody was in awe watching the bighorn jump nimbly up the steep, rocky terrain. With their cloven hooves, they are able to zigzag up and down cliff faces with amazing ease, at times using ledges only two inches wide for foot holds, and bouncing from ledge to ledge over spans as wide as 20 feet! Watching these beautiful and fascinating creatures up-close only reinforced the importance of studying them. Once we are able to answer some critical questions about their populations, we will be better able to protect them and ensure that they continue to be a part of the landscape in southern Nevada for many years to come.

- Alyson Mack, Great Basin Institute Environmental Education & Outreach Specialist