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César E. Chávez National Monument National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Sierra Nevada Network DEVILS POSTPILE • SEQUOIA & KINGS CANYON • YOSEMITE Volume 6, Issue 1 Sierra Nevada Monitor December 2016 Newsletter of the Sierra Nevada Inventory & Monitoring Network Bird BioBlitz: César E. Chávez National Monument BioBlitz participants viewing birds in the oak woodlands of Cesar E. Chavez National Monument. A small, but enthusiastic group gathered at César E. Chávez National Monument (CECH) on April 16, 2016 to survey birds as a BioBlitz event in celebration of the National Park Service Centennial. The effort established the first bird list for the Google map showing the locations of the April 16th BioBlitz monument, documenting 43 species and over 350 individual bird observations for César E. Chávez National Monument near birds. Visit the iNaturalist site for an interactive map and more Keene, California. information about BioBlitz results. In This Issue Sierra Nevada Network (SIEN) staff coordinated this BioBlitz in Staffing Updates….………………2 collaboration with the CECH Superintendent Ruben Andrade and the Cesar Chavez Foundation. This was a great opportunity Data Management Review………3 for SIEN, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, and the What’s New at Devils Postpile….3 public volunteers to contribute biological information to this important historical site. Project Updates……………………4 Botanist Moves on to Utah……..6 “This was a great event for César Chávez National Monument,” said Superintendent Andrade. “Up until this survey, we had Inventories, Next Phase…………6 no information to share with the visitors about birds at the Foothill Botany Forays.................7 monument. We now have the start of a bird list for our visitors. Reports and Publications ............7 It is my hope that we can host an event like this again next year.” I&M in Mongolian Parks.………..8 CECH was established in 2012 as a national monument by President Obama to mark the extraordinary achievements and New Field Station Director..........9 contributions to the history of the United States made by César SEKI Science Symposium...........10 Chávez and the farm worker movement. New Millipede Species...............10 EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICATM December 7, 2016 Sierra Nevada New Data Manager: Alex Eddy Data Management Review Benefits Network Network Inventory The Sierra Nevada Network welcomes Sound data management is core to the success of a & Monitoring Alex Eddy as our new Data Manager. long-term monitoring program, where information Her primary interests lie in the must be accessible both for current managers and As part of the National Park Service’s effort nexus between the environment and scientists as well as those in the future, allowing to “improve park management through society — she is specifically focused evaluation of park resource condition for decades to greater reliance on scientific knowledge,” a on leveraging data and technology to come. The Sierra Nevada Network (SIEN) initiated primary role of the Inventory and Monitor- support resource decision-making an evaluation of its data/information management ing (I&M) Program is to collect, organize, and make available natural resource data and responsible environmental program in February 2016 to help guide the new data and to contribute to the Service’s institu- stewardship. manager and other SIEN staff in the coming years. tional knowledge by facilitating the trans- formation of data into information through Alex previously worked for Peter Lindstrom, Data Manager in Yosemite National analysis, synthesis, and modeling. the National Park Service as a Park, conducted the evaluation as a detail funded by Cartographic Technician at Sequoia the National Park Service Inventory & Monitoring Parks in the network are: César E. Chávez and Kings Canyon National Parks, Division (IMD). The SIEN staff is grateful to: Peter National Monument (CECH), Devils Postpile National Monument (DEPO), Sequoia & as well as at Gateway National for his thorough work and insights, Yosemite National Kings Canyon National Parks (SEKI), and Recreation Area and the National Park for making him available, the IMD for funding Yosemite National Park (YOSE). Parks of New York Harbor. She has the detail and providing helpful input, and all the park also worked in positions at state and Alex Eddy, Black Canyon of the Gunnison staff who responded to survey questions and provided Sierra Nevada Network Peter Lindstrom, Yosemite Data Manager. local governments, and in several National Recreation Area, Colorado. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks thoughtful input and comments that informed the academic environments dedicated evaluation. review of data. More attention now is needed on 47050 Generals Highway in Geography (with a specialization in Three Rivers, California 93271 to exploring landscape-level data sharing and product production to mitigate Society and the Environment). http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/sien/ environmental issues. A brief summary of the evaluation is that SIEN has risks to data utility and longevity, and ensure that the the infrastructure and Information Technology As part of OSU’s Glacier Environmental information produced is available for years to come. Program Manager She has a strong foundation in science support its needs and has succeeded in designing and Change group, Alex integrated The report will be made available after outside Sylvia Haultain (559) 565-3788 and geospatial theory provided by her implementing a majority of its monitoring projects, [email protected] geochemical and spatiotemporal analysis reviews are complete. undergraduate and graduate studies creating procedures for the effective collection and to evaluate glacier-associated hydrologic at Ohio State University (OSU). Data Manager systems in the Peruvian Andes. Alex Eddy (559) 565-3709 She has a B.S. in Geography (with a [email protected] specialization in GIS and Analytical Alex will be stationed at the Sierra Nevada Cartography and a second major in What’s New at Devils Postpile? Physical Scientist Network office in Sequoia National Park. Geology) and a Master of Arts Degree Andi Heard (559) 565-3786 Two New Mammals Documented [email protected] Staff from the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and the now retired SIEN Ecologist Data Manager Les Chow continued a mammal inventory initiated in 2015 in Jonny Nesmith (559) 565-3765 Andi Heard Now Permanent [email protected] Devils Postpile National Monument (DEPO). In June, they trapped a heather Physical Scientist vole (Phenacomys intermedius), a rare and typically high elevation mammal Administrative Assistant associated with heather, but at DEPO was found in a Jeffrey pine-lodgepole Physical Scientist Andi Heard, Jenny Matsumoto (559) 565-3787 stand. Another exciting finding was a flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) in [email protected] who has worked with the Sierra Nevada Network since 2004, first dense lodgepole pine in September. This is the first Science Communication Specialist as a student under a cooperative known record of this species for the upper San Linda Mutch (559) 565-3174 agreement with Colorado State Joaquin River basin! [email protected] University, and then as a term and Pathways physical scientist, was State of the Park Report Completed Please distribute this newsletter to hired as a permanent physical any person or group who is interested. scientist in February of this year. The DEPO State of the Park report was completed in Contact Editor Linda Mutch to be added Congratulations, Andi! to the mailing list. JIm Patton, retired from the UC April 2016 and can be accessed at the following site: Andi manages the network’s lakes, Berkeley Museum of Vertebrate https://www.nps.gov/stateoftheparks/depo/. rivers, and climate monitoring Zoology, instructs DEPO Student Conservation Association Intern Congratulations to DEPO staff on this effort. Sierra protocols and was involved in Julie Chuong on mammal all the stages of developing the Nevada Network, Yosemite, and Sequoia & Kings sampling methods (above). Julie Canyon National Parks staff assisted with writing network’s vital signs monitoring weighs a deer mouse (right). NPS Andi Heard on a lake monitoring trip in Yosemite plan. photos by: Monica Buhler. portions of the report and providing subject-matter National Park, August 2015. expertise and review where needed. Cliff Swallow. 2 Sierra Nevada Monitor newsletter National Park Service 3 From the Field: 2016 Project Updates Field Updates High-elevation Forests This summer was the fifth season members were leads Sean Auclair Lakes of sampling for the high-elevation and Pete Del Zotto, plus Rosa white pine monitoring protocol. Cox, Vladimir Kovalenko, Hanna The lakes project completed its ninth lead) and Jacob Seidel, our Yosemite The purpose of this project is to Mohr, and Matthew Mosher. The field season this year. This season based crew, had a fantastic season document and interpret changes crews installed three new foxtail also marks the second round of sampling all the Yosemite sites, in community dynamics in forests plots in Sequoia & Kings Canyon completion of our monitoring panels, plus traveled south to sample three containing white pine species (SEKI), and two whitebark plots meaning that sites on the rotating lakes in Sequoia and Kings Canyon. (whitebark pine, Pinus albicaulis in Yosemite (YOSE). They re- panels have all been visited twice Roxanne Kessler (crew lead) and Liz and foxtail pine, P. balfouriana) visited
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