2019 Final Report - Extension Buffalo County · 2019 Final Report Larkin Hoepner August 2019 . 2...
Transcript of 2019 Final Report - Extension Buffalo County · 2019 Final Report Larkin Hoepner August 2019 . 2...
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Buffalo County Natural Resources Internship
2019 Final Report
Larkin Hoepner August 2019
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Introduction
The Buffalo County Natural Resources Internship Program offers hands on experience to
a college student pursing a degree in natural resources. This internship allows the intern to get
experience working with many different entities at the federal, state, and county level. My
internship began the last week of May and concluded at the end of August. The intern works
35-40 hours a week and receives a $6,000 scholarship thanks to many contributions from
conservation groups, businesses, and local families. I was fortunate to be chosen to be the
Buffalo County Natural Resources Intern after an interview process that included identification
of pants and animals, questions about my education and work experience, and a presentation
on a natural resources project I would be helping with this summer.
I grew up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin where I spent time hiking, hunting, boating, and
kayaking which drove me to want to find a career where I could help protect the resources I
grew to love. I currently attend University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point where I am majoring in
Hydrology and a member of the track and field team. After graduation I plan to work on stream
restoration and runoff management to keep water resources viable.
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USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
Most of my time working with NRCS was
spent with Chad Dewyre, Soil Conservation
Technician. He works with farmers on
implementing dams and waterways in an effort
to reduce runoff and erosion as well as installing
rip rap to help control stream bank erosion. This
fit well with my major, so I was particularly interested in what we were doing. While much of
the planning was done in the office, I was able to
help with the field work which included using laser
levels and stadia rods to ensure the construction
workers were doing correct slopes, had the right
length or depth, and making changes if needed.
After the construction was complete, we also did
measurements so that we knew the actual amount of materials used and to double check
everything was up to the specifications on the plan.
Early in the year I also worked with Dennis Reimers, NRCS District Conservationist, doing
compliance checks. These checks were for a group of randomly selected people enrolled in the
cost-shared program where environmentally friendly farming practices were placed to reduce
erosion. When doing these, we inspected tillage practices, estimated the percent residue left
on their fields, and ensured their waterways were intact.
Riprap Construction
Waterway Installation
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Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources – Forestry
I spent quite a bit of my time with Adam Foehringer, the Buffalo County forester. While
working with him, one of the things that I did was to help manage logging properties. This
included spraying herbicides on early
successional invasives, such as buckthorn and
honeysuckle, on a recent clear-cut patch of
forest. We also worked on a red pine stand
that will eventually be cut. This site had a
problem with invasive Siberian Elm that was
crowding into the stand and not allowing the
pines to grow to their full potential. To help solve this, we girdled and sprayed the elm to
prevent them from continuing to overcrowd the pines. Other logging sites were checked to
ensure the loggers had fulfilled their contracts, cleaned up roads, and did not leave erosion
gullies.
We also did reconnaissance on managed forest lands to see how they had progressed
since the last logging and to ensure the data on the stands was still accurate. The data on the
stands included tree species, basal area, number of large saw logs, number of pulp sticks,
understory trees, and any invasives. Once the data was collected, we went back to the office,
and Adam taught me how to calculate data, how to interpret it, and then discussed potential
future management actions.
Post logging property visit
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Other forestry projects included marking timber for harvest, calculating the amount of
timber that would be taken for sale, and calculating the number of residual trees that would
remain after harvest.
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources – Wildlife Management
Wildlife management provided me a wide variety of work duties. I spent time spraying
invasives, banding geese and peregrine falcon chicks, conducting black bear and bobwhite quail
surveys, and wolf trapping.
Banding birds was one of my favorite things
this summer. I have been banding geese since I was
six, so it was interesting to see the differences
between banding up north vs this summer’s banding
on the Mississippi River. I went out with Gary Wolf –
a Wildlife Technician, and Jane Blomberg – a Wildlife LTE, and scouted to find the birds and
estimate counts about a week before banding. The day of banding I helped set up and herd the
geese into the nets. Once the geese were netted, I helped transfer them from the net to the
biologist who would band them.
Banding peregrine falcons was another cool experience. I had never seen peregrine
chicks before, and additionally, the nest is out on a cliff face! Two members from a raptor
center came to the area and repelled down with a kennel, grabbed the chicks, and brought
them up to be sexed, banded, and checked for black flies; black flies can be fatal to peregrine
chicks. The raptor center workers also taught us that male chicks are substantially smaller than
Group of geese after being captured in the nets
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females; I was able to see this difference at the second
banding site where there was one of each sex. It was
interesting to hear about how fast the chicks grow and
to see and hear the birds up close.
With Gary, I was also able to assist with a bear
population survey and a bobwhite survey. The bear
population survey consisted of a spread of traps
throughout Eau Claire County that we had to check.
These traps were square sets made from a single barbed wire strand placed about knee high off
the ground. Within the set, a peanut butter and oil mix was placed as bait. In addition, liquid
smoke was used as an attractant. If a bear walked into the trap, the barbed wire would catch
some hair that we would collect. The hair would then be sent and genetically tested to help
identify and estimate how many bears were in the county. We collected hair at three of the 12
trap sites. The bobwhite survey was done just south of Buffalo County and was a collection of
stops where we would listen for two minutes for a bobwhite call to try and estimate how many
bobwhites were in the area. We heard one bobwhite which was the first one heard in our
sampling area in two years.
Another project I got to see was wolf trapping with Gary and DeWayne Snobl, a USDA
biologist. We went out to an Eau Claire County forest where DeWayne had already set leg hold
traps. While we did not catch anything, I learned to identify wolf tracks, how DeWayne goes
about the process of where to set the traps, and what he does to try and draw the wolves in.
Peregrine Chicks
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Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources – Fisheries Management
I also spent a couple days with DNR Fisheries assisting
Fisheries Biologist Brian Brecka with fish surveys and a
contaminant fish collection. Shocking fish was an
interesting experience and it really kept you on your
toes because you never knew when a fish was going to
come up, and it was always a surprise to see what
species it was. I enjoyed trying to net the carp because
they were usually quite large and provided a good
workout. The first day of shocking was spent on Pool 4
where we took multiple samples for 10-minute increments collecting every fish that I could. For
each of those fish we recorded their species and length. The survey is done to keep track of
populations of fish in the pool. The other times we went
shocking it was to collect fish for contaminant testing. The
fish collected were gamefish including bluegill, crappie,
and yellow perch, that we packaged and froze to be taken
down to a lab to be tested for the amounts of
contaminants that accumulated in them. This helps the
DNR set advisories for the amount of fish that should be
consumed without risking health problems.
Two yellow perch caught electrofishing
A hefty common carp
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Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources – Natural Heritage Conservation (NHC)
My work with NHC consisted mostly of restoration work. Over the course of the
summer, we spent our time on State Natural Areas which included a lot of the bluffs in the
area. Working on the bluffs provided a unique challenge for me as the terrain was not
something I was exposed to growing up. It took a few weeks of slipping and many afternoons of
sore legs before I got comfortable. Our time on these bluffs was spent trying to control the
amount of woody vegetation and restore them to a bluff prairie state. We used brush cutters,
chainsaws, and herbicides to control woody vegetation. For much of our work, this meant
treating sumac. Sumac is a woody species that invades bluff prairie habitat; it invades in big
patches, and when left uncontrolled it can take over a prairie quickly. Another project I did with
NHC was collecting and drying seeds. The
seeds included lupin, spiderwort, needle
grass, and bottlebrush grass. These seeds
will be spread onto future prairie
restoration projects. My work with NHC was
intense at times but it was very rewarding
to see all the hard work come together.
Buffalo County Land Conservation Department
Most of my time spent with the Land Conservation Department was doing stream
monitoring for the Water Action Volunteers program (WAV) with Tim Wucherer, the county
Conservation Resource Specialist. We went out multiple times over the course of the summer
to the same sites to measure transparency, temperature, velocity, dissolved oxygen, width,
Spraying invasives out at Coon Fork
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depth, and macroinvertebrates. After we collected the data, Tim showed me how to enter the
data into the database where the information for all the streams is stored. The WAV program
provides data that can be used to evaluate stream health
and potentially guide future management practices.
The other project I worked on with Land Conservation
was the Cropland Transect Survey. This survey was
conducted by driving through the county to 600
predetermined points where we would record what crop
was planted on either side of the road and what type of
tillage practices were being implemented. This data is
taken and put into a program and calculates the amount
of erosion that takes place around the county every year.
Community Outreach
During the summer I was involved with many community outreach events. Most of
these were focused on getting the communities aware of and involved with some of the work
we do. The work included the annual Trout Day celebration, the Mondovi Schools Conservation
Day, Kids Fishing League, and the Buffalo County Fair.
Trout Day was an opportunity for families to come out to a restored trout stream and
spend the afternoon fishing for trout. Conservation groups that sponsored the celebration
included the Alma Rod and Gun Club, Fountain City Rod and Gun Club, Waumandee Rod and
Gun Club, and Trout Unlimited. The sponsors provided rods and reels to any kids that wanted
them, worms for bait, and a free lunch. After a couple hours of fishing, raffle prizes were
Measuring the width of the stream for a WAV survey
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handed out and the DNR’s
electrofishing crew from Black
River Falls shocked the stream and
showed the kids how many fish
were really in the stream. I was
able to assist by helping people
register and handed out raffle
tickets. I was also responsible for
handing out rods and reels and bait to kids.
During the Mondovi Conservation Day, I worked with Tim Wucherer to make an initial
collection of water invertebrates. Our quest that day was to teach 5th graders how to use a
dichotomous key and then have them try to identify as many invertebrates as they could. I
walked around and helped kids with any questions they might have. After some time, we had a
group discussion about the different invertebrates and their roles in the ecosystem.
On Wednesday evenings I
helped Gary Wolf with the Kids Fishing
League on the Great Alma Fishing
Float. I helped with bait, unhooking
and measuring fish, and keeping track
of what species each kid had caught.
On some weeks we gave out medals
for whoever caught the biggest or Kids fishing on my final week helping with the program
Assisting with sign in and rod and reel distribution on Trout Day
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smallest fish and had other prizes for the other kids. This program is a great opportunity for kids
to get out and learn how to fish no matter their experience level and will hopefully help build a
future community of fishers in the area.
During the Buffalo County Fair, I worked the DNR booth where I answered questions
and provided literature on various programs we have, such as those on invasives species and
certain regulations. I also helped kids with identifying examples of wild game anatomy that we
had on display. It was another good opportunity for me to interact with people of the county
and get them involved with some of the programs we have.
Reflection
This internship gave me the perfect opportunity to apply what I had already learned in
the classroom, while also picking up new skills and experiences that will help me become a
better professional. The opportunity to work with many different agencies and disciplines gave
me a better understanding of what goes on behind the scenes at the different levels. The
waterway and stream restoration projects that I was able to oversee this summer were
especially interesting because it gave me a good look and a better understanding of what I hope
to do in my future career. I’m thankful for this opportunity and for the people I worked with for
making this a wonderful learning experience that will no doubt help me in the future. A special
thank you to all the donors that made this internship possible, the funds will go towards my
schooling as I continue into my last year at UW-Stevens Point.
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Thank You to the 2019 Donors!
Alma Rod and Gun Club Brian Berger Excavating
Dairyland Power Cooperative Ron Hurlburt
Clear Waters Chapter – Trout Unlimited Carl and Pat Morsbach
Madison Fishing Expo Collins Plumbing, Inc.
Buffalo County Farm Bureau Fountain City Ford
Stuart Hagen Fountain City Lions Club
Mondovi Conservation Club Fountain City Rod and Gun Club
Steve Stamm Gunderson’s Meats – Jon Seipel
Waumandee Rod and Gun Club Post D Excavating – Doug Sokup
John Balk Reglin Excavating, LLC – Tim Reglin
Bushy’s Meat Market and Buff’s Bike Shop Ridge Top Taxidermy – Dan Rolbiecki
Klevgard Trucking & Backhoe, LLC Rutting Ridge Outfitters – Jarrad Fluekiger
Lower Chippewa River Alliance, Inc. Bucknuckles
Melitta Schaffner Lori Miller
Swan Watch Unser Excavating
This internship was partially funded through a grand awarded to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (C-SWG Grant #F17AP00917).