Tropics to Temprate

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Just for a quick recap, I spent the first three months of 2008 in Panama working on a project for the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. After a month-and-a-half-long break I am back in the field, but this time in Montana, on a project with the U.S. Forest Service.

The USFS has put together a group of people with bat-related work experience to do an inventory of the different bat species in one of its largest forests. There are 4 of us and a 5th crew member coming soon to work on the nearly 3.5 million acres of forest. The results of the inventory will hopefully help in conservation planning and land management decisions.

Week 1

I arrived in Dillon, a small town in southwest Montana, by Greyhound on June 2nd. I was quickly given a tour of the town and was asked to start work the very next day. I found a little basement apartment for $150 per month in the middle of town which has been working out very well for me. Of course, the first week had its blips and bumps... I think I am the only non-white person in this town. I've heard of Mexicans and Chinese here, but have never seen them! After the initial fish-out-of-water feeling, I began to settle in, especially after I got to know more people and started to learn my way around town. I spent the whole first week in the Forest Service office acquainting myself with the project. I had to sort through various gear, make lists, download programs, and go through all kinds of training deemed necessary by the USFS. That included defensive driving for Pete's sake.

I did manage to see my first black bear on the way back from defensive driving which was the highlight of my first week! The two guys I share an office with, Jim and Steve were very jealous that I saw one in my first week. But they counted the sighting as an initiation into life in the Northwest and employment at the USFS.

Week 2
My co-workers, Greg and Tim arrived after taking their college exams and dove straight into their share of training and set-up. Greg was kind enough to share the apartment with me, which is why I got it so cheap. We have worked out a good living arrangement and have managed so far to be respectful of each other's space and privacy.

Week 3
Amie, my supervisor and the three of us bat-techs all drove to eastern Oregon for a 4-day bat-training program. We were instructed by the famous Pat Ormsbee, a veteran in bat science and conservation, on everything about bats. We studied their biology, their ecology, their conservation and management and were given hands-on experience with them. We were also taught about acoustics by a professor from Humboldt University, and were shown how to identify bats just based on their calls. It was a pretty rigorous schedule - class from 12-5pm and practical work from 6:30pm until midnight. Needless to say, we were exhausted by the time we returned to Dillon but empowered with knowledge on how to conduct our own surveys in Montana.

Week 4
A day after returning to Dillon, Tim and I left for the Clearwater National Forest in Idaho and Amie and Greg went to the Lewis and Clark Forest. Tim and I met with Matt Schweich, the biologist for Clearwater NF. Matt helped us with surveys on two nights and then left us to fend for ourselves. We were then joined by Jenny Taylor one of the founders of the bat inventory program who helped us finish our surveys.

Thankfully, we didn't have any run-ins with bears or moose, although one night, Jenny and I had something charge at us from behind some vegetation. We heard it clumping and thumping through the creek and bushes but it stopped about 25 feet away from us. We couldn't actually see it because it was hidden by vegetation. Jenny was convinced it was a moose because it appeared to have been galloping toward us, but then again it could have been a bear too. Lucky for us it stopped short.

I think I saw an Indian man while I was shopping at the local grocery store and I was very excited. I sort of hung around him and was contemplating blurting out a Hindi word to see if I could get his attention, but he walked off before I plucked up the courage to say anything. Just as well.

I got the first week of July completely off... but more about that in my next entry!!

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