Tonto National Forest, AZ: Part 1, Intro to an Epic Adventure

One of the most exciting aspects of being a wildlife biologist is getting to work all over the place, and on all kinds of projects. This summer I took a job in the Tonto National Forest of Arizona, a state I hardly knew anything about. As a “biological wildlife technician” for the U.S. Forest Service (what kind of wildlife is not biological, I wondered) I was supposed to be working on several interesting projects. While the bat study did not receive enough funding, I did end up working on projects involving the federally endangered southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus), the federally threatened Chiricahua leopard frog (Rana chiricahuensis), and listed or at-risk native stream fish. I also was able to help AZ Game and Fish with a couple surveys on the federally threatened desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) as well. On top of my awesome job, I had a blast exploring the area in my off-time, and saw many plants and animals I have always dreamed of seeing.

Having never been to Arizona, I really did not know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived, however, because the Tonto National Forest is absolutely gorgeous! The Sonoran Desert, being the hottest and driest in North America, is home to a veritable menagerie of highly-adapted plant and animal life. I loved climbing around on the granite boulders and exploring the washes. Chaparral was a new experience for me, and as the densest shrubland community on earth it has left a lasting impact, mostly on my flesh that was ripped at by catclaw acacia and scrub oaks all summer. Our living quarters were located in the middle of nowhere on Roosevelt Lake, the biggest lake in Arizona (even if it is man-made). I could see mountains all around, which is just the way I like it to be. On any given day I could be frolicking in the desert, and then cooling off at 7,000 feet elevation in Ponderosa pines.

Since my summer in Arizona was certainly an epic adventure, I will be posting about it in several parts and including lots of photos. I will detail the projects I worked on in some entries, to give you insight into the career of a wildlife biologist, and in others I will talk about the things I did for fun and the cool stuff I saw. The journey will be long, and hopefully you will find it every bit as exciting as I did.

A little more about me (ok, a LOT more about me)

I realized I haven't really introduced myself yet, so here goes! My name is Brit, and I was born in Decatur, IL (smack dab in the middle of the state!) in December of 1987. My love of science began pretty much at that instant, however I became inordinately fond of biology later on in my neonatal stage. My juvenile vernacular featured such words as "bird" and "flower," and I've been told that I used to lead people around our large yard, pointing out and naming various organisms (I have no memory of this, so they could be lying to me I suppose). I was born into a house that always had cats, rabbits, and fish, and I got my first dog when I was about 6. Shortly thereafter I moved to a bigger house (read: more room for pets!) where I began keeping painted turtles and red-eared sliders that I would catch in nearby ponds and lakes. When I was ten, I got my first leopard gecko, and then my second, third, fourth...you get the point. My collection began to spread across the whole basement.

Around this time I also became quite active with the Scovill Children's Zoo (conveniently located across the street from my house!), working in their summer Zoo Crew program for two years where I was quickly chosen for a new program called Junior Biologists (J.B.'s). Under the guidance of Chuck Hirst, I learned how to care for many of the zoo animals and eventually acquired a large collection of exotic animals kept in the secret guts of secret zoo buildings (secret!). Barely into my teens, I'd already worked with tenrecs, cheetahs, sirens, gators, scorpions, vinegaroons, sugar gliders, and just about anything else you can imagine...well, except whales. I guess I didn't work with whales. Anywho, Chuck also got me volunteering at the Rock Springs Nature Center, where I was responsible for caring for our native animal exhibits and teaching camps and classes to larval humans. I did these programs for many years until Chuck moved and the J.B. program was dissolved for all intensive purposes.

During this time I gave up on Decatur Public Schools and was accepted at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) in Aurora, IL. This sophomore-senior residential high school with spectacularly advanced math and science programs and a college-style atmosphere challenged me and opened doors to opportunities I never dreamed I would have. I began a multi-year mentorship project, under the advisory of John Thompson, in which I monitored a nasty pond in Chicago (the South Pond, by the Lincoln Park Zoo, for those familiar with the area). My then-roommate Kathy Barnes and I had a blast developing sampling protocols and learning how to use (and not to use) various pieces of limnological equipment. On top of this project, I also began a stint into the world of educational technology with Jim Gerry and Sara Goek. We specifically studied ways to streamline data-collection in the field and lab through the use of handheld PDA units. We gave talks on our work at many national and international conferences, including the AECT's international tech convention in Chicago and NECC in both Philadelphia and San Diego.

Junior year at IMSA I took a Hutton summer internship with the Illinois Natural History Survey at the Kaskaskia Biological Field Station in Sullivan, IL. For the first time in my life I got paid to do fieldwork; I could not believe that something so wonderful could be labeled as "work," and I loved it so much that I returned to work the same Fisheries Management position the summer after my senior year. For more information and photos of what I did at this job, under the guidance of Dr. David Wahl, check out my forum post here.

After graduating from IMSA, I enrolled as a biology major at Lawrence University in Appleton, WI. For the summer after freshman year I landed a wildlife tech job with an awesome non-profit conservation research organization in Kelly, WY, called Craighead Beringia South. This job will receive its own post in due time, so I won't elaborate here other than to say that it was really freaking awesome!!!!! During that same summer I also took a conservation ecology course at a remote field station in the Boundary Waters, MN, which I will speak more about in a later post. After sophomore year I took a summer wildlife tech job with the United States Forest Service in the Tonto National Forest, AZ. This job was also totally amazing and will likewise receive its own dedicated post at a later date.

And that brings me to the beginning of my junior year of college, where I currently stand (err, sit, actually), procrastinating preparations for my third day of classes tomorrow, and digesting the heaping plate of lamb vindaloo, basmati rice, and pita that I had for dinner...