The boreal forest, or taiga, is found in the northern reaches around the globe. This constitutes one of the largest forests, making it a crucial part of conversations around climate change, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, water quality, and human needs. The trees and other organisms are especially adapted to the cold, dry conditions and as a result are often stunted. In Alaska, conifers, primarily black spruce and white spruce, dominate accompanied by deciduous trees including birch, aspen, and cottonwood. The mid and understory layers contain a multitude of trees, shrubs, forbs, graminoids, and moss/lichen blankets.

Monica Kopp (CLM), Samantha Snodgrass (CLM), Tim Skiba (BLM Forester), and I got to experience the boreal magic firsthand. We ventured up to Eagle, located in Interior Alaska, just before the winter snows block the passes. Eagle may be tiny, but also boasts a greater percentage of museum per square foot than just about anywhere within historic Fort Egbert. The town is also rimmed with soft mountains and bordered by the mighty Yukon River. Our main focus was to conduct a forest inventory using the national Forest Vegetation Inventory System (FORVIS) protocol. There are a number of parameters collected relating to the general characteristics, forest type, vegetation cover, and tree measurements. We determined what trees to measure by using a 10-factor prism. Each tree that met the size requirements was identified then measured for diameter at breast height, height, crown to height ratio, and age using an inclement borer to collect a core sample. Forest inventories such as these are important for informing the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) management in their decision making processes. A definite highlight was having the opportunity to talk with the upper grades at the local Eagle School. The students there were studying forest succession and especially enjoyed getting outside to meet and measure trees. Their looks of delight of seeing the cores come out said it all- pretty cool to age a tree.

Happy trails, Kim Hack

A calm Yukon River.

Monica Kopp expertly cores a tree.

Samantha Snodgrass measures the forest fuel load.

A mossy understory of a boreal forest.

A black spruce, Picea mariana, cone.

Tim Skiba, BLM Forestry, using an inclinometer to calculate a tree’s height.

The town of Eagle, AK.

Winter is coming with snow dustings on the hill tops and ice underfoot.

After six months working with USFWS in Klamath Falls, OR largely focused on captive rearing programs for endangered sucker as well as some brief forays into work with spotted frogs, bald eagles, apple-gate’s milkvetch, vernal pool plants, monarch butterflies, and Canadian geese, I have transitioned into three months entirely focused on bull trout. Bull trout were once relatively common in the Klamath Basin, however in the late 1900s and early 2000s were extirpated from much of their historical range. In 1998 bull trout were listed as threatened under the endangered species act as a result of the species’ declining numbers.

Bull trout have been significantly impacted by habitat loss and the presence of non-native brook trout. Because bull trout require very cold and clean water, road building, logging, and agriculture have impacted Bull trout habitat. Brook trout compete with bull trout for resources and also interbreed with bull trout, resulting in sterile hybrids. While bull trout are still present in a few streams in the basin, bull trout reintroduction is being considered for a variety of historical habitats in the Klamath Basin.

A variety of other bull trout reintroductions have been completed (both successfully and unsuccessfully), so my role in this effort is to help write a review of past bull trout reintroductions so we can learn from these past projects. One of the most notable bull trout reintroduction projects has taken place recently on the Clackamas River in Northwestern Oregon. A short video (below) gives a brief overview of the project and its outcomes. The video does a great job of sharing the amazing work being done on the Clackamas through really impressive film making.

A video about the successful reintroduction of bull trout to the Clackamas River in Northwestern Oregon. Worth a watch just for the incredible underwater filming!