At last, field season is winding down, and I am sad to see it go. Still, there are plenty of important things to be done in the office that will keep me plenty occupied until mid January. There are maps to be updated, monitoring data to be summarized, and letters to be sent out and people to be contacted in preparation for the winter eagle survey. There are still tasks that will take me out in the field occasionally: weed spraying, fence mending, fencing inventory, tagging along with the release of a rescued golden eagle, and possibly assisting Trout Unlimited rescue fish from the irrigation canals before they freeze. It’s nice to know I will not be bored, but I will be useful.

A couple of weeks ago we had a Montana Conservation Corps crew that came to help collect seeds and remove netwire. They were a great group, very positive and enthusiastic about the projects. We collected big basin sagebrush, wyoming sagebrush, greasewood, Utah juniper, and curlleaf mountain mahogany. The purpose of the netwire removal project was to facilitate the passage of pronghorn, who go under fences rather than over them. The netwire goes all the way to the ground, which blocks the pronghorn’s passage, so we changed the fence to have 2 strands of barbed wire and a bottom smooth wire so that the pronghorn can go under the fence without getting injured from barbs. It was especially important on the YU Bench area where we were working because it is part of a major pronghorn migration path. It’s extremely satisfying to know that there will be a direct benefit to wildlife from this project, as the problem fence has been an obstacle for the pronghorn for many years.

With 2 months to go for the first half of my internship, I have finally gotten involved in volunteering around here. One volunteer job is with the Park County Animal Shelter, and the other is with the Greater Yellowstone Raptor Experience at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. So far I’m still in training with holding the birds, which include a great horned owl, red-tailed hawk, turkey vulture, and peregrine falcon. During the summers they will have more programs where we may actually get to assist in flying and feeding the birds. I’m now even happier that I get to come back in March for another 6 months or so! You just can’t beat work and volunteer experiences like these here in Cody. I’ve probably said it for every blog entry I’ve posted, but I feel very fortunate to be here and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.