Bungee jumping!
October has been very busy. I cannot believe my internship is almost over! I am finishing up my final report. My final report deals with the pilot rearing project at the Fish Evaluation Station (FES) monitoring. I should be done with it sometime next week. Every first Monday of the month we have an all staff meeting. This month we had an all staff meeting/ going away potluck/ clean-up day. It was a lot of fun. Everyone pitched in and got us interns a little present. I received an insect field guide. It is pretty sweet. Darrick planned another going away party at the local restaurant. It was so much fun and really nice of everyone to come out.
Greenhouse and fish ponds at Gone Fishing. Photo Credit: Julie Day USFWS
James from BOR, Alia, and I installing pond lining at Gone Fishing. Photo Credit: Julie Day USFWS
KFFWO donated their greenhouse to Ron Barnes at the Gone Fishing Facility. We dissembled it and took it over to his facility where we resembled it. We also assisted with the lining of the ponds. It was hard work but we managed to get it all done in a few hours. KFFWO plans to utilize his aquaculture ponds for future sucker rearing efforts. This facility has unique geology that provides geothermal water for the fish ponds.
The geothermal water allows for a warm water supply year round. Minerals in the water cause parasitic Lernaea (Anchor worm) to die off. Suckers salvaged from the A Canal, next week, will be transported to Gone Fishing and held over winter.
Alia thinking about fish.
We went out with Sue last week to gain insight on her position. She works for the partners of USFWS. It was really neat to see all the incredible work she has done. She focuses on river and stream restoration and works with a variety of people. Sue is someone I look up to. She has a lot of passion about the environment. We went to check out a couple of her current projects. We also planted sedges along the toe of a stream that was disconnected during installation of a fish screen. This week we had the chance to go out with Sue and Nolan to broadcast seed and plant more sedges. It was really awesome to see our previous plantings were growing and the stream was now connected.
Photos of a closed mouth can be useful for sucker identification.
Adult Klamath largescale sucker (Catostomus snyderi) caught in Gerber Reservoir.
Josh has been collecting genetic samples from Klamath suckers to get an understanding of the genetic diversity present in sucker populations. We searched for pools at Gerber Reservoir to electrofish. We successfully turned over 20 juvenile suckers and collected genetic samples via fin clippings. This past week we went into the reservoir to set trammel nets. This was my first time working with these types of nets.
We set two trammels out of a canoe for one hour. Working fish was really cool. We caught a few crappie and a ton of catfish. In total, we had about 17 adult suckers that we were able to get genetic samples from. Some were fairly large. They were all in good condition. Most of the suckers were Klamath largescale (Catostomus snyderi) and a couple were shortnose suckers (Chasmistes brevirostris).
Right before I jumped 300 feet into a gully.
I took a couple personal days off and my cousin from North Dakota came to visit. We had a blast exploring Oregon. We went up to Bend, OR and went bungee jumping! It was awesome!!! We went to the coast and saw whales in Depoe Bay. We stopped in Lincoln City for the night. My birthday was last weekend and we went up to the coast. It was amazing! We saw sea lions in Florence. Alia and I found an awesome campsite in Yachats, OR called Tillicum. It was right next to the ocean. It was a great way to spend my birthday. 
My last day is November 11th. This has been such an amazing experience.
Until next time… the last time,
Erica