Hello Hello!

Alaska is known as a land of mystique and beauty and now having lived here, I can say that Alaska is indeed a land of mystique and beauty. Completing field work in Alaska has its own unique set of challenges because of the vastness, lack of accessibility, wildlife and terrain. One strategy to navigating these lands is to take to the air; on a recent trip to Unalakleet (Western Alaska, off of Norton Sound), we flew by helicopter to our field sites every day. The diversity of ecotypes included wind swept lichen alpine tundra to volcanic rocky rolling hills to willowy grasslands to sphagnum moss bogs to tussocky low shrubland to mixed spruce woodlands. This project in partnership with the National Resource Conservation Services (NRCS) focused on soil and vegetation mapping of Nulato Hills managed by BLM and is anticipated to take another five years. I was on the botany team and identifying woody plants, forbs, graminoids, lichens, and mosses as well as estimated cover. Where forest existed we also measured trees for canopy cover, size, age, and density. The beauty and diversity of plants and animals was unbelievable- lichens, tussocks, grizzly bears, o my! These surveys help to better understand the land and can be useful for making a range of management decisions including reindeer and caribou grazing strategies. In addition to gaining a scientific perspective, I enjoy a reflective approach through photography, poetry, and watercolor painting. Below is a poem from my time there and photos to give you a sense of that stunning place.

Irises blooming in Unalakleet, Alaska.

Carnivorous sundew, Drosera rotundifolia, in the tundra.

Fellow CLM intern, Monica Kopp, in good botany form.

Colorful sphagnum moss, lichens, sedges, and low shrubs in the tundra.

A bumble bee in the lichen.

Our field helicopter picking us up for the day.

Beaver dam from the air.

Norton Sound with fellow helicopter heading into the field.