Hi everyone! It has been a second since my last blog. So, to rewind. Hi! My name is Denna, and I am one of the six Civilian Climate Corps (CCC) Fellows who are working at different National Wildlife Refuges, the refuge I am with is Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge. My last blog covered how I was working from home and getting excited to travel to Alaska. Well, I am in Alaska! But before I talk about what I have done so far in Alaska, I wanted to talk about how all the CCC fellows were able to meet up in Indiana for an in-person meeting!

The CCC fellow in-person meeting was in Indiana, which I had never been there before. The meeting was filled with great conversations, informative presentations, amazing food, and getting to know each other. It was exciting to be able to all get together and talk about all the different refuges we are at and what projects we hope to do. I look forward to the next in-person meeting when we can catch-up and have more great conversations.

Now back to Alaska! I have been in Alaska for about 2 months now and have already learned so much. My first month in Alaska was focused on trainings. I was able to start off my trainings with motorized boat training. Which I had never driven a boat where I had to worry about a current. It was nice being able to get comfortable with driving a boat and learn more about boats in general. My second training was what many people call Dunker Training. This training, I was very nervous for but ended up being a training I really enjoyed because you get submerged buckled in a cage like contraption, and you have to unbuckle yourself and get out. The instructors that I had were amazing and made sure to walk through all the steps with us and were right there if we had any difficulties. The biggest thing for me during it all was to remind myself to remain calm and that I Am a Survivor (this is the first step and something that we had to say out loud to get in the right mindset). The third/fourth training was Safety Awareness in Bear Country and Firearm training. In these trainings, we learned what to do if we were to come across a bear and what to do if the bear was to come towards us. All these trainings were important for me to get done before I went into the field which the first field project that I was scheduled to help with was not until late July. But an opportunity to help with a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) project came along. The project was a 10-day backcountry float trip starting mid-June. When I was first told about the project from my supervisor, I was super excited for this kind of opportunity not to mention that we would be flying out of the field in a helicopter! The 10-day float trip included two 3 person survey crews, one in the upper portion of Beaver Creek (this was the crew I was on) and the other crew who was in the lower portion of Beaver Creek. Beaver Creek is a National Wild and Scenic River that flows from the White Mountains National Conservation Area through the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge where it connects to the Yukon River. BLM wanted to conduct this project to gather baseline aquatic habitat monitoring to help inform management about this resource. We used the Boatable Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) method which BLM is currently developing. Each crew was assigned 14 reaches and within each reach there were 10 transects to collect data at. In-between the transects we had to use a stadia rod to measure the depth of the thalweg along with determining the substrate at that point (these were usually my tasks). Once we got to the transect, some of the data that we had to gather included: bench height (above water), bankfull height, bankfull width, canopy cover (using a densitometer - usually my task), the condition of the bank, and pictures of the bank. All this data would be collected onto the forms that BLM put together using ESRI Survey123 that was located on the iPads that we had. At the beginning of the project, my two experienced and patient crew mates demonstrated and explained to me the procedures and allowed me to try the different tasks. After a couple of days, to speed things up, we decided to delegate tasks. I learned a lot on the trip, beginning with BLMs boatable-AIM protocol, the best way to break down my camp gear each morning, and understanding why the mosquito is the “state bird” of Alaska. Between the great views, the beavers, the helicopter ride, and my two amazing crew mates, this was an experience I will never forget. I want to acknowledge the BLM Eastern Interior Field Office and Fish Ecologist, Chris Clark, for the opportunity, thank you again for allowing me to be part of this experience and to my supervisor, Jimmy Fox, who told me about the opportunity.

Stay tuned to hear about my next adventure living in Alaska!

Agency: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Program: Civilian Climate Corps Program (CCC)

Location: Kenai/Yukon Flats NWR