Youth Hunt – A Mentor’s View

We, the dog and I, arrived at Hamden Slough National Wildlife Refuge at 4:30 a.m. I had the honor of having keys, and the curse of having to get there earlier than everyone else so that the gates are open and lights on.

Before too long the parking lot is full of trucks. Piles of decoys, eager dogs, and people struggling into waders are silhouetted in headlights. At the last minute, warm clothes are exchanged for warmer clothes. Then, each group marches off in a different direction, swallowed up by the prairie darkness.

"Orion, the hunter, watches over us from his spot in the southern sky. It’s chilly, but not cold, with a light wind at our back."

After an eight minute walk, my group arrives at the edge of the cattails. Another fifteen yards and we’re at the edge of the water. I unshoulder the decoy bag and begin tossing decoys into the water. What is it about the sound of decoys splashing in the inky blackness of a marsh morning? By the time I’m done, the others have mashed down some areas a few feet back in the cattails and are in position.

There are eight of us hidden amid the mud and cattails, two youth hunters, two parents, two mentors, a photographer, and a mud colored Lab. This is my favorite part of the morning. There are as many stars in the sky as there are blades of grass in the prairie. Orion, the hunter, wa

tches over us from his spot in the southern sky. It’s chilly, but not cold, with a light wind at our back.

The eastern horizon is touched with rose-colored light as the black sky overhead resolves into cobalt. The invisible whistle of wings takes the shape of black silhouettes. Several teal land in the decoys, our mirror smooth water now rippled. Others land further out and paddle in. I know what my heart rate is right now, and I can’t imagine the surge of adrenalin in the kids. Finally, it’s two minutes to shooting time. They have asked several times in the last ten minutes. They are both allowed to load their guns.

There is so much to see on a marsh morning; mallards, green-wings, blue-wings, shovelers, woodies, gadwalls, canvasbacks. Greater yellowlegs repeatedly fly into the decoys. Common yellowthroats and marsh wrens dart among cattail stalks. As the air warms, thousands of swallows descend onto the wetland, hawking insects from just above the water’s surface.

Three hours later we have four ducks, two very happy kids, and a tired dog. Before we leave the cattails, I give everyone a quick lesson on aging ducks. We have two juvenile and one adult. That indicates a good year of reproduction.

We get back to the barn, and breakfast, by ten. Each group gets back at a different time, giving everyone a chance to tell their story individually. After breakfast, a lesson in how to clean a bird, and how to transport the birds legally. Trucks pull out one by one with happy parents behind the wheel and, I imagine, sleeping hunters in the back seat.

As they were leaving, several people thanked me. I say “you’re welcome,” but I’m really not sure why they are thanking me. To review… My dog was able to retrieve four birds this morning. We’ve been working with canvas bumpers for the last month, but cold canvas in the yard is no substitute for warm feathers in the wetland. I was able to see people I haven’t seen since the hunt last year and catch up. I was able to spend a beautiful sunrise in a duck blind. What’s that saying, even a bad day in a duck blind is better than a good day…where? Well, just about anywhere! I was able to talk to the next generation of hunters, duck stamps buyers and voters. As far as I’m concerned, all of this was done for purely selfish reasons. No altruism here. And there’s no need to thank me for being selfish.

-Mentor Greg Hoch, Detroit Lakes Wetland Management District

Biomimcry: The Mother Nature of Invention

In the shimmering brilliance of the final product, the design process can fade, unnoticed and unappreciated, like pale yellow in the sun. There’s no denying that the design process is a labor intensive process, but in some cases, it is one that can be mitigated with careful observation of the surrounding environment.
Nature has many lessons to teach. Some of which are best practices of design. From the Greek words that mean life and imitation, biomimcry is the art of invention by employing design principles that imitate nature. In short, it is using nature as a model for the creation of the things we need to live, love and play. Many innovations have employed nature’s philosophy for efficient and effective problem solving. The most famous example is the invention of Velcro, inspired by an engineer’s observation of burrs stuck to his dog’s fur. Other examples include African termite mounds that inspired building cooling systems, butterfly wing influenced solar panels and higher efficiency turbines that feature designs sparked by the flippers of humpback whales. Mother Nature’s ability to so effectively and efficiently sustain the complex system of life found on Earth is inspiration in and of itself. For more examples of biomimcry, visit the following websites:
Coolest Biomimcry: http://brainz.org/15-coolest-cases-biomimicry/
Design Inspiration from Nature: http://inhabitat.com/2010/07/16/finding-design-inspiration-in-nature-biomimicry-for-a-better-planet/
Biomimcry: http://www.designboom.com/contemporary/biomimicry.html
How would nature solve green building challenges: http://www.asknature.org/
How Biomimcry Works: http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/evolution/biomimicry2.htm
Butterfly Wing Inspired Turbines: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/02/biomimicry-breakthrough-butterfly-wings-solar-panels.php .
--Valerie Rose Redmond
External Affairs

A Deeper Shade of Green A Deeper Shade of Green

At last the wait is over. On August 7, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge flung open its doors to the public after a year of renovation with a grand reopening celebration of its Visitor Center in Bloomington, Minn. The meticulously planned and heavily anticipated event was a virtual who’s who of Minnesota, notably with Senator Amy Klobuchar and Congresswoman Betty McCollum on hand with Midwest Regional Director Tom Melius for the celebrations.
After a hiatus of more than 15 months, the visitor center for America’s largest urban national wildlife refuge (built in 1989) re-emerged with style—green style. While the efficiency project was retrofitted to a 21-year old building, it is without a doubt, sustainable architecture at its best, the new center features solar panels, a geothermal heating and cooling system, and halogens energy.
The 24 solar panels that top the penthouse of the center are not photovoltaic but are instead used to produce domestic water and to supplement heating. The panels produce 268.8 million BTUs per year. The hot water that is produced from this power heats the building. There are 60 geothermal wells that provide all of the air conditioning needs and provide heat when needed. An ice tank that is linked to the geothermal system and provides additional cooling needs on very hot days. "We put in an ice storage system which is composed of CALMAC," says Marie Niesen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Office lead engineer on the project. "It’s a one of a kind design for the region." Niesen who also worked on an Agassiz NWR project to repair the solar panel to heat the maintenance building there, estimates that the installation the state-of-the-art design at Minnesota Valley NWR will reduce the facility’s energy usage and subsequent costs by approximately 40%. Niesen worked on the Morris Wetland Management District renovation, as well.
The visitor center now also features high efficiency lighting system, an air curtain on the back door that reduces energy loss when door is opened and three energy recovery units that transfer energy from exhaust to fresh air when entering building. "We also put energy efficient lighting throughout the building. And in so doing, we enhanced the building’s appearance," Niesan notes.
The design was done by MEP Associates out of Eau Claire, Wis. The Construction was awarded to LS Black of St. Paul, Minn., says Niesen. She along with Tom Kerr (St. Croix WMD) and Roy Wassather (retired), worked on the requirements and reviewed the designs submittals as they were developed. "They could have just put in a conventional boiler system, but being the regional energy manager, I’m familiar with the energy requirements that need to be met in new buildings and major redesigns of existing buildings," Niesen says. She had to ensure that those requirements were being met by MEP’s design, she says. The sustainable renovation highlights has attracted the attention of the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society, a non-profit that promotes the use of renewable energies in Minnesota through education and demonstration of practical applications. MRES would like to put the refuge on its annual October solar tour (http://mnrenewables.org/solar-tour). Doug Shoemaker, Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the organization, indicates that the typical sightseers on the tour are people who are looking for what they can do for their own homes. They subsequently become part of the tour themselves.
In addition to the energy reductions, the lobby was gutted and reemerged with a new theme. The new green style answers one simple question that may be on the minds of visitors who stopover the new center: "Who needs a refuge?"
Renovation highlights in supporting the new theme include a butterfly garden at the entrance, a lobby information kiosk displaying public usage to the tune of 250,000-275,000, a new exhibit area that features an eye spy turtle, a snake den, press to hear wood peckers, and a tiger salamander among other critters. As with the event itself, attention was paid to design detail, as even the leaves in the exhibit area have insect damage to enhance authenticity.
--Valerie Rose Redmond
External Affairs

Michigan Oil Spill Response

As efforts to contain and clean up the Gulf Coast oil spill continue into the fall, the Midwest must now deal with its own environmental contamination crisis from an oil spill in Southern Michigan. A pipeline leak which occurred on July 26, caused more than 800,000 gallons of crude oil to leak into Talmadge Creek and the Kalamazoo River, which ultimately flows into Lake Michigan. The pipeline belongs to Canadian oil company Enbridge, Inc. Over the course of several days, the spill spread 30 miles down the Kalamazoo River, but containment crews were able to respond in enough time to prevent the oil from moving into the Great Lakes.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service arrived on site within hours of being notified of the spill. Service employees have since worked tirelessly to recover compromised wildlife and kick-start damage assessment work.
Since late July, Service biologists, in partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment (MDNRE), have rescued more than 200 oiled animals, including mallards, muskrats, geese, and turtles from the Battle Creek, Kalamazoo and Marshall areas. Once captured, wildlife is brought to the Wildlife Response Center in Marshall, Mich., where animals are stabilized, cleaned and eventually released back into the wild. The Wildlife Response Center is operated by an Enbridge contractor, Focus Wildlife.
On August 2, five soft shell turtles became the first wildlife to be rehabilitated and released back into the wild. Since then, many more animals have been successfully cleaned and relocated to safe and suitable habitats.
In addition to assisting Michigan DNRE with wildlife rescue and recovery, Service officials are assessing natural resources to ensure the public resources for the damaged by the oil spill are compensated by the responsible party, and to ensure that the community’s lands and waters may one day be restored to their pre-spill state.
--Ashley Spratt
and
Katie Steiger-Meister

Minnesota Valley NWR Administrator Connie Grant

In her job as Administrative Support Assistant at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Constance Grant is in a unique position. In addition to her administrative duties which include performing clerical, technical accounting, procurement, personnel, attendance and budgeting tasks, she also has the opportunity to shadow co-workers out in the field, which she says makes a real difference in her job. "This enables me to better respond to telephone inquiries from surrounding communities and curious individuals wanting to know what a refuge is all about," she says.
Upon her arrival to her new job last March , she was given two separate tours of the units. The first was with a park ranger and the other with a fire officer. Grant was amazed at the wide expanse of land. "I could not believe that we managed eight units from Bloomington to Jordan," she says.
What was great about the opportunity was that she was able to glean information from two diverse perspectives. "Both individuals had different views of what they were showing me," she says. She also had the opportunity to go out with a biologist in search of one of our native flowers: the Virginia Blue Bell. Several were found near the Bass Ponds trout stream and the biologist explained to her how they actually created fish ladders. The ladders are created for small fish that cannot jump over six inches of water to reach the spawning area. Grant says it was an awesome experience.
Also responsible for refuge visitor activities and events, Grant was on hand on August 7 for the grand reopening of the Minnesota Valley NWR Visitor Center. She guided some of the visitors (approximately 250 in total attended the event) through walking tours and helped with children’s activities.
A native of San Antonio, Texas, Grant says that she enjoyed taking Alamo River walks and looking at all the beautiful missions. Grant says she was attracted to the Service because of its involvement with environmental issues, climate change, and animal migration. "Although I am on the administrative side I enjoy the outdoors," she says. "I feel that the environment should be taken care of and protected for future generations to enjoy."

--Valerie Rose Redmond
External Affairs

Success for DeSoto NWR/Blair Community Schools

Through the Blair/DeSoto Environmental Education Partnership, students meet curriculum standards in core and exploratory subject areas while learning in an authentic, place-based experience at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge. In school year 2009-2010, students from Blair Community school’s fifth, seventh and high school environmental studies classes visited the refuges six times for programs integrated into classroom studies. This school year yielded 2,887 student visits to the refuge to participate in 79 programs. This partnership not only promotes academic excellence it also increases U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service awareness and appreciation while increasing visitation to the refuge.
All students in Blair fifth, seventh and high school environmental science made six successive trips this year to the refuge where they garnered real life experience studying topics they learned about the in the classroom as part of their participation in the Blair/DeSoto Environmental Education Partnership. Class visits built upon visits that occurred during the fall semester.
Fifth graders have learned about adaptations and predator/prey relationship by studying the bald eagle. During this three hour program, students took part in an indoor presentation about the bald eagle and then a refuge tour to get to see bald eagles. Seeing the Bald Eagle nest on the refuge was a highlight for many students. The fifth graders have developed observation and critical thinking skills through a scientific inquiry program at the refuge. During this three hour program, rangers guided students through activities designed to help students use their senses like describing the smell of leaves or the feel of a deer jawbone. Students were then asked to use these skills during a one hour silent observation time on a refuge trail. For the fifth grade students, the year culminated with the all day Outdoor Education Day where students got to participate in a variety of outdoor activities including cooking breakfast over a campfire, fishing, canoeing, wetland investigation at Wood Duck Pond, and a snake encounter session. The fifth grade classes visited DeSoto NWR six times for three hour sessions throughout the year.
Fifth grader, Austen Churchill, summed up the year this way, "At first I didn’t know much about nature. That changed this year when I went to DeSoto. Nobody knows everything about nature, but I have learned a lot of things about nature. This summer, I plan to go back to DeSoto and walk on a trail. I might end up studying nature when I grow up."
For seventh grade students, their spring trip to the refuge included a little bit of everything they had been studying in the classrooms. Students participated in a bird migration game to learn the importance of stopovers and resting spots during migration and how DeSoto NWR helps to fill some of that need. Students spent some time in the woods looking for birds to observe. They also completed a math activity using proportions to estimate the total number of trees in the forest. These activities all tied back to concepts being studied in the classroom. Seventh grade classes visited the refuge six times for an hour and a half at a time furing the year.
Middle School exploratory technology students used the refuge to learn about digital photography. A pilot program this school year, students will be assisting the refuge in years to come with documenting habitat projects taking place on the refuge. Other potential projects are being discussed for this exciting new part of the partnership.
The high school environmental studies classes used the refuge to study soil quality, water quality and fire ecology. These are all lessons being taught in the classroom but with the refuge as an authentic learning experience helps the students make real world connections to the material learned in the classroom. Wildlife Refuge Specialist Steve Van Riper worked with these classes to provide students the perspective of a wildlife biologist on the refuge. High school environmental studies classes visited the refuge six times for an hour and a half each during the year.
The school year concluded with a teacher’s workshop for twelve Blair teachers and two administrators. The workshop focused on nature journals and was co-taught by DeSoto NWR Visitor Services Specialist Ashley Berkler and Prairie Wetlands Learning Center Instructional Systems Specialist Dave Ellis. Teacher evaluations rated the workshop excellent. One teacher wrote "It [the workshop] gave me many ideas to incorporate into my classroom. It gave me a chance to enjoy the outdoors."
Both the refuge and school district are committed to the continued success and growth of this partnership. Blair Community Schools Superintendent Jane Stavem said, "Outdoor education is a unique opportunity for our students to learn district curriculum in a completely authentic environment. It allows students to learn through experience, rather than a simulated situation in a classroom. I have seen the difference it makes and I think every student should have the opportunity to experience this type of hands-on, real learning experience. It is really the essence of what true learning is all about."
Next school year, the current grades and classes will continue to utilize the refuge with the addition of third, sixth, and eighth grade classes. Art and exploratory technology classes are also beginning to use the refuge for their studies several times a school year. The 2009-2010 school year yielded a total of 79 programs and 2,887 student visits by students in Blair Community Schools.
This is the fourth year of the Blair/DeSoto Environmental Education Partnership. The mission of the partnership is to create a sense of wonder through environmental education in an outdoor classroom, a partnership with the Blair Community Schools "Where all Students Learn" and DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge "Where Wildlife Comes First."
--Ashley Berkler

TURNING SEA LAMPREYS INTO TV STARS

Sea lampreys are coming to a television station near you! Pete Mathiesen and Jeff Breitenstein, from North American Media Group, an independent filming company attached to Versus Television, are filming various activities of the Sea Lamprey Management Program for an upcoming TV special, likely in December 2010. The film crew is creating four 22-minute shows about invasive species in the Great Lakes and their species of choice are sea lampreys, round gobys, asian carp, and zebra/quagga mussels; they chose to do the show on sea lampreys first. Staff was both interviewed and filmed conducting adult trapping activities, electrofishing for larval sea lampreys using backpack gear, sterilizing adult male lampreys at the sterilization facility near Rogers City, Mich., conducting a TFM lampricide treatment on Albany Creek (Lake Huron), and most recently, treating specific areas with granular Bayluscide on the St. Marys River with a newly designed aquatic pesticide application boat. The TV special will highlight the success of the management program and emphasize the dedication of the people and the use of state-of-the-art technologies to control sea lampreys in the Great Lakes.
The Service’s sea lamprey management program continues to work closely with partners to control populations of sea lampreys in tributaries of the Great Lakes to protect the fishery and related economic activities in the basin (an estimated annual benefit of $7-8 billion/year to the region). The Service delivers a program of integrated sea lamprey control in U.S. waters of the Great Lakes as a contracted agent of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.
Michael Fodale
R3-Marquette Bio Station