Baker, Montana

I'm back in the field and grateful to be here! Although it was nice having time off and a chance to work from home for a few months, it's wonderful to be out in the wider world again. Craig and I are working together for the next few weeks which is especially nice.
We headed up to Laramie, just in time to encounter snow and bad weather and had to spend the night there before taking advantage of a few days break in the weather to head up north, first to Sheridan and then on to Baker.
Baker is a very small town in southeastern Montana, and hasn't yet escaped the grasp of

winter. We got about 8 inches of snow yesterday and so can't go out today. I did get to see a few sage grouse on the lek before we got snowed in though, so I've attached a video (its using my little camera, through the spotting scope, so the quality isn't the best, but you get the idea!). It is so incredible to see these birds on the lek! The noises they produce are so cool and the males are so striking.

What else can I say about Baker? Prom was this weekend and our supervisor went out the next morning at 5am and found a couple who'd gotten stuck in a snow drift on the dirt roads and had to sleep out there. He said their truck was surrounded by empty 40's and .22 shells!
That might give you an idea of the options for fun in Baker...

Thoughtful Talk About Healthcare

So as I've confessed before, I am an NPR junkie, and tonight's Fresh Air just reinforced all the reasons why. Where else have I heard healthcare talked about in depth without histrionics and catch-phrases? Nowhere. Thank you NPR. If you missed the show or aren't a listener, but would like to check it out go to:

http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=13

and click on the link titled "Listen to Wednesday's show"

This link may move next week, but by searching www.npr.org for Fresh Air (and perhaps the date it aired - March 11 2009) I'm sure you can find it.

Sprout update

They have real leaves now!

Baby Instruction Guide

Thanks Chrissy!

"Clean" Coal

This new tv ad really gets to the point (not to mention it's hilarious):



When the coal industry talks about clean coal, they are talking about the use of a technology that doesn't yet exist and by some estimates will not be developed for decades (Businessweek, Peak Oil Challenges and Responses, 22nd Annual Public Programs, Fort Collins government, Kyle Saunders CSU prof) to sequester the CO2 that's emitted through the burning of coal. Methods of coal mining aren't even addressed by this technology. Take a look at some photos of mountain-top removal practices that are happening DAILY in the United States, some of these are on the scale of 10 square miles :








The argument is often made that the coal industry provides much-needed jobs to economically-depressed areas. But I would argue that the industry provides only temporary employment at the cost of irreplaceable natural resources (eg. Reuters).

If you want your voice to be heard on this issue, or any issue you hold dear here is a link to find your state and federal representatives. Remeber, lobbyists are paid to put pressure on elected officials to further special interests groups - often industries with millions of dollars to spend to ensure legislation will be written in a way that benefits them. Industry does not have your best interest in mind, we must speak out on things that are unethical and impoverish us in the long-term (our health, our natural resources, our communities).

http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

Snowshoeing and Trip to Illinois

Mountain Alder



Snowshoe Hare Tracks

Snowshoeing was so fun and I am happy to report that my feet have never been toastier! Here are my boots in action:







After the snowshoeing, Craig got an assignment from work to drive to Illinois to pick up charges for rocket-netting sage-grouse. They estimated he could do it in 3 days, of driving ~ 12 hours a day. Since I didn't have much going on, I joined him. Figured I could help keep him awake, and I'm glad I went b/c we ended up driving ~ 16 hours every day. It was exhausting and I didn't do any of the driving since it was a work truck. Saw some interesting stuff along the way though - the most snow geese I've ever seen in my life, in mixed flocks with sandhill cranes. The numbers were incredible! It was nice too, to see some hardwood forests, reminded me of home...



Crazy long-horned bull where we picked up the charges

Once we got back to Laramie, Craig's employers asked me for an interview (I'd sent in my resume a month or so ago). I was nervous b/c this was the first in-person interview I'd done in 5 years! I always do phone interviews since the jobs are usually so far away from one another. Despite not getting to wear pj's and having cheat sheets, the interview went well and now I'm working for HW too! Hopefully Craig and I will get to see each other more frequently this way, maybe even get to work on projects together. My first project will be sage-grouse lek surveys, and I'm really excited to see the lek displays of the males!

Lovely quote

Here's a quote I just wanted to share:

The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant: "What
good is it?" If the land mechanism as a whole is good, then every part is
good, whether we understand it or not. If the biota, in the course of aeons,
has built something we like but do not understand, then who but a fool would
discard seemingly useless parts? To keep every cog and wheel is the first
precaution of intelligent tinkering.

  - Aldo Leopold, Sand County Almanac
and Sketches from Here and There, 1946

Snowshoeing tomorrow in the Red Feather Lakes region- will try to take some photos and share them with you all! Will get to try out my snow boot for the first time, so I hope it's good and cold...