2005 Highlights Click on each link to read more.   2005 Research                                                                                               Whitebark Pine Research Dr. Lauren Fins received a grant from the U.S. Forest Service to conduct research on wilderness whitebark pine plant communities. Jodie Krakowski, research assistant, and Catherine Roberts, undergraduate assistant, conducted research in the Black Butte, Lookout Mountain, and Dave Lewis Peak areas.       Stream Monitoring Instrumentation Steve Achord, Fish Researcher from NOAA Fisheries, installed an in-stream monitor in Big Creek at Taylor Ranch Field Station as the first stage in a fisheries collaboration between NOAA Fisheries and University of Idaho / Taylor Ranch Field Station.     Carnivore - Ungulate Ecology Jim Akenson and Holly Akenson, Taylor Ranch Field Station Scientists published, "Effects of Wolf Reintroduction on a Cougar Population in the Central Idaho Wilderness" in the proceedings of the Mountain Lion Workshop 8:177-187 and made several invited presentations on their research. Rangeland Vegetation Dr. James Peek, Emeritus Professor UI CNR, and coauthors Jeffrey Yeo, William Hickey, Jerry Lauer, and James Claar published, "Shrub-Steppe Vegetation of the East Fork and the Middle Fork of the Salmon River Drainage" through University of Idaho Forest, Wildlife and Range Experiment Station.  This publication can be purchased through University of Idaho, CNR.   2005 Graduate Research                                                                               Geology Zachery Lifton received his M.S. in Geology from Idaho State University finishing his thesis  "Bedrock strength controls on the valley morphometry of Big Creek, Valley and Idaho Counties, Central Idaho".     Stream Ecology Dr. Jeff Braatne, Asst. Professor of Floodplain Ecology, Dept. of Fish & Wildlife, College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho.  Jeff is conducting research with graduate student Breezy Jackson. Their research is titled: "Riparia: Influence of fire on streamside vegetation and riparian-stream food webs in a wilderness setting."    Dr. Colden Baxter, Asst. Professor, Biological Sciences, Idaho State University. Colden is conducting research with graduate student, Rachel Wilkinson.  Their research is titled: "Aquatic-terrestrial connectivity in a wilderness watershed: Do emerging stream insects fuel riparian food webs following wildfires?"         2005 Undergraduate Projects                                                                     2005 Bleak Undergraduate Wilderness Interns Melissa Lamb, Sara Jones and Neal Richards spent the summer learning natural resources research techniques and wilderness skills.  A highlight of their summer was a mule pack trip to document wolf reproduction for the Monumental Wolf Pack.  Other activities included plant identification, GPS, Lewis' woodpecker surveys, vegetation surveys, noxious weeds, aquatic invertebrate sampling, archaeology and history, black bear surveys, mule packing, wilderness medicine, leading ecology discussions, assisting researchers with their projects, and competing in Taylor Ranch Olympics (crosscut sawing, longbow shooting, mule packing, wolf howling).  Supervisors Jim and Holly Akenson, UI.  Melissa Lamb's Intern Diary Bat Research Kate Lambert, a DeVlieg Research Scholar, studied the "Effects of weather and elevation on bat relative seasonal abundance and activity in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness."  She conducted Anabat surveys and mist netting at several caves and old mines.  Advisor Dr. Kerri Vierling, UI.      Cutthroat Trout Research Jesse Davis, a DeVlieg Wilderness Award recipient, Berklund Undergraduate Research Award and the Award of Excellence finished his field work on "Impacts of food availability on cutthroat trout growth and density in selected streams of similar size in the Big Creek drainage."  Advisor Dr. Brian Kennedy, UI.    Marten and Fisher Research Mackenzie Shardlow, a DeVlieg Research Scholar, completed her field season on "A Survey and Habitat evaluation of American marten and fisher in the Frank Church Wilderness, Idaho."  Advisor Dr. Janet Rachlow, UI.  Fish Research Patrick Della Croce, a student from Zurich,Switzerland did an internship in Fall 2005.  Patrick conducted snorkel surveys to examine effect of temperature on fish use of stream confluences and wrote a Senior Thesis, "Use of tributary confluence habitats by westslope cutthroat trout in a wilderness watershed affected by wildfire."  Advisor Dr. Colden Baxter, ISU. Rattlesnake Research Javan Bauder radio instrumented 2 rattlesnakes and marked others for research he will conduct in 2006 on movements and habitat selection of rattlesnakes.  Advisors Dr. Chuck Peterson, ISU/Dr. Janet Rachlow, UI.       2005 Short Courses                                                                           Idaho Fish & Game Mule Packing Class.  Instructor Jim Akenson.  May 9-11 McCall High School Environmental Science Class Field Trip. Instructor Debbie Fereday.  May 22-23 Wilderness Ecology, UI Enrichment Course.  Instructor Jim Peek.  May 23-27   2005 Visiting Researchers                                                                             Geomorphology Study Dr. Paul Link and graduate student Eli Eversole (ISU) mapped terrace surfaces cut into the Soldier Bar area east of Taylor Ranch.  Eli will be returning in 2006 to map the Goat Creek landslide, as well as, the stream terraces upstream to Cabin Creek. Mapping a Wilderness Watershed "The Big Onion" Project Dr. Colden Baxter (ISU) with collaborators from ISU, USGS, USFS, USEPA, NPS, Freshwaters Illustrated, BSU, and UI are conducting a multi-layered, interdisciplinary mapping project of the Big Creek watershed in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area.    Hyperspectral photography Dr. Nancy Glenn and graduate student David Streutker (ISU) measured features of stream gravel bars and integrated these data with hyperspectral imagery.    Stream Ecology Class Dr. Colden Baxter, Dept. of Biological Sciences, ISU brought the advanced stream ecology class to TRFS in May 2005.  Wilderness streams provided an ideal site for examining stream function.  Class projects included stream metabolism and conservation solute dynamics.  Visiting Professionals Page Archaeology at Cabin Creek Larry Kingsbury, Payette National Forest Archaeologist/Cultural Resources Specialist and assistants Gale Dixon and Steve Stoddard, worked with Bleak Interns to collect and age tree scars on Ponderosa pines that had the cambium layer removed for food by Sheepeater Indians.  They also surveyed abandoned cabin sites at Cabin Creek.  Visiting Professional Page History of Cabin Creek We invited Bill Wallace and Mary Acker from Squiem, WA to visit his former home at Cabin Creek, 6 miles upstream from Taylor Ranch Field Station and show-and-tell us the local history of the site. Bill, an alumni of UI-CNR (Forestry 1951) was raised in the 1930’s at the old homestead now owned by the Forest Service.  Visiting Professional Page Wilderness Recreation Dr. Ed Krumpe – CNR Professor of Wilderness Mgt. conducted campsite inventories with interns and discussed monitoring human impacts to wilderness.   2005 Long Term Monitoring                                                                                        2005 Monitoring Projects Dr. Wayne Minshall - Monitoring of aquatic invertebrates - 18th year Dr. Jim Peek - Nonforested plant community monitoring - 18th year Jim Akenson and Holly Akenson - wolf monitoring -8th year Steve Achord - NOAA Fisheries, Monitoring the migrations of wild Snake River spring/summer Chinook salmon smolts in Big Creek - 10+ years.  Dr. Beth Sanderson - NOAA Fisheries, Monitoring habitat, growth and survival of juvenile Chinook and steelhead in Big Creek and Rush Creek - 2002 to present.