Cascade Volcanoes • Entered by Laurie Kerr on June 23, 2022
Trail Stewards
June 18, 2022
Participants and Hours
| Pre Planning hours | |
| Post Admin hours | |
| Activity Hours | 4.25 |
| Participants | 1 |
| Total Hours | 4.25 |
Key Issue: Public Lands Health & Protection
Activity Type: Stewardship (monitoring, sampling, planting, etc.)
Key Partners: Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge
Landscape/area: Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge
Measurable Outcomes
Outcome 1: visitors counted (23 people)
Short Description of Activity
Trail Stewarding at Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge
Reflection/Evaluation
It was a rainy morning which undoubtedly reduced visitors. People I encountered were gregarious and enthusiastic about the refuge. I used my plant and bird identification apps numerous times, the latter which allowed me to figure out names for the myriad birds I was seeing or hearing. In my audio samples, I identified more than twenty different bird species. . I saw lots of coyote scat as well as what I believe was bear scat and I also believe, feline scat from something significantly bigger than a house cat. I have photos 🙂 The moles had been busy doing their work and evidence was mounded everywhere. Snails and slugs were abundant. The north end of the Carty Unit, where fir trees were logged is having a significant increase in thistles and blackberries, but staff has plans for dealing with that. The trail to the lake at the north end was eliminated after the logging, but I was told that it will be rebuilt and reopened in the fall.
Elena Tinoco, refuge volunteer coordinator, joined me for part of my volunteer shift and we discussed, among other things, appropriate ways for volunteers to interact with refuge visitors. We encountered a couple with a dog and she did a great job of engaging with them in a positive manner, but informing them that dogs should not be brought into the refuge. Everyone parted pleasantly.