Day in the Swamp

As the land manager at Audubon's Francis Beidler Forest, no two days are the same. This is an account for a recent day of boundary line painting.

With over 110 miles of exterior boundary and another 31 miles of interior boundary, there is always plenty of boundary to paint in any year. Some lines are easy to paint as they run parallel to a road or fire break, but some lines run through the swamp. The majority of the in-swamp lines are painted most easily when the water level is lower.  Therefore, before the last bout of rain, a long-neglected in-swamp line was attacked with bright orange paint.

Work in the swamp is a tough sell for most individuals. There are mosquitoes, snakes, alligators, ticks, chiggers, poison ivy, thorny vines, mud, it is hot and humid, one is required to carry all food and water (never enough), restroom options are limited, and there are only lat/long coordinates to give the 911 operator (if there is cell service) should the need arise. Oh, and then EMS needs to find their way to the spot in the swamp (see obstacles and hazards above), which is seldom near an address their system will recognize. For example, the address for lunch in the image below was N33.29782, W80.49187.

Lunch in the swamp - Image by Mark Musselman

Just prior to lunch, one of the swamp's residents moved away from the paint bucket. Wearing safety orange paint would run counter to its attempts to remain camouflaged.

Eastern Cottonmouth - Image by Mark Musselman

Farther east down the boundary line, a large, unseen gator dramatically thrashed the water in annoyance less than fifteen feet from the tree being painted. The alligator, in aptly named Alligator Lake, had obviously heard the less-than-stealthy painting patrol and had slipped quietly into the deeper water to watch. As it became clear that the man with the orange paint was preparing to cross directly atop it, the alligator made its move to the depths (less than three feet) and swam upstream. Approaching the deeper water, the question, "Do I try to wade across deep water to continue painting the line?" was asked aloud. The beast beneath the surface helped make the decision to find a detour crossing downstream

While walking the water's edge to find the downstream crossing, the basking site of the big alligator was encountered.

Alligator tail impression in mud - Image by Mark Musselman

Alligator skin impression in mud - Image by Mark Musselman

Alligator skin impression in mud - Image by Mark Musselman

Alligator foot impression in mud - Image by Mark Musselman

Downstream detour, good choice...not a bad band name either.

Not all encounters in the swamp have the potential to be painful or dangerous to painters, but they can be equally upsetting and do pose a threat to wildlife. Balloons, like the one found below, are an all-to-common discovery in the swamp. As @BalloonsBlow states, "Balloons blow, don't let them go!"

 

GPS Units Coming to Ashley Ridge High School

Ashley Ridge High School has received a grant from Lowcountry Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) to purchase six or more global positioning system (GPS) units.  Students will be able to use the GPS units to capture latitude/longitude coordinates for points of interest along the nature trail, including the abundant wildlife they encounter, or habitat enhancement sites they create.  Bill Salisbury, representing Dorchester County, presented the check to the grant writers Amy Litz,  Jerry Kociuruba, and Natalie Tarpein after taking a quick tour of the nature trail to see the many possibilities for integrating the GPS technology into the biology and environmental sciences classes.

(l to r) Natalie Tarpein, Bill Salisbury, Jerry Kociuruba, Amy Litz on nature trail

Over the last two years, students in the environmental science and AP biology classes have received GPS training (see Summerville Journal Scene article) as well as geographic information systems (GIS) training, which they used to create maps with the GPS data they had collected.  The training and GPS units used were provided by the education department at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest and had been purchased with a grant from the South Carolina Geographic Alliance.

As an organization, Lowcountry RC&D sells year-old seed to individuals who wish to plant feed plots for wildlife.  Any profits are distributed to projects aimed at teaching students about the environment.   Previous Lowcountry RC&D grants to the education department at Francis Beidler Forest have gone toward the purchase of iPod Touches and binoculars (see below), which also have been used with ARHS students during various on-campus visits.

Ms. Tarpein and class learning birding basics

Geography is everywhere!  Thanks to Lowcountry RC&D, students at Ashley Ridge High School have some new tools to help them explore, map, and understand their environment.

GIS at Ft. Dorchester High School

In 2011, Mark Musselman, education director at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest was awarded a $1000 grant by the South Carolina Geographic Alliance (SCGA).  The grant went toward the purchase of Global Positioning System (GPS) units that could be used to collect data for use in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).  Not only is that a mouthful of acronyms, it is incredibly powerful technology!

Just about everyone is familiar with GPS technology, but GPS latitude/longitude coordinates for where you are and where you wish to go have little meaning without all the GIS layers that get lumped under “GPS technology.”  The road map the shows on the navigator screen is a GIS data layer.  All the buildings shown on the map, including the critical brand name coffee shops along the way, are part of GIS data layers.  Picking a hotel that is within walking distance of your favorite coffee shop as well as a movie theater and a pizza parlor, is possible using data layers overlapping in a GIS database…and you thought you would never again use a Venn diagram.

On Tuesday, Mark Musselman took GIS data files for species and trails in the swamp and traveled to Dr. Michael Becwar’s environmentalstudies classes at Fort Dorchester High School.  In the computer lab, students began creating their own maps using the www.arcgis.com/home/ site.  With a satellite image as a base map, students could differentiate between the wetter and drier areas in the swamp based on the color of vegetative green.  The wetter areas are dominated by bald cypress and tupelo gum trees, which show as a lighter green in the image, while the slightly higher, drier areas support oaks and other trees showing as darker green on the image.  After loading the alligator sightings data layer, students discovered that alligators are not seen throughout the swamp, but found only in deep water areas where trees are not growing and sunlight can reach the Earth’s surface.  Based on that knowledge and without ever traveling to the Congaree National Park, students were able to predict where in the park’s boundaries alligators would likely be found.

Image by Mark Musselman

Later, students loaded snake data layers and discovered that brown water snakes remain toward the middle of the swamp while cottonmouths tend to be found closer to the edges of the swamp.  Referring to the free Beidler Forest app on an iPod Touch (initial units purchased with a previous SCGA grant), students learned that brown water snakes only eat fish, so they stay close to their prey in areas of deeper water.  Meanwhile, cottonmouths eat fish, frogs, snakes, birds, and rodents, so they exploit larger areas of the swamp even when those areas become dry.

Image by Mark Musselman

Finally, a quick glance at a map showing a variety of Prothonotary Warbler breeding territories was all that was necessary for students to see that all territories, and therefore all areas of the swamp, are not equal.  Territories around the nature center were shown to be exceeding large and isolated, while territories deep within the swamp at the eastern end of the boardwalk were small and densely packed.  Why?  A check of the iPod app showed that Prothonotary Warblers prefer to nest in cavities over or near water.  The western territories around the nature center consisted of dry, upland areas and therefore elicited little competition allowing for preposterous land claims.  On the other hand, territories at the eastern end of the boardwalk consisted of prime wetland habitat forcing males to settle for smaller (and quite sufficient) territories lest they exhaust themselves fruitlessly attempting to defend larger claims.

Students were able to make all of the swampy deductions noted above without leaving their school.  According to Dr. Joseph Kerski, Curriculum Development Manager for ESRI and recent president of the National Council forGeographic Education, “Accelerating globalization means that we can no longer be complacent about increasing the amount of spatial thinking in the educational curriculum at all levels.  We're also starting to realize that global issues, such as biodiversity loss, urban sprawl, energy needs, water quality and availability, natural hazards, and human health, are becoming increasingly complex and beginning to affect our everyday lives.  Moreover, they all have a spatial component.  To grapple with these issues for the 21st century requires a populace that's adept at using GIS and other geotechnologies.”  Students at Fort Dorchester High School have begun moving in that direction!

You can interact with the map and all the data layers at http://bit.ly/ycL36U.

Advanced Summer Camp - Day 2

The second day of advanced camp involved swamp stomping off the boardwalk after learning to use Global Positioning System (GPS) devices.  Campers ran a short navigation course around the parking lot at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest hone their GPS-navigation skills.  After discovering the final cache full of swamp-related prizes, campers were prepared for long-range (500-800 meter) navigation legs through the swamp.

The first target was north of the nature center across the power line that runs east-west through the old-growth swamp.  The campers didn't know what was at the final destination and only one camper was responsible for the GPS navigation on any single leg.  As we approached the end of leg and the GPS beeped and showed "Arriving at Destination," the subject of the hike, the large Bald Cypress tree shown at the beginning of the Bodacious Beidler Kneeknocker video, was obvious.  The humidity has returned to the Lowcountry, so the cool, AC-like air flowing out of the opening at the base of the huge, hollow tree was refreshing!

The next camper had the leg that led southeast to the power line where the ground was noticeably wetter.  The gnawing marks on plenty of nearby trees indicated that we were entering the home range of the resident beavers.  The lodge in the middle of the power line right-of-way was surrounded by standing water and a thick barrier of cattails as a result of the dam across the creek channel.

After a quick stop for lunch at the center, we headed out to the final GPS-navigation destination.  The final leg was mainly on the boardwalk and over 800 meters from the center.  The only snake we saw all day was a young Eastern Cottonmouth below the boardwalk.  Within 30 meters of the destination, we departed from the boardwalk and found a pile of trash behind a large tree.  On closer inspection, the pile of trash wasn't random, but the copper sheeting, steel drums, and glass jugs were remnants from an illicit moonshining enterprise.

Images by Mark Musselman

Grant Brings GPS Units to Beidler Forest

The education department at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest has received a $1000-grant from the South Carolina Geographic Alliance to purchase GPS units in support of a program to get Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology into the classroom.

 Image by Garmin

Part of the GPS/GIS program will involve students learning to use GPS technology while at the Francis Beidler Forest (FBF) as well as on their school campus.

Image by Mark Musselman

Once students are familiar with how latitude and longitude coordinates mark unique points on the globe, the next phase of the program will involve students using their school computers and free GIS reading software to analyze FBF-supplied species-sightings and research data.

Species Sightings

Where do Prothonotary Warblers nest?  How large are their territories?  Why are some much larger than others?

Prothonotary Warbler Territories

Why are Brown Water Snakes not seen on the western half of the boardwalk...

Brown Water Snake Sightings

...when Eastern Cottonmouths can be seen all around the boardwalk?  What are the habitat preferences for the two snake species?

Cottonmouth Sightings

Let us know if your school would like to participate in this technology-based program!


Maps created by Mark Musselman