June began by accompanying Bird Alliance of Oregon Associate Biologist, Bri Bajakian while she checked in on the ARUs and conducted on-site bird surveys at each site. The ARUs have been in place for the ongoing Wet Meadow Study. To keep up with Bri, I had to wake up at 4am in order to arrive at these sites by sunrise. Upon driving as close as possible on rough access roads, we had to throw on waders and navigate through disorienting marsh and meadow environments. I love a good adventure and was happy to follow along as Bri led me through the mazes of tall reeds, bushes, grass, and standing water, and the lurking mosquito hoards. For our efforts, we were rewarded with incredible sunrises and exciting moments surrounded by all sorts of bird activity. Although I am no stranger to early mornings, the amount of dedication it takes for Bri to do these checks every day is impressive!
Mixed in throughout June, I tried to keep up with some ongoing trail and public interface maintenance. There is a never-ending army of cheatgrass, kochia, mullein, and other invasive weeds that encroach in these areas. If I am ever running out of work for the day, I try to keep up with this seemingly Sisyphean task. I have also started using GIS tools to begin planning and mapping out the trails and areas that need more specialized attention.
It seems like a large portion of work at the refuge involves trying to combat invasive species, and this is no different for the Blitzen and Malheur Lake. Some days the fish trap became so overwhelmed with hundreds of carp, that it became necessary for me and our HDP technician, Kate Barry, to assist our FOMR biology technician, Luke DuVall, in removing them from the Sod House fish trap. Once again, the dedication of the staff out here continues to impress me.
To continue monitoring the water quality on Malheur Lake in partnership with the USGS, I assisted Luke DuVall and aquatic biologist, Dominic Bachman on checking the sites on Malheur Lake that have the monitoring equipment installed. Luke DuVall took the lead on the technical details and data recording while I assisted him in removing and reinstalling the equipment. I feel very lucky to get to go out on Malheur Lake on these days. (Pictured above.)
Tribal Stewardship Week kicked off on June 15th, where I got to help the Lomakatsi Inter-Tribal Crew. For more on this please refer to the post where I wrote about the week spent working with Lomakatsi here.
The June Bat Surveys also occurred starting on June 15th and concluded June 17th. With help from the Lomakatsi crew, FOMR volunteers, Malheur Field Station staff, USFWS Bend office Wildlife Biologist Terri Pope and Malheur’s Wildlife Biologist Alexa Martinez. Planning and running surveys was a big lift that took time and energy from everyone involved. Thank you to everyone who stayed up past sunset helping document the bats roosting around headquarters. We detected 11 species of bats and counted hundreds to thousands of them emerging from various roosts. Most exciting is that they are several hundred bats each nesting in the new bat condos that were put up around headquarters this winter by one of our most dedicated volunteers, Al Huntley with the help of myself, and maintenance staff Ed Moulton and Kenny Barry.
(Pictured left: Al Huntley who built this beauty and me. Photo taken in February when it was raised.)
Due to the overwhelming need for on the ground support, both of FOMR’s Technicians will be extended from their intended ending date of mid-late August to the end of October. This DOUBLES the expense of this work force from ~$24k to nearly $50,000 for 2026.
Please consider making a donation to support this work force. CLICK HERE
