I am thrilled to once again be updating you all on the amazing work I’ve been helping out with on the refuge as a seasonal technician and share my experience of life in Harney County. That’s me on the right up above with FOMR’s Conservation Stewardship Technician, Ian Snyder on the left and HDP Biological Technician, Kate Berry, in the middle.
The focus of my work has shifted since the beginning of the summer. For anyone who hasn’t been keeping up to date, most of my time earlier in the season was spent focused on invasive carp removal and managing a series of fish passage sites for the monitoring of invasive copepods and fish migration. In the last few weeks as water levels have dropped, temperatures have risen, and fish have become much less active the need for this work has dwindled. With less fish moving throughout stretches of the river there is little productivity in the fish traps.
I have continued to work on water quality monitoring for Malheur Lake. A day out on the airboat is definitely never a bad day, but I will say the smell coming from ‘tern island’, a rocky breeding colony in the middle of the lake, has only gotten increasingly worse as the summer goes on. Passing downwind of the island might be the only drawback to getting to do work on the lake. Outside of these more consistent duties I have also had opportunities to electro fish and participate in duck banding! I will touch on both of these later in this blog post.
One of the bigger changes to my experience at Malheur and a topic I’m sure some readers are interested in has been the recent outbreak of wildfire across the PNW, Oregon, and the refuge. Going into this season we knew it was going to be a bad year for fires across the pacific northwest with very limited snowpack, extreme dryness, and wildfires becoming increasingly more frequent due to anthropogenic climate change. That being said, even having this expectation that the fire season was going to be bad, the entire experience has been surreal. The primary cause for wildfires in the high desert environments of southeast Oregon is lightning strikes, and it only took one high intensity storm to wake up to the news that multiple fires had been started throughout Harney County. Reading reports of the fires in the morning, most were between 300 and 700 acres which is relatively small. It did not take long for multiple of these fires to reach 10,000+ acres.
The Stubble Fire, reached within 3 miles of the refuge headquarters, also known as my home for the summer. Three miles seems like a long distance until you see how fast a brush fire can travel, only being limited by the speed of the wind. Luckily for us the wind stayed in our favor and never posed a serious threat to headquarters. Arguably more stressful was the Second Flat Fire. Forty-five miles away from me and headquarters but scarily close to the towns of Burns and Hines where many of my co-workers live. Going into town to get groceries felt more akin to marching into Mordor to defeat Sauron than trying to find a good deal on oat milk. Luckily this fire also did not spread towards town and became relatively contained with practically no damage to structures or homes within the towns.
The smoke from all of these fires created the bulk of the surreal experience outside of the fear of evacuation. A dim orange glow hangs over your head all day like a permanent sunrise, the smoke in your lungs is noticeable when working outside, and giant plumes of smoke in the distance rise up making you feel like you’re in a war zone. Overall although fires still blaze the PNW, most of the fires directly around me have subsided. I am extremely appreciative of all the resource advisors, wildland fire crews, and everyone else who works to manage, put out, and limit the damage of these fires.
Duck banding occurred just before all the fires broke out and I’m happy it did because it likely wouldn’t have happened otherwise. Banding took place at Boca Lake throughout the night. Me and my coworkers left the refuge around 8:00pm and finally went to bed for a good night(day) sleep around 7:00am. One of the coolest things about getting to join this was the fact it was an extremely collaborative project. Having help from multiple non-profits, refuges, ODFW, and volunteers. It’s always cool to make connections within conservation and hearing about what different groups are working on. Especially as a young person living in a more remote area, it was awesome to meet some like-minded and similarly aged people and hear about their seasonal experiences.
Throughout the night we used spotlights from airboats to temporarily stun multiple species of ducks. Using crates to store them before and after carefully handling them and placing small silver bands on their ankles. These bracelets or Bands are used to track where ducks are born and traveling from to help biologists and managers know where and how ducks are migrating. Throughout this process it was especially interesting to see and feel the difference in temperament between different duck species. While some species like mallards would fight, kick, and peck trying to get free(can’t entirely blame them) other species like teals seemed to almost enjoy themselves. The highlight duck of the night was definitely the one ruddy duck whose blue bill was so bright it seemed almost painted. Overall an amazing experience getting to handle some phenomenal wildlife and become deliriously tired with some great people.
I have also been able to do E-fishing/Electrofishing over the past month. Electrofishing uses electrical currents put into the water to temporarily stun fish, giving you time to net them. One of the efforts was focused on removing invasive carp and the other helping transport native fish past a dam so they can migrate to the colder waters of the Steens mountains. Removing carp can get old but electrofishing never does. It always makes me feel like I’m in some sort of sci-fi movie. After quite some time of not seeing many trout, it felt great to be able to handle and help out some Redband trout. Hopefully they have a safe and enjoyable vacation in the Steens mountains for the rest of the hot months.
Originally my season at the refuge and position for the Friends of Malhuer was supposed to end around this time and I was set to return back to Western Washington. I am ecstatic to announce I will now be staying working at the refuge and living in Harney County through the end of October. Funds were found to continue my water quality monitoring of Malheur Lake with the USGS allowing me to stay longer than anticipated. I am extremely excited and grateful to be able to stay but this still does mark the end of my time officially working for the Friends of Malheur.
I can’t be more grateful for all the amazing people who are part of the Friends of Malheur and am so thankful they chose and funded me to be able to pursue my conservation goals. It has been a wonderful opportunity to get to share what life as a seasonal technician in this field looks like and share how this job and landscape has impacted me throughout the summer. Every day I get to do amazing and fun work towards great conservation goals and every day the high desert finds new wonders to show me.
Best,
Luke Duvall
