Laura K.O. Smith recently returned from sailing the Antarctic Peninsula while collecting data for two ASC studies on whale and penguin behavior. Sailing on Quijote, a 40-foot sailboat designed and crafted by her husband, Federico Guerrero, the crew departed January 27 from Ushuaia, the capital of Tierra del Fuego, commonly regarded as the southernmost city in the world. 

Guerrero began building Quijote in 2008, and launched her maiden voyage in 2011. Guerrero and Smith had always dreamed of sailing the Antarctic Peninsula, and Quijote was built with that rigorous expedition in mind. Smith said the vessel did well on the journey that began with Deception Island and continued south through the Argentine Islands to Vernadsky Station, crossing the infamous Drake Passage twice and carefully meandering through seemingly endless ice fields.

ASC adventurer, Grant Mooney, recently summited Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, and collected animal observations for UMass Amherst Senior Research Fellow, Doug Hardy.  Dr. Hardy, a specialist in climate and glaciers, is looking for evidence of mammals and birds at high elevations (above 13,000 ft) of Kilimanjaro.  He plans to use radiocarbon dating on frozen remains of animals in order to more accurately estimate the age of Kilimanjaro’s ice.

As Mooney ascended the 19,341-foot Tanzanian mountain, he used his GPS to mark the altitude and coordinates of the animals he spotted.  He observed 15 to 20 birds and small rodents at high altitudes, including a mouse at the 17,000-foot mark.  Most of the animals Mooney saw were scavengers, such as white napped ravens, which he assumed traveled to high elevations to feed on the scraps left behind by climbers.

ASC is proud to be involved with John Davis, TrekWest, and the Wildlands Network to bring awareness to the importance of protecting wildlife corridors.  John will travel 5,000 miles from Mexico to Canada on foot, bike, horse, and many other forms of transportation to inspire others to protect these important wildlife thoroughfares.  Along John's journey he will be collecting data for several ASC projects including Roadkill Observations, Wildlife Observations, observing ptarmigan, and the Pika Project.   This post was retrieved from http://trekwest.org/blog/blog-11-a-case-for-good-dams/ on March 14th, 2013.


Rancho San Bernadino, Sonora, Mexico, along US border

Eventually, these check dams will disappear beneath the soil and plant communities, as all good dams should…”

Until recently, I thought only beavers could build beneficial dams.  Valer Austin convinced me, as well as Oprah, otherwise.  On many formerly eroded and degraded hillsides on Cuenca Los Ojos lands, Valer and Josiah Austin and their restoration teams have built gabions, small check dams,to slow water run-off and allow soil to rebuild.  At their showpiece restoration site, San Bernadino Ranch, on the south side of the Arizona/Sonora border, they have also built larger earthen dams, to accrete soil and vegetation layers back up to near their original levels.

The biggest dam is more than a hundred yards wide and, including the spillway, more than 20 feet high – to match the arroyo down-cutting resulting from decades of heavy grazing by cows.  The dams are not pretty, being essentially caged rocks, but they do their jobs well.  Layers of sediment accumulate behind the check dams, more caged rocks are piled atop, and gradually the ground returns to its natural levels.  Eventually, these check dams will disappear beneath the soil and plant communities, as all good dams should.

Dave and Amy Freeman have been travelling the country for the past three years by kayak, canoe and dog sled with The Wilderness Classroom, an educational organization that seeks to instill a lifelong appreciation of the natural world while improving basic skills like reading, critical thinking, and communication by highlighting the joy of discovery.  Along they way they have participated in several ASC projects including Gull Monitoring and most recently Wildlife Observations.  Keep up with their adventures, lesson plans for classrooms, and blogs at www.wildernessclassroom.com

We experienced an abrupt change this week when we left the Suwannee River and paddled out into the Gulf of Mexico. When we saw a dolphin I said,”wow, we have not seen a dolphin in a long time.” Then I remembered that the reason we had not seen dolphins - we had been traveling on rivers for the past few weeks. Now we see dolphins every day. Plus, we are seeing lots of other plants and animals like stingrays, sea turtles, ospreys and pelicans, which are all common along the Gulf Coast.  We have also entered a new habitat, the mangrove swamp.

Mangrove swamps are coastal wetlands found in tropical and subtropical regions. Mangrove swamps are made of halophytic (salt loving) trees, shrubs and other plants growing in shallow brackish and salt waters. Mangroves are often found in estuaries, where fresh water meets salt water and are infamous for their impenetrable maze of woody vegetation. We camped in a mangrove swamp a few nights ago and it was really hard to climb through the tangle of roots and limbs in search of a flat, dry place set up our tent.

I just got back late last night from Cerro Plomo.  Given our team's changing schedules and the Ruta Patrimonial de Río Olivares park and roads closure for our "Plan A Expedition" to Nevado del Plomo (6,070 meters) in the neighboring valley, I started out solo on Sunday, February 24, for a two-day attempt at Cerro Plomo (5,430 meters).  On the approach to El Plomo, I met several climbers returning home, most only having ascended to Refugio Angostini at 4,600 meters due to dangerously high winds.  As they descended and I ascended, I kept thinking of the mountain forecast that predicted light winds on what would be my summit day with hopes that the forecast would hold fast.
 
Once I got to base camp, I pitched my tent, took a long drink of glacier melt water, and collected my first glacier melt samples at 4,200 meters for researchers at theByrd Polar Research Center.  I was pondering the following day's solo summit bid, when two French climbers appeared over the scree hill that marks the western edge of base camp.  We ended up talking with the last of a group of Chilean climbers that were headed down.  It seems Chilean couple were the only ones to have gutted through the wind and summited against odds that day.

Irina Muschik is a wildlife biologist from Germany who has been East through Russia interviewing wildlife researchers for her project, Greentrousers.  She has been collecting data for several ASC projects including Pika Monitoring and Roadkill Observations.  Irina was recently interviewed for the Photocase blog.  During the interview below, she describes what inspires her to connect with wild spaces and collect data.  This interview was originally published on 1/16/2013 here. 

“Sometimes, you have to take one step back, in order to move forward”, writes our photographer Irina in the account of the first part of her travels through Eastern Europe, Russia and North- & Central Asia last year. After a short break, she will continue her journey this spring. Travel destination this time: Alaska. Read more about her travels in our interview.

Hi Irina, tell us a little bit about yourself! Who are you and what do you do?

I grew up as a real country kid in Westphalia, Germany. For a long time, I didn’t want to leave home. That’s why I decided to start training to become a digital media designer in the neighboring place after I finished school. And that’s also how I came to join Photocase back then. But working in a small and very conservative advertising agency soon didn’t offer any future perspectives for me any more so I decided to start over. At that time, someone gave me the advice to become what I dreamed of as a kid, which was (apart from the wish of becoming an artist) animal ethologist. This was the job title of Heinz Sielman, whose nature documentaries I loved when I was a kid. Without further ado, I studied biology in Bochum and my childhood dream really came true! In my final thesis I studied the domestic behavior of raccoons in the Müritz National Park. The study of wild animals and/or nature conservancy is definitely where I see my professional future. That’s where I feel at home.

Eric Leifer is currently leading a canyoneering expedition to explore some of Hawaii’s most remote and pristine places. Deep gorges formed by creeks on the eastern flank of Mauna Kea and Mount Kohala on the island of Hawaii represent untouched habitat, cut off from the surrounding environment and people. Human development has resulted in the destruction of much of Hawaii’s natural habitat and dangerously impacted its native plant and animal populations through the introduction of invasive species. Leifer and his team are interested in documenting the course of these creeks and the unspoiled habitats through which they travel. Lacking the scientific background to harness the full potential of their expedition, the team reached out to ASC.

Karen and Markus are world travellers and avid adventurers.  They are backpacking through Argentina and Chile for the next few months and recording observations for the Wildlands South America Biodiversity Inventory.  They recently hiked through Isla Navarino and recorded observations there.  For more on their trip, visit their website 
http://2enroute.blogspot.com/.

After 10 great days on Isla Navarino in southernmost Chile, I feel like I could write a book. However, because we head out into the mountains of Torres del Paine in 2 short hours, I will do my best to condense some of the most poignant thoughts and stories quickly (though perhaps not so concisely :).

Arriving by ferry and bumpy van ride in the small town (pop. 2000) of Puerto Williams on Jan. 17th, it felt like a world away from touristy Ushuaia just 50 km to the west. Kit-style houses and the buildings of a naval base are lined out along gravel streets where you are equally as likely to meet a grazing horse or a dog trotting down the street as you are to meet a person (and much more likely to see any of these than a vehicle driving by). Businesses are non-descript with small signs and shop-keepers who remembered us and greeted us with "Hola, Alaska!" when they saw us again. Walking around Puerto Williams our first day we were struck by its numerous similarities to a rural Alaskan village. Backyards were stacked with crab pots, equipment, and staked out dogs. Primary industries include tourism, fishing, shipping, the military, a scientific research station, and (historically) mining. The town is now the center of the indigenous Yaghan culture, where gatherings of Yaghan craftspeople and an excellent museum and cultural center seek to keep Yaghan language and cultural practices a part of the local landscape and community. But even more than these similarities, it was just the vibe of the village that really reminded Markus and I of parts of rural Alaska we have spent time in. People are personable, doors are open, and you easily find yourself in conversation or, as at our hostal Lajuwa, a part of family life. It is a place that seems arranged much more about living in place and in community than in manicured outward appearances of shiny storefronts and sharp work clothes. I loved being there and would love to return.

Are you looking for an opportunity to join Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation as a member of their community of citizen scientists? Have you been itching to get into the mountains for some backcountry camping this winter? Do you want to make a difference and do your part for conservation while learning a thing or two about tracking? If you’ll be anywhere near the Olympic Mountains in Washington this winter, this is the opportunity for you.

Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation (ASC) has announced a partnership with the Olympic National Forest to monitor and collect information on the distribution of pine martens on the eastern side of the Olympics. Pine martens (a small species of weasel) have been known to occupy the Olympic Peninsula, but sightings have been scarce and unconfirmed in recent years, leading some to believe that their habitat is now primarily in higher alpine regions. It is
uncertain whether or not pine martens remain in this area at all, and alpine areas in winter pose significant access problems for scientists attempting large scale studies.

Dylan Jones is an American Alpine Club Member and avid climber who decided to add some science to his climbing trip over the summer by teaming up with Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation.  Jones searched for the American pika through out his trip and found the daily search added a little more meaning to his trip.  Read his account here. 

In an age where awareness of climate change exists but little is understood, I had always accepted the science behind the debate. What I lacked was an answer to one basic question: What can I do about it? Gearing up and heading into the wilderness wasn’t healing the ecosystems I frequent, and escaping those around me for solitude certainly wasn’t raising
awareness. I needed a way to contribute something, anything, to the worthy and noble cause of understanding climate change to fight ecosystem degradation. Fortunately, advocacy exists in the form of passionate grassroots organizations who are mobilizing people like me to transform recreational travel into purposeful volunteer work.  

The deafening rivers and babbling brooks that make life possible have no voice of their own. The mountains whose defenses we try to exploit to gain their summits cannot fight for themselves. The planet’s animal and insect populations who vastly outnumber us stand no chance unless we make an effort to understand them. This is where Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation plays into the equation. Standing at the forefront of citizen science, ASC connects hikers, climbers and paddlers with scientists hungry for data in the places these athletes love to play. Often lacking the technical outdoor skills, funding or time to reach the remote areas they are attempting to study, these scientists greatly need us to assist them, just as we need them to help protect the areas we treasure.