Throughout these last few weeks I have truly been amazed by how time has flown by. As I now enter my ninth week with the Henry’s Fork Foundation (HFF), I’m a bit sad to see how close we are to the end of our time here as interns. From taking volunteers out to do VBOMB (very big organic matter) sampling at PineHaven, Buffalo River, and Flat Rock, to coding in R to better reorganize and visualize data that Jack and I have collected, I’ve truly enjoyed and learned a lot throughout this internship.
For my presentation, I will be presenting on how changes in water quality variables (like temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, etc) in Island Park Reservoir (IPR) impact fish habitat availability. Though I still have some graphs to develop and data analyses to do, I aim to demonstrate how temperature and dissolved oxygen measurements change depending on the sampling location in IPR and how changes in these two water quality variables are impacting the quality of available Kokanee Salmon habitat. I won’t get into too much more detail than that since I don’t want to spoil too much of my intern presentation!
Nevertheless, aside from coding data files in R, taking volunteers out for VBOMB, collecting data, and of course fishing whenever possible, I have also been biking the Ashton-Tetonia Trail, which is not only gorgeous, but flat too, which makes for quite a nice bike ride after a day of work. Though I must say, the smokiness in the air from recent wildfires has proven to be quite the obstacle when trying to see the Grand Tetons on the horizon from the Ashton-Tetonia trail, but alas c’est la vie. As I begin to finalize my presentation and wrap up my time here at HFF, I am striving to get in as much outdoor recreation as possible before being away from this beautiful area of the country. So, camping near a spot I found with the other interns on Island Park Reservoir, floating and fishing after work, hiking (anywhere honestly), and figuring out what to make with freshly picked huckleberries are all on the agenda for the next two weeks!
Given this is my final blog post, I would like to extend my gratitude to the Henry’s Fork Foundation, all of the amazing and knowledgeable people that work at HFF, Washington and Lee University and those who helped me be able to be here, and most especially to all you readers of the HFF intern blog for reading my stories! At times I feel like both the writers and readers of these blogs may not always enjoy them, however I truly appreciate these blogs as a platform for reflection and for saving snapshots of time that I will be able look over in the days, weeks, months, and years to come and reminisce on my time with HFF and all that I learned and enjoyed. HFF, Ashton, Idaho, and all my experiences this summer truly have a unique and special place in my heart, so to all, thank you!
Photo of me and a volunteer out collecting (very big) organic matter for VBOMB at Pinehaven!
Picture of a cow moose and her calf that Jack and I were lucky enough to see when we were out conducting aquatic vegetation surveys at Big Springs. Fear not, we kept a safe distance!