Spring 2007 Newsletter
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Restoration News |
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In this issue:
Getting Wet in Arizona?
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Getting All Wet at the ERI: A Study of How Riparian Restoration Influenced the Aquatic Ecosystem in Fossil Creek, Arizona  Restoring ecosystems is refreshing! If water could look happy, then this is what it would probably look like. This is Fossil Creek after the dam was removed that kept it in check for one hundred years. A dammed river was unleashed and nobody went to jail - Tell Hayduke!! The Fossil Creek restoration story continues to be one of the best environmental stories in Arizona. ERI’s Jeff Muehlbauer is part of the tale, and here he reports on how quickly the aquatic ecosystem recovered following the restoration of Fossil Creek. Ponderosa Pete Arrives!  The cover of Ponderosa Pete invites you to peel back the bark and take a look inside! A talking ponderosa pine tree? With a tassel-eared squirrel buddy, named Bertie? Has everyone lost it? No, it’s Ponderosa Pete speaking to Bertie and today’s young people about the changes in the forest that he lived through, and about ways things will have to change for the forest to escape catastrophic wildfires. For more information about this children’s book by two former ERI students, click here. Diameter Caps: Conservation Solution or Restoration Restraint?  Is this a picture of a forest or of a meadow that has filled in with trees? Can we restore the meadow with a diameter cap of 16 inches? (Photo by Doc Smith, ERI)
Setting an upper limit on the size of tree that can be cut during a restoration is favored by some and condemned by others involved in ponderosa pine restoration. A must-read recent article by Scott Abella, Pete Fulé and Wally Covington provides an overview of this debate. Here, we provide a synopsis of the article as well as a link for those interested in reading it in its entirety. Graduating Seniors Are Off to Exciting Careers and Adventures We Wish Them Well.... Denitrification in Baltimore’s Urban Streams  Stream sampling at a Baltimore Ecosystem Study Long Term Ecological Research site. Danielle Gift, ERI undergraduate researcher, expanded the scope and geographical range of our typical senior projects by traveling to Maryland and New York to study the effects of stream restoration. Danielle's hypothesis was, "Will riparian restoration treatments increase the denitrification potential of degraded urban streams?" For her conclusion, click here. Alumni Corner       
The quality of the activities of our alumni just prove that our graduating seniors are not going to be "one-hit wonders!" To find out what our graduates are doing, please click here. Effects of a Prescribed Burn on Breeding Productivity of Dark-Eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis) in Ponderosa Pine Forests  A dark-eyed junco in southeastern Arizona similar to the juncos Austin was studying. Austin Lyons, ERI undergraduate researcher, has discovered, by examining the effects of burning on breeding productivity of dark-eyed juncos, that there is no simple "recipe" for restoring forest health. Austin's study indicates that burning may adversely affect breeding juncos. To find out more of the details of her study, click here. Kamran Mousavi Wins ADA Appreciation Award 
Kamran Mousavi, ERI undergraduate research assistant, received Northern Arizona University’s first Americans with Disabilities Act Appreciation Award. Find out which of Kamran's many accomplishments caught the attention of the award committee by clicking here. Soils as Agents of Selection: Do Different Soils Give a “Home-field” Advantage to Various Cottonwood Species and Hybrids?  This picture illustrates the differences in leaf shape of Fremont cottonwood and narrowleaf cottonwood, and their hybrids. Are these differences affected by the soil? Clara Pregitzer, ERI undergraduate researcher writes that she was daydreaming about her research, so either she has found her calling or she needs a vacation. What Clara was dreaming about was partially the field work itself, but also the answer to this question: "Do soils provide a 'home-field' advantage for the offspring of the cottonwood species growing in a specific soil type?" Clara's excitment about her work is wonderfully contagious. To share in it, read her report here. Jen Tsonis Selected NAU Student Employee of the Year  Jen Tsonis surprised but proud while accepting the award for NAU Stuent Employee of the Year. Jen Tsonis was selected NAU Student Employee of the Year, a fete that Brent Tyc another ERI employee achieved three years ago. To learn more about Jen's award click here. Scholars Earn Awards    Three ERI graduate researchers earn scholarships. To find out more click here. Please send your comments, and your story ideas to: Judith.Springer[at]nau.edu or Dave.Egan[at]nau.edu . Thanks for your interest in what we are doing and thinking! Here's a parting shot for you hardy souls who read these things right to the end! |
