My primary reason for being in Yellowstone is to work. I’ve reported on my leisure time but I bet you are wondering how the job is going. To be fair, the lines are blurred between work and play. To quote a childhood friend, “you get to do all the cool stuff that we did as kids but now, you get paid to do it.” True, many of my hours are spent hiking in the striking landscape of Yellowstone and playing with fuzzy or slimy critters. However, I still have the mundane that comes along with every job. I’d take you along on a typical day but none are the same. Good or bad, I don’t always know what I’m doing from one day to the next.
Let’s start from the beginning…
The first week was full of the typical on-boarding stuff. I had paperwork to fill out, I met with HR of the nonprofit who pays me, and I had various training. “Typical,” however, I say loosely. Who normally gets bear safety and radio training and CPR re-certification as part of their job introduction? I’m happy to report that my tutelage has practical use. Well, the NPS radio training taught me everything about the device, except how to use it! In bear safety training, we were instructed to angle the situation to our advantage. They cautioned, don’t spray upwind; wait until the bear is within range. Eventually they fessed up and proclaimed that you would be lucky to have enough time to draw your bear spray and the situation will never be ideal. Nevertheless, I have to say that I had fun practicing with the dummy cans of bear spray. I feel that I am a professional already. After all, I’ve had so much practice with my air hose and compressor back home — back off dust! Oh and, least I forget all of the Aqua Net that I sprayed on my mullet back in the 80s and 90s! In all seriousness, the instruction that I received and thus supplemented will make fieldwork safer.
How about them animals?
I often say that I work with small mammals, amphibians, and bats. More accurately, in the context of my employment, I work with rodents, frogs and toads, and bats. And now, I must get something out of the way. Yes, bats are small mammals but they are not rodents. I keep them separated and you should too! To some, they may resemble mice with wings but that analogy is far from the truth. In fact, rodents share a closer common ancestor to humans than bats. Additionally, when I talk about small mammals, I’m primarily talking about rodents. Amphibians are self-explanatory but sadly, I’m not working with salamanders. There is only one in the park and it doesn’t have our attention this year. Instead, we are focusing on frogs and toads. Okay, I hope you didn’t mind the clarification. On a lighter note, I’m really happy that I have a job that works with so many species!
My days…
Most of my days are spent in the field. The Yellowstone landscape is a striking and beautiful place to work. Often, we find ourselves surveying for ground squirrels in a beautiful meadow of wildflowers, setting up bat acoustic stations in a surreal area that was burned by wildfire, or playing with amphibians next to ephemeral pools. Rivers flow past and snow covered mountains are in the background. Occasionally, I get to explore places that are restricted to the public. For instance, I got a quick tour of the old powerhouse in Mammoth and I saw an off-limits cave called Devil’s Kitchen. Both places are monitored for bat activity. Wherever we go, large mammals are always near. We must be aware of our surroundings at all times and never let our guard down. Bison are a common fixture on the landscape — they are everywhere! I’ve already bumped into bears here and there. Elk sometime block the entrances to buildings and we have to go the long way around. Still, I haven’t seen a moose. That’s what makes this job exciting; I’m learning new things, and the landscape, flora, and fauna are amazing.
The mundane…
Similar to any job, I also have the mundane. Sometimes there is downtime at the office and I’m trying to figure out how to pass the hours. Although, none of us are exempt from these projects, Chad, the other seasonal employee, and I take on the less glorious but necessary projects to stay productive. A few afternoons, I was spray painting the Sherman traps that we use to capture small mammals. Dulling my mind, I plug into a computer every now and then to analyze hours of amphibian calls. Sometimes, I volunteer to help with tedious tasks in the lab — pipetting solutions, labeling tubes, and restocking tips. I make the most of it by catching up on my podcasts, listening to new music, or engaging in conversation. The time spent idle should be drastically reduced in the upcoming weeks. Rodent and amphibian surveys are ramping up and bat captures will be increasing with the warmer weather.
Till next time…
Well, I don’t want to overload this post; I best keep this as an update for now. In the future, I’d like to elaborate on the work that I’m doing and talk about our program. There is also the people dynamic that I’m sure will interest you. In brief, I’m enjoying my job, I’m making new friends, and I’m learning new things!