2019 People of the Big River Field Class

Our Klamath guide, Alex met us at Collier Campground at 9:00 AM and led us to the Klamath Tribes' Research Station. Here we learned about two species of fish that are both endemic to the area, and a sacred fish of the Klamath Tribe. Koptu (Klamath) - shortnose sucker ( Chasmistes brevirostris)  which can live 33 years old and grow up to 24 inches. C'waam (Klamath) - lost river sucker ( Deltistes luxatus)  which can live to 55 years old and grow up to 35 inches. Pit tag tracking has shown that neither species has produced young capable of surviving to adulthood, even though millions of larvae are produced each spring.     These two species were currency for trade with other tribes as well as the primary food source for the Klamath and Modoc from historic times to the 1980s. Tribes used to harvest tens of thousands of pounds of C’waam each year during the Return of C’waam Ceremony, held each spring. Today, tribes are restricted to harvest of a single fish each year for use

Our trial cams faired better than our previous attempt, or at least captured more interesting results. River A cam caught mostly scenic river shots (moving water). Cam B didn't record anything at night, but filled it's memory with pictures of the field. Cam C was the most interesting, catching video of a black tailed deer disappearing into the brush. More interesting still, it also picked up a unidentified human who actually adjusted our trail cam. The area was covered in piles of fresh elk droppings, as well as signs of elk or deer (aggressively) digging at the ground and downed logs. We also found a variety of fresh tracks in the area.    -- We were packed, had the campground (outhouse included) cleaned, and were on the road to Crater Lake by 8:35 AM. -- Volcanic crater turned lake, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States, and it is every bit as incredible as I'd imagined.  So happy we made it here.    We drove through the park and stopped a

Coyote (spileye) woke me up again this morning around 5:00 AM, which was nice because I had time for another run. On my run, I saw two deer (yamash). Today our group split into two groups based on major. Each group then headed to do volunteer work with the United States Forest Service (USFS), each group doing work for a different department. The sub-group made up of environmental science & studies majors, including myself, were assigned to the botany department. Having worked with the USFS previously, and having the passion/interest in botany that I have, I am looking forward to this work. -- Favorite day of the trip so far. Our USFS contacts included Charmaine Powers, district botanist at the Bend/Fort Rock Ranger District, and Marlowe F. who is a botanist who specializes in invasive species. Our "work" for the day was counting a plant species endemic to Central Oregon.    Castilleja chlorotica, commonly known as green tinged paint brush, is not endangered

I awoke this morning to the sounds of elk and coyote chattering in the area surrounding our campsite – somewhere around 4:50 to 5:30 AM. A personal best for me was completing a three-mile run around the campsite and part of an old logging trail. I made it back by 6:15 to set up breakfast.    After that, I assisted in the execution of a mouse that had the misfortune of filling up on food in the RV. I volunteered to assemble live traps this evening to avoid having a repeat of this particular event. By the time we left camp at 7:45, I’d had a pretty full day! -- The first [planned] adventure of the day was hiking the Deschutes River Trail, another three miles of beautiful scenery. Following our morning hike, our entire group was treated to showers, electricity, WiFi, and burgers/brats/veggie burger goodness, courtesy of Joy and Rick, two of Dr. Black’s longtime friends. It was incredibly kind of them to share their house with us. We spent the bulk of the afternoon in luxur