Time's Ideas

So this is the last blog I'm going to be writing from California. Tomorrow I'm going to be leaving. I'm just going to try to wrap it up in this last blog. When I get back I'll probably still blog once in a while about environmental things that I want to write about. But I'll miss this.
I've learned a lot about conservation while here. I've seen what it's like having a job on a preserve like this, and I've thought a lot about the complicated ethics of conservation. I've learned a ton about vegetarian cooking, nutrition, and health, and learned some things about shopping responsibly. That seems like a lot!
One thing I learned is that nothing is easy in conservation. There are always difficult decisions that have to be made, and you rarely ever win completely. But there's also hope. In the deal between conservationists and developers in the Coachella valley, only 5% of the original fringe-toed lizard habitat was saved. The rest they developed. Somebody judged that a "fair" trade-off. That doesn't seem fair to many conservationists! But every time there's something that makes me lose hope, I can always find something to restore it. They're breeding and releasing California condors. The population has climbed from only about 22 to over 300 condors! The fringe-toed lizards are still alive, too. I'm really glad of how many people care about the earth and fight for its protection, and how many more decide to help every day.
Sometimes you have to kill something to save something else. That was one of the hardest things for me to learn. I liked catching crayfish, but it isn't just the fun. We still had to kill some of them. It's hard to choose which ones live or die. It was really hard for me to get rid of the fish I'd gotten to know and name and love.
A good thing I learned is that people can make a difference. I've always felt like very few understood the importance of being conscious or thought about the environmental impacts of our actions. But watching my aunt talk to people and teach them about the conservation work being done made me realize that the other people at least thought about something they'd never considered before. I saw some eureka moments on their faces, amazement, realization, and understanding. That meant a lot to me.
I think if I had to pick a favorite day, I'd probably spend the next 8,000 years deciding. And still not have decided. I'll say a few.
Despite the heat that day, I loved the pupfish surveys! That was one of the more interesting things I've seen. I'm really happy I got to help! Not only was it great to see an endangered fish, seeing the springs and surrounding wetlands was very cool.
Of course, all of the outings we did I loved. I could talk for hours about them. Again. But I'm sure you don't want to read it another time.
And the movie was fun. And all the work. And everything I've done. Ok, maybe I didn't choose a few after all. Oops.
I've even crazily considered becoming vegan someday.
I've really enjoyed this and enjoyed writing. I guess I could write some more about things I've thought about, but I think I should sign out and leave things be. I'm sure all of you have spent at least a little time thinking about things while you've been reading the blogs. It's more enjoyable thinking for yourself anyway. Thank you everybody for reading and supporting me in this! I really hope you liked it!

The Cons of Freedom

One of the best things today was looking for a turtle. A red-eared slider turtle to be exact. They're natives to the east coast and the pet turtle: the poster image of pet turtles, the one you always imagine, you get the picture.
Well, someone had released their pet into Thousand Palms spring. People release pets all the time out here, actually. When they don't want it any more or can't take care of it, they just set it loose on the preserve. There are many cats and dogs that are abandoned here, (that's how my aunt got her adorable dog) and people have released other things over the years. Recently they found an Australian water dragon, and of course there are aquarium fish, crayfish and snails.
When people release their pets, most of the time they want the animals to be free and happy, but in reality domesticated animals aren't accustomed to living in the wild. After surviving their whole life being fed every day and protected from all predators, they're almost always not going to make it. So really people should just think a little more about what they're doing when releasing pets. When the habitat change isn't a death sentence, it can turn out to be the total opposite, as we've seen in the pond. The red-eared slider itself is competing with the native desert tortoise. It's always best to simply find a new home for your pet and not mess with the natural order of things. For those who want to use them, there are animal rescue or adoption programs, or one can ask around to find someone who wants to take a pet in.
In the case of the turtle, a tour guide had called and reported the sighting of the turtle, but no one had seen it in a few weeks. We went to look, and she was sitting near the beginning of the trail like she was waiting for us!
So we caught her and brought her in the car. Sliders don't bite, but they can scratch, so we put a towel over her to calm her down. We weren't being cruel. Turtles feel more relaxed when their heads are covered. She got a name- Tabitha- and for now she's living in the bathtub. If I didn't live in another state or have parents who would be really upset if I brought home a turtle, I would keep her. Since both of those restrictions apply, we're giving her to turtle rescue to find a new home for her. Oh well. :)
Also, just for my sister, I'm including an aquarium update.
So far there have been three molts: two little and one big. One small one and the big one appeared on the same day and both nearly gave me a heart attack. At first glance, I thought the large one was dead, and the smaller shell was torn apart and being eaten, so I thought they'd eaten a little one. I was so sad and disgusted until I realized my mistake. I'm so glad they're still alive!
The baby fish that are only a few days old are already twice the size of the older ones! It's a mystery, to be sure. I have no idea. The Lobster of Doom's as crazy as ever, and I got a new little crayfish that acts a lot bigger than he really is.
Tomorrow's my final exam in crayfish trapping! I'm preparing. To pass I have to fall in the water.

The Top of the World

Yesterday we went for a hike to the top of mount San Jacinto. A revolving Swiss tram takes you up the sheer cliffs fronting the mountain, and then hiking trails vein out to diverse destinations. The hike to the peak was an 11 mile round trip. The mountains are astoundingly beautiful. They're studded with huge granite boulders, blindingly white. The mountainside is forested, giving way near the top to low, purplish bushes covered in bright green leaves. The mountain is at least 10 or 15 degrees cooler than the valley floor. Going up was really refreshing and cool. The elevation was also closer to what I'm used to, so it was pretty nice.
The valley floor is about 300 feet in elevation, the top of the tram is 8,500 ft. From there the hike goes up to 11,503 ft, so from the valley the elevation jump in altitude is 11,200 ft.
The tallest peak in the United States is Mount McKinley, Alaska, is 9,486 feet taller than San Jacinto, and Gorgonio, the tallest peak in southern CA is 669 feet taller.
The way up the mountain was mostly uphill. As we got higher up, the views were spectacular. It felt like we could see almost the whole world. Of course, as we got close to the top, we were so tired we could barely stand. To get to the very top you have to climb up a huge summit of boulders, but being up there is completely worth it. From the top one can see for miles and miles around. The day was pretty hazy, so the view was very veiled, but it was still staggering. It's extremely gorgeous up there, just completely amazing.
Of course, I couldn't even bear to think about going back down the entire thing. We were both so tired. But we made it. It took us at least 6 or 7 hours to go there and back, and our legs and feet were in serious pain, but it was so worth it, the hike is beautiful the whole way. Everything's absolutely silent except for the occasional melodic bird call, and the sky up there is the bluest I've ever seen. If you're ever around this area, even in San Diego or LA, I would wholeheartedly recommend coming up here. You don't have to go all the way to the top either- there are shorter hiking trails and campgrounds you can go to. It' really amazing.

Infestation

Today we went out onto the dunes to check out developments of the invasive species of plants that inhabit them. On the sand dunes behind McCallum pond we saw a lot of Russian thistle, a type of tumbleweed. Russian thistles are low and bushy, growing from 1/2 foot to three feet tall. When they have leaves they are green and fleecy, and the bush has purple stems. The stems and leaves have fine, painful prickers on them. When the plants mature, they become dry and brittle with yellow coloring. After this, during a windstorm, they will break off and roll across the landscape, dispersing seeds and creating a more widespread outbreak of the weed's population. Natives of Russia, the plants now live also in many Middle Eastern countries and arid parts of the western United States.
Russian thistle is a problem on the sand dunes where we were looking. The best way to remove the bushes is by poisoning or pulling them up. My aunt is coming up with a plan to eliminate the presence of these weeds from the dunes.
We also went to another set of dunes- the ones with the fringe-toed lizards- which had a different set of problems. The predominant weed there is called Sahara mustard, and it's really taken over. A large portion of the dunes and the sand fields around them are completely coated with the mustard. The plants prevent the dunes from moving and shifting like they're supposed to, and also drives the fringe-toed lizards to a smaller portion of habitat, as the lizards will only live in places with some open sand.
Saharan mustard is originally from Africa and the Middle East. It grows up to three and a half feet tall, and blooms yellow, although less vibrant than other mustards. It prefers to grow on sand dunes or loose, disturbed ground. When it gets wet, the seeds stick to passerby and spread to new regions. On the dunes here in the Coachella Valley it's extremely difficult to remove. It can't be burned because it doesn't burn well and would harm the native plant and animal life. Fires also can be very dangerous in climates this dry and would require incredibly careful supervision and control. It would also be dangerous to mow the weed because it could be a danger to the animals, and poisoning would have the same effect. Mowing would also only spread the seeds and enlarge the already massive seedbank in the ground. The most careful method to remove it would be hand pulling in spring when the plants are young and not yet seeding. The only problem with this is the massive amount of territory the mustard's taken over. There's so much, it would take a hundred people several weeks of very long, industrious days to pull it all. Probably longer. But that's what the plan in the works is. If there are enough volunteers, then it'll get done sometimes. It will also take years of weeding diligently every year to remove the seed bank, but eventually it should hopefully be recovered.

Cooper's Hawk

Today while crayfish trapping I saw a cooper's hawk, so that's what I'm going to write about.
Cooper's hawks have blue-gray backs and "caps" with black bars on the tail, a white belly and chest, and scarlet eyes. The underparts also have many reddish brown bars. They have a predatory sharp beak and claws. They live in North America from Central America to southern Canada.
Cooper's hawks eat smaller birds and live in places with trees. They hunt and fly in the trees and under the foliage. They have very sharp eyes to allow them to hunt easily. They live up to 12 years in the wild.

A Convenient Coincidence

Today was a really fantastic day! A piece of a movie called The Big Year, a movie about birding, was filmed on the preserve today. Jack Black is in it, and he was there. My aunt and I headed out early in the morning to be there. My aunt was making sure that they were keeping to trails and not damaging the habitat at all. A bunch of gigantic trucks and trailers came in and started setting up. There was a trailer with makeup rooms and catering cars, and a dining car with a huge lunchroom, and trucks kept filing in and perfectly parallel parking.

Since I was with the park manager (aka my aunt) they asked me if I wanted to be an extra. I said yes and was so excited! Now I have to tell you the ending because I didn't actually get to be in it. The camera malfunctioned before there were any extras needed, so the crew moved on to the Joshua Tree preserve, and I didn't go. But! there's more to the story.
It was astounding seeing the set up. It seemed a huge affair with people running around and all the trucks, and the set organizer said it wasn't even a big production for Hollywood! And after a few hours of the trucks and people just coming in, they finally started getting ready to film. While they set up, my aunt and I met Jack Black and got pictures with him. He was nice and really funny (though I guess you could predict that). And then they filmed some scenes with him. They filmed lots of little clips for a montage, and then after a while the camera malfunction came and they left.
And while that was happening I met the extras and many people in different jobs around, and I really saw how much work goes into just five minutes of a movie. Between shots people were standing around Jack Black holding an umbrella over him and fixing his hair and talking about his costume.
Lots of people spend most of the time just waiting around. The extras and people who set up especially have a lot of waiting time. It was really fascinating talking to everybody and seeing how something like that is run. One of the extras I met said that the way you get places in Hollywood is just being in the right place at the right time, meeting the right people, and the site scout told us how some jobs work in film production and how they're made.
I can't believe they happened to come through to the preserve I'm interning at while I'm here! I'm so so glad I got to see it. I wasn't an extra after all, but I don't really care. I feel so lucky!

Invasion of the Title snatchers!

Yesterday we went to the Wild Animal Park in Escondido. A companion to the San Diego Zoo, it's not only dedicated to conserving animals, but also the native California habitat. A large portion of the 1800 acres containing the park are undeveloped native hills and fauna.
I think that out of all the zoos I've ever been to, this was my favorite (tied with an Australian zoo). The animals have tons of space to live in, with real plants and few fences. The animals could behave more naturally and live more like their wild counterparts.
We started out our exploration of the park by taking the conservation tour. We were actually the only two people taking it that day, so we had a very good tour. The first thing we got to do was visit the laboratories and research building. We saw a room dedicated to the conservation of the yellow legged frog, a native of California. There were tanks of tadpoles and others of adult frogs.
Our guide told us the three Rs of conservation: research, reproduction, and release. She told us about the steps the park is taking to preserve endangered species. The wild animal park has a very successful breeding program for everything from California condors to endangered iguanas. We learned that zoos exchange animals periodically to keep the gene pool clear.
One thing that really interested me in the research building was the "frozen zoo." They had tissue samples and reproductive material of endangered animals. It's a sort of backup program for animals: if they go extinct, someone can clone from the genetic samples. This made me think really hard. I'm not sure of my opinions on the ethics of it. It's good to try to keep critically endangered species alive, but is cloning any better than genetic engineering? Should we be trying to play all powerful like this, or let it go? It's our fault that the animals are going extinct, so is it ok if we save them or not? See? It's confusing!
Besides the research laboratory, we drove out into the conserved open space. CRAZY BIRD AUNTS DON'T READ THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH OR YOU WILL GO MORE CRAZY. Deep in the depths of the protected land is the bird facility. It contains endangered birds from all over the world that they have for breeding. They introduce some of the chicks back into the wild, so we couldn't get very near. Because the birds are supposed to have minimal contact with humans we watched from afar. It made my crazy bird aunt extremely sad that we couldn't see them closer.
After that we were taken to the home of some extra warthogs that aren't on exhibit at the moment. They are odd looking animals.
Then we got to feed the przewalski's wild horses. They're the only horses on earth that are still considered wild. Amazing. They don't completely look like domestic horses either. Wild horses have upright manes, and these were smaller and stockier than domestic ones. These guys also bit, so we threw carrots in instead of feeding them outright.
Next we went to an enormous enclosure containing four types of endangered African ungulates. One kind was called the slender horned gazelle, and another I think was called an addre, but I can't remember the other names. Some, though, had spiraled horns, and another large brown kind was in something called an alert circle. Each faces a different direction so the animals can see danger coming from anywhere. We got to feed all of them.
We also saw a Northern white rhino. There are only 7 left in the entire world, and the wild animal park has two of them. Sadly, both are beyond breeding age, so neither can help bring the species away from the brink of extinction. It's a grim picture, looking at the future of that species. It's very sad.
But that's where our tour left us, and we started wandering the park. We didn't get lost this time because the maps weren't confusing, so we looked all around. There are so many animals there with so much space, it's amazing! There were tons of bird and aviaries, we saw tiny baby elephants and so many animals. I can't list them all. Or even remember them all. But I did decide that I'd love love love to work there.

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(That's how you say hippopotamus in blehe. But we didn't see any of those.)