DINO MEMORIES

Here are some photos of my Spring and Summer in Dinosaur, Colorado. And also a text I wrote for the National Park Service at the end of my internship... and this is just part of what Dino means to me. Miss that desert so much...

The Rhythms of the River and the Desert – My Journey at Dinosaur National Monument

Introduction

“Then on a still night, when the campfire is low and the Pleiades have climbed over rimrock, sit quietly and listen for a wolf to howl, and think hard of everything you have seen and tried to understand. Then you may hear it – a vast pulsing harmony – its score inscribed on a thousand hills, its notes the lives and deaths of plants and animals, its rhythms spanning the seconds and the centuries.”

Aldo Leopold in “A Sand County Almanac”

Ever since I remember I have been fascinated by travelling and exploring this world, as well as by finding ways to make this Earth a better place to live. There are so many different landscapes, people, cultures, so many experiences to live, so much to learn and so much to give. My interests have led me to very different countries, where I have been able to help other people in their conservation efforts, at the same time as I acquire valuable skills and knowledge that will allow me to seek my own conservation objectives and hopefully to lead various environmentally focused projects later on.

My journey through Dinosaur National Monument has been rich and very important, and I hope that I can find all the words I need to translate my thoughts into a meaningful and sincere gratitude message to everyone who helped me get here and gave me the opportunity to experience the life, history and magical rhythms of this sagebrush country.

Peregrine Falcon Monitoring

Vast, imperious, timeless and endless, so rigorous, yet filled with so much life - the desert caused me an immediate impression that filled me with awe and respect at every visit to the park’s canyons, in search for eyries of the once endangered Peregrine Falcon, the fastest and deadliest bird on Earth.

We started the monitoring in April, the mountains still covered with snow, the box elders and cottonwoods barren and no birds to be seen or heard. Everything seemed to be stopped in time; silence was the only presence noticeable as we hiked our way to the observation points. But up high, on the cliffs of the Yampa and the Green Rivers, the Peregrines were already busy searching for a place to nest; pairs flying together, the male perching on different ledges, trying to convince the female that this cliff was the best place to live at Dinosaur National Monument.

Seven Peregrine territories were assigned to us, and throughout the season we visited each site an average of five times, spying on those magnificent raptors. Each site and each visit was different, and we learned so much about the falcon’s behaviour patterns, as about all the conservation efforts that were put together since the 1970s to recover Dinosaur’s Peregrine Falcon population.

As a Peregrine Falcon Monitor my duties included recording the presence of the falcons at each territory, and monitoring the different periods of their breeding cycle (ledge selection, incubation, hatching and fledging of young), with the final objective of accounting for the their productivity – number of successful fledged young per pair. As part of the Northwest Colorado Plateau Network, this project is part of an initiative to monitor the Peregrine Falcon population of the area, now that 6 years have passed since the species was de-listed from the Endangered Species List.

We found 6 active eyries, and although in several sites the Peregrines seemed to have chosen the most difficult ledges to monitor, we found 13 fledged young. Unfortunately, this year one of the eyries (Steamboat Rock, at Echo Park) seems to have failed during the incubation period, and no young Peregrines were seen there in June or July.

Studying breeding Peregrine Falcons has been a true challenge, especially since my previous experience had only allowed me to observe these birds in migration, as they rapidly pass through Talamanca, Costa Rica. I feel I now have a deeper knowledge of raptor ecology and conservation, which will certainly help me to continue to develop conservation efforts for birds of prey in other countries, like Portugal and Costa Rica.

Other opportunities at Dinosaur

While spending time at Dinosaur National Monument, it is impossible not to notice how this park has gathered so many interested and passionate people who work and live for this beautiful place. From Resource Management to Fire Management, from Interpretation to Law Enforcement, and Maintenance, I have met park employees who have helped me understand the importance of Dinosaur, and have given me endless opportunities to learn more and improve my skills.

I have participated in a Wilderness Workshop that gave me a broad perspective of the Wilderness Act purposes and helped me understand both the history and importance of the concept of Wilderness in this country.

Later on, I had the opportunity to go through Fire School and obtain my Red Card. This gave me a chance to learn more about fire behavior, fire management and the general importance of fire in the desert environment. Poor land management in the past has generated enormous amounts of fuel, which creates dangerous situations both for the natural and cultural resources as for people that still use this land, either for recreation or grazing. I value this experience even more, due to the extreme problem of fire in Portugal. Where I come from, most fires are started on purpose by land owners and can grow to ridiculous proportions in the summer season, as volunteer firefighters and locals risk their lives without any material resources to fight a fair war against crime and destruction of our forests.

Another experience was to help carry out some weed management tasks, which involved some river trips down the Green and the Yampa. Fighting the spread of the Tamarisk along the Colorado River System has been a challenge for many parks out west. I learned a lot both about the actual effects of weeds in these habitats and about ways to involve visitors in the park’s projects. Meeting several youth groups along the rivers not only helps the park get rid of some “tammies”, but it allows the visitors to feel part of the park’s efforts for some hours.

The Weed Warrior project was so interesting that I developed a very deep interest for environmental education and interpretation. This led me to visit Dinosaur’s Interpretation office several times, looking for training material and advice on how to prepare programs. I am trying to prepare an educational program for Talamanca, Costa Rica. The Hawkwatch wants to get involved with local communities, especially to teach school children about the importance of the tropical forest for migratory birds, as well as trying to develop ways for local communities to use natural resources more efficiently, and in a sustainable way.

Life after Dinosaur

Looking back on the five months I spent at Dinosaur National Monument, I realize I have grown both professionally and as a person.

Professionally, I have a much better idea on the way to go from here. I will continue to work with bird conservation focused on raptor species, and habitat conservation. The main difference now is that I realize I am not so interested in an academic career. Environmental education and natural resources management are now my priorities and I plan to continue my studies soon, with a master’s program that would allow me to develop my skills in these areas.

Additionally I think I have grown as a person, developing my group work skills, since this year the Peregrine Monitoring team was reduced to a two-person team. This was a challenge for both of us, since we spent almost 24 hours a day together. There were good and bad days, with more or less difficulty completing our monitoring tasks. But our interest for the project and the environment at the park, between us interns and the other park employees, created several moments of bonding experiences that I will never forget and that helped us work better everyday.

Friendships were built that will last a lifetime and the skills and knowledge I take with me will help me be a better person professionally.

Finally, I would like to say that I was very impressed by the conservation values and general way of managing public lands of the National Park Service at Dinosaur. So my last word will go to the people that work here; a word of thank you for everything you do in this park; your daily tasks are important, and when you look at the big picture, Dinosaur National Monument is in good hands.

“All will pass, as did dinosaurs who once roamed in profusion across these very same lands that were later invaded by people. Only the mountains and deserts and rivers will remain.”

Philip L. Fradkin in “Sagebrush Country”