Hey MeadoWatchers!

My name is Jose Esparza, and I am an undergrad at the University of California Los Angeles as well as a Duke
Doris Conservation Scholar intern. You may remember me from a previous
blog post. :)

This summer I am working with the Hille Ris Lambers lab on a research
project. Our goal is to learn more about current, former, and potential
future MeadoWatch volunteers – mainly who you are, why you joined, and
what you get out of participating. I will share this information with Janneke,
and we hope to use it to improve the program! Additionally, this
information will help us develop an outreach / recruitment plan to ensure
the MeadoWatch community of citizen scientist volunteers is fully
representative of our region’s diversity.

Many of you will receive an email with the same information and a link to
the surveys that I will also be attaching here. I invite you to participate in
my research and would appreciate your participation in the survey
regarding interest in parks, climate change, and participation in research efforts. Your results will be valuable
to my summer research, the lab, and MeadoWatch in general, and all surveys are anonymous. Below is a link
that will take you to the survey 
https://catalyst.uw.edu/webq/survey/jaesparz/336470

Thank you all for being volunteers! I have very much enjoyed meeting with some of you in person and
hope to get to meet more of you on the trails. Please contact me if you would be interested in speaking with
me and helping me more with my research. You can contact me through email at
[email protected].

Just a quick update: it looks like the Reflection Lakes hike is mostly melted out. The snow bridge near plot 2
is gone with little water running through, so crossing the stream should be no problem! The hike is as
beautiful as ever, and the wildflowers are out and blooming. As you reach higher elevations, past plot 7,
you can still find quite a bit of snow out but all eleven plots are uncovered and can be accessed. Plenty of
MeadoWatch plant species are out and in abundance. If you are scheduled to hike sometime this week,
you can expect great weather conditions.

Best,  

Jose Esparza

​

Carol Miltimore, A MeadoWatch volunteer (since 2013!), hiked the Reflection Lakes Trail, taking many
pictures of the plots and providing us with a great early season snapshot of trail and plot conditions.
Below, I share some of the pictures and observations she made. Thanks for sharing, Carol!

​Hi MeadoWatchers,

My name is Kyra Kaiser, and I am an undergraduate assistant helping Dr. HilleRisLambers with her
fieldwork this summer, and I have seen some of you on the MeadoWatch trails! I am an undergraduate at
University of Washington, and I recently finished a research project studying one of MeadoWatch’s focal
species, Glacier lily. I hope that you have seen Glacier lily if you have been out on the trails lately! This
plant is found at high elevations and blooms in brilliant yellow soon after snowmelt (see picture above). 
After spending so much time researching Glacier lily, I was thrilled to meet my study species in person on
Mount Rainier! 

Our lab (the HilleRisLambers lab) is particularly interested in nontraditional sources of data, such as data
that is gathered by all of you volunteers. I studied another underutilized source of data for studying
phenology, herbarium specimens. Herbarium specimens are plants that are collected, often during bloom,
and preserved for research purposes. I used data on Glacier lily specimens collected across the Pacific
Northwest from 1907 to 2015. I retrieved my data from the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria, a
group of herbaria in the Pacific Northwest that make information on their specimens available online. Some
herbarium specimens in their collection date back to the late 1800s! Check out their website to see some
impressive images of old pressed plants!  

Using a climate model, I obtained information on temperature and snowfall based on the collection year
and location of where each Glacier lily specimen had been collected. Then, I analyzed the effects of different
factors on the bloom time of Glacier lily. I estimated bloom time based on the date that a flowering specimen
was collected. In the graph below, each dot represents one Glacier lily specimen (i.e. an observation of
Glacier lily flowering). I found a strong relationship between the spring temperature of the specimen
collection location and the flowering time of Glacier lily. Glacier lily blooms earlier in years with warmer
spring temperatures.

If you pay attention to weather and flowers, this
relationship might be intuitive. Warmer spring
temperatures lead to earlier snowmelt, which
allows early blooming flowers to pop up sooner.
This trend has been confirmed by several studies
(and MeadoWatch data!). However, since
herbarium specimens are infrequently used as
a source of data, I wanted to test if my results
matched widely accepted trends. This would
allow me to identify any hidden errors or internal
biases present in herbarium specimen data as
well as learn about the benefits and drawbacks
of using this source of data. I discovered that
herbarium specimen data does have some
problems (e.g. missing and inaccurate specimen
collection locations), I concluded that this source of 100+ years of data has a lot of potential if these
obstacles are overcome.  

I hope that you and I will see more studies on herbarium specimens in the years to come!

​Best wishes, 

Kyra Kaiser​ 

Hello there MeadoWatchers,
​
In this post, I would like to highlight yet another look-a-like set of species; Northern Silverpuffs
(Microseris borealis), and a MeadoWatch focal species, North Microseris or Smooth Mountain Dandelion
(Nothocalais alpestris or Microseris alpestis).
​ 

​It may be summer in the lowlands, but for mountain plants (e.g. our focal species on the Reflection Lakes
trail), it is still early in the season! This is because snow has been slow to melt from our Reflection Lakes
MeadoWatch trail and surrounding meadows (as of July 8, about 80% of the trail is snow covered), and our
focal plants can’t emerge and start to flower until that happens!
 
There both risks and rewards to early season hikes on our trails!
 
The rewards: you will get to see some of our earliest bloomers, Avalanche lily (abundant on our Reflection
Lakes trail) and Glacier lily (abundant on our Glacier Basin Trail) – see some lovely examples in recent
pictures above!
 
The challenges: we can’t place the markers until all the snow is gone, so even if you get to the sites,
you’ll have to use the pictures and / or a GPS unit to find the plots – like a treasure hunt! For example,
we have just one of our 11 trail markers out at Reflection Lakes (as of July 8th). You also will have to identify
a lot of budding phenophases (see two examples below), as not much else besides the two lilies pictured
above will be flowering.
 
The risks: You may need to navigate across snow, and avoid some the hazards associated with this
(e.g. snow bridges – see example below), on the Reflection Lakes hike in the next week or so
(week of July 10th and possibly 17th). If you are not comfortable crossing the creek (with or without snow),
you have a couple of options. You may be able to access the upper plots (3-11) via the west branch of the
High Lakes Trail (or even the fourth crossing trail from the Paradise creek), which allows you to avoid the
creek.  Or, if you don't like snow at all, you can consider rescheduling to a Glacier Basin Hike (this hike is
almost entirely snow free – not surprising since the east side of Mt. Rainier receives about half the snow
that the southwest side does). Please don’t forget to also check our safety guidelines (includes some hints
and tips about snow navigation).
 
 
Happy hiking! Janneke

Hey MeadoWatchers,

Plot markers are out and so are some of our focal species' flowers! I was out on the Glacier Basin Trail this
weekend, and the recent summer heat has melted the snow across most of the trail. There are still some
small patches of snow, above plot 8 (although I don't suspect it won't last too much longer), so be sure to
step carefully and try to prevent trail erosion!

We collected lots of great data and many of our focal species are budding and blooming, with some species
starting to set fruit (can you think of which early Glacier Basin species that might be?). Also, a big shout out
to all the MeadoWatchers I ran into during lunch time at the top of the trail! It was such a pleasure to chat
with you all!

​Here are a couple of interesting species ID notes to keep in mind while you are hiking this trail!

Sharptooth Angelica look-a-likes: I spotted three species (all in the Apiaceae, or Carrot family) that look
similar to Sharptooth Angelica (Angelica arguta): Common Cow-parsnip (Heraclium maximum), Western
Sweet-cicely (Ozmorhiza occidentalis), and don't forget about the Lovages (Ligusticum spp.)! 

- Cow-parsnip looks like Sharptooth Anglica on a body builder diet, in other words it is is much larger and
more robust, with large palmately lobed leaves and very hairy stems. Seen around plots 2 through 4.

- Western Sweet-cicely is much smaller and more delicate than Sharptooth Angelica. It can be slightly
confusing, as the leaves of O. occidentalis look like a shrunk down version of Sharptooth Angelica,
however, the flowers are green and the umble inflorescence is much smaller (only about 5-12 umbellets).
I spotted this species in plot 2, but keep an eye out for it else where. 

- Lovage... Gray's? I spotted a Ligusticum spp. in plots 14 and 16. Since it was only the vegetation it's hard to
say which species it might be, but my best guess at this point is Gray's Lovage. Again, keep in mind, that
Gray's Lovage (​Ligusticum gray) is much smaller and has more finely divided leaves than Sharptooth Angelica.
Hopefully, we can confirm which species it is later in the season (calling all MeadoWatch Botany enthusiasts!).

Don't forget to share your trail updates and ID notes with us on Facebook or email us pictures!

​Happy IDing!

Your MeadoWatch Team (Emmi)

​

Hello MeadoWatchers!

Summer is coming a little slowly this year to Reflection Lakes Trail. The trail starts out with patches of snow, and the higher you climb, the harder it is to find the trail. We hiked as high as Plot 8, and all of the MeadoWatch sites were covered in snow. As of June 28th, we have placed none of the plot markers because all plots are still covered by snow! If you do decide to brave the snow, the creek crossing right after Plot 2 is covered with a snow bridge. It is relatively safe for now, but watch out as melting conditions will make it deteriorate. However, things appear to be melting quickly. Based on Meera’s intuition, we expect many of the plots to melt out and things to start to grow in the next couple of weeks. As of now though, finding the trail is difficult and we relied heavily on our GPS to keep us on track. For those of you uncomfortable hiking over snow, we suggest you wait a few weeks to enjoy this hike.
 
Outside of the plots, especially at lower elevations, Avalanche Lily is abundant. This early season bloomer can be seen right off the trail and in some cases, peeking through the snow. Sitka Valerian is also starting to come up, with vegetation at the sides of the trail. If you are lucky, you may also see some wildlife (see picture below)!
​
This week’s blog was written by two Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program interns, Jose Esparza and Bailey Hussung. This summer we are working with the Hille Ris Lambers lab and conducting our own conservation related projects.
 

Jose is working to increase the diversity of the MeadoWatch citizen science program in order to create a more inclusive community of volunteers. Hopefully in the coming weeks, if you catch him around, please feel free to introduce yourself. He will be trying to get in contact with some of you through surveys and some questions. Your help will be most appreciated.  >:}  Bailey is studying the characteristics of the insect community as they relate to the habitat type and elevation of the meadows. If you see someone with a bug net and vials full of insects, come say hello! 

 The hiking season is nearly upon us (the hike calendar opens tomorrow, June 30th)! Our Glacier Basin hike is always our first hike to melt out (the east side of the park gets about half of the snow that the south side gets), and this year is no exception. As of June 21, about half of this 3 mile hike was snow free, and hikers willing to travel over snow can reach the end of the hike. Tall Bluebell was already budding at our lower elevation plots as of a week ago (and may be flowering by now!), so there is plenty of data to collect!
 
A few notes about the Glacier Basin hike:

• The MeadoWatch data collection box has been placed at Glacier Basin! it is ready to receive your data.
• Plots 1, 2 (see picture below), 3, 4, 5, and 8 have trail markers out as of June 21st. We will mark more of the plots next week (Thursday, July 6th), but it may take a while for us to get them all marked...
• A stream between plots 2 and 3 is briefly part of the trail – be prepared for wet socks! It should become easily passable in late summer as snowmelt amounts go down.
• An avalanche occurred right before plot 8! It has been cleared and is passable.

 
We will be out next week to place more trail markers, and hope to see you on the trails!

....Hopefully answered!

Hello MeadoWatchers,

Thanks to those of you who have attended orientation already. 2 down and 1 to go! We are happy to be able to offer you free camping at the Longmire Volunteer Campground and White River Campground, thanks to the wonderful Mt. Rainier Volunteer Outreach Staff. 

Here are some notes about requesting camping and some questions you might have. If you find they are not answered here, please feel free to email us!

​All the best,
Your MeadoWatch Team 

Where can I camp?
     The park offers volunteers free camping at Longmire Volunteer Campground and White River Campground (with overflow camping from White River at Ohanapecosh Campground).  As you are volunteering with MeadoWatch, you qualify for these camping options. We cannot offer free camping at any backcountry sights (please see this link for backcountry camping information). 

How long can I stay?
      Through volunteering at Mt. Rainier National Park with MeadoWatch, the park offers volunteers up to two nights at a time per day of volunteering. For example, if you plan to hike on July 13th, you could camp the night of July 12th and 13th and leave July 14th.  You may plan your camping dates around your MeadoWatch hike as you see fit, and may opt to only camp for one night. 

How early should I put in my camping request?
     Please give at least two weeks advance notice of the dates you would like to camp!  We cannot guarantee that you will have a campsite reserved if you do not provide us with this time (we require this as we have to send your requests to the park volunteer staff, who will place your reservations).

How do I place my camping request?
       Please provide us with the following information, kindly in the following format:
Name: Your name
Email: A good email to contact you at
Where: Which campground
When: The nights you will be staying (e.g. July 12th and 13th would indicated that you will be arriving on July 12th, staying the nights of July 12th and 13th , and departing on July 14th.)
Number of people: How many will be staying with you? If it is just you, please indicate this.
Number of tents/size of RV: How many tents are you bringing?  How big is your RV? Note that there are size restrictions and limited maneuverability, so please call the park if you have further questions. This will help the park volunteer staff select the appropriate campsite. Again, if it is only one tent, please indicate this.
 
Can I camp with a friend/fellow volunteer?
        Yes! Please indicate this in the number of people and tents when putting in your request.  The park is able to offer sites that will accommodate multiple tents and people, groups up to 3-4 is optimal.  In the spirit of volunteering, we require all your member to participate in the data collection (remember to include their names on the data sheet).
 
Will I receive a confirmation of my request?
            We will do our very best to let you know that we have sent your camping request.  When your reservation request has been put in by the park volunteer staff, you should receive a confirmation email back from them (however, this may not always be the case). Kindly, keep in mind that communication between the park and MeadoWatch can take some time due to internet connections (ahh technology, both a convenience and frustration). If you have concerns about your reservation request, please contact us at [email protected].
 
Can I change my camping request?
            Yes!  Please send us an email as soon as you know about any changes to your original camping request, including cancelations. Send an email with the subject line: “DATE Camping Request Change” (please write in the appropriate date of your camping reservation in the subject line where the example says ‘DATE’).   Again, if you need to reschedule for an earlier date, please note the two week advance notice disclaimer. 

Hey MeadoWatchers! 

Read all about it! We have posted our MeadoWatch Times newsletter (you can download a PDF below). Included in this newsletter are some results from the 2016 Season and some updates about the program! 

You may have also received it linked to the recent 2017 Season Orientation email! Yes, that's right, we have opened up registration for our 2017 season orientations! Please do sign up for the orientation date you would to attend as soon as possible. We have had a lot of interest and positive feedback, however, because we are limited by trail traffic, we expect volunteer spaces to fill up quite fast!

Please do send us an email if you have any questions about signing up for orientation or about the newsletter!

All the best,

Your MeadoWatch Team