My Park Story: Miranda F.

Miranda holding an ovenbird during spring migration bird banding. All birds were caught and handled by trained professionals with the necessary state and federal permits.

NPS / Mariamar Gutierrez

My name is Miranda and this summer I have been a Scientists in Parks intern working out of Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP). For the past 5 months I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of the Resource Management team at CVNP, working with dedicated and compassionate biologists to protect and study our beautiful national park. Born and raised in Akron and a recent graduate from the University of Akron, I’ve spent my entire life exploring our local parks and natural spaces. As a wildlife biologist, I have the immense privilege of getting to connect with our land in ways that most park visitors never get to experience.

Miranda, left, and Dan Toth holding yellow warblers during spring migration. All birds were caught and handled by trained professionals with the necessary state and federal permits.

NPS / Mariamar Gutierrez

Over my 5 months here at Cuyahoga Valley, I’ve been able to do countless interesting and special things. I’ve tagged along for mussel and rare fish reintroduction efforts in our waters, bat mist-netting with local partners, and my favorite part: bird banding. At CVNP, a bird banding station is run by Dr. Mariamar Gutierrez, park biologist and master bander, and Dan Toth, Summit Metro Parks biologist and sub-permitted bird bander. Through many early mornings and sunrises, I’ve been able to assist with avian research and banding at CVNP, including spring and fall migration surveys and breeding surveys following the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) protocol. Holding a wild bird in your hand is something that most people could never dream of doing, and it is both magical and indescribable. Being trusted to work with and care for wildlife is a true honor, and something I hope I can continue doing for the rest of my life.

A newly deployed AHDriFT array at a wetland in the park.

NPS / Miranda F.

In addition to wildlife work at CVNP, I was given the wonderful opportunity to establish a new citizen science program, in collaboration with our partners at The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Thanks to grant funding from the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act, and the hard work of our local TNC team, 600+ acres of wetlands will be treated for invasive vegetation over the coming years. Excitingly, the grant also provided funding for wildlife monitoring during this restoration work. For my part, I was able to establish 5 new Adapted-Hunt Drift Fence Technique (AHDriFT) arrays at our national park. These arrays provide a low-impact, passive monitoring technique that biologists can use to survey wildlife over the coming years, as the wetlands change and hopefully recover, supporting changes in wildlife as well. This effort will be maintained by volunteer citizen scientists, who will care for the equipment and sort through the data they produce. The results are being shared on iNaturalist, via a project made specifically for this survey at CVNP. Thanks to the iNaturalist project, park visitors and local experts will be able to learn more about the wildlife that our national park protects.

Working at Cuyahoga Valley National Park has allowed me to see our park in a brand-new light, allowing me to care more deeply for it than ever before, which I didn’t think was possible. From now on, when I kayak down the free-flowing river, hear a veery calling in the forest, or stop to admire the beauty of native wildflowers, I will think of the dedicated, selfless people who protect and preserve everything on this land, big or small, for us to appreciate and enjoy. As I move on to new adventures, I will continue to work on our public lands, and see them in new and unique ways that very few people are lucky enough to experience. And for that, and for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, I will always be grateful.