Southeast Coast Network News April 2021

USGS Ecologist Ches Vervaeke with some of his favorite tools. He will be assisting the Southeast Coast Network's Coastal Program with SET installations.

Photo courtesy of Ches Vervaeke

USGS Ecologist Assists with Coastal Monitoring

William “Ches” Vervaeke is detailing with the Southeast Coast Network to install and survey Surface Elevation Tables (SETs) at five coastal parks. Ches is a USGS ecologist at the Wetland and Aquatic Research Center (WARC) in Lafayette, Louisiana and is an expert at all things SET, including work on a patent for a device that allows automated SET readings that can be done quickly and more accurately. He was the primary SET reader for a long-term elevation study in the Florida Everglades and an investigation of the effects of sedimentation on elevation change in a brackish wetland. Ches’ real passion in the field of wetland ecology is understanding below ground biotic processes and how these processes contribute to wetland elevation change and their ability to adapt to sea level rise. He earned a BS and MS in Marine Biology and Estuarine Ecology from the University of Southern Mississippi. He is currently enrolled in the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Environmental and Evolutionary Biology PhD program studying elevation dynamics of black mangroves as they expand their northern range due to climate change (estimated 2023 graduation). Ches will be assisting the SECN coastal team through June.

SECN Botanist Forbes Boyle provides plant identification training to staff and volunteers at Cumberland Island National Seashore.

NPS photo /SECN staff

Botanist Leads Plant ID Session at Cumberland Island National Seashore

Forbes Boyle, SECN Botanist, led a plant identification training session for Cumberland Island National Seashore staff and volunteers on February 26, 2021. Boyle presented to the Interpretation and Education Division tips on identifying a few of the more common plants on the island, giving them information to use on future guided tours.

Aquatic Team Studies Water-Quality Principles

Hydrologic Technician Daniel McCay and Aquatic Ecologist Eric Starkey recently completed the USGS Water-Quality Principles course (QW1022). The course introduced and reinforced principles and practices fundamental to the development and execution of water-quality studies. Topics included inorganic, organic, and isotope chemistry; ecology and microbiology; concepts of quality assurance and quality control in project work; approaches for evaluating the sources, fate, and transport of contaminants in the aquatic environment; and several methods of illustration and interpretation that can be used to help parks understand water-quality data. In addition to the self- guided online classes, Daniel and Eric participated in “live” video sessions with instructors, worked with a dataset from a case study, and discussed their findings in a final presentation. This training will help the network respond to surface and groundwater issues that may arise in our parks. For more information, contact Eric Starkey.

SECN Biological Technician Elizabeth Rico assisted with a prescribed burn at Cumberland Island National Seashore in February.

NPS photo / SECN staff

Elizabeth Rico Takes Part in Prescribed Burn

Elizabeth Rico, SECN Biological Technician, assisted park staff with a prescribed burn at Cumberland Island National Seashore February 4-5. Rico assisted holding the line, checked for spot fires, and ignited the outside edges of the unit. It was not Elizabeth's first time with her feet near the fire. In October 2020, she traveled to California to work as a REAF (Wildland Fire Resource Advisor) to the Bobcat fire in Angeles National Forest. Elizabeth worked with hand crews and heavy equipment to assess, repair, and naturalize sections of dozer and hand lines that crossed through trails and were in Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRAs).

Looking downstream at CHAT004, transect 9, officially called Crayfish Creek.

NPS photo / SECN staff

New Stream Name at Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area

Crayfish Creek, an unofficial name given by the Southeast Coast Network to an unnamed wadeable stream in Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, is now official. The tributary was recently named Crayfish Creek by the U.S Board on Geographic Names and entered into the Geographic Names Information System, the nation's official geographic names repository, which is available and searchable online at https://usgs.gov/geonames/domestic-names. Stephen Cooper, SECN Physical Scientist; Jacob Bateman McDonald, former SECN Fluvial Geomorphologist; and SECN Aquatic Ecologist Eric Starkey came up with the moniker while conducting surveys for the SECN’s wadeable stream habitat monitoring effort in 2017. The team agreed upon the name after a few crayfish they discovered under rocks in the streambed kept getting their attention. Park Hydrologist Ann Couch spearheaded the effort to get the name on the official books. In addition, a restoration project downstream from the network's monitoring site has adapted the name Crayfish Creek. The stream is part of the Chattahoochee River Wild Trout Improvement Project, a collaborative effort between the park and many external partners including the University of Georgia, Trout Unlimited, and Chattahoochee Riverkeeper.

Field Work Updates

While travel restrictions remain in place, field work is ramping up. Each trip requires the park superintendent’s written approval and a detailed safety plan approved by the regional directorate and regional safety officer. The Southeast Coast Network apologizes for the extra work this may be causing park staff, but we are dedicated to keeping our staff and yours safe as we endeavor to fulfill our mission and support your park though the COVID19 pandemic. Here is a quick update on our program’s spring monitoring plans:

Coastal Wetlands

Surface Elevation Tables (SETs) were surveyed at Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve to update to sentinel sites. New SETs were installed at Fort Matanzas National Monument and Canaveral National Seashore. Fort Frederica National Monument and Cumberland Island National Seashore are scheduled to be installed in April.

Landbird and Anuran Communities

Automated recording devices (ARDs) were deployed in March at Cumberland Island National Seashore (30), Fort Sumter National Monument (4), Cape Lookout National Seashore (28), Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park (30), and Horseshoe Bend National Military Park (30).

Shorelines

Spring shoreline data were collected and processed for Canaveral National Seashore, Cumberland Island National Seashore, Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve and Fort Matanzas National Monument in March.

Vegetation Communities

Vegetation monitoring in 2021 is scheduled at Congaree National Park and Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. Two parks, Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area and Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, were missed in 2020 due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, are also scheduled this year. Dates for visits to all four parks have not yet been confirmed.

Wadeable Streams

Field work at Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area is scheduled for April and May. Site maintenance to support the May surveys is scheduled for April 18-22. Surveys are scheduled for May 3-7 and May 10-14. The wadeable stream team will be assisted by Louisa Markow, the park's GIP (Geological Society of America Scientists in Parks Program) Intern.

Water Quality

Fixed station time-series data collection continues for all stations operational prior to March 2020. Nutrient data collection has been on hold at Fort Pulaski National Monument and Cumberland Island National Seashore but will resume in April. Park-wide water-quality assessments at Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Cape Lookout National Seashore are scheduled for July.

Recent Publications

The Southeast Coast Network published the following reports since February 2021:

• SOP 2.1.01 Revision of Southeast Coast Network Protocols and Standard Operating Procedures—Version 3.1. Available at: https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2284603.
• SOP 3.1.01 Reporting of On-Duty Injury, Illness, Near Misses, Hazards and Exposure—Version 5.0. Available at: https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2284673.
• SOP 3.1.02 Safe Operation of Southeast Coast Network Watercraft—Version 2.1. Available at: https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2284674.
• SOP 3.1.03 Vehicle Use and Operation—Version 2.1. Available at: https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2284675.
• SOP 3.1.04 Motor Vehicle Accident Reporting Procedures—Version 2.1. Available at: https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2284676.
• SOP 3.1.06 Logistics for Camping While Conducting Field Work—Version 2.1. Available at: https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2284682.
• SOP 3.1.07 Communicating Field Operations with SECN Parks—Version 3.1. Available at: https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2284677.