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SECN Highlights April 2019

Collage of fieldwork photos behind Southeast Coast Inventory and Monitoring Network
Man with a beard smiling in front of a shelf of books
Michael Parrish, the SECN's new wildlife biologist.

NPS / SECN

Michael Parrish Takes Over as Wildlife Biologist

Michael Parrish joined the Southeast Coast Network in February as the new wildlife biologist. Parrish earned his Ph.D. in Forest Resources at Mississippi State University in Starkeville. His doctoral research was centered on pine plantations in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas where he examined the effects of harvesting with green (i.e., live) tree retention on the resulting land cover patterns and avian community diversity on the harvested sites. Parrish earned an M.S. in Forest Resources at the University of Georgia, studying patterns of avian diversity in response to residential development along urban-rural gradients. His research interests include avian responses to human alteration of the environment, landscape ecology, and novel uses for remotely sensed data in wildlife field studies.

At the Southeast Coast Network, his work will center on the use of automated recording devices (ARDs) to record bird and anuran (frog) sounds in parks each spring. By analyzing and identifying the recorded sounds these creatures make, the network will gain a better understanding of the species diversity currently present in SECN parks, as well as how that diversity may change across time.

Parrish is excited to move his family (wife and three small children) back to his hometown of Athens. As a birder in his personal time, he has long enjoyed the wildlife viewing opportunities afforded by the region's national park areas. "I am honored to be able to play a part in studying and conserving the natural resources found in these beautiful lands, so that my children and their peers will be able to enjoy them in years to come," he said.

Man and woman talk outside a front door with flood damage
Left, new hydrologic technician Daniel McCay, shown measuring a high water mark after Hurricane Florence with Mary Windsor of USGS.

USGS

Daniel McCay is the New Hydrologic Technician

Daniel McCay is the new Hydrologic Technician for the Southeast Coast Network. Daniel comes to NPS from U.S. Geological Survey in Atlanta where he spent four years operating and maintaining stream gages as well as deploying for multiple hurricanes to measure storm tide and high water marks. Daniel graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Environmental Sciences.

Daniel's primary role at the Southeast Coast Network will be operating sondes and collecting nutrient samples for the water quality monitoring protocol. He will also cross train to assist with wadeable streams and other protocols as needed. Daniel is also certified to teach motorboat operator classes and hopes to coordinate some inter-agency training with the U.S. Geological Survey and US. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Daniel is originally from just north of Athens in Madison County. When he is not at work, Daniel enjoys running at the University of Georgia's Botanical Gardens or taking yoga classes. On weekends, he is somewhere outdoors, usually hiking or kayaking.

Woman stands on platform in salt marsh talking to two people on the ground.
Southeast Coast Network coastal ecologist Lisa Cowart Baron talks about Surface Elevation Tables (SET) with SECN botanist Forbes Boyle and chief of natural resource management, Dr. Tracy Ziegler, at Cape Hatteras National Seashore near the Bodi Island Lighthouse.

NPS photo / Brian Gregory

Meeting at Cape Hatteras National Seashore

At the end of February, SECN program manager Brian Gregory traveled to Cape Hatteras National Seashore to meet with park staff from the National Parks of Eastern North Carolina (Cape Lookout National Seashore, Moores Creek National Battlefield, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site and Wright Brothers National Memorial) including chief of resource management and science, Dr. Tracy Ziegler, and Dave Hallac, superintendent of Cape Hatteras National Seashore and the Outer Banks Group in North Carolina. Brian was joined by SECN coastal ecologist Lisa Cowart Baron and SECN botanist Forbes Boyle. The group was joined remotely by SECN data manager, Paula Capece. The meeting was an opportunity to update park management on recent changes in SECN operations and to discuss ways to make the Outer Banks Group in North Carolina more efficient in the future.

Safety First!

The Southeast Coast Network recently concluded two safety-related training courses. Staff members across the network completed the online National Safety Council's Defensive Driving Course, which is required to operate network vehicles. Members in the Athens office completed the National Safety Council's Adult CPR and AED Course, taught by Sandy Broyles from Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center. The course covered instructions for performing CPR as well as techniques for using an AED (Automated External Defibrillator).
Gropu of people sitting around tables with a projector screen at the front of the room
The workshop hosted by the Eastern Forest Monitoring Working Group.

NPS photo / Forbes

Forbes Attends Forest Monitoring Workshop in Maryland

SECN botanist, Forbes Boyle, attended a workshop hosted by the Eastern Forest Monitoring Working Group, which is composed of vegetation ecologists and botanists from I&M Networks in the eastern United States. The workshop was held at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland. During the workshop, participants learned how to implement several vegetation trend analysis techniques and use R Markdown file formats to standardize formats and make dynamic documents for analytical output and reporting. Participants and networks shared their current approach to trend analysis and discussed successes and obstacles to analytics and reporting.

Ground well in the foreground on the left, green tree frog on a hose on the right.
Left, shallow groundwater well housing at Honey Hole wetland on Cumberland Island. Right, a green tree frog (Hyla cinerea) perched on a level logger cable at Lake Retta on Cumberland Island NS. Level loggers allow for the evaluation of water level and seasonal extent of wetlands in the park.

NPS photo / Eric N. Starkey

In the Field

Completed in March

Shoreline mapping refresher training was conducted with park staff at Cape Lookout National Seashore. Reconnaissance trip for stream temperature monitoring sites took place at Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area and Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. Water-quality data was collected at Fort Pulaski National Monument, Cumberland Island National Seashore, Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, Fort Matanzas National Monument and Canaveral National Seashore. A shoreline survey was completed at Cumberland Island National Seashore. Shallow groundwater monitoring was conducted at Cumberland Island National Seashore.

For More About the SECN: https://www.nps.gov/im/secn/index.htm

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Last updated: September 15, 2025