SECN Highlights October 2019

Lisa Cowart Baron collecting data at Cape Lookout NS.

NPS photo / SECN

Lisa Cowart Baron Reaches Five-Year Milestone

Coastal Ecologist Lisa Cowart Baron recently celebrated five years with the Southeast Coast Network. Originally from St. Augustine, Florida, Lisa graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science. She completed her Masters at East Carolina University in Geology.

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Hatteras Inlet on the north end of Ocracoke Island during the post-Hurricane Dorian 2019 data collection. The high-tide line was in the vegetation so the crew walked the remaining distance to capture the high tide line within the eroding vegetation.

NPS photo / Lisa Cowart Baron

In the Field

Completed in September:

• Coastal Ecologist Lisa Cowart Baron and Coastal Program Intern Kelsey Mack conducted post-Hurricane Dorian coastal assessments at Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The assessments were requested by the park following landfall of the Category 1 storm that pelted the barrier island with 90-mph winds and up to seven feet of storm surge.
• Vegetation monitoring field work was completed at Fort Pulaski National Monument at the end of August.
• Continuous water-quality data was collected at Congaree National Park.
• The Southeast Coast Network vegetation team including Botanist Forbes Boyle and Biological Technician Elizabeth Rico assisted Marshall University Ecology Professor Kyle Palmquist with her efforts to assess regional drought and fire history effects on vegetation diversity within Southeastern Coastal longleaf pine woodlands. The SECN vegetation team also provided field support August 21, resampling vegetation plots established in the early 1990s at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.
  

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Dorian Clears Network Offices

Hurricane Dorian's march up the east coast forced the closure of several national parks, including two Southeast Coast Network offices. Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, which houses the network's coastal program, was closed from Thursday August 29 until Saturday September 7. Fortunately, there was minimal impact to the park and no injuries were reported. Up the coast in St. Marys, Georgia, Cumberland Island National Seashore also reopened its visitor center on September 7 after being closed since August 31 due to the storm. The network vegetation team office is located in the park's museum. There was some damage to docks, and cleanup of storm debris was necessary on the island but there were no reports of injuries. Ferry service to the island resumed September 16.

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