Southeast Coast Network News October 2019

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.

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.

Upcoming in October

• Water-level data will be collected from groundwater monitoring wells at Cumberland Island National Seashore on October 9.
• Continuous water-quality data will be collected at Congaree National Park (October 7), Cumberland Island National Seashore (October 8), Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve (October 8), Fort Matanzas National Monument (October 8), Canaveral National Seashore (October 8) and Fort Pulaski National Monument (October 10).

Upcoming Meetings

• Coastal Ecologist Lisa Cowart Baron, Aquatic Ecologist Eric Starkey, Botanist Forbes Boyle, and Biological Technician Elizabeth Rico will attend the NPS Inventory and Monitoring "Visioning Jam Session" from September 30 to October 4 in Boulder City, Nevada. These meetings are intended to elicit feedback from all levels of I&M staff and build a shared vision for a highly successful I&M program.
• Southeastern Natural Resources Training is October 28-31 in Asheville, North Carolina. Meeting and hotel registration are now open. Contact Lisa McInnis ([e-mail]) for more information on meeting logistics. Contact Brian Gregory ([e-mail]) if someone in your program needs travel funds to attend.
• The Fiscal Year 2020 Southeast Coast Network Steering Committee and Board Meeting is scheduled for November 13-14 in St. Marys, Georgia at the city’s visitor center. Meetings will be on both days and a tour of Cumberland Island National Seashore is planned for the second day. More information will follow soon.

Vegetation Breakout at Asheville Meeting

Meeting attendees are invited to attend the Vegetation Monitoring Breakout session on Thursday, October 31 (optional to wear your ghost orchid or favorite carnivorous plant costume!) at the 2019 Natural Resource and I&M Training event in Asheville, North Carolina. The purpose of this session, currently scheduled for 1:15-3:30 p.m. in the Foxfire Room of the Crowne Plaza Resort, is to introduce the range of approaches taken by NPS sectors to generate vegetation monitoring data and to identify opportunities to work together. If you are interested in learning about local or regional-scale vegetation science efforts in the Southeast, please consider attending this breakout session.

Publications

The Southeast Coast Network has forwarded several reports to the national office for record numbers. Publication of those reports should be forthcoming in October.

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.