Series: The Midden - Great Basin National Park: Vol. 23, No. 2, Winter 2023

The Midden is the Resource Management Newsletter of Great Basin National Park, published each summer and winter. Find out the latest going on at Great Basin National Park, Nevada in resource management and research. The Midden, Winter 2023, Vol. 23 No 2. See past issues of The Midden at: https://www.nps.gov/grba/learn/news/midden.htm

  • Great Basin National Park

    Article 1: Monitoring Habitat Use by Rattlesnakes

    rattlesnake in green vegetation with half-devoured young cottontail rabbit next to it

    Where do rattlesnakes go in the summer in Great Basin National Park? How far do they travel? What do they eat? Learn how researchers from the University of Nevada-Reno are addressing these questions in a new research study. Read more

  • Great Basin National Park

    Article 2: Human Connections with Historic Cave Inscriptions

    Tan stalactite with Japanese writing on it

    People have been writing names and dates in Lehman Caves since 1885. Meet the families of two early visitors to the cave who help shed some light on what it might have been like to visit the cave back then. Read more

  • Great Basin National Park

    Article 3: Mountain Pine Beetles Camping out near Wheeler Peak

    Forest health staff prepare a black funnel trap in front of a dead tree

    Mountain pine beetles can kill limber pine, a common tree in Wheeler Peak Campground. How can this be prevented so that campers have shade and animals have an important tree? Forest health specialists undertook a study to determine when mountain pine beetle was most active so that pheromones to dissuade their attack could be applied at the right time. Read more

  • Great Basin National Park

    Article 4: Leave it to Beaver… Dam Analogs

    Pool forming upstream of a beaver dam analog

    Beavers are wonderful architects of small dams that can help riparian areas. But what can you do if there aren't beavers in the area? Check out how park staff have been using beaver dam analogs to improve stream habitat. Read more

  • Great Basin National Park

    Article 5: The Highs and Lows of Monitoring Temperature in the Park

    Round metal housing in dead tree

    How does temperature and humidity change from the valley floor to the top of Wheeler Peak? Researchers from Ohio and Georgia have been studying that using a network of tiny sensors. Read more

  • Great Basin National Park

    Article 6: Restoring the Sagebrush Sea, One Carbon-coated Seed at a Time

    hand holding black seeds

    The battle against invasive cheatgrass continues. The use of carbon-coated seed technology holds promise and is currently being tested in Great Basin National Park. Read more

  • Great Basin National Park

    Article 7: Fish Move Postponed

    colorful trout in hands next to net over grass

    Park staff continue working to make the best possible Bonneville cutthroat trout refugia. A recent scientific test produced results that are delaying a fish movement, with plans to do additional testing and then continue as originally planned. Read more

  • Great Basin National Park

    Article 8: Bringing Fire Back to the Landscape

    map of prescribed fire areas in Baker Creek area of Great Basin National Park

    Great Basin National Park is a wonderful place, but it's missing something. Since Europeans started settling in the area, fire has been suppressed quickly, resulting in poor landscape conditions. This article shares how the Park is going to start remedying that. Read more

  • Great Basin National Park

    Article 9: What’s Dripping in the Cave?

    short one-inch soda straws in a cave, one on right has a bubble, ones on left have normal drips

    Lehman Caves continues to confound us with interesting phenomenon. Check out how snow melt made interesting bubbles at the end of some of the soda straws in the cave. Why? When? Where? We can only answer a few questions right now in this ongoing mystery. Read more