Furman’s Environmental Furman’s Environmental Semester: Semester:

The The WildWild Semester Semester Ladder Ranch, New Mexico PortionLadder Ranch, New Mexico Portion

OverviewOverview• Cost• Time Period• Location• Logistics• Academics• Syllabus• Guest Speakers• Engaged Learning/Cooperative Studies• Post-program opportunities

CostCost• Normal Furman fall term tuition, room, and

board

• This includes room, board, tuition for 4 courses, travel AAANND all the cool stuff we do in New Mexico AAANND South Africa!

Time PeriodTime Period• 12 Week Program

• Arrive Furman 21 August for pre-program preparation

• Depart Furman 19 August

• Arrive Hermosa 21 August

• Depart Hermosa 17 November

• Arrive Furman 19 November

LocationLocation• South Central New Mexico• Truth or Consequences• Gila National Forest• Border of Aldo Leopold Wilderness • Ladder Ranch

– Working bison ranch– Total acreage 289,236– 157,041 acres deeded– 132,195 acres leased

• 100,636 Forest Service• 11,480 BLM• 20,079 State

                                                

                                                                                                

Ladder Ranch encompasses a broad range of elevationsand habitat types

LocationLocation• Ladder Ranch

– Managed and monitored game species

Elk

Photo by Furman student, Hermosa 2005 alum Alicia Rowe

Mule Deer

Photo by Furman student, Hermosa 2005 alum Chris Jones

White-tailed Deer

Pronghorn

Black Bear

Black Bear

Mountain LionMountain Lions!

Gray Fox

Photo taken with remote infrared camera set near Hermosa during the 2005 semester

Bobcat

Javelina

Wild Turkey

Gambel’s Quail

LocationLocation• Ladder Ranch

– Endangered/threatened and Species of Concern

Mexican Wolf

Allen’s Big-Eared Bat

Prairie Dogs

Chiricahua Leopard Frog

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Golden Eagle

Bald Eagle

Mexican Spotted Owl

Goshawk

Peregrine Falcon

Gila Trout

Rio Grande Cutthroat

LocationLocation• Hermosa

• Proximity to diversity of habitats

Chihuahuan Desert Scrub

Chihuahuan Desert Scrub

Chihuahuan Desert Grassland

Juniper Savanna

Juniper Savannah

Pinyon-Juniper Woodland

Riparian Gallery Forest

Photo by Mike Evette, Hermosa 2005 TA

Ponderosa Pine Forest

Transition Zones

Mixed Coniferous ForestSubalpine Meadow

Hermosa

Hotel

Mercantile

Storage

Cabin

House 1

Hermosa

Mercantile

Mercantile: One of four bedrooms

LogisticsLogistics• Staffing

– Instructors• Travis Perry, Ph.D. in Ecology• Megan Pitman, M.S. in Wildlife Ecology

– Teaching Assistant for labs and field trips• Angel Cruz

– 2006 Furman Graduate– Alumna of Hermosa 2005

– Assistants • Various Forest Service, USFWS, Ladder Ranch

staff

LogisticsLogistics• Transportation

– 12 passenger van• Trailer, if necessary

– 6 passenger 4W drive vehicle

• Housing– Weekly and some weekends at Hermosa– Other weekends camping field trips

LogisticsLogistics• Food

– Weekly grocery shopping– Student cooking and cleaning crews

LogisticsLogistics• Field Trips

– Tents and camp cooking– 3 large 6 person tents provided– Students need: sleeping bag, large

backpacking pack, hiking boots, water bottles, etc. (see packing list for complete list); personal tents optional

– In wilderness area:• Horse pack train to carry research

equipment, cooking equipment, and food

Wild Semester students setting out into the Aldo Leopold Wilderness about an hour behind the pack train

LogisticsLogistics• Academics

– Classroom• Main hall at Hermosa, equipped with

powerpoint projector– Labs

• Ladder Ranch• Gila National Forest• Aldo Leopold Wilderness• Field trips

LogisticsLogistics• Safety

– Radio for emergency contact 7am to 5pm through forest service dispatch

– Satellite phone 24-7– Dr. Perry has wilderness emergency medical

first-responder certification– Hermosa IS the medi-vac landing site for this

region

AcademicsAcademics• Courses

– Ecology• Environmental studies concentration course• Meets Ecology requirement for major• Humans and the Natural Environment GER

– Field Zoology• Biology elective

– Natural Resource Management• Environmental studies concentration course• Humans and the Natural Environment GER

• Lecture – One hour per course per day– Ad lib during field trips, dinner, driving, etc.

• Labs– Two labs per week– Weekend field trips will replace weekday lab for a given course

during that week

AcademicsAcademics• Potential Field Trips

• Emphasize a particular course, but much overlap

– Ladder Ranch – Aldo Leopold Wilderness– Portal, Arizona: Long-term ecological research

on small mammal communities– Wheeler Peak– Wolf Tracking in Gila National Forest– Organ Pipe National Monument– Mountain Lion tracking/remote camera study– Etcetera!!

Ladder Ranch

Ladder Ranch

Ladder Ranch

Aldo Leopold WildernessDiamond Creek

Portal, ArizonaLong-term Ecological ResearchSmall Mammal Communities

Portal, Arizona

Wheeler Peak Wilderness (13,161 ft)

Gila National ForestWolf Reintroduction Program

Gila National ForestWolf Reintroduction Program

Acclimation pens onLadder Ranch

Gila National ForestWolf Reintroduction Program

Wolf transportpen

Gila National ForestWolf Reintroduction Program

Organ Pipe National Monument

Organ Pipe National Monument

Ladder Ranch:Mountain Lion Study

AcademicsAcademics• Grading

– Exams• Standard lecture exams will be given four times for each

course during the term

– Assignments: (dove-tailed with cooperative studies)• Ecology

– mini paper from lab/field study

• Field Zoology– Specimens

– Field Notebook

• Natural Resource Management– Management plan for local resource

Time Activity6:30-7:30 Breakfast7:30-8:00 Break8:00-9:00 Field Zoology9:00-9:30 Break9:30-10:30 Natural Resource Management10:30-11:30 Break11:30-12:30 Lunch12:30-1:00 Break1:00-2:00 Ecology2:00-2:30 Break2:30-5:30 Mon & Wed Free; Tue & Thur Lab5:30-6:30 Break6:30-7:30 Dinner and occasional guest speakers

Date Weekday Activity

21 Sunday Unpacking and dinner

22 Monday Orientation to Hermosa and Ladder Ranch

23 Tuesday First day of class. Ecology Lab

24 Wednesday Class

August

Tentative Schedule

MonAugust/

September

Tues Wed Thur Fri Sat Sun

22 23Eco lab

24 25NRM lab

26T or C

27 NRMLadder

Ranch

28 NRMLadder

Ranch

29 30FZ lab

31 1NRM lab

2 EcoAldo Leopold

3 EcoAldo Leopold

4 EcoAldo Leopold

5 EcoAldo Leopold

6FZ lab

7 8NRM lab

9 10Las Cruces

11Las Cruces

12 13 Eco lab

14 15NRM lab

16FZ/Eco

Wheeler Peak

17 FZ/Eco

Wheeler Peak

18FZ/Eco

Wheeler Peak

19 20NRM lab

21 22FZ lab

23 24Las Cruces

25Las Cruces

MonSeptember October

Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun

26 27FZ lab

28 29Eco lab

30 1 FZ/Eco

White Sands

2 FZ/EcoWhite Sands/

Las Cruces

3 4NRM lab

5 6FZ lab

7 8 NRMWolf Tracking

9 NRMWolf Tracking

10 11Eco lab

12 13FZ lab

14 15Las Cruces

16Las Cruces

17 18NRM lab

19 20Eco lab

21FZ/Eco

Portal AZ

22FZ/Eco

Portal AZ

23FZ/Eco

Portal AZ

24 25FZ lab

26 27 NRM lab

28 29 Las Cruces

30 Las Cruces

MonOctober November

Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun

31 1FZ lab

2 3Eco lab

4 Eco NRM

Organ Pipe

Nat Mon

5 Eco NRM

Organ Pipe

Nat Mon

6 Eco NRM

Organ Pipe

Nat Mon

7 8FZ lab

9 10Eco lab

11 12 13

14 15 16 17Depart Hermosa

18 19

Arrive Furman

20

21 22 23 24 25 26

Haloween!

Guest SpeakersGuest Speakers• Steve Dobrott, Wildlife Biologist/Ranch

Manager

• Forest Service Biologists

• BLM Biologists

• Range Manager

• USFWS Biologist for wolf reintroduction

• USFWS Biologist for Bosque del Apache Refuge - waterfowl

• New Mexico Department of Game and Fish – Large Carnivore Biologist

Guest SpeakersGuest Speakers

• Forest Service Wilderness Ranger

• USFWS Fisheries Biologist

• Mammalogist/Museum Curator

• Ornithologist/Contract Biologists

Guest SpeakersGuest Speakers• Environmental Activist Organization

– Gila Watch– Center for Biodiversity

• Lawyer for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

• Forest Service District Ranger

Engaged LearningEngaged Learning throughthroughCooperative StudiesCooperative Studies

• Ladder Ranch is a working ranch with stated conservation priorities– Labs and projects have potential to have real

conservation or management impact

Engaged LearningEngaged Learning throughthroughCooperative StudiesCooperative Studies

Examples:– Small mammal survey on the continental

divide in the Aldo Leopold Wilderness– Aquatic invertebrate survey of Animas Creek– Fuel load estimates for timber stands– Effects of bison grazing on plant and animal

communities in riparian habitats– Forage availability across grazing allotments– Public opinion surveys on wolf reintroduction

Post-program OpportunitiesPost-program Opportunities

• Internships and research projects with– U.S. Forest Service– U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service– Bureau of Land Management– Portal, AZ Research Site– Ladder Ranch

Post-program Opportunities:Post-program Opportunities:Examples from Hermosa AlumniExamples from Hermosa Alumni

• Chris Jones: Internship with Lincoln National Forest, NM

• Sarah Galloway: Research assistant on cougar project on Turner’s Armendaris Ranch, NM

• Megan Pitman: Research assistant on desert bighorn sheep project on Turner’s Armendaris Ranch, NM, Summer 2006– NOW a graduate student working on

mountain lions on Ladder Ranch