The Caldera Project and Saying Goodbye

It's hard to believe that I'm leaving in only 2 days! Where did the summer go? As I ponder this question, I begin to reflect on the projects that the other interns and myself have been working on for the past 8 weeks. I will focus on the Caldera Project for this post, as I have worked on this project for the past two summers.

I am a bit of an anomaly in the history of HFF interns as I have worked as an intern for the HFF for two consecutive summers (I loved it here so much I couldn't stay away!). One of the benefits of being here for two consecutive summers is the ability to see how the work you performed the past summer affects the momentum and success of the projects the following summer.

The Caldera Project has been one such occasion where I can look at the data collected from the 2009 electrofishing forms and compare them to the data from this 2010 summer. The Caldera Project is in part, a means to examine fish passage between the tributaries of the Henry's Fork and the main stem of the Henry's Fork. The tributaries that have been monitored include Blue Springs Creek, Fish Creek and Thurmon Creek. The data collected on these three tributaries throughout the past few years suggests that in the summer, fish density in the tributaries drops dramatically, most likely due to warmer temperatures and lower flows. This in turn suggests that the fish that wintered in the tributaries pass back into the main stem of the Henry's Fork in the summer, seeking cooler temperatures. This is good news for the summer angler!

Although this aspect of the Caldera Project is one in which the summer interns have had the most exposure both this summer and in 2009, there are many other working parts to this research machine. For more detailed descriptions of the Caldera Project, please check out this link: http://www.henrysfork.org/node/12. Furthermore, if you would like to see a map of where the interns and Anne Marie have conducted studies, click on this link. For each site on the map, if you click on the site there will be a slideshow of the trout that we found.

On a more personal note, I will be sad to leave the HFF after having two wonderful summers working on such a beautiful and dynamic watershed. I hope this is not the last I see of Island Park or the Henry's Fork, or of the friends I have made at the HFF. I wish you all the best for this year, and don't forget to write us if you have any questions or comments!