IAN Aggregated RSS Feed

Request for AIS symbol: najas minor (Discussion Forum)

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:18:00 -0400

We are a lake association (Lake George, NY) working on an educational publication about the invasive species that have been found in our lake. We have 4 species (that we know of!) so far, and 3 of them you already have symbols for. I was hoping we mi...

Defending our National Treasure: A Department of Defense Chesapeake Bay Restoration Partnership 1998-2004 (book) (IAN Press Publication)

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:52:00 -0400

Defending Our National Treasure: A Department of Defense Chesapeake Bay Restoration Partnership 1998-2004 provides an overview of major issues impacting the Chesapeake Bay, history of the Department of Defense's involvement in Bay restoration efforts, current Department of Defense Chesapeake Bay restoration initiatives, specific case studies, and viewpoints of various key individuals dedicated to restoration. These topics are presented in a richly illustrated style including maps, photographs, conceptual diagrams, and figures to uniquely communicate information and make it accessible to a broad audience. Each section provides the essence of each topic rather than the complete and comprehensive treatment. For example, there are numerous documents describing Chesapeake Bay and Department of Defense initiatives (www.denix.osd.mil). Defending Our National Treasure provides the context and background for the issues impacting the Chesapeake Bay and describes the restoration activities conducted on the Department of Defense installations within the Bay watershed.

Colonial National Historic Park visit (Blog)

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:03:00 -0400

A team from the Integration and Application Network traveled to Colonial National Historical Park on March 10-11 to initiate a Natural Resources Condition Assessment process over the next 18-24 months. The visit included a meeting with park personnel at the Yorktown Battlefield Visitors Center, followed by a tour of the entire park on the first day, and on the second day, we held a mini-symposium at the Virginia Commonwealth University’s Rice Center on the James River. Colonial National Historical Park consists of Yorktown Battlefield on the York River, Jamestown on the James River, and Colonial Parkway, connecting Yorktown and Jamestown via historic Williamsburg.

IAN staff with local experts from various Virginia state agencies and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Yorktown Battlefield: We learned that Yorktown Battlefield was actually the site of a siege, where General Cornwallis of the British army was forced to surrender to General George Washington of the American Continental Army. The French naval fleet successfully blockaded the mouth of Chesapeake Bay to prevent the British army to be re-provisioned in the fall of 1781. We saw the encampment sites of the American forces to the south and French forces led by the Marquis de Lafayette to the west where they pinned Cornwallis in Yorktown. In addition, we saw the Moore house where the British and American officers gathered to negotiate the British surrender. The Yorktown Battlefield consists of forested areas with grassy fields containing Revolutionary War redoubts which are man-made earthen berms created by soldiers for protection.

Colonial Parkway: Yorktown is connected to historic Williamsburg and Jamestown via the Colonial Parkway. The parkway is a three lane dark concrete road that runs along the York and James Rivers and crosses the peninsula with tunnels and bridges.

Tim Carruthers on a bridge on the Colonial Parkway

Jamestown: Jamestown Island, or Jamestowne as spelled by the National Park Service, is the site of the first permanent British colony in America. Jamestown Island was inhabited from 1607-1699, founded by Captain John Smith. We learned that Jamestown is an active archeological site from a docent on site who showed us photographs of the plates, coins, pieces of copper, and oyster shells collected in the archeological dig. We walked across a boardwalk over the ‘pitch and tar’ swamp, named for the pine trees that were used to tap and collect sap used for pitch and tar that the colonists used for boat construction and repair. The pitch and tar was mixed with straw and grass to caulk the seams of planks of their wooden boats. After the boardwalk, we toured the ‘Old Town’ and ‘New Town’ sections of Jamestowne where the colonists lived. There were statues of Pocahontas and Captain John Smith where we took photos of our female and male team members, respectively. We could see the first interactive buoy of the newly created Captain John Smith National Historic Trail offshore ‘New Town’. We called the buoy to access weather and hydrological data and listen to short history segments.

Dennis Skidds, Bill Dennison, Tim Carruthers, Charley Roman, and Todd Lookingbill at the statue of Captain John Smith at Jamestown

Jane Thomas, Ericka Poppell, Kate Bentsen, and Dorothy Geyer with Pocahontas at Jamestown

Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS) 'smart buoys' or 'talking buoys' transmit historical information, real-time weather and water quality data via the internet and cell phone.

'Join the adventure' sign detailing the 'Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail' which traces Smith's explorations throughout the Chesapeake.

Mini-Symposium: The mini-symposium was held in the first LEEDs (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certified green building in the Commonwealth of Virginia on a bluff overlooking the James River. We were able to use ambient light in a large conference room with a green roof. We had local experts from various Virginia state agencies and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science present their data and summarize the key processes and major threats of Colonial National Historical Park. We learned about the unique geology of Colonial National Historical Park, with alkaline and acidic freshwater wetlands, various wetlands (tidal marine, tidal freshwater, and non-tidal freshwater), rare species including the rare skipper butterfly, exotic and invasive species problems like Asian Stiltgrass and Phragmites, the hydrology of groundwater flow and the overall importance of sea level rise.

Virginia Commonwealth University's Rice Center

Mini-symposium group outside the Rice Center

Chris Ludwig from Virginia's Department of Conservation and Recreation presenting data from Colonial National Historical Park

Over the coming months, we are looking forward to accessing the considerable data resources that exist for Colonial National Historical Park and developing conceptual diagrams that depict the various habitats in the park. We enjoyed the hospitality of Park Superintendent Dan Smith and Natural Resources Manager Dorothy Geyer and their staff. We also are looking forward to our ongoing collaboration with Dr. Todd Lookingbill, University of Richmond. Dr. Charley Roman and the Inventory & Monitoring Program staff of the National Park Service based at the University of Rhode Island also participated and will be part of the team working on this Natural Resource Condition Assessment.

Join the adventure (Image and Video Library)

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:22:00 -0400

"Join the adventure" sign detailing the "Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail" which traces Smith's explorations throughout the Chesapeake

sign Jamestown

Virginia Commonwealth University Rice Center (Image and Video Library)

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:22:00 -0400

Virginia Commonwealth University's Rice Center on the James River

building Charles City Virginia

Bee hive (Image and Video Library)

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:53:00 -0500

This bee hive was exposed when the tree was knocked over during a severe thunderstorm, Cambridge, MD

honeycomb insect larvae weather

Storm damage (Image and Video Library)

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:52:00 -0500

A severe thunderstorm brought down shallow-rooted willow trees onto these cars, Cambridge, MD.

wind weather destruction climate

Storm damage (Image and Video Library)

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:52:00 -0500

A severe thunderstorm brought down shallow-rooted willow trees onto these cars, Cambridge, MD.

wind weather destruction climate

Black Rat Snake (Image and Video Library)

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:50:00 -0500

Black rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta) on campus lawn, Cambridge, MD.

Mallard on salt marsh (Image and Video Library)

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:48:00 -0500

Evening light on nesting mallards on the edge of a salt marsh, Parsons Creek, Dorchester County, Maryland

wetlands Eastern Shore ducks spartina

Sunflower and bees (Image and Video Library)

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:48:00 -0500

Face of large sunflower with honey bees, crop field, Trappe, MD.

flower sunflower seed pollination Eastern Shore agriculture

Sunflowers (Image and Video Library)

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:48:00 -0500

Sunflower crop on past corn field, Trappe, MD.

flower sunflower seed Eastern Shore agriculture

Bagworms (Image and Video Library)

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:47:00 -0500

Bagworms (Family Psychidae) were found hanging from the branches of an arborvitae shrub, Neavitt, MD.

cocoons larvae pupa pest moth caterpillar evergreen

unidentified mushroom (Image and Video Library)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:29:00 -0500

This bright white mushroom was spotted in a shady evergreen forest of the Adirondack mountains of upstate NY.

toadstool fungus

unidentified mushrooms and lair (Image and Video Library)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:29:00 -0500

These spent mushrooms sat at the entrance to some animal lair, Adirondack mountains of upstate NY.

toadstool fungus mammal den nest home woods

Forest bog (Image and Video Library)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:29:00 -0500

Wetlands, Adirondack mountains of upstate NY.

freshwater marsh aquatic plant

unidentified mushroom (Image and Video Library)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:29:00 -0500

Some forest critter has made a meal of the underside of this mushroom, Adirondack mountains of upstate NY.

toadstool fungus understory forest floor

unidentified mushrooms (Image and Video Library)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:28:00 -0500

Up close to mushrooms, Adirondack mountains of upstate NY.

toadstool fungus

unidentified mushrooms (Image and Video Library)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:28:00 -0500

Four mushrooms up close, Adirondack mountains of upstate NY.

toadstool fungus

Cedar waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum). (Image and Video Library)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:28:00 -0500

A small flock of ~10 birds landed in this juniper bush with lots of commotion and activity, Cambridge, MD.

passerine spring migration

Various shelf fungi (Image and Video Library)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:25:00 -0500

A decaying log is host to a number of different shelf fungi, Adirondack mountains of upstate NY.

forest understory

Puffball (Image and Video Library)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:25:00 -0500

This mushroom was seen sitting atop moss in a shady evergreen forest of the Adirondack mountains of upstate NY.

genus Calvatia fungus

unidentified mushrooms (Image and Video Library)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:25:00 -0500

This cluster of mushrooms were nestled in a rotting tree trunk, Adirondack mountains of upstate NY.

toadstool fungus

unidentified mushroom (Image and Video Library)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:24:00 -0500

The frilly gills of this white mushroom are like an old-fashioned petticoat, Adirondack mountains of upstate NY.

toadstool fungus

Coral fungus (Image and Video Library)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:24:00 -0500

This fungus, Ramaria stricta, was found in a shady forest of the Adirondack mountains of upstate NY.

forest floor understory litter poisonous

unidentified mushrooms (Image and Video Library)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:24:00 -0500

Decaying log covered in mushrooms, Adirondack mountains of upstate NY.

toadstool fungus

unidentified mushrooms (Image and Video Library)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:24:00 -0500

Decaying tree trunk is home to these mushrooms, Adirondack mountains of upstate NY.

toadstool fungus

Lake Chateaugay view (Image and Video Library)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:23:00 -0500

Summer day vista, Adirondack mountains of upstate NY.

forest freshwater

Wild blueberries (Image and Video Library)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:23:00 -0500

Abundant blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium) provide easy pickings for humans and wildlife, Adirondack mountains of upstate NY.

forest groundcover fruit food

First blush of fall. (Image and Video Library)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:23:00 -0500

Maple leaf tinged with red, Adirondack mountains of upstate NY.

winter color