Peace Corps volunteer teaches kids environmental issues in Romania
Dakotta Williams
For The Sentinel
A Goldendale resident has gone abroad to serve in Peace Corps, where he has been teaching Romanian schoolchildren about environmental issues.
Todd Musser, who was sent to Baia Mare, Romania, in February of last year, said his experience overseas has taught him a lot.
“This is the first time I’ve lived outside the U.S. and I really enjoy it,” said Musser. “It has enabled me to look at our world, our country, and myself with different eyes.
“Learning about another culture and another way of life has enabled me to understand better why people do what we do in relation to our environment and the natural world.”
Aside from his environmental work, the volunteer teaches English two hours each week.
He originally became interested in the Peace Corps, he said, as an undergraduate at Washington State University (WSU) when a representative gave a presentation in one of his classes.
Inspired, he applied for Peace Corps along with his Master’s Degree application to the Department of Anthropology. He took one year of variety courses before being sent off.
“When you apply to the PC, they review your skills and then they send you somewhere they feel would be best for you,” said Musser.
“I didn’t choose to come here, but I am very glad for my placement. I am really enjoying living outside the U.S. for now and enjoy what I do.”
Musser was assigned to two non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) in the northern part of the country.
“I actually really only work with one of them…but I’ve been involved in grant writing with the other NGO, and also lots of partnership projects with schools from the area.
“Being a volunteer is really interesting because you end up getting involved in many different activities.”
The program Musser is involved with is a Master’s International degree in Environmental Anthropology, in partnership with the Peace Corps and WSU.
“Ninety-five percent of the people in this world want more or less the same things,” Musser said. “We just need to figure out how we can unite to get what we want.”
In Your Backyard…
A Wildlife Treat
Nancy Wallwork
Washington Conservation Corps
If a furry critter just dashed into the brush near you, hope that it is a Western Gray Squirrel. In Washington State, this squirrel is listed as a “species of concern” and is found in only a few areas; Puget Trough, the Okanogan area and in Klickitat County with a few squirrels unevenly distributed in Skamania County.
The Western Gray Squirrel is the largest native tree squirrel in the western coastal United States. It is known for its voluminous white-tipped tail that is as long as its body. The body is gunmetal gray fur with pure white underparts. A close look will reveal the reddish-brown fur behind their large ears.
They are most active in the mornings, searching for fungi, pine nuts, acorns, seeds, and green vegetation. Pine nuts and acorns are high in oils and help generate body fats required by the squirrel prior to the onset of cold weather and breeding.
During the active part of day, the squirrels are unknowingly distributing spores from fungi that are associated with pine, oak, and Douglas-fir trees that help increase water and nutrient uptake in the tree roots aiding the survival of these trees.
On average, Western Gray Squirrels produces two to three young per year and raise their young in enlarged woodpecker holes or cavities formed by decaying trees.
The females line the nest with shredded bark and grasses. They are known to explore and use several cavity nests during the breeding season and may change locations during rearing. In their quiet time of day, they will rest on broad platform nests made of sticks.
Only about 15 to 25 percent of the emerging young live to the age of two. Automobiles, mange, and predation are the leading causes of mortality in the order listed. Life can be tough for this little guy who is lucky to see his third birthday. He has to dodge cars, fight off diseases and parasites, and is on everyone’s menu.
Numbers are declining in Washington so seeing a Western Gray Squirrel should be considered a real treat.
In Klickitat County, the squirrel can still be found reliably along the Klickitat River. They have also been found at Brooks Memorial State Park.
While at the park also look for Douglas Squirrel, Northern Flying Squirrel (after dark), and the Yellow Pine Chipmunk.
Endangered turtles released in Columbia River Gorge
Once down to just 150 turtles in the wild, the western pond turtle is making a comeback in Washington, with the help of a cooperative effort between the Oregon Zoo and Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo, working with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Last week, 55 of the endangered species were returned to the Columbia River Gorge where they were originally collected, 11 months ago.
Researchers estimate there are about 1,400 western pond turtles in Washington. Habitat degradation and disease were, and still are, problems, but the biggest threat to fragile baby turtles is the bullfrog. Native to areas east of the Rockies, this nonindigenous frog has thrived throughout the West, driving pond turtles and a host of other small, vulnerable aquatic species to the brink of extinction. Another non-native threat to western pond turtle survival is the red-eared slider. Sliders are native to the same range as the bullfrog and are winning the survival race against the native turtles. The sliders lay eggs later in the season and dig up existing turtle nests to use as their own.
To help restore these rare pond turtles to their natural habitat, recovery workers take to the field each year. Under the supervision of western pond turtle expert Kate Slavens, they count, trap and fit transmitters on adult female western pond turtles. The female turtles are monitored every two hours during the nesting season to determine where they nest. The nests, which the females dig in the ground and then cover after depositing their eggs, are protected with wire “exclosure” cages that help prevent predators from eating the eggs. The eggs are then allowed to incubate naturally, and the hatchlings are collected in the fall.
The hatchlings are about the size of a quarter when they are removed and taken to the zoo facilities, where they can grow in safety. Unlike wild turtles, zoo turtles are fed throughout the winter, under lights, so by their summer release, the 11-month-olds are about as big as 3-year-old turtles that grew up in the wild.
“The lights trick the turtles into thinking that it’s still summer so they don’t go into hibernation,” according to Dr. David Shepherdson, Oregon Zoo’s conservation program scientist. “The turtles grow and grow, experiencing three years’ growth in 11 months.”
Once the turtles reach a suitable size of about 70 grams (a little more than 2 ounces), they are returned to their homes and monitored for safety. “Since the turtles are larger, predators such as non-native bullfrogs and large-mouth bass are no longer threats,” said Shepherdson.
Some of the juvenile turtles are equipped with radio transmitters before release, so biologists can learn more about post-release dispersal, habitat use during active and hibernation periods, and, ultimately, their survival rate. Scientists tracking the released turtles estimate that 95 percent of the turtles released back into the Columbia River Gorge have survived.
Ten children from Skamania County, who are learning about the turtles in their Forest Explorers program (through Northwest Service Academy), helped biologists release them in the Columbia River Gorge. “It is one thing to learn about conservation efforts, but it makes a much bigger impact when you actually see a zoo-reared turtle released back into the wilds of the Columbia Gorge,” said Shepherdson.
“By going out to the release site, the campers not only have a hands-on turtle education, but they also gain a sense of the careers available to them in wildlife management,” said Melissa Sandoz, education program coordinator for the Columbia Gorge Ecology Institute. “We want the kids to realize they can have a cool, environmentally important job in the same county where they grew up.”
The Oregon Zoo is also helping turtles in Oregon. Working with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the zoo helped establish the Oregon Native Turtle Conservation Group, which helps field biologists monitor and track populations of western pond and western painted turtles in and around the Willamette River. The group created a Web site to educate the public about the plight of the native Oregon turtles, www.oregonturtles.com. The site includes an electronic form that allows the public to report turtle sightings to ODFW and the Oregon Zoo, which aids both agencies in the tracking process.
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