After 3 months of backcountry field work, 5 trips into the mountains, and almost 250 total miles, my time at Saguaro National Park ends this week. This internship has been mostly field-based; we have been dutifully monitoring the springs and checking the trail cameras, but now is when we really get to see the fruits of our labor. Wrapping up this project this week means office work. Data management and report writing is often the behind the scenes work that makes the most difference, as the data reported this year impacts how the springs may be studied and managed next year.

This season, we had 23 cameras spread across 12 monitoring sites (10 springs and 2 ephemeral drainages) to study wildlife use of these water sources. The cameras were recording for a total of 512 camera nights (a measurement of effort across all the cameras). From that effort there were roughly 6000 identifiable photos and videos captured in the last 3 months.

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were the most frequent visitors, and often hung around the longest per visit too. We also captured many photos and videos of black bears (Ursus americanus), which often made for the most charismatic videos. At first, there where sites where bears would tear down the cameras almost immediately after we put them up, being inherently curious about anything new in their environment. While the most common visitors to springs tend to be some of the most abundant animals in the environment, we were also able to capture good footage of an endangered species as well.

Mexican spotted owls (Strix occidentalis lucida) have been monitored by the park via call/response surveys for a while now, and we were able to observe them visiting three separate springs this summer, providing useful extra observations outside of the normal surveys. We got a lot of great footage and photos, and were able to learn a lot about how wildlife use of the springs change through the season, especially after record rainfall in the month of July dramatically reduced the number of detections at springs.

I also got to experience the epic extremes in seasonal variation. We started the season having to meet at 5 AM to beat the heat going up into the mountains on a hitch, only to come down to 112° F in the valley. At the beginning, several of our springs were already dry and it was so dry on the mountain that the thought of monsoon season brought both hope for a reprieve and fear of lightning strikes lighting the whole range up before any rain can make a difference. However, after 3 years of failed monsoons, July was the wettest on record for the Rincon mountains. The mountain and desert came back to life. So much so that rain became a problem. We then had to time field work right that we wouldn’t be caught out in thunderstorms and flash floods and delayed the last trip home on account of high-water crossings over the trails. Though logistically challenging, this aspect of the season was my favorite. It was so rewarding to see the vegetation green up and the drainages, waterfalls, and springs that had been dry all summer start flowing and began to recharge. From a desert rat’s perspective when rain returns to the desert it truly is magical. This was such a rewarding project to be a part of an I am fortunate to live in Tucson, where my experience with this landscape does not have to end, but I will miss working at the park with great people that I am truly fortunate to now call my friends.

For me, aquatic ecology and entomology became my niche (and a small one at that). But what has been refreshing about working in a natural resource management division at a national park is the opportunity to work outside of my existence as a specialized grad student and participate in more general big-picture science. I have learned that resource staff at Saguaro often wear a lot of hats—they may simply be self-taught out of passion, have a lot of experience in a specific field, or a little in many, but regardless they all manage or contribute to a wide variety of projects that advance the understanding and management of all the resources within the park.

I was hired to monitor the high elevation springs by placing camera traps and conducting springs assessments. While this is most of the work, I have had the opportunity to be a part of many of the park’s other projects. This includes saguaro phenology in the low desert, as well as agave phenology, butterfly surveys, viewshed surveys, owl surveys, and systematic mapping for vegetation when on hitch in the higher elevations. As one of the only crew members going up to Manning Camp on a regular basis this summer, we are often asked to opportunistically collect data for others since we are up there so frequently. On days not devoted to springs, we often search for butterflies or rare plants, or perform any other surveys that need to be done.

It was on one of these days that we went in search of a wild rose that had not been documented in the park since 1909. The first and only time the rose was documented in the park was 112 years ago and we wanted to know if it still existed within the park. We systematically searched the dense thicket of underbrush in the aspen grove in which it was first found and miraculously after about half an hour of searching we found the first plant. Then another. And another. In total the population probably contained about 200 plants.

Despite the length of time between the last sighting, not to mention climate change and drought, this rare rose was not just hanging on but thriving within the park. The passion and excitement for finds like this among the staff at all levels is contagious. It’s exciting to be present when a small part of park history is made, and the people around you are just as excited. The resource staff work incredibly hard, and I am fortunate to work with such passionate people who care deeply care about the research and the park.

Within Saguaro National Park, the Rincon Mountains ascend from the arid desert scrub at roughly 2,300 ft, to the mixed conifer and fir-aspen forest at almost 8,700 ft. Much of my work in this range is in designated wilderness, and base camp is located at Manning Camp, a historic cabin only accessible by trail–a 10-mile hike with roughly 5,000 ft of elevation gain. The rough terrain, wilderness designation, and time needed to conduct our research makes the use of pack mule support necessary for gear and supplies.

This relatively remote escape from the desert is my home and office for the summer. I spend 7 days at a time in the backcountry monitoring camera traps and doing assessments of high-elevation springs.

Most of these spring have only been discovered recently but are incredibly important resources. Though often small, they can be the only sources of water in the mountains during most of the year. We monitor these springs so that we can understand how wildlife use and hydroperiod of these sites change over time.

I am excited to continue working in this incredible ecosystem, and learning about the unique springs that support it.