DYD Of Distinction - Heterotheca Oregona

Day 291: If not for David Giblin, collections manager and research botanist at the UW's Burke Herbarium, this plant might not have been recorded as a new species for Mount Rainier National Park. David alerted me to his discovery, supplied an astonishingly accurate map without having had the benefit of a GPS, and sent me off on a merry chase to document its occurrence. He had only found one in the short time he had to spend at the location, so I left early Tuesday morning intending to scour the area for other examples. Over the next two and a half hours, I found at least fifty plants ranging in size and shape from a single stem 1" high to a mature specimen 20" tall and two feet wide. Heterotheca oregona (Oregon Golden Aster) has no ray flowers, despite what you might suppose from the photos. What appear to be ray flowers on this DYD ("Damn Yellow Daisy," a term popular with botanists) are in fact specialized disk flowers which elongate as the blossom reaches maturity. As part of my duties for the Natural Resources Division, I obtained two specimens for the Park's herbarium, one of which will be shared with the Burke after it is catalogued. And yes, for those of you following along, Arnie was thrilled when I shared the news with him.

Sewing For Science

Day 340: Recently, our Park Wildlife Biologist put out a request for volunteers willing to sew "bat bags" as part of a study project related to White-Nose Syndrome, a fungal disease which is decimating bat populations across the country. White-Nose was detected a mere 30 miles north of the Park boundary earlier this year and may exist within our confines although we are not yet aware of it. This project will involve the capture, testing and subsequent release of bats in specific locations. Obviously, we do not want to risk contaminating healthy bats by exposing them to anything which has come into contact with infected ones, so the holding bags in which they will be placed prior to testing will have to be laundered before being reused. Tara's request was for 600 bags (way out of Natural Resources' meager budget if purchased from a commercial supplier), so our former campground host and I put our heads together and came up with a plan. She would provide as much fabric as I felt I had time to sew over the winter, and I'd do the stitchery.

A 25-yard bolt of 36" muslin is just enough to make 81 bags. Each bag requires two feet of 1/4 or 3/8" grosgrain ribbon to use as a tie, and the bags must be constructed in such a manner that there is no danger of a bat becoming entangled in loose threads. I have completed 21 bags of a projected 243 and have 60 more to make from the first of three bolts. It's taken me 7 hours to get this far (time includes cutting the full bolt of fabric). We'd better get a lot of rainy days!