Wetland Mapping Field Day
Join us for our FIRST Mt Hood Wetland Mapping Field Day of 2025! No experience required!
Wetlands serve many functions- from biodiversity hotspots, water storage and filtration, aquifer replenishment, wildfire breaks and more. Luckily, wetlands are protected from logging and other destructive treatments in timber sales. However, when the Forest Service plans timber sales, they refer to the National Wetland Inventory– an inventory mostly done in the 1980’s and with technology less sophisticated than scientists now use. Therefore, when the Forest Service is planning timber sales and other forest projects, they may not have accurate information about the current location, size, and type of many wetlands. This is where Bark comes in! Staff and volunteers are able to assess wetlands on the ground and use that information to stop destructive timber projects in sensitive wetland areas. It’s like groundtruthing but in wetlands!
Everyone is welcome and no experience necessary! Wetland Mapping field days are moderate to high physical activity days with plenty of stepping over logs, wading into wetland areas and pushing through shrubs. We’ll collect data from all over our site and assess our site to see if the wetland codes on our maps match what we see on the ground. This includes assessing plants, hydrology and soils- be ready to get your hands dirty!
For every field day, we will all meet at Gateway/NE 99th Ave. at 9 am. Make sure to meet us at the entrance to the parking garage! From there we will coordinate carpooling to our secondary location. This location will vary depending on the final survey site so keep an eye out for an update/reminder email a few days before the event. At the secondary location, I will share the coordinates for our final destination, and we will caravan together to the site. At the final site, we will do our Land Acknowledgement writing practice, share safety info, talk about the site and then head into the field for some surveying! While in the field, we will stop frequently for breaks, water, snacks and lunch. We will survey for approximately 4 hours, depending on the length of our drive, and return in time to be at the Gateway/99th Ave. Park and Ride between 5 and 6pm.
Check out our website for more info: Typical Field Day, Field Day Packing List
Questions? Email Meg@Bark-Out.org