January 17, 2014

Today marked my first official day at ESI. I arrived at 8 am, and was greeted by Rachel, whom I met in December when Rhodes was giving me a general tour/ meet and greet. I was immediately impressed by her eagerness, enthusiasm, and general interest in explaining to me that they hadn't been able to set a cubicle up for me yet (but they would next week), a little more about my expectations as a new intern, specifically what and who I would be working with today, and a few tidbits of general knowledge. I did my best to take quick notes about what she was explaining, as follows:

In regards to wetlands plants, in order of most likely found in wetlands, to least: Obligate, FAC WET, Facultative, FAC UP, Upland. 

When it comes to most rules and regulations, you are dealing with federal, state, and/or county regulations. Some organizations and their respective divisions: 
DEP- Department of Environmental Protection- STATE
CE- Army Corps of Engineers- FEDERAL 
US Fish and Wildlife Service- FEDERAL 
FWC- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission- STATE

When it comes to state designations and endangered species, there is only 1 category- Threatened. The FWC has 64 species listed as threatened in Florida. 

My duties for the day involved traveling to a site near the airport around 30 minutes away from the office to conduct tree health assessment tests. I was working with James Moody, an Arborist. He described himself as an ecologist with expertise in Forestry. We travelled off of Pecan Park Road to a location that was destined to be cleared for a Love Truck Stop (pictured below)

The primary objective was to identify trees that were "protected." A protected tree is one that is larger than 11.5" in diameter, of a certain species (pretty much any species besides slash pine), and deemed healthy. The company building on the property must pay a price (somewhere around $70) per inch diameter of protected tree that they are cutting down.

We worked in rows, in a back and forth fashion, marking trees both on the GPS and with neon markers to avoid repeating trees. First, we measured the diameter of the tree, at "breast height," using a special measuring tape that displays the converted diameter value, when you measure the circumference.

Next, we identified the tree type- this was the fun part. At the beginning of the day, I could have barely distinguished the difference between a magnolia tree and an oak (ok, maybe that's an exaggeration). But by the end of the day, I was able to identify over 10 different types of trees. This is more impressive than it sounds, considering many of the trees had very similar leaves, bark, or both. And, more often than not, due to the season, the leaves were absent or severely lacking. For example, the Red Maple and Sweet Gum tree had very similar leaves, and were virtually indistinguishable when folded and crumpled in on itself, so we had to rely almost exclusively on the texture of the bark (Red Maple features smooth bark, while Sweet Gum displayed a more textured bark with deep, vertical grooves). The Sweet Bay Magnolia and Loblolly Bay trees were very similar in both leaf and bark appearance, so we actually relied on olfactory cues given off from tearing the leaves (Sweet Bay had a pungent odor, while Loblolly had almost none). I kept note of the 13 main tree species we came across:

Sweet Bay Magnolia
Loblolly Bay
Red Maple
Sweet Gum
Black Gum/ Water Tupelo
Southern Magnolia
Cypress
Red Cedar 
Slash Pines 
American Holly
Black/Laurel Cherry
Dahoon Holly 
Sabel Palm

Finally, we assessed the health of the tree. Notable defects included:

Stem Cavities (invagination at or near base)
Significant Lean (with approximate lean angle)
Co-dominant stem (forked above ground) *VERY COMMON DEFECT*
Stem Sweep (significant bend or crook in main stem)

If the tree was deemed unhealthy by the quantity and severity of defects, the tree is not labeled protected and the company doesn't have to pay to have it removed. There is a balance between protecting the trees from an environmental aspect, and keeping the remediation costs reasonably low for the builders. This requires truthful and consistent surveying as possible, so as to avoid unbiased to either party.

Although the trees, even if protected, were destined to be removed regardless, the main objective was to assess and quantify how much the company will be paying towards mitigating the loss of the healthy trees on the property.

Natalia took a picture while I was measuring the diameter of one of the trees, but thats not what it looks like- I guess I really am a tree hugger at heart!