Field Notes

RiverNET Community Science Co-Op - 2019 Year End Summary

In 2018, we set a high bar for ourselves with the launch of RiverNET, the inaugural project of our new initiative Envision Yellowstone. And if anything, 2019 has been even better, as you will see in our annual RiverNET summary. But perhaps our proudest accomplishment is the realization of Envision Yellowstone’s pilot program transitioning from a YERC project to a Community Science Co-Op. Without your support, your volunteer time, your donations, your interest in science and your passion for the Yellowstone, we wouldn’t have been able to carry out this endeavor. Thank you, and we look forward to continuing to work with (and for) you in the coming year!

RiverNET Feature, Lab News & Field UpdatesYERC StaffDecember 6, 2019RiverNET, Patrick Cross, #yearendsummary #2019Comment

RiverNET makes Headlines!

While other articles in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle’s “State of Change” series focus on problems associated with climate change, the one on YERC’s RiverNET program features solutions. Great coverage by Perrin Stein; check it out!

RiverNET Feature, Lab News & Field UpdatesGuest UserOctober 25, 2019RiverNET, Patrick Cross Comment

YERC Tests Hypotheses Explaining Differences in Water Quality Results

Why such big differences in our water quality results compared to those we send off to an independent lab? YERC scientists do what scientists do best: ask questions, make hypotheses, conduct experiments, and analyze results in order to address this important question.

RiverNET Feature, Lab News & Field UpdatesGuest UserOctober 17, 2019RiverNET, Patrick CrossComment

YERC Interprets This Summer's RiverNET Results

Our data collection efforts are paying off as patterns are starting to emerge in our water quality data. But what do they actually tell us about the quality of the water?

RiverNET Feature, Lab News & Field UpdatesGuest UserSeptember 20, 2019RiverNET, Patrick CrossComment

Distributed Field Station Deployed to Paradise Valley

After spending two winters on the Beartooth Plateau and three years in Cooke City, our mobile field station has a new (temporary) home in Paradise Valley. YERC tech Spencer Link describes what its like living in Paradise.

Lab News & Field UpdatesSpencer LinkSeptember 6, 2019Comment

Reflections on "El Ecosistema Yellowstone Mayor" From the Remote Office

YERC biologist Mikaela Howie sent us this dispatch from the Spanish Coast while working remotely and visiting family.

Lab News & Field UpdatesGuest UserSeptember 6, 2019 Comment

M361: The Little Coyote that Could

What M361 — one of the last surviving radio colllared coyotes from YERC’s Canine Ecology Project (1989-2009) — lacked in size, he made up for in resourcefulness and tenacity. Hear reminiscences from one of the last field techs to track this unlikely alpha male.

YERC RetrospectivesGuest UserAugust 26, 2019Patrick Cross, Canine Ecology Project, Coyote Comment

DEQ Support Helps RiverNET Maintain Data Quality

Validation is a critical part of the scientific method, essential for maintaining data quality as well as scientific credibility. Here, we describe how we are doing this for RiverNET with support from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.

RiverNET FeatureGuest UserAugust 22, 2019RiverNET, Patrick CrossComment

From Adaptive to Precision Ecology

Throughout its nearly 30 years, YERC has been constantly adapting to changing environmental conditions, research needs, and available technology. Here, Bob describes YERC’s latest evolution.

Director's IdeasGuest UserAugust 21, 2019Bob Crabtree Comment

Bridge Piers and Bird Poop: RiverNET sensor maintenance

Field work isn’t always as much fun as it sounds. Read about some of the surprises YERC scientists find while maintaining a water monitoring sensor mounted on the side of a Yellowstone River bridge pier.

RiverNET FeatureGuest UserAugust 16, 2019Patrick Cross, RiverNETComment