IUFRO Conference 2014 Field Tour of the Walter F. Mueggler-Butler Fork Research Natural Area

Dr. Walter F. Mueggler in the Mueggler-Butler Fork Research Natural Area

 

Thank You!

Tour Leads Wayne Padgett, Steve Shelly, Dave Tart, and Cindy McArthur would like to thank the participants of this IUFRO Tour into the Walter F. Mueggler-Butler Fork Research Natural Area.  Participation was exceptional and the day couldn't have had any better weather for this time of year.  We encourage participants to review the contents of this blog and ask tour leads any unasked questions they might have in relationship to any part of our tour.  Following, are just a few images from the day.

IUFRO Walter F. Mueggler-Butler Fork RNA Tour Leads (L-R): Steve Shelly, Wayne Padgett, Cindy McArthur and Dave Tart

IUFRO Tour Lead: Carol Majeske

Tour Group 1

IUFRO Tour Group

Tour Group 2

Tour Description

Aspen (Populus tremuloides) is the most broadly distributed tree species in North America, with a natural range extending from central Mexico northward to Alaska and Newfoundland.  In the western United States, many of these highly productive ecosystems were highly altered as a result of extreme levels of livestock grazing that coincided with the arrival of pioneers in the late 19th and early 20th Century; these conditions persist today.  During this tour we will be able to visit aspen stands that evaded these impacts and are today in near pristine condition.   We will visit some of the lower elevation aspen stands and discuss how these differ from those that experienced high levels of grazing in nearby portions of the northern Utah mountain ranges.  We will also discuss the many values and the uses of Research Natural Areas  in the management of public lands in the American West.

 Google Map

NOTE!
This tour requires some strenuous hiking on wilderness trails for approximately 1.0 mile each direction (total of 2 miles).  A portion of this hike is on relatively steep and sometimes narrow trails.  We recommend that you wear sturdy hiking shoes and, if possible, bring a walking stick for support on the steeper portions of the trail.  And remember, weather in the Wasatch Mountains in October is rather unpredictable.  Bring a variety of clothing to the conference and expect anything from cool and clear to cold and wet days.  

 

Tour Schedule

Because the tour takes place in the Mount Olympus Wilderness Area, group sizes are limited to no more than 15 individuals.  For this reason, we will break into two groups with 2 Tour Leads and 13 Participants.  Both groups will be together at the beginning of the tour at Spruces Campground in Big Cottonwood Canyon on the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest.  They will again join together once again for lunch and discussions of the tour at Spruces Campground.

8:00 am		Depart Salt Palace Convention Center (SPCC)
8:45 am		Arrive Spruces Campground, unload
9:00 am		Orientation to the hiking tour in the Mueggler-Butler Fork RNA
9:15 am		Group 1: Load buses, depart for trailhead;
		Group 2: 30 minute tour of the Spruces Campground (historic Wasatch Nursery lead by Carol Majeske, Developed Sites/Concession Manager.
9:30 am		Group 1: Departs trailhead and begins 2 hour tour of RNA
9:45 am		Group 2: Load buses, depart for trailhead
10:00 am		Group 2: Departs trailhead and begins 2 hour tour of RNA
11:30 am		Group 1 leaves RNA trailhead to return to Spruces Campground for 30 minute tour of Spruces Campground (historic Wasatch Nursery) lead by Carol Majeske
Noon		Group 2 leaves RNA trailhead to return to Spruces Campground
12:30 pm		Group Lunch + Welcome by Dave Whittkiend, Forest Supervisor + Discussions
2:15 pm		Depart Spruces for SPCC
3:00 pm		Arrive SPCC

About Walter F. (Walt) Mueggler and Dale Bartos

Drs. Walt Mueggler and Dale Bartos on their first visit to the proposed Walter F. Mueggler-Butler Fork Research Natural Area in 2005

Know Your Tour Leads and Guides

We have highly qualified individuals (Steve Shelly, Mary Manning, Dave Tart, Cynthia McArthur, and Wayne Padgett) who will be leading the field tour to the Walter F. Mueggler-Butler Fork Research Natural Area. We have invited Dr. Dale Bartos to participate at Spruces Campground following the field tours, but because of his participation in an IUFRO tour in Logan Canyon, 90 miles to the north of Salt Lake City, he will be unable to join us there.   

In addition, Carol Majeske, Developed Sites/Concession Manager will provide some insight into the historical use of the Spruces Campground as a tree nursery in the early 1900's for reforestation in northern Utah.  

Following are short biographies of each of those individuals.

David  Whittekiend - David Whittekiend, Forest Supervisor of the  Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, was unable to attend the tour because of a visit to the forest by the Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, Tom Tidwell, on October 8. He offers a welcome to all forest visitors on YouTube.

YouTube Welcome to the Forest

 Steve Shelly is the Regional Botanist for the Northern Region of the U.S. Forest Service, based in Missoula, Montana.  He also leads the invasive species and Research Natural Area programs for the region.  Steve has previously worked as a botanist for the Bureau of Land Management (Oregon) and The Nature Conservancy (Montana), and has worked in the Northern Region since 1990.  He has focused his career on rare plant conservation, establishment of protected areas, and invasive species management, and his field work has spanned Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota.

Mary Manning was unable to participate as a tour lead because of last minute deadlines associated with sage grouse, a species of bird from the western United States that is being petitioned for listing as a Threatened Species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.  Mary is the regional vegetation ecologist for the Northern Region of the US Service, in Missoula, MT.  She focuses on vegetation classification, assessment, inventory and monitoring, primarily in shrubland, grassland and riparian/wetland vegetation. She also works on climate change related assessments and forest plan revision. She is currently working with forests and grasslands on plan amendments for sage-grouse, a species which is being considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Prior to moving to Missoula, she worked for Wayne Padgett on a riparian classification for the Humdoldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada and parts of eastern California. Mary also worked for various forests and the Bureau of Land Management as a range conservationist prior to returning to college for an MS in riparian ecology.

 

David Tart  is the Regional Ecologist and Research Natural Areas coordinator from the U.S. Forest Service Intermountain Regional Office in Ogden, Utah.  He has been with the Forest Service for 24 years.  Prior to that, he worked for the Yakama Indian Nation for 8 years.  Most of his career has focused on classification and mapping of plant communities and ecosystems.  Dave was a Forest Service lead on the Federal Geographic Data Committee’s (FGDC) National Vegetation Classification Standard (2008) - the national standard for developing and correlating vegetation classifications in the United States.  He was the lead author for the Forest Service’s Existing Vegetation Classification and Mapping Technical Guide, and a coauthor of the Terrestrial Ecological Unit Inventory Technical Guide, both published in 2005.  He is currently involved in classification and mapping existing vegetation across the Intermountain Region, interagency efforts to classify ecological sites in three states, a Regional ecological assessment, and monitoring and protection of Research Natural Areas.

Wayne Padgett is an ecologist who recently retired after 25 years with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and 5 years with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).  Early in his caareer he developed riparian community type classifications for the Intermountain Region of the USFS. During this time frame, Wayne also worked for a short time with The Nature Conservancy evaluating potential Research Natural Areas in Utah and Nevada.  Through this effort, five RNAs were established. Wayne was the ecologist for the Wasatch-Cache National Forest (now, the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest). One of his last efforts on the Forest was the establishment of the Walter F. Mueggler-Butler Fork Research Natural Area. Wayne spent 2 years in the USFS Washington Office as the national vegetation ecologist. His duties included the promotion of the agency's natural areas program.  Wayne finished his career with the Utah State Office of the BLM as the Colorado Plateau Native Plant Program Coordinator.  In this position, he was responsible for coordinating the development of native plant materials for restoration efforts on the Colorado Plateau portions of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. 

Cynthia "Cindy" McArthur is National Partnership Coordinator for the U.S. Forest Service specializing in 21st Century Conservation Service Corps (21CSC) for youth and veteran employment. She has her Bachelors of Science degree from Utah State University in Environmental Science, Sustainable Communities, and Agriculture emphasis.  She received her Master of Science degree from Oregon State University in Range and Riparian Ecology. She is also a graduat of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) in wilderness horse packing.  Cindy decided on a natural resource career after spending her high school summers at Teton Science School near Jackson Hole Wyoming. She worked for the US Forest Service as a Range and Watershed Management Specialist on the Gila National Forest in New Mexico, Range Watershed and Wild Horse Manager on the Malheur National Forest in Oregon, International Society for Range Management (SRM) Liaison in Washington DC, and currently as a National Partnership Coordinator. In 2011, Cindy served as a Diplomatic Advisor to the United Nations Forum on Forests for the International Year of Forests and is currently organizing youth engagement activities for the 2014 International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) conference.

Carol Majeske is the Developed Sites/Concession Manager for the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest in Salt Lake City, Utah. Carol began her work with the Forest Service planting trees as a youth on a steep mountainside in Montana after a timber harvest project and has revisited the site to watch reforestation in progress over decades.   She pursued a B.S. degree in Recreation Management from the University of Montana and an M.S. degree in Recreation Resources from Colorado State University.  She has worked in all aspects of recreation management and has been most challenged by attempting to meet the demands of providing quality recreation experiences while sustaining natural resources.  During her time on the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, she has worked on many intergovernmental planning processes related to recreation, tourism, and watershed management.  She has worked with many partners to improve public education and knowledge of the protected Salt Lake City Watershed by developing interpretive exhibits and education programs for visitors and urban youth.  Through this work and her tree planting roots, she became intrigued with the history of the Salt Lake Forest Reserve and monumental efforts to reforest the Salt Lake City Watershed in the early 1900’s.