TOTAL STATION DAY

Yesterday we stayed in camp and set up an "office" in the shade of some tall pines near our tents. Ah......office life can be so rough.

The goal of the day was to figure out our surveying protocol and get familiar with all of the equipment we are going to be using.

WHAT ARE WE DOING OUT HERE? you might ask:
It is our task to take geomorphic base data of section of the Middle Fork John Day River before "restoration" activities are done. Then, we come back in subsequent years after the restoration projects are finished and take data on how the river has changed due to the restoration activities. This is broadening area of work as most of the restoration work done in the US does not have monitoring done to determine if it has been effective. The Warm Springs Tribe is who brought in the University of Oregon to ensure it was done impartially (not done by the folks that designed and installed the restoration projects). We are looking at stream function and form (others are looking at the biological aspects of the system).

The Middle Fork John Day River is a VERY important Chinook Salmon spawning stream. The Fish and Wildlife biologists that stop by in the morning to pick up gear at the storage shed here tell me that there are big ones in the pools just down from the property we are on now. Hope to check them out in the next day or two. Saw juveniles two days ago up by Phipps Spring.