Program Visit: VAFO

ProRanger Stephanie Hudson was the only ProRanger this summer to get a visit from not one, not two, but from three members of the ProRanger Program staff!  One hot summer morning in July, Adrian Fernandez, Tony Luongo and I met at nearby Valley Forge National Historical Park for a visit.

After a tour of the Visitor Center and a screening of the park’s movie, we headed to park headquarters for meetings.   

It was great to meet with long time program supporters!   After interviews with Chief Ranger Mike Valora, Supervisory Ranger Lofton Wiley, we presented the program plaque to Acting Superintendent Pat Madden.

Luongo, Fernandez, Hudson, Wiley and Valora outside headquarters

Stephanie had clearly done her homework and planned a visit to the park that covered a lot of ground that none of us had ever seen!   We saw several areas of the park where Stephanie has been working and also checked out the Bone Cave and some ruins.

Checking out some ruins

  

Stephanie shows us how to identify crawfish

The “Crayfish Corps” at Valley Forge works to remove invasive crawfish species from the Valley Creek.  So, we donned waders and joined the corps!  Stephanie taught us how to catch the crawfish, determine if they were native or invasive, and to remove or release them as appropriate.  She kept a careful count of efforts for the park’s resource management staff.  We also had a little friendly competition amongst ourselves (I don’t want to brag, so I won’t tell you who won!).

Cool water on a hot day!

Measuring our catch

A private carillon concert up close and personal!

Crayfishing in the cool water on a hot day seemed like the highlight of the day.  But, Stephanie had one more surprise for us.  There is a church, Washington Memorial Chapel, that is encircled by VAFO, but not actually part of the park.  The carillonneur, Doug Gefvert, took us on a tour of the chapel.  The chapel houses the Justice Bell, which is a replica of the Liberty Bell commissioned by suffragists - the bell's clapper was chained to remain silent until women were permitted the right to vote.

On the Veterans Wall of Honor, I was excited to find the name of my great-(not sure how many greats to put in there)-grandfather, Abraham Miller, a Revolutionary War soldier who was part of the winter encampment at Valley Forge.  Finally, we ascended the carillon tower for a better view and got to watch up close as the carillonneur played a private concert for us.  Well, as private as an instrument that broadcasts its music from a tower can be!  If you've never seen a carillon played before, it is quite amazing to watch!

Fernandez, Hudson and McGarvey at the end of the day!

Since it was well into the evening, all the offices and conference rooms we closed, so we finished up the day with a meeting in Valley Forge’s [air conditioned!] gym! 

Up next:  OZAR

The Final Days!

As my first internship winds down, I'm starting to feel nostalgic but also excited about what is to come this next year. The internship ending is really a bittersweet feeling. I'm a bit luckier than all the other members of my cohort in that my park is very close to home and to Temple so I can come back a lot more frequently than others can.

My last week has been a whirlwind of activity. I had a visit to Hopewell Furnace, a sister site to Valley Forge, where my supervisor, my chief ranger, and myself all went to look over the alarm system. It was interesting and eye-opening to see just how much goes into protecting the resources of the park. It was also a great experience that shows inter-division cooperation. Not only was law enforcement involved to view the security risks, but maintenance was also in the loop because of the installation/removal/upkeep of the devices. Natural resources was also involved as the GIS specialist provided maps of the buildings that helped determine where security equipment should go. This was also inter-agency as it involved the local fire department, police department, and dispatch. It's a large project, but it's one that could really help protect the buildings and artifacts at Hopewell Furnace.

I was also able to go on a boat patrol for the first time this internship. This was a great experience as it showed another dimension to patrolling Valley Forge. Not only do the law enforcement rangers at Valley Forge have to do bike, foot, and vehicle patrols, but they also do boat patrols on the Schuylkill to ensure boaters are following all relevant regulations. We also do foot patrols of Catfish Island, in the middle of the Schuylkill, to ensure there is no illegal camping or anything of that nature going on.

The Old And The New

Today at Valley Forge was a very interesting day! I had two things on my schedule for the day: 1) washing archaeological artifacts so that they can be sorted and cataloged, and 2) a photo safari of the park. Both of these were wonderfully unique experiences, and the contrast between delving into old artifacts and using modern technology to capture the beauty of the land was striking.

While I thought that washing artifacts for 4 hours would be boring (sorry John!), it was actually one of the best things I've done so far on my internship. Taking pieces of rock, pottery, slag, metal, bone, and glass, among other things, and gently scrubbing the dirt off to reveal what is underneath is a very rewarding experience. One piece of dirty bone seemed unremarkable, however, after rinsing it in the basin and removing the dirt with a toothbrush, scrapes could be seen in the bone that were not visible initially. Likewise, pieces of glass had obvious bubbles and imperfections that could indicate when, and possibly even where they were produced.

In the middle of washing artifacts, the archaeologist at Valley Forge, John, was asked to go investigate a site where shells and pottery had been found on the surface. We went off and mapped the site using GIS and picked up a sample of the artifacts we could readily see. When we got back to the Thomas House, John entered the points into his GIS map of Valley Forge archaeological sites and discovered the site we visited is actually a subsite within another site that used to be an old building. We had no idea when we were out there that we were in an already discovered site, so the artifacts we found will serve to give more depth and history to that site.



The photo safari was one of the summer challenges on my list and was not only fun but also educational. A group of natural resource interns and myself discussed the different settings on a camera, how things like shutter speed and aperture affect a photo, perspective, lighting, and more general topics like the golden hour and the rule of thirds with our "guide.". While photography is something I don't have much of an interest in, it was a great experience to spend 2 hours photographing beautiful spots in the park! 

Most Beautiful Spot In Valley Forge

View from the top of the Carillon

Oh Deer!

Valley Forge has a problem with deer. Well, it actually has two problems with deer: the first problem is that there are too many deer and the second problem is that people come to poach the deer because they are easy pickings. Valley Forge is doing its best to combat both of these problems, and sometimes in unique ways.

For the issue of too many deer, Valley Forge has been working to cull the deer herd for the past 6 years. Every winter they bring in a group of sharp-shooters that bait certain areas and go out with law enforcement rangers to kill the deer that come to the bait. This has caused the herd to go from over 1,200 deer to about 150 in the 5 square mile park. At times, herds of up to 90 deer could be seen roaming the park, but the largest herd I've seen has been 6 deer. One interesting thing I learned from Natural Resources is that if even one deer gets away from the baited area that area can no longer be used because no deer will go back to that space.

The issue of poaching is an interesting matter. Not only is it illegal to hunt in Valley Forge, it puts visitors at risk. The way Valley Forge is combating this problem is unique, at least to me. Valley Forge just got a mechanical deer that can be set up and monitored for poaching activities. The deer is a hide over rebar, and the head turns and the tail can twitch/wag via a remote that the rangers control. We demoed this deer at the 4^th of July celebration, along with a contest to name the deer. I personally liked the name Freedom, but we’ll see what wins out in the end.

One question I get somewhat frequently when the topic of the deer come up is “Why don’t you just let the poachers get rid of the deer problem?” The poachers aren’t allowed to hunt on Valley Forge land – that’s why they’re poachers and not hunters. Opening up the park at any time to hunters would cause several issues such as how to select who gets to come out, how to ensure the hunters are knowledgeable, and the issue of not being able to reuse a baited area if even one deer escapes could cause problems if the hunters aren’t top notch. As I said above, it is also a safety issue to the visitors.

Overall, interesting methods are being employed to combat this problem that is deer to Valley Forge. They definitely aren’t passing the buck with the issue, and they are willing to shell out the doe for whatever they need to do. Okay, enough, I’m not really fawn of deer puns. But Valley Forge is doing its best to help maintain the park, even if it seems like one of the problems is a solution to the other problem.

A Week at Valley Forge

For my summer internship at Valley Forge I switch to a different division each day. In general, every Monday and Tuesday are my days off, Wednesdays are spent with Law Enforcement, Thursday and Friday are spent with Maintenance, Saturday is spent with Natural Resources and Sunday is spent with Interpretation. This system is nice because it allows me to work closely with each division every week and ensures that everything stays fresh in my mind.

Wednesday: Law Enforcement

My days with law enforcement are varied and interesting. I've sat in on taser refreshers, gone out on patrols, hosted a cookout and park-wide cleanup, helped conduct a PEB, sat in on court proceedings, and much more.






















Thursday/Friday: Maintenance 
The days I spend with maintenance are a little more routine than those with other divisions, but there are differences depending on where we work and if it's raining or not. Usually if it isn't raining I will weed-whip all day, but if it's raining I can either do custodial or work on odd projects around the shop. It is also necessary to log the work hours and mileage on the government vehicles each month.

Saturday: Natural Resources
Natural resources is a very interesting division in the park. They do a lot of different studies and public programs to help better the park and maintain the park's mission statement. Not only do they have programs like Weed Warriors and the Crayfish Corps discussed in my previous post, they also have interns working on several projects such as coyote, box turtle, butterfly, and bird studies. Natural resources is also the home to Valley Forge's Archaeology department. I've worked with archaeology twice now - once to map where digs should be conducted for a township project and once to sift through two digs at Hopewell Furnace for a study being done on a barn.

Sunday: Interpretation 
While working with interp isn't always the most fascinating, it's an integral part of that National Park Service's mission. The first few times I was with interp I did several of the tours the park had to offer - Ranger led tours, the car tour, and the trolley tour. This gave me a wealth of information about the park before I dressed in period garb and spent time in front of the Muhlenberg huts speaking with visitors. Currently I am working on a ten minute presentation from the perspective of a Camp Follower to give to groups and trolley tours.

Odd Jobs:
In addition to my main divisions, there are other divisions I work with and other experiences I'm electing to participate in. There is a 2016 Find Your Park Summer Challenge which aims to develop and strengthen ties between departments. A few of the tasks are working with the curator, doing kiosk updates, and sitting in on a senior staff meeting. One of my goals for the summer is to complete every task on this list. So far I have completed 5 of the 17 tasks with 5 more definitive dates for other tasks. I can't wait to complete more of the tasks and get a better handle on how the various parts of the park work together.

"A Whole Lotta #Cray in a Small Area" - Ranger Pat

Valley Forge has several initiatives that work together to keep the ecosystem at Valley Forge in check. Among these is the Crayfish Corps, an initiative that works to rid Valley Creek of the rusty crayfish, an invasive species of crayfish from the Ohio River Valley Region. The rusty crayfish are larger than native crayfish which means they not only out compete them for space but also for food. Rusty crayfish have harder exoskeletons as well which makes them more difficult for predators to eat and they are also less nutritious than native species.

Native Crayfish

Rusty Crayfish

The rust crayfish are easily identifiable (for the most part) by a couple of signature features. Both the native and the rusty crayfish have orange bands on the tips of their claws, however the rusty crayfish also have a black band around the tips of their claws. The rusty crayfish are also named as such for a reason - they have rusty colored spots on the sides of their carapaces.


Sometimes it can be difficult to tell if it is a native or invasive species of crayfish, however usually looking for both the black band and the rusty spots gives a pretty solid indication of species. It is important to correctly identify the crayfish because the rusty crayfish are removed from Valley Creek to be measured and cataloged, while the native species are left to reproduce. The goal of the Crayfish Corps is to maintain a ratio of 1 or fewer rusty crayfish to every 4 native crayfish.

The Crayfish Corps goes out every Saturday with nets and waders for approximately 2 hours to catch crayfish. You position your net directly downstream of a rock you think crayfish are under and when you turn the rock over the current carries the crayfish straight into your net. Recently, Ranger Pat devised a new method of crayfishing where you stretch a drag net across the stream and turn over rocks for about 5-10 feet ahead of the net. The current carries everything down into the net and then we sort through everything in the net to find crayfish. This is a more effective method of crayfishing and can net several dozen per try. On average, about 15 people can find 100 crayfish an hour in Valley Creek.

A trip to Valley Creek can also allow for sightings of several other aquatic animals. On my last trip out, for example, we caught a fairly large bass and we saw a water snake sunning itself on a rock. The water snake is nonvenomous and allowed us to take a few pictures before sliding off the rock and heading towards shore. Other animal sightings include chipmunks, deer, waterbugs, other species of fish/snakes, and scuds.

The Carillon at Valley Forge

Car-il-lon. "A set of at least 27 bells in a tower, played using a keyboard or by an automatic mechanism similar to a piano roll."

2 weeks ago I had no idea what a carillon was. I had never even heard of it before last Sunday when I was doing interp at the visitor center and was invited to go to the carillon on site here at Valley Forge. I agreed, having no idea what I was getting myself into, and it was a fantastic experience.



The carillon at Valley Forge is one of only 450 carillons in the world and is located in the bell tower which is part of Washington's Memorial Chapel. It is comprised of 58 bronze bells that range over 5 octaves and the bells themselves range from 13.5 to 8000 pounds. The bells are located ~100-120 feet above the ground and are only accessible via a small spiral staircase that winds up one of the corners of the bell tower.


The tour of the carillon started at the base of this tower where the Justice Bell is housed. The Justice Bell is a replica of the Liberty Bell, however the Justice Bell does not contain the iconic crack and adds the words "Establish Justice" after "Proclaim Liberty." The Justice Bell was a symbol of women's suffrage and was carted on a 5,000 mile tour of the sixty-seven counties in Pennsylvania to rally support for women's suffrage. Upon the ratification of the 19th Amendment in August of 1920 the bell, whose clapper had always been chained to its side, was finally rung as a symbol of women everywhere finally being able to speak. I didn't even know of the Justice Bell's existence until this tour and it was a very interesting tidbit of more modern history in a park devoted to the American Revolution.

The tour then proceeds up the spiral staircase towards the bells. Along the climb there is a wonderful study with a mock clavier (carillon keyboard) and a piano, but the bells and the view from the top truly steal the show. One interesting fact is that each key on the clavier requires a different amount of pressure to cause the bells to ring. At the higher end of the spectrum where the bells are lighter it doesn't take much pressure at all to ring the bell, but at lower octaves a pressure of up to 350 pounds needs to be used. This means that some of the bells are impractical to ring by hand and instead are transitioned into foot pedals.

The view from the top of the carillon was magnificent and allowed us to see for several miles in any direction as the carillon is one of the highest points in the park. It was great to get a birds eye view of the park and to become more familiar with how all of the monuments and buildings relate to each other. It was also a wonderfully unique experience to be viewing all of this for the duration of the 20 minute carillon concert.

Overall it was a fantastic experience and I can't wait to see what unique and exciting opportunities are still to come here at Valley Forge! 

The Importance of First Impressions

My first few days here at Valley Forge have been full of excitement, fun, and most importantly, first impressions. My impressions of the park and those who work in it, and their first impressions of me. Well, sort of.

Imagine your first day as an intern. You're being escorted around by your supervisor and you've already met so many people and have been putting so many names to faces that you might as well be a yearbook. You're trying to remember if it was Jenn or Jane that was in maintenance, if Hannah was admin or interp, and what was the name of the archaeologist you met two hours ago? Now you're being introduced to a new Ranger, and as you say "Hi, I'm Stephanie! Nice to meet you!" they say "Oh, we've met."

Pause.

Rewind.

Now your mind is racing on a whole new track. We've met before? You scan their face looking for something, anything that will help you remember. Nada. Did we meet today? Did we meet on an earlier visit? Have you been to a ProRanger event? Before you can stammer out a possible meeting place the Ranger goes "Yeah, she yelled at me not to touch the bell," and cracks a smile.

In an instant it all comes rushing back. You were working the Philadelphia Flower Show and you were manning Temple Ambler's exhibit on Hopewell Furnace. It was the third day you'd been on the flower show and you're 9 hours into your shift. The bell that is meant to be rung is kind of starting to look dangerous so you stop encouraging people to ring the bell, and sort of start to discourage it until you can figure out what to do. A group comes in, and you can see them thinking about ringing the bell, and in fact thinking about ringing the bell in a way that might make the whole thing come crashing down so you run in and go "No! Don't ring the bell like that!"

The visitors look alarmed but you explain that the bell isn't really meant to be rung that particular way, and instead this other way, and eventually they go on their merry way. You think all is well, and this was a crisis averted, and you'll never see them again anyway so it can't be too bad that you ruined their fun... but here you are, facing one of that group, a Ranger at Valley Forge that you will now be working with throughout the summer.

This was one of the many first impressions I've given of myself to Rangers, Chief Rangers, Supervisors, and Superintendents since I joined the ProRanger Program. While it wasn't exactly what I would hope for in a first impression, it was memorable and the story elicits a laugh, so all in all it's not terrible as far as first impressions go. That sinking feeling in my stomach, however, served as a potent reminder that you never know when you're making a first impression, and in a community as small as the National Park Service, your reputation matters.

As far as the park goes, it's made a fantastic first(ish) impression on me. I've been to Valley Forge before several times, but meeting all the people whose work go into making this park fantastic and getting a deeper, behind the scenes look at the park itself has left a last impression on me. I can't wait to spend more time in the park and with those who care so deeply about it this summer!

Season 2016 Partner Parks Announced!

The ProRanger Program is pleased to welcome Cohort 5 to the program.  We are also pleased to announce the participating parks for Summer 2016!

Cohort 5
Angelo Algeri
Nicholas Gosik
Stephanie Hudson
Seth Jaworski
Taylor Johnson
Shauni Kerkhoff
Brennan McAuley
Justen Williams

New Parks to the ProRanger Program
Big Cypress National Preserve
Buffalo National River
Christiansted National Historic Site
Cumberland Island National Seashore
Ozark National Scenic River
San Juan National Historic Site
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Virgin Islands National Park

Returning Partner Parks
Antietam National Battlefield
Boston National Historical Park
Colonial National Historical Park
Fire Island National Seashore
Gettysburg National Military Park
Independence National Historical Park
Shenandoah National Park
Manassas National Battlefield Park
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Valley Forge National Historical Park
Yosemite National Park

Check back soon for updates from our new ProRangers and announcements about Summer 2016 park assignments.

2015 Participating Parks and Assignments

ProRanger interns will be heading out to their parks in June.  We are excited to announce our participating parks and intern assignments for summer 2015:

Assateague Island National Seashore - Kathryn Yody
Boston National Historical Park - Brittany Kriner
Colonial National Historical Park - Hannah Sender
Fire Island National Seashore - Nicholas Fitzke
Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine - Jessica Bustamante
Gettysburg National Military Park - Isaiah Lewis
Independence National Historical Park - John Hesdon
Manassas National Battlefield Park - Daniel Bussell
Monocacy National Battlefield - Timothy Greene
Sleeping Bear Dune National Lakeshore - Julia
Valley Forge National Historical Park - Kelly Tascarella
Yosemite National Park - Kelechi Akabogu

ProRanger Orientation and Leadership Camp took place from May 11-May 15th.    Look for posts and photos from the ProRangers about their experiences at leadership camp and their parks coming soon.

National Public Lands Day 2013: Valley Forge NHP

Followers,

Working to remove a sheet of plastic 

On September 28, 2013,ProRanger Philadelphia participated in National Public Lands Day at Valley Forge National Historical Park. ProRangers Jordan Keiffer, Tia Solomon, Renee Benson. and Jay Copper attended the event, which gathered volunteers from around the area and put them to work in the park. After arriving at the park, the ProRangers and approximately 15 other volunteers were assigned to the Catfish Island clean-up crew. Catfish Island is a small island located on the Schuylkill River, which is only accessible via boat. After receiving a morning briefing from group leader Ranger Bungard, we headed out to the boat launch, and began to shuttle volunteers to the island.

ProRanger Copper and a volunteer working to remove a metal drum.

Upon arrival at Catfish Island, we assisted in cleaning up the debris and garbage that finds its way onto the small strip of land. Over the course of two hours, we were able to find everything from fishing poles to car tires. Many of these items were buried beneath years of soil deposits, and some items were even tangled in tree roots. With the help of the volunteers (and some critical thinking), the majority of the buried garbage was able to be removed. Although we had limited resources, we were able to use the ideas of other group members and the items found on the island, to extricate the garbage. All of the garbage that was found on the island was deposited into bags, which will be picked up by park employees in the coming days. For larger items, we created multiple piles that will also be removed.

ProRanger Benson collecting tires!

At the conclusion of the day, we all gathered around the island's access point and assisted as volunteers were shuttled back to the parking area. Once all of the volunteers were accounted for, we began to pack up for the day. Under the instruction of Ranger Bungard, we were able to help in bringing the boat out of the water, and reloading it onto the parks boat trailer. This was a great experience, as only one of the ProRangers had previously been involved in boat operations.

National Public Lands Day is an awesome event that allows park visitors to get involved in the maintenance of the park, and volunteer for the day. It is amazing how much work can be accomplished when several groups work together. Thank you to Valley Forge National Historical Park, and all of the Rangers and volunteers that made National Public Lands Day a success!

One more bag!

You never know what you'll find!

ProRanger Solomon greeting volunteers!

 

At home on the water!

Thank you for reading!

Jay Copper

Overall Summer at Valley Forge!!!!

My summer at Vally Forge was an awesome experience that I will never forget! Majority of my time there consisted of training and gaining knowledge that can not only be used in the field of Law Enforcement, but are beneficial in everyday life. Unlike most of my other internships, I had the opportunity to have a more clear perspective on Law Enforcement. I was completely immersed in the Law Enforcement division, which allowed me to think more like the official I will soon become. Not only did I receive certifications, I was able to help visitors and educate them about the ProRanger program. The 4th of July was a prime event that allowed me to advocate fire protection and offer information about the daily tasks of a Park Ranger.

Throughout this summer, I was able to participate in investigations, interviewing, tactical training of clearing buildings, searches, frisks, and transport of subjects. At Valley Forge, I learned how to write work orders and learn the procedures of statement forms, first aid templates, and photo logs. The Rangers encouraged me to practice filling out written warnings and citations. I also spent time on surveillance and creating a reference log consisting of regulation signs. I even had the chance to assist with a vehicle accident by capturing photos of the vehicles involved and directing traffic. A lot of my academy training came in handy this summer and Valley Forge offered me the experience that will benefit my overall performance as a future Law Enforcement Ranger.



I achieved my goal of hiking and/or biking every trail at Valley Forge! Along my hikes, I was observational and reported any illegal activity or obstructing objects on the trails. I learned from every Ranger at Valley Forge and I was offered insightful information that will become resourceful as I take the next step to my future career. At Valley Forge, I picked up skills that I was not able to learn in a textbook. This summer, I really gained a hands on experience as a Law Enforcement Ranger and I am extremely grateful!