IAWP Update – Sept. 2023

Upcoming Events

 

Sept. 9th – The IAWP is one of the locations for the Gallatin Watershed Cleanup on September 9th from 2:00-4:00 PM. A celebration at Lindley Park will follow the cleanup. View the event and sign up at: gallatinwatershedcouncil.org/fall-cleanup

 

Oct. 27th – Celebrate Halloween at the IAWP with “Birds & Bats, Beavers & Bones Spooky Stroll,” hosted by SAS and Montana Outdoor Science School (MOSS) on October 27, 5:00–7:00 PM. Learn about corvids and bats, handle real animal skulls, meet a live spooky animal from MOSS, and more! Watch the crows come in to roost and the beavers become active around sunset.

 

Summer of 2023 at the IAWP

Story by Emma Narotzky; photos by Emma and Terri Narotzky

Summer Events & Achievements

– IAWP kicked off its 2023 summer with two Busy Beavers volunteers orientation events at the IAWP. Special highlights of the evening were great views of beavers and a bobcat.

– SAS board member Ben Goodheart brought his MSU ornithology class to the wetland to perform mock point counts with SAS board members Loreene Reid and Vicki Saab.

– Twenty-four Bridger Bowl employees spent a full day working at the IAWP.

– The second annual IAWP BioBlitz was held at the end of July.

– Jennifer Jones, UM Ecologist and Project Manager with the Ecological Mapping, Monitoring and Assessment group, taught a workshop in which participants visited the IAWP to practice identifying wetland plants.

– Participants in the August biocontrol workshop with Todd Breitenfeldt released the second wave of root-boring weevils that target spotted knapweed.

– Bird Nerds birding group joined board member Loreene Reid at the IAWP for an evening of birdwatching.

– Starlite Summer Camp explored the wonders of the wetland with Kevin Cox.

– The new pavilion at the wetland was completed early in August. Assembly went smoothly thanks to Kevin Cox and the IAWP Busy Beavers.

– Busy Beavers also got involved in weed pulls, volunteered for Knock Out Burdock, and started monitoring upland vegetation in our new Adopt-A-Patch program.

-Teens with the Travis Manion Foundation (empowers veterans and the families of fallen heroes to develop character in future generations) did a service project at the wetland. They learned how to measure water levels and manage beaver impacts. They also pulled weeds and worked on the berm trail and benches.

-MOSS camp, Aqua Adventures, toured and did a lesson at the IAWP on July 7 with board member Frank Marchak. Students learned how wetlands act as filters and are beneficial to water quality and surrounding ecosystems.

-Bozeman Library conducted two “Wednesday Walks” at the IAWP, led by wildlife expert, naturalist, and SAS board member Ken Sinay.

Research

Volunteers continued collecting data for the wetland mitigation bank and began a new project to assess the effects of the restoration project and infrastructure changes.

Those who dedicated time to water monitoring this summer include Busy Beavers Glenda Barnes, London Bernier, Carla Grier, David Grier, Frank Marchak, Chris Moriarty, Nathaniel Rausch, John Regan, Margie Regan, Michael Smith, Heather Swanson, August Tjernagel, and Kelsi Tjernagel. This season’s water monitoring will continue through the end of September.

Paulette Epple, Conservation Committee Co-Chair, led general avian surveys and shared these observations:

“Avian surveys this year at the IAWP once again captured the diversity and abundance of birds using the area. This year our volunteers recorded an awesome 74 species at the wetlands! When we started these surveys in 2019—from mid-April through mid-July—we recorded 63 species. At that time the wetland had little standing water and a culvert effectively drained much of the water from the property. Now, thanks to the resident beavers, the culvert is mostly dammed and much of the area is flooded with standing water. This has greatly increased the number of waterfowl and other birds using the area.

“Highlights this year include nesting Wood Ducks raising young, numerous American Coots nesting and fledging young, nesting Northern Harriers, and frequent sightings of Ruddy Ducks, Cinnamon Teal, Green-winged Teal, Pied-billed Grebes, and Belted Kingfishers.

“Our marshy area is prized by blackbirds, and we had high counts of 44 Yellow-headed Blackbirds and 71 Red-winged Blackbirds. Some of the more interesting songbirds using the area were Northern Waterthrush, American Redstarts, and Willow Flycatchers. The most unusual bird seen was a Sage Thrasher observed feeding on the ground under a stand of aspen and dogwoods. A wetland is a far cry from its typical dry sage-steppe habitat, but anything is possible during migration.”

Thanks much to our survey volunteers: Brad Barth, Cherie Barth, Hobart Collins, Martha Collins, Paulette Epple, Tommy Griffith, Lou Ann Harris, Josiah Kiehl, Sam Koenen, Kristen Legg, Doug McSpadden, Stephanie Nelson, Peggy Olliff, Tom Olliff, Pam Spier, and Olivia Weitz.

Vicki Saab is running the IAWP avian point counts, which are ongoing through the end of October. Results will be shared when this season’s counts are completed.

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New project seeking volunteers

As we restore the IAWP, we will be attracting animals to a high-traffic area near the highway and railroad. We are collecting data on roadkill on or near I-90 next to the IAWP before, during, and after the highway department puts up wildlife fencing. We are looking for more volunteers to do these surveys throughout the year! For more information, contact Emma at wetlands@sacajaweaaudubon.org.

 

2023 Indreland Audubon Wetland Preserve BioBlitz

By Emma Narotzky

This summer marked the second annual BioBlitz at the Indreland Audubon Wetland Preserve (IAWP). A BioBlitz is a citizen science effort in which community members gather at a site to find and identify as many species as possible in a short amount of time. On top of being an educational event that engages the community with our urban wetland preservation project, an annual BioBlitz is a way to grab an ecological snapshot of a place at the same time every year. We will be able to compare these snapshots over the course of the wetland restoration project at the IAWP. The 2023 IAWP BioBlitz was sponsored and largely funded by the Wind Drinkers Earth Day Fun Run, organized by former SAS Board Member Janet Winnie.

Todd Breitenfeldt from the Whitehall Weed Control Project kicked off the BioBlitz with an interactive presentation on biocontrol insects on July 21st (see page 8). For the next three days, participants flocked to the wetland in teams to look for nocturnal animals, birds, plants, aquatic invertebrates, mammals, and insects.

Team leaders Cedar Mathers-Winn, Frank Marchak, Ben Goodheart, Kevin Cox, Aaron Clausen, Matt Lavin, Sam Fritz, and Todd Breitenfeldt educated their groups on wetland species, sampling methods, finding animal sign, and more as the teams made observations and entered them into iNaturalist.

A wrap-up at Lockhorn Cider House concluded the weekend as team leaders and participants enjoyed sharing observations and experiences over dinner.

One BioBlitz participant said that the IAWP is “a treasure in the city of Bozeman for many reasons. The ecological benefits, community engagement, and educational opportunities are all very exciting and inspiring.” Another said: “Having learned about the impact of wetlands loss, it is both encouraging—and amazing, considering land values—that this is being preserved.”

One participant said of the IAWP: “It means we are learning to save our wetlands in all aspects. We have a responsibility to take care of nature and live with birds, plants, insects, and the greater biosphere.”

To check out the results of this year’s BioBlitz, visit: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/indreland-audubon-wetland-preserve-bioblitz-2023

Next year’s IAWP BioBlitz will be held July 19-21, 2024. Participation is open to anyone age 8 and up who is curious about wetland biodiversity and wants to get involved in citizen science. Contact Emma at wetlands@sacajaweaaudubon.org for details.

You don’t have to wait for next year’s BioBlitz to contribute your observations from the wetland! iNaturalist is a free app from National Geographic that lets you submit photos of the species you see; other users will have the opportunity to review your observations and add to, correct, or confirm your ID.

Anytime you upload an observation on iNaturalist from the wetland, it will appear in the ongoing project here: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/indreland-audubon-wetland-preserve-of-bozeman

Head to the wetland whenever you are inspired, and submit observations to contribute to our knowledge of what species can be found at the IAWP. If you want to walk down past the gate onto the sewer line road, arrange in advance for an SAS Board member or Busy Beaver to go with you.