Vanessa's Journal

Feb. 29

Today my main task was to create signs to put on all the cages that indicate that they belong to our research team and unauthorized use of the cages by non-research personnel is prohibited. This technically should have been done at the beginning of the field season, but I just didn’t feel the urgency when we had such a strong presence at the cages every day and when no one in their right mind (except us!) would hike all the way up here with all of the snow and cold in the winter. But now that I am leaving soon, I felt it was necessary because the cages will remain standing (albeit open and unrigged) and will be used again next winter. 

We have been talking about continuing the presence of meat at the cages to some extent, putting meat not nearly as often as we are doing now but perhaps once a month.  There will be an occasional presence of research team members around for meat placement and collection of temperature and vegetation data, so it is not as if we are deserting the cages. But I still feel a little nervous about someone coming along and stealing parts or worse, using the cages to trap for their own purposes. I have been assured by my field team members that this is highly unlikely. Firstly, everyone in the nearby region knows that this is a research station and that there is a strong presence of research personnel in the area. Secondly, people nowadays are making a lot more money by doing business in their own towns and there is not a great deal of motivation to come all the way up here to find ways of earning income. However, it’s best to put the signs there just in case someone happens upon them and gets any ideas. 

I also did more packing and enjoyed the amazing sunshine on this last day of February.  March here we come!