Caring For Wildlife With Grace: Welcome To Our New Margaret A. Davidson Fellow

Caring For Wildlife With Grace: Welcome To Our New Margaret A. Davidson Fellow

Grace McCulloch is a graduate student at the University of New Hampshire who is preparing for a career protecting vulnerable ecological communities. Great Bay NERR is fortunate to welcome her as our new Margaret A. Davidson Fellow. She will be joining us for the next two years and has spent this summer researching habitat use of the saltmarsh sparrow, a state listed Species of Greatest Conservation Need.

What Makes A Shoreline Resilient?

What Makes A Shoreline Resilient?

Flooding, erosion and other climate impacts are affecting NH’s coastal towns in different ways, and the strategies for increasing resilience will look different too. Despite these differences, there is a lot to be gained by sharing ideas across towns, visiting projects in progress, and looking for new partnerships.

Stories from the Field: Missteps and Lessons Learned

Stories from the Field: Missteps and Lessons Learned

Anyone who has participated in fieldwork has learned the valuable lesson: expect the unexpected. Even when you’ve prepared for every “what if” scenario, something will inevitably happen where you need to think quickly on your feet; whether that is pushing a boat across a mudflat to chase the outgoing tide, saving a boat from sinking using the shirts off your back, showing up to your first day of fieldwork with everything but a writing utensil, or finding make-shift tools in the field.

UNPACKING A SEA OF GREEN: WHY PLANTS GROW WHERE THEY DO IN A SALT MARSH

UNPACKING A SEA OF GREEN: WHY PLANTS GROW WHERE THEY DO IN A SALT MARSH

Many people recognize the firey hue glasswort brings to a salt marsh as it turns red in the fall. Even from a distance, those with a discerning eye can pick out the bands of low marsh that fringe the water’s edge. Real connoisseurs of drive-by marsh plant identification can even pick out the dusty grey-green of spike grass (Distichlis spicata) interwoven with the backdrop of salt marsh hay (Spartina patens), but why do these plants grow in the places they do?