Monthly Newsletter of the Duke Forest Teaching and Research Laboratory at Duke University

Community Scientist, Ed Lunk hard at work

Ed Lunk (left) and Four-Toed Salamander tending a clutch of eggs (right)

Ed’s endeavor, similar to our herp program, contributes basic knowledge about the wildlife and habitats of Duke Forest, but it is unique in that it is a one-person show.  Conducting these surveys requires a low-impact approach because ephemeral wetlands and the animals that use them are easily disturbed.  Ed uses a careful, conscientious method to survey and collect data at these sites.

Each year in February, Sara reexamines past years’ data to identify target sites for Ed’s new season.  Ed then heads out into the woods, often collecting data on Marbled Salamanders, Spotted Salamanders, Eastern Newts, and with a particular focus on finding Four-Toed Salamanders, a Species of Special Concern in North Carolina.  Like many amphibians, these species have very specific habitat requirements and are sensitive to changes in habitat conditions, especially during their late winter/early spring breeding season.

Spotted Salamander egg masses (left), Marbled Salamander larva (center), and Eastern Newt (right)

At the sites Ed monitored this year, he found a total of eight Four-Toed Salamander nests with eggs, three nests at one location and five at another. One nest at each location was tended by an adult female.  Ed also found numerous Spotted Salamander egg masses and Marbled Salamander larvae, each species that require open water for successful reproduction.

Ed Lunk’s annual efforts provide new information on the status of ephemeral wetland habitats in the Duke Forest and the amphibians relying on them for reproduction.  We, as the staff of Duke Forest, use this information to better understand the wildlife that exists here so that we can help protect them.  Most notably, Ed’s work has allowed us to update the NC Natural Heritage Program with new locations of breeding populations for the Four-toed Salamander.  Thank you, Ed, for your efforts to help us understand and protect the wildlife in the Duke Forest!

Inaugural Bruce and Ginny Roberts Duke Forest Intern Emma Childs with a forest friend 

It is our great pleasure to introduce Emma Childs, the first recipient of the newly established Bruce and Ginny Roberts Duke Forest Internship Fund. This generous fund, created by Bruce Roberts (MF '60, Ph.D. '63) and his wife Ginny Roberts of Delaware, Ohio, supports student internships at the Duke Forest Teaching and Research Laboratory. Their gift ensures that Duke Forest can support at least one student intern each year for the next decade.  Duke Forest interns gain valuable knowledge and experience while enhancing the hands-on management and conservation of the Duke Forest.

A lifelong admirer of Longleaf pinecones and Dogwood trees, Emma just finished her second year at the Nicholas School of the Environment studying forestry and ecosystem science & conservation. She comes to Durham from the Blue Ridge Mountains around Asheville, NC and spent the last decade farming, working at a community garden and pizza cafe, teaching in environmental education settings, and organizing grassroots conservation projects at a variety of non-profits.

She is extremely excited to work with Duke Forest this summer after having relished class time in these woods for the last four semesters.  She’s ready to have the soil of the Piedmont under her fingernails every day! She is particularly interested in ecologically focused forest management, rural working lands economies, thoughtful land use that overlaps agriculture, forestry, and conservation, as well as community health and climate resilience. Also a trained birth doula, she loves being in the forest, growing food, cooking food, sharing food, dancing of all kinds, hiking, watching birds from chickens to indigo buntings, and meeting new people. If you see her on a trail this summer, don’t hesitate to say hello!

2024 Summer Intern Sadie Horner in our Blackwood wildlife field

Duke Forest is also lucky to have Sadie Horner join our staff as an intern for the 2024 Summer.  Her internship is partly funded by our friends at Toney Lumber Company.

After living in the nature centric states of Colorado and Oregon, Sadie moved to Durham last year to begin a Master of Forestry at the Nicholas School. With an undergraduate degree in Environmental and Political Science, interning at the Duke Forest is a natural next step to dive deeper into humans’ interactions with our environment.

The outdoors holds more than just her work and school interests though, as Sadie is a lover of hiking, fly fishing, and finding great spots to read and for her dog, Solo, to swim. She also loves to cook, camp, and visit new places and restaurants with her partner Dylan.

She is thrilled to work with the Duke Forest this summer, learning the ins and outs of forest management and soaking up the knowledge of those around her. Sadie is interested in ecologically focused forest management that carefully balances the social, economic, and ecological aspects of the forest. If you spot Sadie in the forest this summer, feel free to say hi!

May ushered in the 2024 Forest Stewards Program with our staff training a corps of 34 Forest Stewards, 80% of whom are returning volunteers. The Stewards are now out and about, regularly walking their assigned routes on Duke Forest roads and foot trails.

What are the Forest Stewards up to? The Stewards’ core goal is to promote a culture of stewardship amongst the recreational community. While walking their routes, Forest Stewards educate visitors about the forest ecosystem and the many teaching, research, and forest management activities taking place, all of which are vulnerable to the impacts of recreation. Additionally, these volunteers serve as extra "eyes on the ground" and report any maintenance and stewardship needs that they identify to our staff.

This program began in 2022 (read more about the impact of the inaugural Forest Stewards Program here and here), and it is now one of our core volunteer offerings. Our staff is incredibly grateful to have this dedicated team of volunteers in the woods on a regular basis, acting as ambassadors and caretakers of the Duke Forest Teaching and Research Laboratory. Thank you, Forest Stewards.

Look out for the Stewards wearing their bright yellow vests in the Duke Forest this season.

2023 Forest Stewards pose during the annual Volunteer Cookout. (Photos of our 2024 Stewards coming soon!)

Our small team stays busy maintaining and managing this incredible land base for teaching, research, sustainable natural resource use, and conservation. Some of the things on our field crew's list this month are:

Mission Action and Support

Recreation

See a summary of our planned management activities for the current fiscal year.

The hum of the periodic cicadas has faded, but their mark on the trees is just beginning to show.  Female cicadas gouge linear cuts into branch tips to lay eggs, disrupting water flow to the branch tips.  The branch tips brown and droop, an effect known as flagging.  Flagging does not harm the overall health of the tree, and eventually, the branch tips will fall to the ground, allowing the cicada nymphs to burrow into the ground to await their next emergence.

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