Weekly Highlights
MEMORANDUM
From: Gabrielle Boudreaux Bodin
Subject: Weekly Highlights, USGS National Wetlands Research
Center, February 16, 2012
Departmental/Bureau News - Current
- USGS To Provide Briefing to La. Governor’s Office of Homeland Security: Staff of the USGS Louisiana Water Science Center and of the USGS National Wetlands Research Center will present a briefing to the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) on February 28, 2012. LWSC Director George Arcement, NWRC geographer Stephen Hartley, and USGS National Spatial Data Infrastructure State Liaison Chris Cretini will inform new leadership and staff of GOHSEP about USGS capabilities and past support provided in the face of emergencies. (Stephen Hartley; Lafayette, La.; 337-266-8543)
- NWRC Staff Host Job Shadowers: Staff from the USGS National Wetlands Research Center hosted students from L.J. Alleman Middle School and from Ascension Episcopal School on February 8 and 9, 2012, as part of a job shadowing program. NWRC scientists Larry Allain, Richard Day, and Camille Stagg, and contract scientist Bogdan Chivoiu showed the student various areas of research occurring at the Center, explained what their jobs entail, and what it takes to be a scientist. (Gabrielle Boudreaux Bodin; Lafayette, La.; 337-266-8655)
- NWRC Staff Meet with NASA to Discuss Forecast Mekong Projects: USGS National Wetlands Research Center Spatial Analysis Branch Chief Scott Wilson, Physical Scientist Craig Conzelmann, Ecologist Kathryn Spear, and contractor Marc Comeaux met with Bill Graham from the NASA Applied Science and Technology Program at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi February 14, 2012, to discuss the automation of generating MODIS-based NDVI and NDWI data products in support of the U.S. State Department-sponsored Forecast Mekong projects. (Scott Wilson; Lafayette, La.; 337-266-8644
- Students To Visit NWRC: Students from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints will visit the USGS National Wetlands Research Center on February 16, 2012. Information Specialist Gabrielle Bodin will provide a presentation on Louisiana’s coastal wetlands and show the students some of the research being conducted at the Center. (Gabrielle Boudreaux Bodin; Lafayette, La.; 337-266-8655)
- NWRC Scientist To Present Lecture in Australia on Modeling Coastal Wetlands: USGS National Wetlands Research Center scientist James Grace will present a lecture at the University of Western Australia the week of February 20, 2012. In that lecture, he will present examples of NWRC’s work on modeling coastal wetlands. (James Grace; Lafayette, La.; 337-266-8632)
- NWRC Continues Work with DOI Federal Urban Waters Partnership: On February 21, 2012, USGS National Wetlands Research Center Director Phil Turnipseed will discuss NWRC’s involvement in the New Orleans/Pontchartrain Pilot Project of the Federal Urban Waters Partnership during a teleconference led by Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior John Tubbs and Lisa Pelstring. The NWRC is working on an advanced geospatial computer application and a Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act-led video in cooperation with the University of New Orleans Coastal Education and Research Facility located in New Orleans, Louisiana. The NWRC is an active participate in the EPA-led Federal Urban Waters Partnership in the New Orleans/Lake Pontchartrain area and currently has ongoing activities with several cooperators. (Gabrielle Boudreaux Bodin; Lafayette, La.; 337-266-8655)
- La. Alligator Advisory Council Briefing on Feral Hog Research: USGS National Wetlands Research Center geographer Stephen Hartley will provide a briefing concerning geospatial mapping of feral hog activity in Louisiana and Mississippi to the Louisiana Alligator Advisory Council in Baton Rouge, La., on February 23, 2012. Wild swine [Feral hogs (Sus scrofa domestica)] are arguably the most serious mammalian invasive species on Federal lands and are in direct conflict with goals to manage lands for natural and healthy ecosystems. Throughout the southern United States their foraging activities have been documented to adversely affect wetlands, restoration plantings, endangered and threatened species, and significantly alter plant community composition. Little is known about their movement patterns, populations and habitat destruction within Louisiana and Mississippi. This study will use hybrid radio and satellite GPS tracking collars on wild boar and feral swine to 1) track their movement patterns on the landscape, 2) leverage higher removal rates and 3) to facilitate removals under conditions otherwise not possible. The results of this research will provide natural resource managers with knowledge of how to better manage and respond to invasive species and will allow managers to predict the encroachment of feral hogs on adjacent lands. (Stephen Hartley; Lafayette, La.; 337-266-8543)
- Students from Comeaux High School To Visit NWRC: Students from Comeaux High School (Lafayette, La.) will visit the USGS National Wetlands Research Center on February 24, 2012. The students will learn about Louisiana’s coastal wetlands and tour the Center to learn about research being conducted. (Gabrielle Boudreaux Bodin; Lafayette, La.; 337-266-8655
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