There are currently two sites located on the North Star Preserve, one located within the aspen grove and one located near the aspen grove, in a transition zone between a fen and a meadow. Because the sites are located far from any buildings, checking the sites during any mishap requires an in-person visit. Elise, AGCI’s research associate, and I prepared ourselves for various outcomes. In the area where the station is located, multiple sources of disturbance to the station are always possible. Signs of bears, moose, and elk are all common in the area. Alternatively, there are many small mammals that could have chewed through the wires and caused the iRON equipment to stop collecting data. We armed ourselves with bear spray and reflective tape to fend small mammals off any exposed wires and brought along a toolbox with the full suite of equipment necessary to fix a toppled tower.

With the oldest of our stations having been installed in 2012, the iRON is a relatively young network. Our vision, though, is to collect data not just for a few years, but for decades and generations to come. While this vision is perhaps ambitious, it draws upon the inspiration and experience provided by examples of successful long term monitoring efforts.

This time of year is a beautiful season for field work. We have been visiting our monitoring stations for their spring check-ups and updates, and we've been generating all kinds of questions about the natural world along the way!

These wee, furry beasties are cute enough to look at. Voles belong to the order Rodentia and are similar in appearance to a short-tailed version of their relative the mouse. Some species, including the prairie vole, mate for life. With an average length of 5-6 inches, they are just about the right size to fit in the palm of an adult's hand--not that handling a wild rodent is ever recommended.