Field Tested: Leah B.

Leah was an intern from Whitman College and worked in the field on our Lynx and Wildfire Project during the summer of 2025.  

Log Walking and Lynx Conservation

My name is Leah Barnes. I am a junior at Whitman majoring in Biology-Environmental Studies, and this summer I interned at Home Range Wildlife Research in Winthrop, WA. I worked on a project that researched Canada lynx habitat in the 2005 Tripod megafire burned area to ultimately uncover the best modes of lynx conservation.

In the winter, a crew snowmobiled into the study area and snowshoed along lynx tracks in the snow, backtracking their movements and learning the story behind them. They mapped the lynx trails as they went, flagging anytime a lynx attempted to hunt or succeeded in killing its meal – usually a snowshoe hare. The graduate student in charge of this research then placed those trails in GIS, creating a plot every 400 meters, at hunting attempt sites, and at kill sites. She also copied each trail, spun it, and placed it in a spot where a lynx did not move through as a control. 

This summer, we followed those trails, hiking through backcountry in the North Cascades. We bushwacked, crossed creeks, stumbled across logs, and found beautiful views and creatures. At each plot, we took a variety of habitat data. We operated extremely accurate GPS systems which were connected to a mapping software on a phone to find the plots. Then, we stood in the center of each plot and used a range finder to mark 8-meter by 8-meter circular plots. We measured data on the area, stand, structure, deciduous shrubs, overstory and understory trees, and logs in the large plot, and seedlings and saplings within a smaller 2.1-by-2.1-meter plot.

Backtracked plots were flagged from the winter crew, but random trails were not. Along random trails, we took continuous data on the stand type as it changed. The winter crew had already done that for backtracking data. We also had to ensure precision with our GPS accuracy of plots. 

At the end of the day, we entered data back at the office. We worked four days a week, 10 hours a day. We also began camping when trails were too far to drive out and back every day. On the weeks we camped, we were essentially on the clock for four days straight, getting as many plots done as possible while were gone. At the beginning of the summer, we had 760 vegetation plots to complete. Defying expectations, we completed every plot with time to spare at the end of the internship. 

I had not undertaken field work prior to this internship, and it was my most difficult job thus far. However, I would not have chosen to do anything else this summer. I was able to work with a nonprofit that carries out increasingly important conservation work, meet interesting people, and explore the Methow Valley. I gained valuable backcountry experience, wildlife biology knowledge, and interpersonal skills and developed many new connections. I feel very lucky to have played a small role in the conservation of a species and am grateful to all the people who helped make this experience happen.