A Day of Poop, Paws, and Pines

The days just keep getting better and better. Today began with expert tracker Dan Gardoqui. What a guy! I was overwhelmed by his skill and knowledge. My new goal is to try to be more like that guy (even 1/100 as good would be acceptable to me). The things he pointed out (such as sap tapping evidence, gastropod slime trails, flying squirrel scat, etc.) was mind boggling, and the best part is now I have many more things to look for. I will try my best to improve my skills when it comes to identifying all the signs that animals leave behind. We all certainly had a great example in Dan. A few other things we found were: a Hermit Thrush fledgling, a couple of wood frogs, a garter snake, a scarab beetle and pupice, a newt, a porcupine nest (with mounds of scat), moose scat, branches with evidence of porcupine feeding, and many other interesting things. I wish we had Dan with us all the time to point out the things that either we did not know existed, or we overlooked. However, I hope we can get to the point where we can discover most of these things on our own. I can't wait for our next excursion into the woods.

I was also grateful that we had the opportunity to hear from Dan Warren, a local farmer. He made some very good points that many of us as non-farmers don't realize. One being the fact that a farmer can still practice sustainable farming and not be considered "organic". He also empasized the importance of wildlife management and the circumstances of not doing so. I personally found this to be important since I come from an area where deer hunting in a lot of cases can be the difference between being well fed or going hungry. So many times as environmentalists, we are quick to point the finger at certain groups before we even consider the other side of an issue or a situation. To truly be strong in what we do and how we present ourselves, we must understand all sides and aspects of an issue before we come to a conclusion. This will only make our arguments stronger.

I sure wish I had remembered my camera this week, I really missed some great opportunities to capture some wonderful images. That will be first on my list of things to bring from Vermont next week.