Diario de fieldofmax

This journal post is to remind me that I have a burning curiosity to know what the raven population is on JBLM, and whether any of those massively fat crows in the parking lot of Waller Hall (go figure) might be Ravens. It is supposed to be unlikely, since Ravens aren't as social, but who knows- Waller Hall isn't known to be the most social place either.

I have started posting observations on Joint Base Lewis McChord in Tacoma, WA. iNaturalist data is extremely sparse for JBLM, as well as for Tacoma and surrounding areas. To pick a species to illustrate this, the Garry Oak is sparsely represented around here, compared to Seattle and Vancouver BC. When I went looking on Abebooks and the web for resources on Garry Oaks, I found a huge enthusiasm for the oaks in Vancouver documented in publications from the 1970s onward, leading down to Seattle and Portland, both economically flourishing and hubs for forestry education. The comparatively weak showing of naturalist impulses in Tacoma by my eclectic survey still seems somewhat surprising since we have Point Defiance, Nisqually Basin close by, and other wonderful features, such as the oak prairie habitats of Joint Base Lewis McChord. I recently took a tour of Point Defiance guided by an experienced arborist, who confirmed this perception of Tacoma.

Tacoma is rich in trees and parks. I know the city is engaged in a project to grow the canopy, and that's awesome. There is room for more observation in this town.

My goal is to find out from the base ecologist specifically what kind of data would be of interest. To start with, I'll see what kind of reports are online since the base is required to comply with regulations protecting certain habitats. I'll use that to focus my attention. I've also noticed many Garry oaks being cut down on McChord, so I may pay special attention to the oak prairies and oak groves, which I love anyway. Finally, I'll be surfing on my learning curve with regard to fungi.