27 Sep Weather Permitting

Smoke, fire, and a little bit of rain over the last several weeks have severely limited the ways and days we have been able to go into the field. Even today, we thought we may be in the clear to collect some more data before we send our rental survey equipment back to Boise, but with an AQI (Air Quality Index) topping out at 240 PM2.5 we were forced behind our desks.

GIS Refresh

Though less than ideal, I’m doing my best to make the most of this deskbound time by refreshing the GIS skills I only briefly developed in college. My focus has been on georeferencing and analyzing aerial imagery from past decades. Some of the imagery I’ve been able to use dates back to 1947! The goal of this project is to take note of historical landslides, avalanches, and burned areas to determine the slope stability and streambed shifts in a specific area. The hope is to find a stable enough spot to construct a bridge that will last a lifetime. Intermittently, I have been able to go into the field with the engineers to survey the site I’ve been analyzing, and it’s been such a neat experience to see this area from so many different perspectives as we decide the best site for this bridge.

One of the unique aspects that I am really appreciating about working in engineering at the Forest Service is the importance of considering all the values at risk when building new projects. In a lot of private sector engineering, we likely wouldn’t have to consider the resources that construction might impact to the same extent that we do here. This interdisciplinary approach to this work has given me the opportunity to meet specialists from the fisheries, heritage, and hydrology departments, and I’m looking forward to engaging with other teams as my time here continues.

Attention to Detail

Other than GIS explorations, as weather has permitted we have gone into the field and I have made an intentional effort to take note of the incredible details that make up this forest. Working 40 hours a week behind a desk can really take a toll on my mental health if I’m not proactive. The learning experience of how to preserve my wellbeing has felt just as valuable to me as gaining insight into the engineering field. These photos are some of the little things that have brought me joy on hard days at work: