The Last Dam Summer

Oh, the many shades of salmonberry!

As I've mentioned already, I started a new job with Olympic National Park back in May. I was hired as one of the two members of the Elwha Dam Removal Revegetation Team. My official title is biological technician, but many people ask: "what do you do?"

I often answer, "Pick berries."

While this is a true statement, I also take said berries, macerate them in a blender (smoothie-style) and set them out to dry (fruit leather-style). Sweet job, eh?


More specifically, we are collecting a diversity of native plants in the form of seed (berries, fruits, etc.) and cuttings. Then, we are bringing them to the Park greenhouse where we either dry and store or propagate the plants. We also care for plants and seeds that were collected for the project in previous seasons and conduct weed surveys along the Elwha River. The two Elwha dams that were constructed in the early 1900's resulted in the formation of two large lakes. As both dams begin to come down in 2011, and we will revegetate the land where the lakes now stand.

So, I do pick berries for my job. However, instead of eating them, we are using them to reveg the largest watershed in Olympic National Park in hopes of restoring a healthy and functioning ecosystem that includes thriving native salmon populations. I heart this job.

My teammate macerating salmonberries (Rubus spectabilis)