Research
At Cool Springs, we conduct research to better understand the balance between the environment and forestry, and to help provide information to leading scientists and universities.
Bird Research
Active research includes migration monitoring and point counts for breeding birds. Migration monitoring takes place from mid-March through June and then again in September through mid-October. A two-mile route is run at least once a week during this period and all migratory birds are recorded. This data is supplied to a national database in Houston, Texas. One “point count” type survey is also conducted each summer to survey for breeding birds.
Reptile and Amphibian Research
Monitoring of "herps" (reptiles and amphibians) began in April 1999 and has continued since. A variety of techniques are used for live trapping of herps, including coverboard and PVC pipe transects, minnow and turtle traps, and drift fences with pitfall traps. Sixty-seven species of reptiles and amphibians have been encountered at Cool Springs. Students and teachers have assisted in this research.
Water Quality Monitoring
Monitoring of Water Quality began in April 2008. Testing of several chemical and physical parameters is done weekly on the Cool Springs property at several distinct aquatic habitats. These sites include: permanent ponds, vernal ponds, swamp, creek, and river. This is being done as a base line comparison of different aquatic habitat water properties. In the future, as this develops, we hope to expand this into a more extensive survey to include additional sites and their biota.
Project and Thesis Studies
Last updated June 20, 2012
