'Lichen' Your Internship

Looking for Sensitive Species in the Wayne National Forest

Two Environmental and Plant Biology students are really "lichen" their internship at the Wayne National Forest.

"First, a little background on our internship with the U.S. Forest Service," write Trevor Somogyi '18 and Emily Penn '19 in their blog. "Our goal is to survey every inch of the proposed 30 miles of mountain bike trails in search of designated RFSS (Regional Forester Sensitive Species) as well as documenting the extent of NNIS (Non-Native Invasive Species).

"By doing this, we're making sure the creation of these trails do not interfere with or destroy some of the rare species that occur on certain parts of the Wayne.

"Now that you know a little bit about our day-to-day job, we'd like to share with you a special opportunity we had to meet some of the leading experts on lichens and bryophytes. This is one of our favorite aspects of our internship at the WNF because aside from our survey work, we have had several opportunities to bolster our knowledge in the field of botany. We spent the day at the Ironton section of the Wayne with Barb Andreas and Ray Showman, both members of the Ohio Moss and Lichen Association, looking at the stunning diversity in the area."

Read more at "These Botanists are Really 'Lichen' Their Internship at the Wayne."