Wildlife Monitoring in Mukilteo - Steve Wallace

Steve Wallace
Bio 241
McFarland
June 11, 2017

1. Wildlife Monitoring in Mukilteo
    9:00AM-12:00PM
    Event Organizer: Grace Coale
    Email: grace.coale@email.edcc.edu
    Phone: (425) 640-1882

2. The organization that sponsored this even was the EdCC Anthropology Department and  Center for Service Learning.  The purpose of this event was  and is to help the Snohomish County Airport and the City of Mukilteo balance the wildlife and human needs in Big Gulch. This is done through phohraphing animals with motion-activated cameras and tracking them.  Another goal of the event is to teach participants the signs of commmon animals and how to track them.

3. My duties at this event were to learn the common signs of species in the Big Gulch and look for those signs.  I was also assigned to replace the bateeries in one of the two motion activated cameras that are used in the Big Gulch to photograph the animals.

4. (A)This service learning opportunity provided me with more of awareness of the role of science in my community.  I live in the city of Mukilteo and  this provided me with  information about the concerns the city of Mukilteo has on the wildlife within the city limits.  The city has hired the anthropology department to closely monitor the wildlife in this area to make sure it is remaining unharmed and within controllable limits.   When the city undertakes new construction projects they want to know the impact it is having on the needs of both humans and wildlife in the area.  This experience gave me insight on the role of science in society.   It's extremely important to know the habitats that's surround us and to closely monitor them.  Humans often take on huge projects that have impacts on wildlife within those areas.   Using science to understand and monitor these areas helps us to create better projects that have the least amount of impact on the current species that already occupy the area.

(B) This service learning opportunity was related to the course material in several ways.  Animals have the very similar anatomy as humans do.   It was interesting to see when tracking and learning about the various animals in how they halve adapted and use their senses to survive.

4. What happens when there is a decrease in the population of a species that is being tracked?

    How many different species are in the City of Mukilteo that are being tracked?

    How long has this Monitoring and tracking been taking place?

    Has the city ever reconsidered moving or canceling a project because of the impact on wildlife in the area?