Our census interns have been the engine of our forest census. We’ve had many over the years – thanks in part to our fortunate relationships with the Student Conservation Association and Alabama A&M.
But this year’s crew deserves special praise. Some of them, like Gabriel Sullivan-Brugger, will be taking their skills to other important conservation and wildlife programs. Our long term census leader, Joao Pedro de Godoy, hopes to further his studies at prestigious universities in Europe. We’re going to miss them, but we’re doing all we can to help these folks find the positions and opportunities they deserve. That’s part of our mission.
Fortunately, three of our research interns will become part of our permanent research staff this year. Nathan Paris, an expert botanist who did his masters work on native plants of northeast Alabama, will be leading our new forest census and shortleaf pine restoration efforts.
Mary Wells will be coordinating our bird, bat, invertebrate and cave research, working to make sure researchers have the resources they need to do their work here.
Landon Rakestraw will be coordinating our aquatic, mammal and fire management programs. All will be working to polish the census data they’ve so carefully collected.
Keep your eyes on Sakora Smeby. She started work as a census intern, but has evolved into a member of our communications and outreach team. You’ve already enjoyed posts and photos from Sakora over the past several months, and she’ll be alternating with Bill Finch to keep you up to date on what’s happening at the center. Look for her column logo in future newsletters.
They’re the folks who are going to help us keep this research center growing into the next century.
Finally, this non-profit is finally ready for some serious business. And for the first time in 7 years we have staff members ready to tack the business of being a non-profit. Connie Schulz is our new operations manager. Becky Sims is our new facilities manager and scheduler. They’re part-time for now, but they’re already making a world of difference in how and how well we work.
We started eight years ago with the ambition of creating the largest and most diverse forest census in North America—an outdoor laboratory for forest studies unequalled on the continent.
This week, the census is done. All 60 hectares of it, about 150 acres, an area the size of 120 football fields, 3.75 miles long and two-thirds of a mile wide.
There will be more to do to put the data to bed. Our tree ID experts will need to go back and give names to a few thousand trees. The research staff will spend a few months peering into computers, double checking the quality of our work and data. We’ll unveil it all in a grand opening in late spring.
But the amazing and arduous work of measuring, geolocating, tagging and mapping more than 85,000 trees is done.
There were fits and starts over the years (Covid, bad surveys, funding lags, etc.). But our latest census team is so efficient, I actually asked them to slow walk this last week or two so we could relish and photograph the final steps.
Now the fun begins.
We’re working with a great forest ecology team to begin a study of the history of this forest over the past several hundred years. We’ll know more about what role fire history played in the creation of this forest, how humans have changed it, how growth rates have responded to changes in climate.
We’ve started a program with University of Georgia and National Forest Service researchers to look at whether native ant species – which play a central role in maintaining our native wildflowers – are vulnerable to replacement by invasive ants that don’t give a fig for wildflowers.
We’re plotting a first of its kind “DNA census” which will look at the critical differences between individual trees – something we must know if we’re going to save our ash, butternut, elm, sassafras, beech and black walnut trees from aggressive new diseases devouring many North American forests.
We’re exploring the deep hollows underneath the plot, thanks to the efforts of one of the world’s top cave researchers, Hazel Barton, and in the process we’re learning a lot about how the caves shape the forest, and – oddly enough – what they may tell us about life on other planets. If we can find the sweet spots deep in the caves that hold ancient deposits, we may discover what the forests of Paint Rock looked like tens of thousands of years ago.
Dawn Lemke and her team at Alabama A&M worked with Luben Dimov at University of Vermont, Rick Condit of the Chicago Field Museum and the Research Center to prepare the first paper to utilize some of the plot data.
We’ve got research lined up on rare migratory birds, on new species of trees and flowers, on species long thought extinct, on the future of Alabama’s largest woody grass (the native bamboo we call cane) – all of which intersects with our census plot. There are lidar fly-overs with Oak Ridge National Laboratories and universities in Maine and New Hampshire , who’ll use our ground data to test the accuracy of their remote sensing.
There will be more, much more, both on the census plot and off. We’ll be featuring and expanding on that work more or less weekly in this newsletter. So stay tuned.
But in the meanwhile, celebrate this accomplishment with us. Offer up a toast, and remember the effort of the many research interns over the past 6 years who made this possible.
Photos by Gabe Sullivan-Brugger Text by Sakora Smeby
As the year kicks off with many doors of opportunity opening, the tree census that has been worked on diligently by our many census crews wraps up. Each group carried on, season to season, working through the heat of the summer, crisp fall air, and the relatively mild winter temperatures. However, this year, on January 9th, the Paint Rock valley was engulfed in snow, offering a picturesque landscape. The crew took the day to stay inside, and input data and two of the members seized the moment, exploring the forest and capturing it in this rare state. Gabe Sullivan-Brugger went camera in hand, out into the flurrying field, with Joao Pedro de Godoy leading him on the path.
I had the chance to speak with the two men about their time in the snow, I first spoke with Mr. Sullivan-Brugger. When asked what he enjoyed about the experience, he answered:
“It showcased all of the soft edges of the land and captured the natural shape of the topography. It allowed everything to be heard more distinctly, similar to when the streets are clear in the middle of the night. Ambient noise was cut by the snow, drawing focus to typically-hushed sounds like birds swooping down to eat off of shrubs.”
Experiencing snowy mountains was exciting for Gabe, who comes from Athens, Georgia. There, snow is scarce and usually comes down as sleet, whereas this time around, it fell gracefully and formed a powdery layer on the ground.
Gabe says the most notable part of the winter wonderland was the striking appearance of wildlife contrasted against the snow. Vibrant birds danced through the valley, and deer peeked out behind trees.
The next interviewee was Joao, who shared enthusiasm with Gabe, coming from a place of even further and warmer origin – Brazil. The few times Paint Rock has received snow, Joao, a man of few words, says he felt the satisfaction of seeing and feeling something unlike anything he had encountered back home- snowfall and frigid temperatures.
We are happy to be able to share the results of their breathtaking and incomparable time wandering in the frosted forest. The photos, taken by Sullivan-Brugger, are the highlights of their adventure. It is the first time he has used our extensive digital camera system meant to encourage conservation photography. It seems that Gabe has an extremely good feel for the photography process, I am sure he will add it to his tool belt in his future journeys.
On November 10th, we were fortunate enough to celebrate our seventh year as a research center! The anniversary was commemorated through our annual harvest celebration. We gathered family, friends, and neighbors together to enjoy a beautiful fall day and an overview of our accomplishments, as well as our vision for what’s ahead.
The Paint Rock harvest celebration is a festive event meant to show gratitude to all vested parties for the work they do to help us move forward. This year, we were joined by the McFarlen family- in droves. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the family’s farm was located on what is now the research center’s property. We were glad to welcome them, and we’re looking forward to hearing stories about the land and how it was used during that period.
Paint Rock’s Executive Director, Bill Finch, drew in a large crowd of peers, friends, and neighbors to listen to the progress in restoring the shortleaf pine and its ecosystem back to the Southeastern United States. In his hour-long conversation, Bill dove into many of the specific wonders that make Alabama and the Paint Rock Valley special, its biological diversity across plants and animals, and the biological importance of caves.
We would like to thank those who continue to help us keep moving forward. You are turning the tide of the Southeast’s ecological future. To those of you who are subscribed to the newsletter and share it with those around you, your importance cannot be overstated! We want to make our gratitude clear and hope that you all continue to tune in for more updates on the research center.
The Southern Cumberlands Plateau and Ridge and Valley systems shelter the greatest diversity of tree species and aquatic life in the Appalachians. Paint Rock Valley supports almost double the oak species found in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Moderate elevation, isolation from glacial impacts, and diverse topography and soils helped buffer life from climate extremes.
The Nature Conservancy’s Sharp Bingham Preserve is an outstanding example of the region’s diversity and long-term climate resilience. Within a few thousand acres, complex topography and hydrology support an unusually diverse and intact forest. High diversity of species, genera and families and numerous relictual species indicate its long-term importance as a climate refugium.
Paint Rock’s distinctive landscape also offers what may be a unique opportunity to study and understand every aspect of the ecosystem, from its surprisingly undisturbed forests and soils, down through the extensive network of caves and underground streams that feed the Paint Rock River itself, one of the most biologically rich streams in the nation.
The research here may well help determine the future of North American forests. But just as important, we aim to use this facility to train a new generation of scientists who not only understand diversity, but also reflect it. We’re working with multiple funding agencies to develop a program that attracts minority and disadvantaged students and allows them to work directly with the world’s top scientists.
Center for large tree diversity in North America. Bonap.orgCenter for deciduous tree and shrub diversity in North America bonap.org
Paint Rock Forest Research Center. 3400 County Road 10 Paint Rock, AL. 35744
The smallest creatures at Paint Rock are getting top billing in international nature documentaries.
Paint Rock’s exceptional display of fireflies — lighting bugs, as we like to call them down here — are the latest creatures to headline in a documentary created by an internationally respected film crew.
Pyralis Firefly, Eastern Firefly, Common Eastern Firefly, Big Dipper Firefly (Photinus pyralis)
United States: Alabama: Tuscaloosa Co.
Tulip Tree Springs off Echola Rd.; Elrod
24-Jun-2016
J.C. Abbott #2836 & K.K. AbbottChristmas Lights (Photuris tremulans)
UNITED STATES: Alabama, Jackson Co.
Sharp Bingham Preserve
Paint Rock
3.June.2021
John C. Abbott
Ann Prum’s Coneflower Studios spent almost a week at the Paint Rock Forest Research Center in June, filming the lightning bug extravaganza at various sites in Paint Rock Valley. The footage will play a significant role in a PBS special, Bugs that Rule the World, a four-part series on the world of insects.
Ann and cinematographer Russell Kaye arrived in Paint Rock in a van loaded with high tech photography equipment, and spent a couple of days touring with our Research Center team to find the best possible spots for filming. But of course, lights, camera, action has an entirely different meaning when filming fireflies – the only light that matters is the light of the fireflies, and the crew had to find areas free of the light pollution of the region’s growing cities. The undeveloped coves of Paint Rock are a preserve for nature’s nights, where stars and fireflies can still glow in exceptional numbers.
Ann Prum’s Coneflower Studios spent almost a week at the Paint Rock Forest Research Center in June, filming the lightning bug extravaganza at various sites in Paint Rock Valley. The footage will play a significant role in a PBS special, Bugs that Rule the World, a four-part series on the world of insects
This isn’t the first time we’ve had documentaries on Paint Rock insect life. How did such small creatures come to attract big name filmmakers? It’s largely because two of the nation’s top entomologists and nature photographers, Kendra and John Abbott, directed them here. John is the chief curator of the University of Alabama Museums. Kendra is a Blount Scholar working with the University’s School of Communication, and also a member of the research center’s Science Advisory Council. Because of their skills, they move in heady circles. And fortunately, they saw the potential of Paint Rock as a major international resource years ago, and began photographing here.
That’s how Silverback Films – David Attenborough’s go-to film crew from Brighton, England – became one of the research center’s first customers. Their footage of Paint Rock’s tiger beetles and diverse trapdoor spiders has already made its way onto Netflix. And the Abbott’s influence is largely why Coneflower Studios came to photograph the fireflies
Here’s Coneflower’s description of their current project:
“A handful of scientists and enthusiasts around the globe (will) explore the beauty and complexity of bugs, discovering cunning adaptations, bizarre behaviors, and why insects are known as “the little things that run the world.” Investigations into a worldwide insect “apocalypse” highlight the critical roles bugs play on the planet and the bleak picture of a future without them.
From pollinators like moths, bees and butterflies that bring color to the field and food to our plates, to tiny insect assassins to the clean-up crews that work the land and purify the soil, insects have been running the world since before the time of the dinosaurs. Stunning macro cinematography reveals their color, complex body plans and surprisingly charming lives in otherworldly detail, from intricate mating rituals to staggering physical transformations straight out of science fiction. A glimpse into our long history of dependence on insects reveals that even in some of the planet’s most remote corners, this relationship – thousands of years old – may now be on the verge of collapse. Bugs that Rule the World takes viewers on a fantastic voyage of discovery, revealing that although they always seem to be buzzing around us, we hardly know our fellow Earthlings at all.”
We are very grateful to the Abbotts and the Coneflower film crew for allowing us to be a part of their work. We appreciate their commitment to educating viewers on the necessity of the little guys surrounding us and making our earth livable. If you wish to support them then you can either keep an eye out for the release of the documentary “Bugs that Rule the World,” you can go to their websites (linked below), or you can check in with us regularly and we will make a post announcing its release.
Bird banding is a method of tagging birds for the recording of their migratory routes and gaining insight on their tendencies, that would have otherwise been difficult to observe. This is helpful for scientists working to develop protection for bird species as the world around them develops.
As we ramp up our newest project of bird documentation, led by science director Ruby Hammond, the practice of banding is put at the forefront of our efforts. The process works by capturing the birds, harmlessly, with mist nets (incredibly thin nets) that they fly right into due to their inability to see them. They are collected using small cloth bags, and then carefully extracted by their feet. After the data is collected and they are banded, and released.
Alabama Audubon came to us as spectators to witness Ruby’s two-day bird banding presentation. With stretched out nets, invisible to any unsuspecting passersby, and a table littered with measuring equipment, Ruby was set to lead an eventful demonstration.
Hans Paul, observing birds passing though trees.
The group, led by the Audubon’s program coordinator, Andrew Lydeard, could be seen hoasting a pair of binoculars around their necks or cameras in their hands, with eyes peeled and fingers constantly popping up to point at a bird in a tree. They were a jovial bunch, excited to see birds common and rare alike.
From left: Mark Banaszak Holl, Becky Smith, and Anne Sweeney from the Alabama Audubon group talking with Beth and Bill Finch
Over the course of their visit, Ruby’s nets – aided by stealthy movements of onlookers and speakers projecting bird calls- entrapped Northern parulas, Chickadees, and Yellow throated Warblers. Her procedure for banding the captured birds included: measuring wings, tails, weight and feet (for the bands) then distinguishing the age and gender of the birds.
After their release, the birds were on their way back to either their local habitat or on their long journey to finish their migration. The birding group that typically spend their time identifying and appreciating bird species, came out of the forest with a healthy understanding of the process that goes into banding the birds, recording the data, and drawing up blueprints to protect the objects of their fascination.
It’s hard to understand natural systems when all you can see is computer monitors and sheetrock.
One of the missions of the Paint Rock Forest Research Center is to expose students interested in sciences to the delightful chaos of nature in the flesh. University of West Alabama botanist Brian Keener appreciates that, as well, and he’s helping develop an educational center on the Cahaba River. But Brian has made the Paint Rock center an important destination for the students in his Alabama Natural Communities class — because, as he notes, it exposes them to a fascinating and exceptionally diverse natural system that they’re unlikely to see anywhere else.
Brian Keener, PhD Professor of Biology and Alabama Natural Commuities at University of West Alabama. Founder of the Alabama Plant Atlas and Director of the Cahaba Biodiversity Research Center.
Twelve tired students and teachers staggered in well after dark Saturday night But they buzzed with excitement when they work up Sunday morning and got a better vision of where they were.
With golden timing, they arrived as Paint Rock’s most famous wildflowers were beginning to showcase their colors. The stars, as always, were the seemingly endless stretches of bluebells, surrounded by dancing swallowtail butterflies. But Brian made sure they made note of the bright yellow Celandine poppies, the amusing dangling pantaloons of the Dutchmen’s britches, and the intense purple woodland larkspurs. It wasn’t just a sight to behold. Students and professors tasted and sniffed every aromatic, edible plant (pulled straight from the ground) and offered to them.
Keener runs the Alabama Plant Atlas, which holds specimens of every species of plant know from Alabama. His knowledge of the Alabama flora, from one end of the state to the other, is encylopedic. And so when Brian tells the students there isn’t another wildflower site (or sight!) like this in Alabama, and maybe in the South, they pay attention.
The trip provided insight into the younger generation’s optimism for the future. One student, studying to become a middle school science teacher, expressed her excitement about watching young minds develop and children grow in their passion for science and the outdoors. Many of her peers agreed and shared an appreciation for the abundance of hands-on learning experiences that students now get to have, rather than just covering them in lectures or reading about them in textbooks.
Keener may well be the state’s best botanist. But we think even he would agree that Paint Rock is the best teacher.
That’s the hard labor behind scientific discovery and advancement. At times it can be as numbing as assembly line work or slapping pepperoni on Domino’s pizzas. The difference is knowing that you’re doing something lasting and significant.
Ask the folks who’ve helped us map, measure, and identify well over 50,000 trees in the Paint Rock Forest Dynamics Census plot. Most of us have a hard time imagining the scale of forests anymore, so let me put it in terms we understand all too well. A typical WalMart parking lot covers 10 or so acres. Our census plot covers 150 acres – the size of 15 super-sized WalMart parking lots
Ryan Long who has been with us for the better part of two year will be leaving for the University of Georgia for a Ph.D.
Kennedy Norris has a master in entomology from Jacksonville State and will be getting married to Ryan and moving with him to Athen, Ga. also pursue a Ph.D.
Now, imagine you had to precisely map, measure and describe every car in a slammed-full Super WalMart parking lot. Do that 50 times, and you get a sense of how monumental this effort is. The rocks and rattlesnakes and unanticipated encounters with nature make it more engaging than counting cars. But there’s no mistake it’s work.
A year or two into this census, we recognized why no one else in North America is doing a census at this scale, even though the scientific benefits are great. It involves an enormous amount of labor, and it’s quite expensive. More than a million dollars has now gone into the census. It started with funds from Lyndhurst Foundation and a USDA capacity building grant through Alabama A&M in 2018. We slogged through COVID and when that grant ran out, we supported the effort with the help of many friends – foundations like Lyndhurst, Goldenrod, Munson, individual large donors like Gates and Margot Shaw, Nancy and Johnny Johns, Cliff and Cindy Martin, the Cynthia Neal estate – and more than 100 other donors who’ve contributed the funds when we needed them most.
What those dollars paid for first and foremost is engaging a new generation in the work of nature. More than three dozen up and coming scientists and naturalists have now participated in the census. Believe me, they have a harder job than most folks you know as they climb the steep slopes of Paint Rock, balancing scientific calculation with the grace of a mountain goat.
But we also work to make sure that they understand the significance of where they are and what they’re doing, and we look for ways to help them translate that into a lifetime of experiences and achievements. We enjoy looking back through the photos and remembering how each of them were affected by their encounters with one of North America’s richest forest ecosystems.
And we remember with gratefulness how hard they’ve had to work to build the science infrastructure that we’re creating here, one tree at a time.
This past year’s crew has been challenged more than most. Because of funding restraints, we reduced the size of the census crew significantly from the first few years. Fortunately, we were able to bring back a couple of crew members from 2022 – Joao Pedro de Godoy and Ryan Long. Their experience, under the guidance of our science director Ruby Hammond, helped us develop more efficient census methods that will speed our work in the future. Kennedy Norris and Sakora Smeby quickly got into the swing of things. And they all persevered in spite of the many curveballs. They had to inch their way through some of the thickest forests on the census plot – forests so thick, we repeatedly ran out of tags for labeling the trees. And then, we discovered that the survey grid that is so critical to helping us census the trees had a gaping hole. Working with local surveyor Mike Stanley, they became extraordinarily adept surveyors – which requires another level of scientific diligence and patience.
Forest Census crew in the field. Ryan Long, Kennedy Norris, Joao De Godoy
And in spite of all the obstacles, they have exceeded our goal for this year’s census. Our next crew will pick up in the midst of columns 36 and 37, more than 60% through the plot. By the end of this year, we hope that the first census of the largest forest dynamics plot in North America will be about 86% complete.
Ryan and Kennedy are now officially affianced, and will be moving on this week – to the University of Georgia, where they’ll both be pursuing doctorates. Congratulations on all accounts! We’ll continue to work with them to make sure they have the best research opportunities when they get there. We’re optimistic that their unique insights into the plants, insects and forest ecology encountered on the plot are going to translate into significant scientific advances.
Sakora Smeby was hired part time to help with communications and outreach for the Research Center.
It’s to our immense benefit that Joao will continue with the census this year. He’ll be helping Ruby and our new crew leader train other young scientists, and he’s learning new skills all the time – he’s now in charge of our seed processing program. We’ll be looking for ways to help Joao make his experiences here a platform for his future. And we hope you’ll be hearing a lot more from Sakora on these pages. She’s already playing a larger role in our photography, our newsletters and other communications as she finishes her degree in forestry and wildlife science at Alabama A&M.
When you support the Paint Rock Forest Research Center, you support science. You support nature, and the future of Eastern North America’s biodiversity. But you also support the hard work and learning experiences of a new generation, who will determine the future of our planet.
Forest Census crew in the field. Ryan Long, Kennedy Norris, Joao De Godoy
