The Carney Interns Make a Difference

Thanks to important support by Dr. Ed Carney, four wildlife conservation interns now come to the Refuge each year to carry on important conservation work under the guidance of Refuge biologists.  

The Carney Interns helped establish and now monitor Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers (RCW). Their work helps Refuge biologists determine how successful recent translocation projects have been and where translocated RCWs are nesting within the Refuge. The Carney Interns monitor the progress of the active clusters. They also work toward site restoration that is critical to RCW translocation by removal of habitat invasives such as cogon grass, torpedo grass, and cuban bulrush.

These dedicated and enthusiastic students have also been the driving force behind the successful efforts to rebuild populations of the threatened Frosted Flatwoods Salamanders. The interns have helped to establish a nursery for the salamander larvae so that greater numbers of the federally threatened species could be returned to their natal ponds.  This past year was difficult due to Hurricane Michael, reducing salamander numbers. This past year, most of the salamander drift fences had rusted out from saltwater intrusion due to Hurricane Michael and they had to be removed. New fences are now being treated with a sealant to prevent rust and installation has been on-going. Salamander numbers rapidly increased as the year advanced.