Chuck Walker
Position: Currently at The Center for Bottomland Hardwoods Research, Stoneville, Mississippi
Office: 432 Stoneville Road, Stoneville, MS, 38776
Contact Information:
Home mailing address: 706 S. Deer Creek Dr. W., F7, Leland, MS, 38756
E-mail: chwalker99@hotmail.com
Phone: work: (662) 686-3176
Web: http://www.oocities.org/poaceae100/
Degree Program:
Advisor: Dr. Dale Vitt
Program: M.S. in Plant Biology
Research: Biological and ecological attributes of the endangered vascular plants of the Shawnee Hills, Illinois
Research Proposal (condensed version)
PowerPoint Presentation of Proposal for Master of Science degree
BIOLOGICAL AND ECOLOGICAL ATTRIBUTES OF THE ENDANGERED VASCULAR PLANTS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Todd Fink Memorial Award
Degrees Awarded:
M.S. 2007 Southern Illinois University
B.S. 1998 McNeese State University, Biology
B.S. 1998 McNeese State University, Wildlife Management
A.S. 1997 Yavapai College
A.A.S 1997 Yavapai College, Construction Technology
A.G.S. 1991 Yavapai College
A.A. 1980 Yavapai College
Highlights
Work Experience:
In September 2005 I became a member of the Regeneration and Reproductive Biology Team at the Bottomland Hardwoods Research Center, Stoneville, MS. Research is underway at the Flooding Research Facility with the federally listed pondberry (Lindera melissifolia). Duties include the building and maintenance of shade houses (30%, 63.5%, and 95%), weeding and watering of the established plants, installation of hoses for pumps, collection of weather data and collection of plant measurements that are entered into a database. Bush hogging and box blading of the FRF is an additional duty and is done using a Kubota tractor. Other research projects worked on included litter basket studies of Populus deltoides and above ground biomass in Salix nigra.
From April 2005 to September 2005 I worked for the Alturas BLM Area Office. I conducted sage grouse lek counts on three different leks. I assisted in capturing sage grouse hens on Hart Mountain, OR, and releasing them at Clear Lake NWR in California. I also monitored the movements of three males and five females through radio telemetry. Over the winter I made a GIS map of all the aspen stands in the Alturas Area Office Resource Area. I also made a GIS map for all raptor nest sites in the Alturas Area Office resource area. During the summer I found and delineated new stands of aspen, adding them to the GIS database. I conducted several plant clearances, both in 2004 and 2005, for projects to determine whether there were any sensitive and endangered plants. Voucher specimens were collected and are now in the Alturas BLM Area Office Herbarium. In June of 2004 this herbarium housed only 20 sheets and now has 450 species, varieties, or subspecies.
From June of 2004 to April of 2005 I was an intern at the Alturas BLM Area Office. My work focused primarily on the four Aspen Delineation Projects. Areas under the jurisdiction of the Alturas Bureau of Land Management were systematically searched for the presence of aspen trees. When present, the stand was GPSed using a GeoExplorer3 Trimble unit. Forms were filled out for each stand that serve as a management tool for the prioritizing of all the aspen stands in terms of risk of extirpation. The information was downloaded and an aspen layer was created in GIS. I wrote the Project Proposal for the four proposed aspen projects for 2005 as well as the Cold Springs Complex, Dry Cow, Skeleton Flat, and Upper Mitchell Hill Aspen Restoration Projects Environmental Assessment (CA320-NEPA-05-08).
I collected, identified, and mounted 350 species of plants for the Alturas Area Office Herbarium in 2004. I also monitored rare species, e.g. Iliamna bakeri and Erigeron elegantulus.
From the fall of 2001 to the fall of 2003, I taught Plants and Society (Plant Biology 117) lab for six semesters at Southern Illinois University. I taught three to four sections each semester with classes having as many as 22 students. Each semester I led each lab section on three field trips. I also taught one semester of General Biology that included both animals and plants.
In 2000 I worked for the Two Rivers National Wildlife Refuge located in southern Calhoun County. While there a herbarium cabinet was purchased and I organized the existing herbarium specimens into family folders. I collected 100 new species for the herbarium and recollected many others as some of the original herbarium mounts dated back to 1964. Calhoun County does not have any colleges or universities and so the Two Rivers Herbarium is the only one in existence in Calhoun County. I conducted transects of the moist soil units, participated in a frog survey to determine if frogs on the Refuge were deformed, made duck counts, and assisted in the Swan Lake drawdown.
In 1999 I worked for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources at Waubonsie State Park in Fremont County. I was part of a crew that restored prarie remnants within the Park.
Waubonsie State Park Web Pages:
1) 1999 PLANT LIST FOR WAUBONSIE STATE PARK
2) Prairie Plant List
3) 1940 Plant List for Waubonsie State Park
4) Riverton Wildlife Area
5) The Lakota and footbridge
In 1998 I worked for the City of Spokane, Washington at Manito Park (90 acres). Manito means "spirit" or "spirit of nature". Manito Park is not a typical city park as it has a Japanese Garden, a pond with swans, a Rose Garden, Lilac Garden, Ferris Perennial Garden, Formal Garden with water fountain, the Geiger Conservatory, a Stone Bridge built by the C.C.C. during the Depression, and a natural area. There is no admissions charge and it is very popular during the summer with foreign tourist buses as well as local people visiting. I worked in the Ferris Perennial and Lilac Gardens.
In addition I have collected extensively and have a private herbarium of over 1500 species:
Chuck Walker's Traveling Herbarium
PHOTO GALLERY:
ARIZONA:
1) Cottonwood Canyon
2) Wolf Creek
CALIFORNIA:
Putting in transects in aspen stand (2004), Modoc County
Putting in transects in aspen stand (2005), South Knob, Modoc County
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ATV Pictures on McDonald Peak, Lassen County (2005)
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BLM Office-surprise picture
ILLINOIS:
1) Cedar Lake
2) Giant City State Park
IOWA:
1) Des Moines
LOUISIANA:
1) Lacasine National Wildlife Refuge Visitor's Center
2) McNeese State University, Lake Charles
3) Sabine National Wildlife Refuge
4) University of Southwestern Louisiana
MINNESOTA:
1) Swan River
MISSISSIPPI:
1) Bush hogging at the Flooding Research Facility
2) Bush hogging at the Flooding Research Facility
3) USDA Flooding Research Facility, Sharkey County
4) Federally listed Lindera melissifolia
SOUTH DAKOTA:
1) Mt Rushmore
WISCONSIN:
1) Mellen
2) Lodi Marsh State Wildlife Area