News and Events
CEMML intern wins 2024 Great Plains CESU Award
Levin Brandt, an intern with CEMML’s Early-career Development Program, was presented with the annual Great Plains CESU Graduate Student Award for his outstanding work supporting ecosystems on Air Force installations in Nebraska, South Dakota, Colorado, and North Dakota. Mr. Brandt is a graduate student in Biology at the University of North Dakota.
November 8, 2024
CEMML helps preserve history of nuclear submarines and ships
In the early 1950s, the U.S. Navy was keen on developing nuclear-powered engines to propel submarines and aircraft carriers. Prototyping and testing of these reactors took place at the Nuclear Propulsion Program’s Naval Reactors Facility in Idaho. CEMML has supported the NRF in documenting and preserving the history of this landmark development site and the engineers who worked there.
November 5, 2024
NAVFAC, CEMML battle brown tree snake to protect Guam’s endangered swiftlets
In a video by Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Marianas, CEMML invasive species biologist, Virginie Ternisien explains how she uses dead mice laced with acetaminophen to reduce brown tree snake populations on Guam. The invasive predator is a major threat to the endangered Mariana swiftlet, a small cave-dwelling bird native to the Mariana Islands.
October 30, 2024
On remote Pacific Islands, CEMML helps eradicate invasive rats
In 2020, a joint project to eradicate invasive rats from the Wake Island Atoll was created between the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, CEMML, and other collaborators. Using poisoned bait and traps, as well as other preventative biosecurity measures, the project has experienced great success in the last four years. Rat populations have been radically reduced with the hope that they will be fully eradicated from the three islands that make up the atoll within another year.
September 3, 2024
HigherEdJobs highlights CEMML in interview with Executive Director
When people think about careers in higher education, they may not know that there are centers like CEMML that focus on providing services like environmental management and historic preservation. To take a peek inside this unique side of employment within higher ed, HigherEdJobs spoke with CEMML Executive Director, Barker Fariss about his background and CEMML’s work.
July 18, 2024
On Travis Air Force Base, a rare salamander gets a helping hand
Twice a year, federally protected California tiger salamanders make their pilgrimage between breeding pond and burrow. At Travis Air Force Base, that bi-annual journey includes obstacles like runways and streets. CEMML biologists in partnership with Travis’ natural resources program is helping the species navigate those obstacles. Their efforts ensure the species’ survival, while also allowing the Air Force to continue to carry out its mission.
July 11, 2024
Reaching zero: 26 years of eradicating non-native ungulates from conservation areas in Hawai’i
CEMML Hawai’i staff members Rogelio Doratt, Dan Jensen, and Lena Schnell contributed an article to the Department of Defense Natural Resource Program’s Natural Selections Summer 2024 Newsletter. The article details CEMML’s management action plan to keep 37,300 acres of native dryland habitat free of non-native ungulates. The article starts on page 6 of the linked newsletter.
July 5, 2024
Sharing the beach: CEMML supports snowy plovers and communities in California
In 2020, Vandenberg Space Force Station and CEMML began providing educational programs at local elementary schools to spread awareness about the snowy plover, a rare migratory shorebird currently listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. Over 600 students have participated in the program since the program began.
May 6, 2024
CEMML conducts surveys to aid fisheries management at Fort McCoy
Every year, watershed management biologists and specialists with CEMML, in partnership with Fort McCoy’s Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch (NRB), hold fish surveys at Fort McCoy’s 10 lakes and ponds. Surveys are conducted using various methods to understand fish populations and the overall health of the waterways.
May 2, 2024
CEMML supports conservation efforts at Fort Hunter Liggett
CEMML biologists are key contributors to conservation efforts at Fort Hunter Liggett, a U.S. Army installation in west central California. Among FHL’s conservation efforts is improving the San Antonio River habitat of the endangered arroyo toad. The toad was listed as endangered in 1994 and faces a variety of threats to its survival, reproduction and persistence. CEMML aids the installation in the removal of non-native predators like the American bullfrog.
April 24, 2024
CEMML archaeological survey explores early 20th century history of Fort McCoy
An archaeological survey conducted by CEMML personnel in the summer of 2022 was initially meant to investigate the creation of several hundred concrete tent pads at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. Research into the tent pads, dating from around the early 20th century, also unearthed additional information about other possible known archaeological features and sites around what is referred to as “Old Camp McCoy.”
February 21, 2024
Canine detectives help locate long-forgotten burials at a Virginia military base
Mulberry Island, Virginia, the location of Joint Base Langley-Eustis, has a long history of human habitation, dating back 10,000 years. The area has more than 230 archaeological sites, including cemeteries with unmarked graves. CEMML, in partnership with the Fort Eustis Cultural Resources Program, is using human remains detection dogs to help identify unmarked burial sites to better understand, honor, and preserve the area’s rich history.
February 7, 2024