By Inmate Butterfly Technicians at Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women
Editor’s note: Below is a message from our butterfly rearing technicians at MCCCW, who are currently raising a surrogate species in preparation for their work with the endangered Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly.
During this holiday season, even though we miss our families, we are fortunate to be a part of this unique experience of rearing butterflies. On a daily basis we clean, care for, observe, and interact with this delicate and necessary part of our environment. We continue to learn and prepare for the crucial project ahead – captive rearing of the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly.
It is an amazing feeling to come out to the greenhouse every day and know that we are working toward making an important change for our environment. We are extremely lucky to be at the start of this project. We are anticipating the arrival of the Taylor’s checkerspot in February.
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To donate to SPP and support the rearing of the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly in Washington state, click here.
Inmate Technicians Attend Annual Species Recovery Conferences
By Graduate Research Associate Dennis Aubrey
For the first time in the history of the SPP, inmate technicians were able to attend annual species working group meetings. DOC administrators at both Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women (MCCCW) and Cedar Creek Corrections Center (CCCC) were generous in their support and were able to arrange for the inmates to travel to the event.
The Taylor’s checkerspot meeting was held on November 10th at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, and the two inmates who attended learned about species recovery efforts, reintroduction site assessments, genetic taxonomy work, and other ongoing research. The inmates were well received by the community and took copious notes on everything that was said.
The Oregon spotted frog meeting was a week later, at Blakely Tree Farms in Tumwater, and inmates were able to listen to detailed captive rearing reports from each of the four rearing institutions. Then they were able to share information of their own with colleagues they had heard about but never met, and techniques were learned by both sides. Additionally, release data, monitoring effort reports, and other research projects were discussed by various experts.
In both cases, the inmates involved were enthusiastic about attending and were able to get a sense of the larger effort going on outside the walls. The connections they formed with the conservation community can only help them feel more a part of the larger body of work, and more ownership of their own roles within that effort.
DOC Enables Former Frog Technician to Join in the Annual OSF Release Event
by Graduate Research Associate Sarah Weber
The Sustainable Prisons Project is so excited that we were able to include one of our former frog technician inmates at the annual frog release this year! Harry Greer has worked with the Oregon spotted frog project at Cedar Creek Corrections Center since the project’s inception in 2009. This season Harry raised the frogs at CCCC until July when he was moved to work release. Department of Corrections staff at CCCC went above and beyond to accommodate and clear Harry for attendance at the release event. Many thanks to Superintendent Doug Cole, Captain Charlie Washburn and Classification Counselor Marko Anderson; it was a real joy to see Harry releasing the frogs he so carefully raised.
Harry Greer releasing a frog he helped raise in captivity at CCCC
Superintendent Cole and Harry Greer having a good time at the frog release
Harry Greer releasing OSF to their new life
To donate to SPP and help Oregon spotted frog conservation in Washington state, click here.
On a crisp fall day at the end of October, participating Oregon spotted frog (OSF) rearing partners gathered for the annual frog release at Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM). The OSF, received by each institution in egg form, are reared from March to October when they are released as healthy juvenile and adult frogs onto three wetland sites located at JBLM. This is a fun day that all the partners look forward to each year.
The Sustainable Prison Project frogs were transported from Cedar Creek Corrections Center (CCCC) in ten shoebox-sized Tupperware containers lined with wet paper towels. Upon arrival, the containers were taken to the waters edge where lids were removed. Some frogs were anxious to get out and immediately jumped onto the shore and into the water, while some needed a bit more time and coaxing. Once in the water, the frogs quickly camouflaged themselves by digging into the sandy bottom or swimming into marshy vegetation. The water in the wetland is cool, but open and exposed to sunlight, with nice shallow areas along the banks. OSF are highly aquatic and leave the water only for short periods of time to forage for food. They move between ponds via connecting waterways, making them especially vulnerable to habitat fragmentation. The wetlands at JBLM offer a large undisturbed habitat with many channels for migration and shallow warm water for breeding in the spring.
This year, we released 163 healthy, large adult OSF raised at CCCC. The frog technician inmates, as always, did a wonderful job rearing our captive population. It is not always possible to raise each frog to releasable size, and each year SPP takes all undersized frogs from our rearing partner facilities, and supports them through the winter at CCCC. This year we received more than 60 frogs to over-winter. The inmates will raise them until springtime when they will also be released on the wetlands at JBLM.
SPP Research Associate Sarah Weber holding OSF before release
Release site at Joint Base Lewis McChord
Oregon spotted frogs ready for their new habitat
SPP Project Manager Kelli Bush releasing OSF
SPP Research Associate Dennis Aubrey showing off the proper release technique
CCCC Superintendent Doug Cole releasing OSF
To donate to SPP and help Oregon spotted frog conservation in Washington state, click here.
Walking through the Douglas fir forests in the mist and rain of the Pacific Northwest does not conjure up thoughts of wildfire. Most people, residents and non-residents alike, picture a Northwest landscape of grand old growth forests standing forever enriched by cool weather and rain. A closer inspection in many forested areas in the Puget lowland reveals that fire did have an influence on the plant ecology and landscape. On the few sites that still support the growth of ancient trees, occasional fire scars can be seen coating the bark and gnarled lower branches of the oldest residents. The frequency of fires in the Puget lowlands by “natural” causes such as lightning strikes is around one every 500 years. However, the evidence of fire return times from sites in the San Juan Islands down to South Puget Sound show much more frequent fire intervals.
The most frequent fires in the maritime areas of the Pacific Northwest may have been ignited by First Peoples. Fire was a tool used in numerous ways to secure necessary food and materials. Fire could be managed to herd or see game and promote the growth of the available browse plants. Perennial understory and woodland edge plants such as blackcap raspberries, wild strawberries, blue elderberry, bracken fern, and other food sources would increase in abundance and production in response to fire occurring every five years of so.
The most documented and common use of fire was found on the landscape of Garry oak woodlands and prairies throughout the Puget basin. The burning practices provided vital resources to “inland groups” of First Peoples who had limited access to Puget Sound waterways and tidelands. The oak woodlands primarily provided acorns and camas bulbs, along with a diverse diet of roots and berries. Anthropological research has documented complex family ownership of distinct oak woodlands, camas fields, nettle and berry patches. These areas were burned yearly and harvest techniques of camas in particular involved cultivation practices to ensure long term fertility and abundance. For an excellent overview of Northwest Coast traditional plant use and cultivation see Keep it Living edited by Douglas Deur and Nancy J. Turner.
The first arrival of European and U.S. agriculturalist brought a drastic change in the use of fire as a tool to produce food. Fires were viewed as destructive and dangerous, and indeed they are, catastrophic fires have been battled throughout the west since the time of the first agricultural settlements. Active fire suppression has had definite consequences to the ecology of the western landscape. For prairies in the Pacific Northwest in particular, fire suppression created a number of changes that can be seen in prairie plant composition and the density of plant cover. Fire suppression allows Douglas-fir and shrubs to increase in abundance, shrinking the overall landscape of the prairie. The reduction in disturbance increases the dominance of large grasses that reduces nectar and forage plants for insects. In general, without fire the biodiversity of the oak woodland and prairie landscape decreases greatly affecting habitat quality.
Accompanying the suppression of fire, European agriculture and animal husbandry introduced pasture grasses and invasive plants. The introduction of domestic stock reduces the vigor of native bunch grasses and forbs and increases the abundance of invasive grasses and forbs. Invasive plants such as Scot’s broom readily dominate the low fertility prairie soils in the absence of fire. These numerous stressors reduce the biodiversity and habitat quality of prairies throughout the region. Of the remaining remnant prairies less than 1% contains healthy populations of native plants. This change in plant composition has had a drastic impact on the insects and animals that utilize the prairies as habitat.
Restoration ecologists are actively working to restore prairie habitat for numerous threatened and endangered species including the Taylor’s Checkerspot, Mardon Skipper and Puget Blue butterflies, as well as the streaked-horned lark and the diminutive Mazama pocket gopher. The re-introduction of fire is one restoration tool to improve habitat on prairies. These fires are control burns requiring complex organization and cooperation among numerous State and Federal agencies. The majority of the prairie landscape occurs on Joint Base Lewis McCord (JBLM). In the summer of 2011, JBLM implemented an ambitious program that completed almost 2000 acres of controlled burns. These fires provide dramatic pictures of the changes fire brings to a landscape.
The re-introduction of fire is only the first step in the restoration process. Fire performs well to eliminate invasive woody plants and Douglas-fir trees from the prairie. However, the reduction woody plants create a great amount of bare ground suitable for seed germination. Without active next steps in the restoration process the use of fire may result in a further degraded prairie through the introduction of non-native plants. Many of the native plants are limited in distribution and abundance by the amount of seed or propagules that are left in the remnant prairies. This is where the Sustainable Prisons Project becomes involved. The role of the Conservation Nursery at Stafford Creek Corrections Center is to provide the necessary plants to produce seed that can be distributed after the fire. The native species are grown at the nursery to be planted out in seed beds at JBLM. The seed is then harvested and cleaned to be drilled in or spread across the restored prairies.
There are numerous changes and adaptations that have to occur to make the restoration process a success. Often it seems as if no two prairies go through the same trajectories after restoration, leading to a great amount of uncertainty as to how to restore and measure a healthy habitat. Questions regarding appropriate sowing rates, effective germination and establishment of native plants; pollination, noxious weed control and endangered species re-introduction are just a few of the research objectives scientists are working on.. Since prairies require control burns every three to five years, humans will be actively involved in their care for as long as we value the prairie landscape.
Sustainable Prison Project Involved in Cutting Edge Research
Dr. Hayes measuring an Oregon spotted frog with Dr. Conlon in the background
By Graduate Research Associate Sarah Weber
WDFW Research Scientist Dr. Marc Hayes recently brought visiting scientist Dr J. Michael Conlon to visit the Oregon spotted frog operation at Cedar Creek Corrections Center (CCCC). Dr. Conlon is a Professor of Biochemistry at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, and is an internationally known biochemist whose research interests are focused on the purification and characterization of naturally occurring, biologically active peptides. He has worked on skin peptides for more than 40 years and with frog skin peptides for more than 10 years.
A large, healthy Oregon spotted frog
Dr. Conlon is interested in studying the skin peptides of the Oregon spotted frog (OSF) because they are very high in anti-bacteria and anti-fungal properties. The OSF also show a resistance to the amphibian chytrid fungus, known to be decimating amphibian populations worldwide. The answer to why OSF are resistant to chytrid might be found in their skin peptides.
To better understand this, purified skin secretions need to tested for their activity against several strains of chytrid, requiring three steps: 1) obtain the skin secretions; 2) purify the individual peptides from those secretions; and 3) test each individual peptide from the skin secretions on several strains of the amphibian chytrid fungus.
Oregon spotted frogs secreting skin peptides into water to be tested at the lab
SPP helped facilitate step 1, and steps 2 and 3 will be done in the UAE and at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. SPP and the frog interns at CCCC were pleased to be involved with this research as it will contribute significantly to the scientific knowledge of why OSFs are resistant to chytrid.
The first painted lady butterfly to eclose in the SPP lab at Evergreen.
At long last, the wait is over. After almost a year of preparation, the butterflies have finally arrived! Inmate technicians at Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women (MCCCW) have been caring for painted lady larva for almost three weeks now, and over the weekend they got to watch their first butterflies emerge from their chrysalid.
The painted ladies are being reared as a training surrogate for the endangered Taylor’s checkerspot, which inmates will begin to work with next February. These training butterflies were chosen for their relative hardiness and fast life cycle, which will allow the inmates to go through several complete revolutions before graduating to the much more delicate Taylor’s checkerspot. So far the inmates involved have surpassed expectations in every way.
As the final phases of greenhouse construction were being completed, the student intern on the project, Dennis Aubrey, began rearing painted ladies at the Sustainable Prisons Project (SPP) lab on The Evergreen State College (TESC) campus. This was done to work out the fine details of adapting the Taylor’s checkerspot rearing protocol for use with the painted ladies, and to prepare for training the inmates at the facility. Following this, 200 painted lady eggs were ordered and delivered to MCCCW, where eager inmate technicians began learning how to care for these delicate insects. Working with butterflies in the SPP lab approximately two weeks ahead of the ones at MCCCW was incomparably helpful in training the inmates effectively.
Inmate butterfly technicians at MCCCW caring for painted lady caterpillars and recording observations
From the time they began, the inmates have been taking very detailed carefully drawn notes, and have been tending to their charges with the patient meticulous care that makes all the difference in rearing projects such as this. At SPP’s frog project at Cedar Creek Corrections Center, the large amount of time inmates dedicate to caring for the endangered Oregon spotted frogs has led to the largest specimens raised at any institution. Last week, when Dennis visited Mission Creek to check on the inmates’ progress, he couldn’t help but notice that the painted lady chrysalids were significantly larger than he was able to produce in the SPP lab. Whether that’s a factor of the light and beneficial conditions in the greenhouse, or is directly attributable to the increased daily care, it’s hard to say. Either way, it’s a great sign of things to come for the future success of the project.
A French documentary crew recently visited Western Washington to film a new episode for their National Geographic series “Guardians of Nature”. The episode will include segments featuring the Sustainable Prisons Project (SPP) Oregon Spotted Frog Program and riparian forest research conducted by SPP Co-Director Dr. Carri LeRoy.
The film crew spent an entire day with the SPP Oregon Spotted Frog Program team. Filming began at Cedar Creek Correction Center in the morning. SPP staff and inmates walked the crew through the daily tasks associated with caring for the endangered frogs. Prison Superintendent Doug Cole shared his thoughts on the benefits of the program from a prison perspective.
SPP Co-Director Carri LeRoy and Project Manager Kelli Bush at West Rocky Prairie
The afternoon was spent at West Rocky Prairie in the greater Olympia area. West Rocky Prairie is home to a wild population of Oregon spotted frogs. Dr. Marc Hayes, senior biologist at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, led the group to a wetland location where he netted two juveniles and one adult frog to show the film crew. He explained how factors such as habitat loss and bull frog predation have led to the decline of the species and discussed current efforts to recover the native population. The day concluded with summary discussion of the Sustainable Prisons Project and the many benefits of including incarcerated individuals as partners in conservation and sustainability work.
The film crew also spent a day with Dr. Carri LeRoy filming riparian and stream science research on the Hoh River. The Hoh River is a braided gravel stream channel fed from the glaciers of the Olympic Mountains and flowing through densely vegetated temperate rainforest and cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) gallery forests. Dr. LeRoy’s research on how the genetics of cottonwood trees can influence both other members of the ecological community associated with the trees and the ecosystem-level processes of riparian forests was the focus of the interview. Although it might seem impossible for something as small as a gene to have an effect on a whole ecosystem, there are many examples of the strong organizing power of genes. Genes can influence the insects that live in tree canopies, bird predation and nest building, deer browsing, soil organisms, nutrient cycling, carbon flux, water use and even adjacent stream communities and ecosystem processes. Dr. LeRoy’s “Genes-to-ecosystems” research involves examining the interactions between tree genes, forests and streams through leaf litter fall.
With the dynamic backdrop of ice-blue water and lush vegetation she demonstrated methods for measuring soil respiration (a combination of root respiration and microbial/insect respiration) at the base of a large cottonwood tree. In addition, she placed leaf litter bags of known tree genetics into a small tributary stream of the Hoh River and collected aquatic insects from the cobbly bottom. It was a gorgeous summer day spent in one of the most pristine river systems in Washington State.
The crew has featured beautiful locations all of the world, but this will be the first episode filmed in the US. The show is primarily carried on stations throughout Europe. We were thrilled to have the opportunity to share our work with “Guardians of Nature” and an audience on the other side of the planet. The two segments will likely be available early spring 2012 and will be posted to our website as soon as they are available.
By Rowlanda Cawthon, Washington Department of Corrections, East Team Leader, Communications
Associate Superintendent Margaret Gilbert, center, with members of the Women's Village at Washington Corrections Center for Women
Principles behind the mantra, “It takes a village to raise a child,” have been adopted by a group of dedicated offenders at the Washington Corrections Center for Women. Both offenders and staff at the prison wanted to foster a positive community environment and propel women to shift their thinking, so they formed the Women’s Village group to develop an approach that would change the prison culture.
With the cuts to offender programming, the women realized the need to tap existing resources to foster a sense of growth, collaboration and commitment. “The Women’s Village has been a great way for the women to really start thinking about their lives and how they can influence each other,” said Associate Superintendent Margaret Gilbert. “We’ve managed to get some staff on board and we are certain this project can change the culture of the prison.”
The mission of the Women’s Village is, “To encourage and foster an atmosphere of change by harnessing our unique strengths together as individuals and to create a new culture based on the pursuit of personal excellence.” The term Women’s Village was created by Psychology Associate Robert Walker and offenders developed the purpose, values and structure of the program. “The project offers the women a unique opportunity to share their personal experiences and knowledge to inspire each other to change and make positive contributions to the community in which they all live — the prison,” said Walker.
A village council serves the Women’s Village in an advisory and governing capacity to provide leadership and direction. There are ten women on the council who work incredibly hard to create a healthier prison atmosphere. Their criminal backgrounds vary as do their custody levels, but this doesn’t hinder their unified commitment.
Jeannette Murphy who has been incarcerated for 28 years firmly believes that the Women’s Village is a practical resource. “One goal of the village is to keep the women busy,” said Murphy. “If we can help keep the women busy and assist them in finding their passion, we can address problems before they escalate and greatly reduce violence. We can work together to prevent another Jayme Biendl incident from occurring where we live.”
As the project evolved, the women unanimously agreed that they needed to identify their passions and create work opportunities around what genuinely made them happy. This resulted in the formation of nine sub–councils that serve as a means to get women engaged in something bigger than themselves.
Violence Reduction Team – Responsible for gauging the prison environment and identifying ways to reduce violence.
Health and Wellness Team – Facilitates wellness classes to include women’s health, nutrition and daily health routines.
Educational Team – Assist offenders with their educational needs and work with offenders who have learning disabilities to help them achieve their goals.
Environmental Team – Creates sustainable programs and get women involved in creating a sustainable environment.
Peer Support Team – Help offenders who need assistance in dealing with the realities of prison life. Peer mentors also work directly with mental health staff.
Morale Building Team – Bring back a sense of order and respect within the prison by promoting a positive change in the way women deal with their feelings.
Reentry Team – Facilitates programs that will help with the reentry process including but not limited to job readiness classes, resume workshops and dressing for success.
Spiritually Team – Gives women a chance to explore a variety of beliefs and become more in tune with their own, whatever they may be.
Family Support – Facilitates parenting groups, create positive ways to build on family relationships, and host workshops centered on family dynamics.
Each team is lead by a council member who has a sincere passion for the work required. Women interested in the Women’s Village must officially become a village member by participating in three orientations, two accountability circles, and committing to engage in two self–help groups or classes offered at the prison.
The orientations are lead by the council members and staff, and give an overview of the purpose and values of the Women’s Village. The women are also given an opportunity during orientation to develop personal goals that will enable them to create a vision of who they are and who they are becoming. Accountability circles provide the women with an opportunity to meet regularly to discuss issues or problems they are facing, to set goals to address these issues, and to brainstorm ways to accomplish the goals.
“We are a group of women who want more for ourselves and we want the women around us to feel the same way,” said Offender Renee Curtiss. “Having women believe in you and hold you accountable is the key to changing attitudes and behaviors, and that’s what we are all about.”
The values of the program are respect, honesty, compassion, diversity, self–empowerment, education and usefulness. These beliefs have been the driving forces behind the members’ ability to assist offenders in transitioning from intensive management unit to less restrictive custody, developing recycling and gardening programs, and simply getting women to be a source of change for each other within prison walls.
The Oregon spotted frogs (OSF) at Cedar Creek Corrections Center (CCCC) are the subjects of a growth comparison study between two separate OSF populations: Black River and Conboy Lake. Inmates at CCCC are raising the two populations side-by-side in separate tanks, keeping all rearing conditions identical, in order to compare growth rates. Measurements have been taken throughout the rearing season and will be taken again just prior to release in October at Joint Base Lewis McChord. The OSF population at Conboy Lake is the only source population that successfully cohabitates with bullfrogs, a primary predator of OSF. The hypothesis is that OSFs from Conboy Lake are bigger in size, and as a result of that, are faster in their response to predation. This study will help determine whether or not captive rearing efforts should focus primarily on the Conboy Lake population.
As part of the comparison study, the OSFs predator response instincts were also tested. Twenty frogs from each population were isolated for a short period of time in a stimulus free environment. One by one, they were placed in a large plastic tub filled with just enough water to cover their bodies. Once they relaxed enough to come to the surface and rest with their eyes out of the water, a plastic ball–tethered to stop before impact–was dropped from above, simulating a predator in the wild. Each individual test is filmed to record the amount of time it takes each frog to react to the “predator”, and also to record response distance in its effort to escape. The film is reviewed and data logged at the Oregon Zoo. The data will allow for a parallel test between the Black River and Conboy Lake populations, and also a comparison between OSF rearing institutions, CCCC and Oregon Zoo.
The experiment took place at CCCC under the supervision and guidance of Senior Research Scientist Dr. Marc Hayes and Kyle Tidwell from the Oregon Zoo. SPP interns Dennis Aubrey and Sarah Weber, and CCCC OSF inmates assisted with noting sex, coloration and tag number as well as taking the measurements and weight of each individual frog in order to identify any size or mass related variation in response. The inmate’s contribution to the predator response experiment and the side by side growth comparison study is integral to development of the OSF captive rearing program. The rearing season continues at CCCC with inmates raising fat, healthy frogs getting closer to their release date.
