The first thing I learned at Biscayne National Park is that I am, in fact, not faster than a mosquito. After being picked up from the Miami airport and driven to Park Housing by Park Biologist and DSO Shelby Moneysmith (on her day off, too, because she is the best), I decided to go for a short run after a couple of cramped hours on the plane. It’s a short story and was an even shorter run because the mosquitoes ate me alive. 

They become an ever-present part of my time at Biscayne and relentlessly torment anyone caught outside. Shelby says they are worse because of a recent week of rain, but I think she is trying to make me feel better about slapping and swatting while everyone else stoically endures the feasting. I try my best to ignore them, but by the evening, my face, neck, ears, and hair are crusty with mats of dried, smeared mosquitoes. 

Luckily, most of the days at Biscayne are spent out on the water, a mosquito-free paradise of turquoise blue. Compared to the cold, low-visibility waters of the Pacific Northwest, where I started my Scientific Diving journey, Biscayne is paradise. Looking down at coral patches from 40 feet above on the boat is unbelievable. My first day at the park, I get in four dives observing Shelby Moneysmith, Ana Zangroniz, and Amanda Rivard as they do fish ID Reef Visual Census (RVC) surveys. I also assist in marine debris removal and scouting for derelict lobster traps. 

Biscayne National Park is unique in that it is one of the only National Parks to allow fishing, both recreational and commercial, within its waters (National Park Service). This means it has unique conservation issues, such as ropes, lines, and traps left behind from fishing. These items often foul up with algae and encrusting sponges where they sink to the ocean floor and can smother, tangle, or rip up precious coral habitats, especially during rough weather. At one site alone, we removed over 100 pounds of line.

Next week will be the only week of the year when it is illegal to leave out lobster, stone crab, and blue crab traps. Blue crab traps are only out of season for 10 days every other year. This means park staff basically only have one week every two years where they can go out and determine, which traps are derelict (forgotten, lost, left out “accidentally”) or illegal, and can do a large-scale removal.

The next day, I head out with Delaina and Bianca, both Scientific Divers through Florida SeaGrant, on a project that is in collaboration with Biscayne National Park. The goal for the day is to find and remove any derelict lobster or stone crab traps. Until Friday, all blue crab traps are still legal. We spot two buoys right away and notice both are missing identification tags, which means they are illegal. However, neither seems derelict (missing parts of the trap indicating it is no longer/can no longer be used). Since this is more in the domain of park law enforcement and not within our jurisdiction, we put the traps back but drop a pin so we can return if needed. 

The rather quick start to our day is misleading, and we spend the next couple of hours carefully navigating around the Featherbeds, which are shallow, sandy shoals. We scan the clear water for anything that could be trap material since lobsters and crabs like to burrow into the sandy banks of the shoals where they drop into deeper waters, making this a popular trapping spot. To Delaina and Bianca’s surprise, we don’t find anything. This could potentially mean recreational and commercial fishers are respecting the laws more than in previous years, or it could mean my trap-spotting abilities are subpar. I’d like to think it’s the first explanation.

Finally, we spot a buoy off in the distance, and upon closer inspection, pull up a stone crab trap. Inside are four stone crabs and the remains of many more. If stone crabs are stuck in traps together, they will eventually cannibalize each other, another reason why derelict traps are destructive and should be removed.

Based on the number of claws we pulled from the trap, Delaina estimates that at least three crabs had been cannibalized, and the smallest of the four had already shown fresh wounds, indicating early attempts. It was a pretty good feeling to return them to the ocean, even if this included scooping them up and then a less than gentle toss overboard to avoid their large claws. 

Thursday, I head out again with Delaina and Bianca for turtle surveys which include looking for signs of crawling, new nests, and predation. We also try to pick up what trash we can, because the beaches are covered in it. Rope is tangled in the thick mats of sargassum that wash up on shore, and anything from buoys, beer bottles, and shoes to makeup containers and coolers is littered along the coast. We squelch our way through mud of a particularly fragrant odor and try to weave through mangrove branches that have a hankering to slap us in the face. The mosquitoes… well, I digress, words can’t do them justice. Thankfully, I get to wear a bug jacket, and the mesh keeps them from hungrily chewing at my eyeballs like usual. It quickly becomes my favorite piece of clothing that I’ve never owned. 

Bianca and I eventually come across a marked nest with a few eggshells strewn about. She excitedly grabs them to verify hatched turtles, and her face drops as she points out incision marks on the leathery, shriveled material. She explains that this is a sign of predation from ghost crabs. The mood turns somber as we excavate the rest of the nest and find evidence of 107 eggs, all likely predated by ghost crabs. It’s a huge disappointment, especially when it’s such a large nest and had the potential of producing many offspring that could return to the beach and lay their own eggs. As we solemnly put the nest back and record our data, the scene in front of me is bleak. Even if every single turtle in this nest had hatched and survived predation, they would have needed to navigate their way around and over the mounds of trash on the beach to make it to the ocean. The haunting scene of bleached bones and carapaces, barely discernible between the bottles and buoys, tells the story of adults who returned only to die on these beaches.

It’s easy to jump to conclusions. Well, why doesn’t the park keep its beaches cleaner? Why don’t they pick up the trash? The simple and honest answer is that they do. They spend countless hours navigating miles of beaches, braving the heat and mosquitoes, regularly picking up hundreds of pounds of trash both in and out of the water. And so do numerous volunteers, participating in Biscayne National Park’s Beach Cleanup Program. The truth is that beach cleanups aren’t going to save the turtles when trash, specifically, plastic, continues to stream in from users of the park and beyond. Curbing the amount of plastic that ends up in the ocean is the only true solution to this problem. But that includes a community and cultural shift in behavior and values, and realistically, beach cleanups are Biscayne’s strongest tool at the moment. 

On a happier note, some baby raccoons await us at the dock. As Delaina expertly guides the 27ft Munson into the park slip, a huddle of people at the next boat over draws our attention. After some investigation, the most adorable bleary-eyed raccoons gaze up at us from their nest of rope in the anchor hold. Their mom watches us unconcerned under the shade of the nearby dock ramp, escaping the blistering heat.

Friday, I get to head out with the coral restoration team to observe their surveys and get some practice with the camera rig Brett Seymour from SRC sent me with. Before I left, he told me it was idiot proof and while I like a good challenge, I felt this wasn’t the time or place. This is my first dive with the steel 120s that everyone uses at Biscayne. I’ve been intimidated to go near one so far, probably because I’m imagining a scenario where I go to pick it up in front of the team and it doesn’t budge. Thankfully, I make it into the water, steel tank, camera, and all with no mishaps, and then proceed to have the longest dive I’ve ever been on at 163 minutes. The restoration plot is shallow, an average of 18ft deep, and I watch (very unhelpfully) as the coral team sets out many transect tapes and surveys the site. 

With both the cat and coral surviving my presence, we stop at Boca Chita Lighthouse to eat lunch and then go back to headquarters to finish up the day. I walk back to the housing, more than a little hungry, contemplating whether iguana tastes good and how fast my first week at Biscayne has flown by. Turns out I’m not fast enough to catch them anyway (only to say hi, I swear), and they all skitter safely away, probably on their way to invade the continent.

Anyone who knows me might be surprised to learn that I traveled to New York City. After all, I am usually found far from towering buildings, definitely covered in dirt, probably a little stinky, and ideally with a critter in hand. Navigating a big city like NYC was new to me, and while I wasn’t used to having to be clean and smell nice, I was looking forward to checking a rat eating pizza off of my critter bingo card. All of this to say, even outside of my “natural habitat”, I had the most amazing time in NYC because I was meeting wonderful, friendly people all brimming with the most incredible stories. 

The first day, meeting all the other interns and scholars is a bit intimidating, but quickly becomes a fun adventure. We eat yummy bagels and navigate angry cyclists, all while getting to learn where everyone is from, their diving journeys, and their hopes for the next few months. Getting to listen to past interns and scholars present their experiences the following day is like getting to watch a live mashup of Planet Earth, NatGeo, and perhaps a little bit of Red Bull TV. I sit in awe, thinking, “I’m supposed to stand up there next year and be this awesome.”

The Explorer’s Club is absolutely the most interesting building I’ve ever been in, with each component, from floorboards to artwork, telling a story. I was also thrilled to be reunited with the two 2024 AAUS Interns whom I had become good friends with the previous summer at Shannon Point Marine Center. The weekend flew by quickly, and soon it was time to say goodbye to everyone. I am so excited to follow along with everyone’s diving journeys across the globe this year!

After NYC, I went home to pack for my internship with the Submerged Resources Center (SRC) and National Parks Service (NPS) and to also give my dog (who will probably never forgive me for leaving, again) some snuggles. 

The flight to Denver, where the SRC headquarters are, was surreal. Flying over rolling plains, empty deserts, and mountains so tall it felt like you could lean out of the plane and touch them, really put into perspective the scale of our Nation’s unique geography and my upcoming internship. I’ve always been proud to belong to a country with such an amazing and diverse park system and am honored that I will get to work alongside the people who contribute to ensuring they are protected and functioning for us (and the world!) to experience. 

SRC Deputy Chief and Audio Visual Specialist Brett Seymour picks me up from the Denver airport in a big truck he tells me I’ll be driving around for the next week. Awesome! The next day, I get to meet Dr. Dave Conlin, SRC Chief, see the SRC headquarters, and load up on dive gear. Also, awesome! It was so nice to finally get to meet the two people who have dedicated so much time and effort to ensuring this internship happens in a time where federal jobs and the future of these programs are uncertain. I would like to express my utmost gratitude for their dedication and also thank OWUSS for doing everything possible to support my internship. Even with the few people I have met so far, it is apparent that the NPS and SRC staff are unwaveringly committed to serving our Nation through their stewardship of the parks. 

My first day at the office was also my 21st birthday, and I was able to carry on my tradition of a birthday hike when Brett kindly took me to some trails around Red Rocks Amphitheater. The next morning was the swim and skills tests that I had been somewhat nervously waiting for (I passed – whew). 

Any free time I get, I’m exploring hiking trails in the area. I guess my clean and nice-smelling era didn’t last too long. I love getting to see how different the vegetation is in Colorado. There are so many unique flowers, and a lot of the ground cover reminds me of coral reefs. Different sedum is shaped like boulder coral, while other odd-looking plants look like staghorn coral. There are magpies everywhere, and I even was able to see a western tanager, which is a bird with beautiful bright orange and red coloring.

On the morning of the Fourth of July, Dave takes me on a lovely hike in the foothills of the Rockies. After some breakfast, I decide it’s a good idea to see if there are trails to the top of the “Flatirons” we were gazing up at from below. After quite a few steep miles uphill, buckets of sweat, and perhaps some regret, I am rewarded with a beautiful view of Boulder, CO, nestled against the Rockies. I arrive back at the trailhead feeling half-dead but accomplished and proceed to eat a lot of ice cream on my way out of Boulder. My adventures should have ended there, but along the drive back to Denver, another beautiful, rugged, tabletop taunts me from the side of the road. The next thing I know, I’ve pulled over and am huffing and puffing my way up to the top for a nice sunset. 

The following day, I have the pleasure of meeting Sarah Von Hoene, the 2021 NPS Intern. I spend the evening limping after her on yet another amazing hike and then eat some more ice cream (shocking, I know). One of my favorite parts of the internship so far has been getting to meet past interns and the incredible network of people in OWUSS and beyond. It is a pretty cool feeling to know that wherever you travel, there are likely OWUSS or NPS connections! Every person I have interacted with has been so welcoming and genuinely excited to help me out and offer whatever support they can. I’d like to give a special shoutout to Shaun Wolfe, Hailey Shchepanik, Leeav Cohen, and Sarah, all former NPS Interns, for spending time answering all the questions I felt were too silly to ask Brett or Dave and giving me tips for navigating this internship. The legacy of former interns and the OWUSS community is truly incredible, and I look forward to being a part of it as I leave the SRC headquarters tomorrow and begin my internship at Biscayne National Park.