CadyLancaster
Wood Scientist
Ashland, Oregon
Istudythechemicalpropertiesofwoodinordertoidentifywoodthathasbeenillegallychopped down.
Illegalloggingisthethirdlargestinternationalcrime.Treesarecutdownandusedforallsortsofpurposes.Iknowthateachtreespecieshasitsown“fingerprint”ofchemicals.Myjobistobuildadatabaseofeachone.Wecanthenidentifytreesthathavebeenillegallylogged.Thisisimportant.Inordertousethelawsthatprotectthem,wemustknowwhatkindofwoodisbeingtradedandcut down.
Iworkforlawenforcement,assistinginspectorsandagents.Weidentifythespeciesofwoodinanythingfromfloorboardstoexpensivejewelry.Icarefullytakeapartwoodenobjectstocollectsliversfromhiddenlocations.ThenItakethesliverstoaspecialmachineto“burn”thesample.Thisreleasesthechemicals,whichIthencomparetothe database.
Thisdatabasecanbeusedaroundtheworldtocatchcriminalswhohavebeenpoaching,orstealing,treesfromprotectedforests.Everycaseisastepclosertoprotectingour environment.
DarrenJ.H.Sleep
Wildlife Biologist
Ottawa,Ontario, Canada
Istudywildlifeandtheirhabitatstounderstandwhattheyneedto thrive.
MydadgavemesomeadvicewhenIwasyoung.Hesaid,“Findacareeryoulovesomuchyou’ddoitforfree.”That’sprettygoodadvice.I’mgladIfollowedit.I’vealwayslovedanimalsandbeingoutdoors.Workingasawildlifebiologistallowsmetomakeadifferenceinthe world.
Myjobistoeducatepeopleaboutthenaturalworldandhowweinteractwithit.Ialsohelpforestrycompaniesmanagetheirlandsotheycancontinuetomakeproductsthatarehealthyforpeopleandourplanet.Atthesametime,theyconservethethingswevalue.Wildlife.Water.Carbon(toreducetheeffectsofclimate change).
Ispendalotoftimeinanoffice.Butmyfavoritetimesarespentoutdoorsstudyingbirds,bats,mice,andothercritters.Here,I’mworkingwitha caribou.
AshleyCobletestswaterina stream.
AshleyCoble
Hydrologist
Corvallis, Oregon
Istudyhowforestryactivitiesaffectwaterquantityandquality.Ihelpprotectourfreshwaterecosystems,thelivingthingsthatliveinthem,andourdrinking water.
Youmightfindmewadinginastreamandsamplingwater.Orusingmappingsoftware.Orpresentingresearchdatatootherscientists.Partofmyjobistounderstandhowwatertravelsthroughaforest,soaksintothesoil,orentersastream.Ialsomeasurethechemistryofastreamtodeterminewhat’sin it.
Mycareerhastakenmetomanyplacesacrosstheworld.TheresearchIdohelpsprotectthewaterinstreams,rivers,wetlands,andlakes.Ialsohelpsafeguardwildlifeandourdrinking water.
Understandinghowforestmanagementaffectsourfreshwaterresourcesisvital.Ithinkaboutdesigningstudiestoaddress this.
