CSI: Daffy Duck edition

So while I have done a couple of animal related things in the past two months, they've already been shown on Facebook and you don't need a synopsis on them. Especially since time is short.

With that I will move on to the real topic. The last week has been insane. I did a phone interview, got the job, quit my current job, and now am leaving tomorrow morning. I'm back on the road, and I am back in the field.

The job is through LSU working with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Since the BP oil spill this summer the USFWS has been running studies to get a scope of the damage caused to plants, animals, etc. This is the 10th such study, and focusing specifically on waterfowl (ducks and their cousins). The USFWS is using this as evidence for its upcoming court case with BP. They plan to sue BP, and this money would go directly back into USFWS funded ventures in the gulf restoration. Because of the scope of this disaster and the huge amount of money at stake, I will be forced on Monday to sign a confidentiality agreement. I am not legally allowed to talk about the protocol nor data found in this study until the court case is resolved. This could take upwards of 20 years. Emails, texts, are extremely forbidden, as are blogs. On this specific study, BP's own ecology team has refused to cooperate with us, and is running its own parallel study, further upping the dramatics.

What I do and can tell about this study is it will take place over 2 months in Eastern Louisiana. There are multiple sites which correlate to housing found right next to the sites. 2 of the 5 houses are accessible ONLY by boat. The sites include Marshes, beaches, and the open ocean. It's going to be really cold, especially on the ocean, and I've had to buy cold weather gear (most of which I wouldn't own living in Texas)

This is a fantastic opportunity for me, but will be alot of hard work. I thought working on Fort Hood was big, but this is gigantic. A scientific study supposed to be done in complete silence, in winter, in the remote parts of Louisiana, with billions of dollars at stake. I didn't make this up, but because I am one for the dramatic, it really excites me.

The project will be done at the end of February. After that I'll need to find something to do till April 25th, when my project in Tennessee starts. If I make enough money, April may be the perfect time for that train trip I was planning. We'll see.

Just a note, I want to take plenty of pictures, but they will have to be censored. Most will have to be taken on my off time as not to cause any controversy. This contrasts with Fort Hood and Johnson City where I could take pictures at work of anything.

Wish me luck.

Matt