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Ashley Vander Meer

Ashley Vander Meer, a Biology, Outdoor Adventure Leadership and Environmental Science major, tests water in Incline Village

Major: Biology , Interdisciplinary Studies in Outdoor Adventure Leadership and Environmental Science

Class of: 2014

Ashley grew up in and around water, from wakeboarding to snowboarding, so she has always been interested in “this life giving substance”. When she came to SNC,

“my beginning in classes Hydrology, Geology and ODAL really opened my eyes to the work I could perform in this field, which has inspired me to where I am today.”

Her passion for hydrology and her work with the 2012 Rosewood Creek Restoration Project fueled her dual degree, a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies in Outdoor Adventure Leadership and Environmental Science and a BS in Biology, and prepared her professionally.

Ashley is currently a hydrologic technician with the US Geological Survey in Truckee, focusing primarily on the Tahoe Basin. “My current position centers around data collection, which entails going out to a sites and doing flow measurements periodically to calibrate our instruments in order to keep accurate records.” According to Ashley, the USGS is recording new lows due to lack of winter snowpack, and is observing the variations in water flow in the Tahoe Area.

She loves her work and plans to continue on to graduate school in hydrology at UNR with an emphasis on remote sensing and climate change.

Rosewood Creek Restoration: Phase 1

In the fall of 2012, I worked on the restoration of Rosewood Creek for my service learning project.  The primary purpose of the restoration was to reduce sediment loading into Lake Tahoe by restoring a 7,200 foot section of Rosewood Creek between Northwood Boulevard and Tahoe Boulevard in Incline Village, Nevada. For my project, I took daily turbidity measurements of the creek above and below the construction site, visually documented the construction process, and learned to write the daily construction reports.

As a guest speaker in Andy Rost’s sustainability class, I gave a presentation on river restorations and led the class on a walking tour of the Third Creek restoration. The final component of my project was a video about the Rosewood Creek restoration that I compiled from my visual documentation.

Interdisciplinary Studies @ SNC The Tahoe Experience
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