2012 Oregon State Science Olympiad. B-Division Road Scholar Event National Wildlife Refuge Site Selection. Student Participants:

Transcription

1 2012 Oregon State Science Olympiad B-Division Road Scholar Event National Wildlife Refuge Site Selection Student Participants: School/Team: To answer the questions you will need a pencil, ruler, protractor, and calculator. You may also use any printed resources you brought with you. You may NOT use a computer, cell phone, or other electronic devices. You will also need the following three maps for this event: **Official Highway Map of Oregon** **USGS Hart Lake 7.5 Quadrangle** **USGS Mt. Tom 15 Quadrangle** Please write your names on this question booklet above and on each of the Answer Sheets. You may write in this question booklet to work out the answers, but only the answers you write on the official Answer Sheets will count. *DO NOT MARK ON ANY OF THE MAPS!* You will have 50 minutes to complete this event. There are 33 questions worth 58 total possible points. If a question is worth more than one point, the possible points will be stated in [brackets]; you can earn partial credit for some of these questions. Make sure to answer questions completely, include units with your measurements, and be as specific as possible when describing roads or topographic features and their locations. If you need clarification on a question, ask the event supervisor for assistance. Make sure you read the story line in italics. Some of the questions will not make sense without the story! When you leave, you must turn in all three maps, this question booklet, your team s answer sheets, and any scratch paper that you use. Good Luck Road Scholars! Original author: Michael Darin (mhdarin@gmail.com)

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3 2012 OSO Road Scholar Page 3 National Wildlife Refuge Site Selection Thank goodness you re here! We ve just received a request from Dr. Jim Beckerman, an esteemed wildlife biologist, for some expert mappers to help him with an important new conservation project. Dr. Beckerman has been commissioned by the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife to establish a protected area for endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep in eastern California. Although Dr. Beckerman knows just about everything there is to know about western North American mammals and their habitats, he doesn t have the slightest idea how to read and interpret the wealth of information contained within highway and topographic maps! Map reading is, after all, an essential skill for professional scientists and outdoor enthusiasts alike, so he would really appreciate if you would share your expertise and help him with his field work for this project. I ll explain the rest of the details along the way, but right now we ve got to go meet him in southern Oregon. Grab your mapping tools and let s go! Pull out the **Official Highway Map of Oregon** so we can plan our route to Dr. Beckerman 1. In what year was this highway map published? 2. How many states share a border with Oregon? We re starting our trip in Portland, OR and heading to the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge near Plush, OR. To get to Dr. Beckerman s field site we ll head SE on U.S. Highway 26 out of Portland 3. In which grid cell is the town of Plush, OR located? 4. What is the name of the first forest we drive through on U.S. Highway 26 after leaving Portland, OR?

4 2012 OSO Road Scholar Page 4 5. What is the name of the uniquely designated area we enter just past the junction with Oregon State Highway 216? About 13 miles before we get to Madras, OR, you glance out the window and catch a view of a shimmering river in the afternoon sun 6. What is the name of this river? 7. What road should we take to head SW towards Bend after we pass through the town of Madras? 8. According to this map, which town has a greater population: Madras, Redmond or Bend? We finally pull into Bend where we make a pit stop for some food and gas. 9. Which road do we need to take to head SE out of Bend? You decide it s a long drive, and shut your eyes for a quick nap. ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz. Suddenly the car jolts to a stop at a sign that reads, Welcome to Riley, POP Exactly how many miles have we traveled since you fell asleep in Bend? [3] 11. If we had maintained a constant speed of 65 mph, how long were you asleep for (give answer in hours/minutes)? [2] 12. What city in this county has a courthouse with records of property sales and deeds (i.e. holds the county seat )? What is the population of this town? [2]

5 2012 OSO Road Scholar Page 5 We hang a right and head south on U.S. Highway 395 through the high desert plains of southern Oregon. There s not much in the way of landmarks out here, but I was told by Dr. B that we will need to turn onto an unmarked road just past the highest point on this road 13. What is the elevation of the highest pass we go over on U.S. Highway 395? 14. If we take the very first turn after the highest pass, what type of road will we be turning onto? Plush is a tiny town, and just as soon as we pull in, we re leaving again! Hart Lake is visible a few miles east of here. Pull out the **USGS Hart Lake 7.5 Quad** map so we can find Dr. Beckerman s camp 15. What is the scale of this map? What is the contour interval? In what year was this map published? [3] 16. According to this USGS map, what type of road are we coming in on from Plush? We continue east on this road and come to a stop at the NE corner of Hart Lake 17. Does the stream between Anderson Lake and Hart Lake flow north or south? How do you know? [2] As you can see on the map, we re right on the boundary of the National Antelope Refuge where Dr. Beckerman has been working for months. This huge escarpment we re looking at to the SE is Hart Mountain, which is the highest point in the whole refuge. It serves as a topographic barrier that keeps most of the herds of pronghorn antelope in the desert grasslands to the east. Dr B. has been camped out on top of Hart

6 2012 OSO Road Scholar Page 6 Mountain to get a good view of the herds and study how they use the space in the refuge. Let s go find him and see what he has planned for us! Dr. Beckerman s camp is located at 42º N, 119º E. The UTM coordinates are E, N. The elevation at his camp is exactly 7620 ft. Locate the campsite on the map (Hint: Double-check your location by using both the Lat/Long and UTM coordinates). 18. What is the azimuth from the spillway on the NE corner of Hart Lake to Dr. B s camp? [4] 19. Describe the campsite location using Public Land Survey System (PLSS) shorthand. [3] We start at the Spillway and head up the mountain towards camp. After about 20 minutes we stop to fill up our water bottles at the spring head located in NW¼, sec. 29, T36S, R25E 20. How much elevation have we gained thus far on the hike? [2] We keep heading due SE after filling up at the spring. After another hour of steep climbing, we reach 7600 elevation to catch our breath 21. From this point, will the rest of our hike to Dr. Beckerman s camp be uphill, downhill, relatively flat or hilly? 22. Exactly how much farther do we have to hike from here (give answer in miles or feet)? [2] Welcome friends! I m so glad you could make it! Dr. Beckerman exclaims as we approach. I ve been here at the refuge all winter monitoring the pronghorn, but I need to get down to California to scout a spot for a new bighorn sheep refuge in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I flew into the small airport nearby in my own little single-engine aircraft. There s room for all of us in the plane, and it should only take a couple of hours to fly there. We gather up his gear and scramble back down to the car. Once there, we head back to Plush and look at the **Official Highway Map of Oregon**

7 2012 OSO Road Scholar Page It s been so long since Dr. B flew here that he can t remember the name of the town he flew into! He does remember that it was the closest town to Plush, OR with an airport and a population greater than 1000 people. What town is his plane in? We get to the small airport, climb into the plane, and set off for the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California! Up, up and away!!... Pull out the **USGS Mt. Tom 15 Quad** map There are very few clouds up here today at our altitude of 18,000 ft. so we have a great view of the topography in the Sierras for our reconnaissance. Dr. Beckerman brought you two along to help him read the topo map and identify different features on the ground while he flies the plane 24. What is the scale of this map? What is the contour interval? [2] 25. What is the magnetic declination here (include the direction, i.e. E or W)? 26. Locate Mt. Tom near the center of the map. Describe its location using the Public Land Survey System (PLSS). Be as precise as possible. [3] 27. What is the primary difference between the Jackrabbit Mine and the Tungsten Blue Mine located in NW¼, sec. 12, T7S, R31E? 28. The Owens River forms a very prominent canyon in the NE map area. What is the depth of the canyon (i.e. height of the canyon wall) along the Mono-Inyo County line? [3] 29. In which direction does the Owens River flow here? [2]

8 2012 OSO Road Scholar Page 8 The Dept. of Fish and Wildlife informed me that the bighorn sheep refuge will need to be placed entirely within National Forest Service Land, shouts Dr. B over the engine. Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep love open, rocky areas above 9000 ft. elevation, and they re well adapted to traversing steep slopes and canyons. 30. Approximately what percent of the map area is maintained by the National Forest Service? [2] 31. Locate Mt. Humphreys in the SW map area. What is the feature dashed in blue on the north side of Mt. Humphreys? Sierran bighorn sheep avoid dense forests and thick brush to prevent attacks by predators, and prefer quick access to high cliffs where predators are unable to follow. They also need great access to water and a lot of space since they are constantly on the move. I d like to select an area within National Forest Service land with minimal tree cover, plenty of lakes, and access to steep topography, says Dr. Beckerman 32. Based on these criteria, where is the best place on this map for the bighorn refuge? Give your answer using the name of the area (i.e. Tungsten Hills ) or by its location relative to a topographic feature (i.e. north of Round Valley Peak). [3] 33. What other USGS map(s) should Dr. B bring along next time to help him decide on a final location in this area that is well-suited for the bighorn refuge? [3] You guys have been such a great help! I couldn t have done this work without you. I ll come back next time with more maps, and we can do this all over again! Dr. Beckerman Make sure you filled in the Answer Sheets accurately and completely There should be no marks on any of the maps! Please erase pencil marks if any

9 2012 OSO Road Scholar Page 9 Turn in all three maps, this question booklet, your team s Answer Sheets, and any scratch paper that you used, and make sure your names are on each item you turn in. Thanks for participating in the 2012 OSO Road Scholar Event!

10 2012 OSO Road Scholar Page Oregon State Science Olympiad B-Division Road Scholar Event National Wildlife Refuge Site Selection Student Participants: School/Team: Total Points: Rank: ANSWER SHEET (3 pts) 11. (2 pts)

11 2012 OSO Road Scholar Page Student Participants: (4 pts) 19. (3 pts) 20. (2 pts) (2 pts) (3 pts) (3 pts) 29. (2 pts) 30. (2 pts)

12 2012 OSO Road Scholar Page (3 pts) 33. (3 pts)

13 Road Scholar Answer Key: 58 points possible (Tiebreaker questions in red) G or G8 4. Mt. Hood National Forest 5. Warm Springs Indian Reservation 6. Deschutes River 7. US Highway Bend 9. US Highway miles [3 pts] = [2pts] or = [1 pt] hour, 35 minutes = [2 pts] 1 hour, min = [1 pt] 12. Burns; ft. 14. other all weather highway 15. 1:24,000; 20 feet; Light-duty 17. North; Anderson Lake is 7 feet lower in elevation than Hart Lake or S37E [4 pts] ( = 4 pts; -1 pt for every 3º off)

14 1 19. (S½ or SW¼) SE¼, sec. 33, T36S, R25E [3] (-1 pt per incorrect part) = [2 pts] or = [1 pt] 21. Relatively flat or miles = [2 pts] or = [1 pt] 23. Lakeview, OR 24. 1:62,500; 40 feet º E 26. NW¼, SW¼, sec. 14, T7S, R30E [3 pts]; (-1 pt per incorrect part) 27. Jackrabbit is an underground mine/tunnel and Tungsten Blue is an open-pit mine ft. = [3 pts] or = [2 pt] or = [1 pt] 29. S or SE [2 pts] % = [2 pts] 60-65% or 75-80% = [1 pt] 31. glacier 32. Humphrey Basin or W/NW of Mt. Humphreys [3 pts] 33. Mt. Goddard, Blackcap Mtn, and Mt. Abbot [3 pts] (1 pt off for each missing map)