Caitlyn Clay at SAMO

  The view from Saddle Peak I had yet to see Ranger Cooper conduct a traffic stop, until Monday. She was driving me back to my dorm, and we stopped at a 4-way intersection with stop signs all-way. At the same time a motorcycle failed to come to a complete stop at the stop sign and continued down the road. Ranger Cooper turned to follow the motorcycle and close the distance. She pulled the motorcycle over and approached the biker. He surrendered his license when she asked for it and waited while she ran him. Ultimately, Ranger Cooper decided to give the biker a verbal warning. While we were driving back home Ranger Cooper was telling me that she loved conducting traffic stops and was glad I got to observe her conduct one. I didn’t think I would ever go to court until I became a Ranger, however, I had the opportunity to attend a Zoom court hearing and witness initial appearances. Ranger Cooper and I were originally attending because “Mary” from week 2 was supposed to have her appearance,

  This was the start of my week with PSRM, which stands for planning, science and resource management. On my first day I spent about an hour or so with different sections of the division. I started my morning with Cathy, and we went to examine the many raptor perches in the park. We cleaned off the wildlife cameras and switched out the memory cards so we could see what types of birds had been using the perch. Next, I went to see the GIS specialist, Denise. She showed me how she inputs location data to create accurate maps of the park. She can design maps for the visitors to use that highlight the trails, and she creates maps for the terrain itself. These maps usually have the elevation levels labeled as well as geological landmarks. Maps like this assist researchers when they conduct surveys, and the researchers can even help Denise make her maps more accurate. After that I went to the supervisor of cultural resources, Gabrielle. She explained to me how they conduct surveys of an a