Internship Information | Student Internship Portfolios | Resources | Contact
CalStudies : NPS Internships : Natural Resources : Mori Point : Fort Funston : Tom Elliott : Vitad Pradith
Vitad Pradith
E-mail: vitad@sfsu.edu
Area of Service: Cultural Resources
Park Site: Mori Point & Fort Funston
Mentor: Tom Elliott & Jesse Fujikawa
Fall 2003

Overview:
My duties fell under the jurisdiction of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, more specifically, the Site Stewardship Program (SSP). The National Park Service (NPS) in collaboration with SSP have undergone an exciting project to provide natural resource data to the NPS in order to determine management and restoration practices within Mori Point, a new addition to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) located in Pacifica, CA. Mori Point offers a unique opportunity to study the potential success of habitat restoration through various implementation methods. The project entails the data collection of invasive plants to determine restoration priorities as well as the protection of rare and endangered plants and animals.  

 
 Materials Produced during Internship:
 - Analysis  of selected Invasive Species at Mori Point (.pdf) 
 - Analysis of Bank Swallow Site, Fort Funston National Park (.pdf)

Portfolio Items:
 - Résumé
 - Description of the National Park Service
  - Description of Internship
  - Evaluation of Internship
  - Photographs of the Internship

Résumé
Education · Bachelor Candidate, Geography, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA    
  (May 2004) Major: Geography - Minor: Biology, 3.6/4.0 GPA
· Bachelor Candidate, University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA Major: Geography - 
  Minor: Biology
Experience 10/03 - Date: Mid-Peninsula Open Space District, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Santa Cruz Co. 
GIS Specialist Intern, Collection of data, digitizing, scanning and geo-referencing imagery, metadata development, Geo-database editing/management, and creation of high-quality maps.

9/03 - Date: Parks Conservancy-National Park Service, Mori Point, Pacifica 
GPS/GIS Intern, Identification of a core group of project-related plant species. Mapping invasive/native plant species and endangered species by integrating GPS/GIS and hand mapping techniques. 

1/03 - Date: BSS Computing, San Francisco State University, San Francisco 
BSS Lab Consultant Team Leader/Software Support, Administration, file recovery, education (Microsoft and ESRI products), and development of student lab consultants under the BSS Computing Labs domain.

7/03 – 12/03: Parks Conservancy-National Park Service, Fort Funston, San Francisco Habitat Restoration Team, GIS Research Project, “Change Detection Analysis of the Bank Swallow Site.” (ERDAS Imagine 8.6) Performed invasive plant removal and native plant restoration through plant propagation, planting, and seed collection.

9/02 -12/02: Geographic Information Technologies Lab, University of Massachusetts - Boston
GIT Lab Assistant, Maintenance of GIT lab, database management, network backups, and printer/plotter upkeep. Provide GIS software support to incoming users.

1/97 -12/02: Police and Security, Harvard University Medical School, Boston 
Assistant Systems Administrator, First tier technical assistance to end users of security administration software, database management in a UNIX/OpenVMS environment, hardware troubleshooting.
Systems Proficiency Systems: 
ArcGIS 8.x, ArcView 3.x, ERDAS Imagine 8.6, Windows 95 through XP, UNIX, DOS, OpenVMS, Solaris, Trimble Pro XR/XRS/GeoExplorer3/Pathfinder Office, Garmin 12XL/eTrex, Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint), Norton Ghost, Adobe Photoshop 7.0/Illustrator 10.

Familiarity: 
Java and C programming languages, Linux.

In Progress: 
Macromedia Studio MX (Freehand, Dreamweaver, Flash), AutoCAD 2004 LT
Professional Affiliations Association of American Geographers (AAG)Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA)

 

Description of National Park Service
"...to promote and regulate the use of the...national parks...which purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."
-National Park Service Organic Act, 16 U.S.C.1.

This is the mission statement of the National Park Service. It is an organization that upholds the principles that interweave our natural and social environments. The history of the National Park Service (NPS) begins with the creation of the Department of Interior in 1916, this department, enacted by President Woodrow Wilson began its mission of preserving and protecting the nation’s parks and monuments. For the purposes of this essay, three organizations will be introduced: the National Park Service, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. Each unit is unique in its mission, but shares a similar vision and goal.

NPS employs ‘guiding principles’ that aid in the vision of the mission statement, these principles are comprised of a series of standards that include among others: excellent service, citizen involvement, heritage education, and shared capabilities. These standards have becoming a leading reason of the success of the NPS.

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) is as a subsidiary of the NPS. Its organization have lauded it the impressive title of being one of the world’s largest urban parks. GGNRA also utilizes the mission statement of its parent. Moreover, the goal of the GGNRA is to “preserve and enhance the natural environment and cultural resources of the coastal lands north and south of the Golden Gate.” The spirit of the GGNRA also emphasizes the importance of community involvement and stewardship.

Lastly, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy (Parks Conservancy) is unique in that it is located within the boundaries of the GGNRA. It is a separate entity whose mission is to provide stewardship to the lands under the jurisdiction of the GGNRA by working in close cooperation with one another. My unit, the Site Stewardship Program under the Parks Conservancy is dedicated to the restoration of disturbed areas, and the protection of habitat of threatened or endangered species. This unit works closely with NPS to mitigate, administrate, and educate parks within the GGNRA. 

References
Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
2003 Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy: About us.
http://www.parksconservancy.org/about_us/index.html, accessed Nov. 12, 2003.

Golden Gate National Recreation Area
2003 Golden Gate National Recreation Area (National Park Service).
http://www.nps.gov/goga/, accessed Nov. 12, 2003.

National Park Service.
2003 The National Park Service’s Mission Statement.
http://www.nps.gov/training/mission.htm, accessed Nov. 12, 2003.

Description of Redwood Creek Restoration Film Internship 
Job Description
My duties fell under the jurisdiction of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, more specifically, the Site Stewardship Program (SSP). The National Park Service (NPS) in collaboration with SSP have undergone an exciting project to provide natural resource data to the NPS in order to determine management and restoration practices within Mori Point, a new addition to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) located in Pacifica, CA. Mori Point offers a unique opportunity to study the potential success of habitat restoration through various implementation methods. The project entails the data collection of invasive plants to determine restoration priorities as well as the protection of rare and endangered plants and animals. Mori Point in particular is home to the endangered California red-legged frog, the San Francisco garter snake, and an array of native and exotic plant species.
My current role in this process involves the integration of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) with Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Using these technologies, habitat recovery efforts can be realistically compared. These technologies can also heavily influence perspective restoration techniques, as well as chronicle the successes of particular restoration methods.

Preparation
Most of the preparation toward this internship comes from my love of the environment. Through schooling I have acquired skill sets that range from GIS Analyses to Ecological Field Sampling. Volunteer opportunities have also prepared me for my current role; I am a proud member of the Fort Funston Green Team, a dedicated group of citizens devoted to the habitat restoration of Fort Funston National Park. Some of the duties involved the propagation of native plants in the plant nursery, but also more invasive techniques such as pulling out non-natives (e.g. Capobrotis Edulis, a.k.a. Ice plant) that may lay in a specific area. My role in technology has also benefited my experiences. Many of my past experiences have been enveloped within the integration of GIS into an expanded role into other disciplinary realms such as Biology and other Social Sciences. I am indeed fortunate to have had an opportunity in the administration and education of this wonderful tool.

On site training
Most of the training was provided by the staff at SSP. Some of the newly acquired skill sets include plant identification, hand mapping techniques, and database construction and architecture of the plants occurrence database. As a result of these newly acquired skills, I have been better able to map specific plant species and to later prioritize them for further investigation. These skills culminate into a typical day describe in the proceeding.
A typical day involved sectional mapping of a particular area within Mori Point, our team will map the existence of 2-3 particular invasive plant species. The particular plant specie is decided upon by SSP with our input through factors such as abundance or rate of propagation. This method allowed us to systematically input data into the GIS, which can influence the tasks of the next week.

Project Objectives
The results of the day’s data collection culminate into a preliminary map depicting the locations of particular species, and theorizing why and how they may have propagated there. This preliminary map is then added to the GIS where it can be chronicled for future study. The final product of this internship is an organized spatial and tabular data set for the purpose of managing invasive species at Mori Point.

Evaluation of Internship
This was an absolutely wonderful experience. To be afforded the opportunity to study on scientifically “unstudied” ground is nothing short of phenomenal. Through this internship, I have been able to better connect myself with the methodologies I have studied from institutions such as San Francisco State University and the University of Massachusetts. The experience of being at Mori Point leaves me with a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Being afforded the opportunity to further elucidate and compound my skills in Geographic Systems (GIS) has only solidified my resolve toward the preservation and conservation of the environment. Moreover, the opportunity to apply biological skills toward the project has only increased my thirst for further knowledge. Rather than pursuing biology as a minor, I have been contemplating the achievement of a second bachelor’s degree in biology to further complement my degree in geography. 

Besides a great team dynamic, the staff at the Parks Conservancy has really nurtured us by providing an insight into the Nation Park Service’s vision and how it applies to the real world. It is an awesome feeling to realize that you are part of something ‘great’. The Site Stewardship Program (SSP) has provided me with a great responsibility, but also more importantly, the have provided their trust in me. Tom Elliot has devotedly given and shared his knowledge and powerful observations. I can say that it is greatly appreciated by me, but also by our team. This insight has increased my view of the world, but more importantly how it can be viewed through ‘different’ perspectives.

I have grown tremendously from my experiences. Besides the newly acquired skill sets, I have made many new friends and learned the intricacies of working within a group dynamic, or rather what it takes have a good one. My skill sets have grown and now encompass the field of biology and geology. But I yearn for more. It is interesting to note that the boundaries between the various disciplines such as biology, ecology, geography, and even technology have become increasingly blurred. I find this very comforting…