Haley Wiggins Email & Phone Number

Bainbridge Island, Washington, United States

As the manager of Gardens South, which includes the Buxton Bird Marsh and Pollinator Meadow, I identify priorities and projects, develop management strategies and planting plans, source and order plants and seeds, work with our nursery manager to propagate plants for particular uses and areas, direct employees working in my area, document activities and plantings, manage bird and pollinator databases, collect plant data, collaborate with Development, Communication, Leadership, and Guest Services staff, manage volunteers, lead tours, and of course, do lots of weeding, planting, pruning, and seeding. The area I'm responsible for was recently renovated and my management priorities are specifically focused on the provision of high-quality wildlife and pollinator habitat. As our CEO has so eloquently stated, responsible stewardship and landscape aesthetics are not mutually exclusive, and I strive to fill in our wetlands and the new pollinator meadow with plant species that support native wildlife and pollinators in patterns and assemblages that are pleasing to the eye. Invasive species control and eradication are my most challenging management priorities, but I look forward to having more resources to throw in the fight in the future. One of the most exciting developments I've played a leading role in is the initiation of an annual prescribed fire program in association with the Bainbridge Island Fire Department. While our first prescribed burn attempt in October 2021 was hindered by significant rainfall, we were able to lay the groundwork to safely implement fall burns in the Buxton Pollinator Meadow on an annual basis. This prescribed fire program will significantly improve our ability to increase the cover and diversity of native wildflower species at the expense of undesirable woody and non-native weedy species.

Bainbridge Island, Wa

As a new member of the Bloedel Reserve's horticulture team, my work is focused on improving habitat for birds and other aquatic species in and around the 'Bird Marsh' pond, and providing habitat and forage for a wide variety of pollinator species in the adjacent field.

Fremont, Seattle

I was a member of the Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team (FERA), housed within the Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station, for two long field seasons. FERA studies fuel consumption and fuel effects on fire behavior, fire emissions, and fire effects.

Missoula, Mt

In addition to managing two projects related to my Master's research, I assisted with data collection for a population viability analysis study by a fellow UM Restoration Ecology Lab graduate student (March 2016, 2017). In summer of 2016, I interned with the National Forest Foundation, where I worked on a citizen-science monitoring initiative focused on forest restoration in northern Arizona, and assisted a collaborative working group in Montana by building maps and figures quantifying and displaying known conditions in high-priority landscapes.

Missoula, Montana Area

The focus of my coursework in graduate school has been on statistical analyses, remote sensing and LiDAR data analyses, and forest restoration. In summer of 2014 I managed a post-fire (2007 Moonlight Fire) monitoring project on the Plumas National Forest and will have produced two reports for the Plumas by the completion of my Master's degree. For my thesis research, I managed a LiDAR validation project in the Sierra de San Pedro Martir of Baja, Mexico in summer of 2015. I will use this field data to improve my analysis of forest spatial pattern, which will largely be based on LiDAR data (acquired for the Martir in late November, 2015). The goal of my study of forest spatial pattern is to inform the ecological restoration of dry, fire-adapted western forests.

Our field work is in the American River Valley, conducting a chronosequence study of vegetation recovery on fires ranging from 40 to 8 years in age. Most of the field season has been in plantations where my duties are installing Common Stand Exams, collecting regeneration data, and working as the crew botanist to identify all species and collect species composition data. I have also had the opportunity to do Common Stand Exams in the Parque Nacional Sierra de San Pedro Martir in Baja, Mexico and in the Mammoth and Tahoe regions of eastern California as part of this position.

South Lake Tahoe, Ca

I worked as an AmeriCorps Volunteer once again, this time monitoring river restoration projects before, during, and after installation. Most of our work was focused on the Upper Truckee River although I did get to see the construction of the 1,200 ft long Blackwood Creek project. I developed my own native seed project as well as an Integrative Weed Management Plan for the agency, and gained experience in new disciplines such as geomorphology monitoring, stream habitat quality assessments, and volunteer event organization and implementation.

Oregon

This was an AmeriCorps position. My major job duties were stewardship focused and included invasive species mapping and control, fence maintenance and construction, prescribed fire, native species plantings, and vegetation monitoring. I worked all over the state, from Enterprise and the Zumwalt Prairie to John Day Country; from the Juniper Hills Preserve located less than 20 miles from the very center of Oregon to Eugene; and from Klamath Lake to Ashland and the Siuslaw River. These were good times and amazing learning experiences.

Mi-Wuk District, Stanislaus National Forest

In 2010 I was on the Botany Crew for the Mi-Wuk District and our duties focused on surveying project areas for sensitive, threatened, rare, and endangered plant species, as well as for noxious weeds. The highlight of this position was finding several previously unknown populations of rare species. Most of them are beautiful wildflowers growing in scenic (although often times steep) places. I became very familiar with central Sierra flora and proficient with the CA Jepson during my time there.

Mojave Desert

I was hired by the Marine Science Institute of UCSB to research the efficacy of three tamarisk (saltcedar) control treatments used on the Virgin River floodplains and their tributary washes. We collected detailed plot data in control and treated areas including measures of species diversity (Modified-Whittakers), vertical and horizontal structure (Nudds boards, point-line-intercept with heights), species percent cover (Daubenmire), and tamarisk condition. Tamarisk is an evil plant and working in it was difficult to say the least; my first post-B.S. job tested my conviction for field work but wasn't enough to turn me away.

Master’S Degree, Resource Conservation, Master'S Of Science

Activities and Societies: Wyss Fellowship Recipient; Professor of Fire Ecology Search Committee; MAGIP; Teacher's Assistant (2 semesters.

Bachelor Of Science (Bs), Wildland Restoration