Lara Short Email and Phone Number

Working throughout the Pacific Northwest, in Idaho, Washington and Oregon to leave forests better than we found them. Working on a small camping crew for 10-weeks in a fully immersive experience. Work may include but not limited to: trail maintenance, invasive plant species control, and erosion control. This is a job that is through Americorps in collaboration with the Northwest Youth Corps.

Aquatic Nuisance Species Park Ranger at Lake Powell (Glen Canyon National Recreation Area) working toward raising awareness and preventing the spread of Quagga and Zebra mussels.

I got the opportunity to work and learn about research in an Aquatic Ecology lab led by Dr. Jake Hosen at Purdue University. I worked on data entry and management, using various wet chemistry equipment (SEAL analyzer, centrifuge, autoclave, etc) and am getting involved in assisting with microbial research in genetics and fisheries labs associated with the ecology lab. I have assisted our post-doc researcher and grad students in projects such as analyzing and digesting (breaking down substances to analyze nutrients) zooplankton from the Great Lakes. As of Spring 2024, for my final semester at Purdue, I was primarily focused and tasked with working in two additional lab locations on campus where I got the opportunity to learn how to do mussel DNA extractions specifically for Fatmucket, Plain Pocketbook, and Wabash Pigtoe species.

I got the opportunity to live and work at Lake Powell during the summer of 2023. I performed watercraft inspections and decontaminations to help limit and contain the spread of Aquatic Invasive Species. Specifically, we were interested in containing Quagga and Zebra mussels. I obtained skills in data entry, public education and extension.