As a storm rolled in over the Prince William Sound, Harjoe sought to press forward with the day’s study. Harjoe was determined to continue the search, but also did not want to put the team into harms way, a tough call to make when finding the time and money to be in the field is fleeting.

Carmen Harjoe is an graduate student pursuing her Ph.D. in integrative biology at Oregon State University. Her research focuses on understanding how various pathogens effect amphibians and their ecosystems. In particular, she focuses on the Boreal toad, a species that used to be abundant in the area around Cordova, but whose populations have since died off.

Harjoe and her undergraduate research assistant, Brooke Rigoni, start off their survey measuring the tide. In recent years, the Boreal Toad has become less prominent in the ecosystems around Cordova Alaska, so noting all of the day’s conditions are important when it comes to understanding when and where toads are found.

Rigoni squats down to take the temperature of the water to assess if toads could be in the area, gathering clues so the researchers can determine where to look.

The pair is led through the mudflats along the Orca Inlet by Rachel Ertz, a Fisheries Technician for the USFS. At least one of the team members must be armed with a bear gun on the survey as a safety precaution, and today, Ertz gets to do the honors.

As the team moved along, we came across fresh bear tracks here and there, keeping our eyes peeled as we entered the brush, knowing that company was nearby.

Rigoni reels the measuring tape in after Harjoe paced a survey site, unfortunately neither of them spotted an Boreal toads, which have hardly been seen in the area for many years. The hope is that their study can help the team understand why.

As a part of her research, Harjoe measures the length of the area she is surveying by splitting her paces. If she were to spot a toad, her sample sizes would help indicate where more of them could potentially be found.

In between survey sections, Harjoe laughs when she noticed I was snapping a shot of her munching on a PB&J. Despite not having come across any of the toads, Harjoe remains optimistic, and is enjoying time spent under the sun out in the field.

Laughter can be heard in the distance as the trio walks about the the anchored skiff, before moving on the survey Hichinbrook Island a couple miles out into the inlet.

As cloud pillows settle over the coastline, a storm blows in from the south ready to take away what sunshine was left in the day.