BTNP Biologist Lisa Jamison looks on while the DESCO team identifies herbaceous vegetation, as aided by Dr. Larry Brown, an expert plant taxonomist.

DESCO concluded a Post-Operational Vegetation Assessment of the Big Sandy Creek Unit to determine impacts from the Knight Phase II 3-D Seismic Survey. DESCO compared pre- and post-project data from vegetation plots affected by the survey. This is the final phase of a three year project in the Big Thicket National Preserve.

In other news, DESCO is monitoring another 3-D seismic survey further east, in the Hickory Creek Savannah and Village Creek Corridor Units of the BTNP. DESCO has completed environmental permits in conjunction with several 3-D seismic surveys for the US Army Corps of Engineers and US Fish and Wildlife Service in east Texas and Louisiana. As part of the mandate for these projects, DESCO biologists have ventured into the field to survey for threatened and endangered species, as well as eagle nests and bird rookeries.  ¶ 10:36 AM