Elsa, Kira and Katelynn made their first sampling visit to IDENT this week for the spongy moth project. They will be returning throughout the spring to count egg masses laid last season in order to estimate the population size for this season. This is the first phase of the project, which will continue to track the infestation throughout the spring and summer. Through this project, we hope to better understand how diversity can help lessen the impacts and spread of pest outbreaks in forests.