Over the past month and a half, I've been thoroughly engrossed in my research, and it's honestly been really fun. While I waited for my IRB to be processed, I dug up park service records, postcards dating as far back as 1911, and even found an original 1960 Delaware River Basin report from the Army Corps of Engineers that is currently sitting on my desk (gathering a bit of dust) as I write. I more or less followed my original research schedule, but still managed to go down the rabbit hole on a few topics here and there — I got really into fish and stream studies for a few days. After reaching out to four or five historical societies in the area for records, my IRB was cleared, and with the help of the Bushkill Historical Society, I contacted dozens of former residents and conducted 10 interviews over the past month.

Interviewing people was probably the highlight of my research experience. I've loved speaking to residents and former residents about my project and hearing more about their experiences, which has shifted my project quite a bit from my more policy-based thesis. Transcribing and coding all 10 interviews in addition to the various interview records has been quite an undertaking. My focus on interviews has truly informed my project, which now examines how the federal government frames and responds to environmental challenges in the area differently from residents' framing and responses, resulting in legacies of visceral governmental distaste.

Over the course of my research period, I've thankfully compiled most of my sources in an organized manner. In the next few weeks, I will begin to draft my paper, going back through interview transcripts, book notes, and more. Having to switch from absorbing to analyzing and synthesizing mountains of information will be a bit like changing gears, but I'm excited to finally add my voice to the mix and write something meaningful and genuinely interesting for people to read.