At the bottom of a valley along a river were multiple survey points that were next on our priority list. We could see that the area was very green and wet, distinct from the many sites we had previously visited. Determined to reach the Great Valley, we took the only two-track we could find in the direction we wanted to go — down. The descent was an uneasy one, to say the least, with extremely uneven and rocky terrain. I continued to realize new limits of the truck (limits you do not want to go out of your way to try to test). Oh, what a great feeling it was when the truck was finally parallel to the horizon. It was one of those roads that you went down with no intention (or possibility) of climbing back up. “We will find another way out of this valley, for sure,” I reassured Maria. She was hesitant to believe my naive optimism, an unfortunate foreshadowing of what was to come later.

On the brighter side, the valley was everything I would have hoped it to be and more. It was a beautiful wetland, with a slow moving stream and flooded grasslands; an oasis for insects, amphibians, and many interesting and unique flora that we do not usually get to see in the sage.

The winds picked up and I felt a sudden cool down, you know that, “oh, there’s a storm brewin’ feelin'” ? I looked up to find a large mass of dark clouds headed our way. We wrapped up our current survey and headed back to the truck. Come to find out, all of the two tracks that had appeared promising were on the other side of the stream, a winding stream with banks too steep and too wet to drive over. In addition to the stream, there were deep canyons that ran through the landscape like the way a small crack in your windshield soon spreads and expands in unpredictable ways. Without a two-track in site that was reachable, we knew we would have to “off-road” it for a while. The vegetation was thick and made it difficult to see what was ahead or beneath us. The soil was damp, alkaline sand. It was about an hour and a half of driving a few meters, stopping, getting out of the car, walking to see if it was “do-able,” realizing it is not, walking to find a new route around or through it, repeat. When we at last reached a track that headed up and out of the valley, relief and pride energized us both. I couldn’t help but to burst out with laughter.   “Two-tracks” was a foreign concept to me when I first arrived; little did I know that the mere sight of one would feel like winning a championship game.

It was hard to believe that we pulled that one off without getting stuck. Gaining new skills every day.

I remember reading through the CLM blog after submitting an application, feeling very curious and eager to imagine what my life could look like in just a few months. And I also remember trying to de-code all of the acronyms people were using and figure out what it was that they were doing, as I had never worked for a government agency and was fresh out of undergrad.

running transects through a greasewood dominant plot

AIM (Assessment, Inventory and Monitoring) is a method that the BLM is now using to monitor natural resources, make better management decisions, and contribute to long-term monitoring of the land and the vegetation that occupies it.

In a nutshell: At each site, three 25-meter transects run in different directions from a central point. At multiple points along those transects, many measurements are taken such as soil stability and canopy gaps. Species richness is calculated for the site, and a 1-meter deep pit is dug to determine the composition of the horizons, the soil’s texture and color. Knowing the common species of plants in your area makes it go a lot faster, but even then, each site takes the crew about 2.5 hours, sometimes 3 (depending on how easy it is to navigate to the site). I enjoy going out with them to AIM and am starting to recognize most common species; my appreciation and admiration for both the botanists and the plants they study has grown immensely.

my co-interns valiantly opening and closing all gates as we pass through

As the office is pressed for time to get all sites surveyed, we get the chance to help out as much as we can, even if it is just to help record data. For the most part, however, the two other wildlife interns and I are focussing on our amphibian project. We have over 200 locations that we need to navigate to and assess the quality/suitability of the habitat. Finding the locations is the most time consuming part, but also the most adventurous and fun.This need for navigation has led to daily practice with GIS/GPS software, a great skill to take with you wherever you go. Also, we are now all experts in barbed-wire fence climbing, two-track finding and gate-opening, other useful skills to have in life, certainly. 

Often the sites we survey are stock ponds, but when we are lucky, we get to trek through stream beds and river banks searching for any life form of amphibians: egg masses, tadpoles, metamorphs, and adults. Before this internship, I did not have a lot of experience with amphibians (other than hunting for them and keeping them as pets as a kid), but have since enjoyed the opportunity to thoroughly research the biology and life history of these organisms. It’s always an exciting day when we find frogs.

Nearly all of the frogs that we have found thus far are Boreal Chorus Frogs (Pseudacris maculata). Just two days ago, my co-intern Lara found the first (what we think) Boreal Toad! It was a juvenile which made it more difficult to identify, but the red spots appear to be indicative of the western boreal (Anaxyrus boreas). Miles from any permanent source of water or forested area, we found this toad to be quite the enigma as they are generally absent from dry, shrub-steppe habitat.

In addition to the amphibians, there is undoubtedly something new to see and discover each day. Knowing this has continued to fuel a sense of wonder and curiosity, as well as eagerness to wake up and go into work each morning.

We’ve also had opportunities to participate with other spontaneous and miscellaneous projects. One of the Biologists that works permanently at the Pinedale field office, Teresa, invited us to help set up bluebird houses with the local 10th grade class. I loved the chance to interact with the community and to share some cool facts about bluebirds with the students. They all seemed eager and excited to be there, which was great to see and a blast to be a part of.

Hoping that everyone is having a wonderful summer so far!

Being stationed at the BLM in Salmon, ID as the first CLM interns in the office means that everyone is just as lost in the protocol for SOS as we are. While the workshop at the gardens helped to ease some of the confusion, going out for our first time to collect with no one but ourselves seemed like a daunting task.

Luckily the week before the workshop we went on a tour of our field office with the Idaho State Botanist, Ann DeBolt and we mentioned to her that part of our internship was to do SOS collections. She thought it was great that we were able to help out with the program. We told her that we were a little weary of starting the collections, and she had the brilliant idea to send us help.

Dick and Sandy are retirees that have been working with the SOS program in Boise, for 6 years and counting. Both have had a lifelong affair with nature. Dick worked for his whole career in the Forest Service, and Sandy’s career has been as a Botanist. Needless to say, they really know their plants. Thankfully they were able to drive up to Salmon, and stay for a few days to help us do collections.

With their knowledge we were able to do four collections in just 2 days, and on top of that they scouted out several other sites with in our field office that would make prime collection sites. They filled the day with tips on pressing plants, soil testing, and specimen collections, they entertained us with delightful stories about their time in Idaho and their time working in the government. And their trusty side kick Casey the golden retriever gave us some much needed dog snuggles.

With their help we are now much more confident with our SOS skills, and I fully believe that this summer would not go as smoothly if it wasn’t for their initial guidance and help. Thanks again guys!

Happy collecting everyone!

Sierra Sampson

BLM- Salmon, ID

Hello from New England! I am one of the Seeds of Success interns, based out of Garden in the Woods in Massachusetts, and doing seed collection on the New England coast. I’m having a fantastic time with my team and learning so much! For those of you just tuning in, here’s a little background of what we are doing: The seeds we collect will be sent to storage facilities and propagators to grow them, and eventually the plants from these seeds will be used as part of coastal restoration projects (many in areas damaged by Hurricane Sandy). By collecting seeds from large populations near the sites that will use these plants, we aim to give these projects plants that are both genetically diverse, but also representative of local genotypes and are adapted to local environmental conditions. However as it is still too early in the season, we haven’t done any seed collecting yet. Most of our time this past month has been spent learning and studying plants, and scouting out sites for future collections. We have also met with a few project managers at restoration project sites, where plants grown from our seed collections will be used. This has been an extremely valuable part of my learning experience in the internship in order to see the bigger picture of the impact our seed collection will make, and where we fit in to the whole process.

Our view while eating breakfast on our way to Stonington, CT last week. We’ve had a meal with a view like this almost every day in the field so far!

I especially got a lot out of our visit to a site in Stonington, CT last week. After camping over in Rhode Island last Thursday, we packed up our campsite Friday morning, grabbed some bagels, and headed to the site (not without getting slightly lost along the way of course) to meet a woman named Beth. We pulled onto a side street in an adorable little town, and were quickly met by a rocky coast heading into the water on the right. On the left, surrounded by a few houses, was the site – a sort of empty, muddy pit. The outer edges contained the typical plant life you would expect to see near the coast, however any sign of life dropped off immediately at the center of the pit.

Right side of the site – notice the distinct lack of vegetation in the center.

The left side of the site – notice how the vegetation suddenly drops off…

Beth greeted us with a huge smile, and excitedly shared about the work she and her coworkers had been doing here. As she explained the history and ecology of the site, a daunting list of hurdles became evident:
– Problem 1: Before it was a residential community, the area was composed of many factories, including a pottery factory right on the site, which had burned down in the 1950s.
– Problem 2: After the fire, site filled in with invasive Phragmites.
– Problem 3: During strong tides, the waves came over the wall of the pit and filled it with ocean water. Having no way to retreat back to the ocean, the water evaporates, concentrating the salt into the soil.
– Problem 4: Due to the increase in development and housing, fresh water drained in from neighboring streets began to also seep in to the site.
– Problem 5: October 2012, Hurricane Sandy greatly impacted the area. However, with the hurricane came more funding to restore coastal habitat. The DEP began taking care of the Phragmites with mowing and herbiciding cycle.
– Problem 6: While the removal of the Phragmites was rather successful, the mowing and digging led to very compacted soil.
– Problem 7: After most of the Phragmites was removed, they received a grant to plant native plants at the site. They chose plants that were ideal for that kind of harsh coastal habitat, yet for some reason, these plants immediately and very drastically died. Soil tests revealed one of the main impacts of Problem 1 from the factories – the soil had very high lead content.

Healthy patches of Solidago sempervirens (seaside goldenrod) along the edge of the site.

A very unhappy Solidago sempervirens, less than a foot away from the healthy patch in the picture above. This is a common coastal plant that normally can withstand very aggressive conditions.

Just when it seemed like Beth and her team were making progress, they were catapulted back to square 1. Essentially, they needed to find several plants that would grow well in soil with high salt content, freshwater as well as tidal influx, salt spray off the ocean, high lead content, and compacted soil – not to mention the very particular aesthetic of the neighbors that needed to be satisfied. Budgets and grants also had to be considered… If anyone reading this knows where we can find magical super-plants that meet all of these requirements, please let us know. You may become a millionaire. Or at least be crowned King/Queen of Conservation. In the meantime, Beth has been planting plugs of the grass Spartina patens, and has had some moderate success. Yet to top it all off, the local crows have decided to start a game with Beth and began pulling up the plugs and dropping them a few feet away to dry out in the sun.

Some of the planted plugs of Spartina patens doing well, closer to the coast line.

I need to pause here to appreciate Beth’s optimism. As if this site wasn’t already a seemingly complete disaster with no straight answer to bring it back to a healthy ecosystem, the crows pulling out the plugs was just the icing on the cake. I know if it were me, that would have tipped me over the edge. However Beth saw this as just another piece of the puzzle to be solved.

Pile of Spartina patens plugs we collected. After we left, Beth took these all back to her house to water them and soak them in a nutrient solution. She planned to plant them in deeper the next day to hopefully prevent the crows from pulling them up again.

Near the end of our time with Beth, we helped her pick up the Spartina plugs scattered by the crows. As we gently gathered the plugs one by one, I looked around at the site and felt what I’m sure is a piece of what keeps Beth going at this site. When you are in the mundane of work like that, it is sometimes hard to remember why you are there in the first place. Yet with the perspective that your work is a small thread connected to other small threads, working and weaving together to create a tapestry of something bigger than ourselves, your purpose becomes clear. Conservation is one of those fields that requires extreme, almost illogical optimism, and a willingness to fight for something that you may not see the end result of in your lifetime. I am grateful to have seen this perspective in action, and hope to apply it to the rest of my field season.

Signing off with peace, love, and lots of plants,

Krista Heilmann

Seeds of Success Intern

New England Wild Flower Society, Framingham, MA

A few days I ago I was making the long morning drive to Needles, and I passed a coyote walking down the side of the road. It was shortly after 6am and slightly under 100F, a quiet morning of sun and highway. He barely flinched as I drove past him pushing 60, like he knew I was there to just pass by.

It’s hot here in the Mojave. We love to talk about it. You know when you’re baking and you open the oven? The feeling of the heat rushing over your face and arms? It’s a little like that. It’s astonishing, and only harsh in the forgivable kind of way.

Some days we drive two, three hours to our field site. Those days, emerging from air-conditioning and drive-induced daydreams, the hot desert wind goes right through me. Like it sees all the other places my mind goes, and it wants to ground me. It works, mostly. It’s humbling, and I’m thankful.

The creosote blooms, and fruits, and blooms again. Soon the monsoon season will be upon us, meeting the desert with an abounding sizzle.

The other week, I had the unique opportunity to join native plant specialists from all over the western region on a guided tour of a privatized native plant material center.   Federal organizations came in from all over the west to witness first-hand the detailed process that Jerry Benson and his staff are working on to provide generations with native seed for restoration projects.  The first day on the tour of Benson Farms Inc. we were shown five restoration fields that ranged in age from 4 year plots all the way to a 15 year plot.  These restoration sites focused on using native bunch grasses, specifically Bluebunch wheatgrass, Pseudoroegneria spicata, as well as forbs to naturally outcompete fields of invasive cheat grass and crested wheatgrass.

4 Year Plot

The restoration fields require a lot of prep work. Jerry’s crew literally scrapes the land clean; harrowing, mowing, spraying and harrowing again.  It is very extensive, but in the end it pays off, and he is able to show within 15 years how a field of native plants can take over and clear out a huge vast wasteland of cheat grass and crested wheatgrass.  Fields upon fields of this stuff is  reverted right in front of your eyes like some skeptical magic trick.

10 year Plot

The results were astonishing. Upon starting my current internship with the BLM in Wenatchee, WA, cheat grass was noted to me as a hopeless invasive because it has already infiltrated so many microhabitats that are deemed irreversible due to lack of money and time. And here I am witnessing site after site where native species are claiming back their take on the land, and within 15 years (which, well, does seem long, except for in the eyes of a restoration biologist)!

If that wasn’t enough, Benson Farms Inc. continued their tour the next day through their fields of native plant grow outs and forb production facilities. Have you ever seen rows upon rows, and whole fields just filled with native plants?  It gave any plant lover a sheer chill of excitement that lasted them at least through the weekend.

Benson Farms Inc. notices how crucial the end result is, so they take better care in the initial production stages as well as during the critical seed production years. They have an incredible success rate, which seems to carry their reputation above the rest of the native plant material centers and why they are so heavily utilized across the western states. They put in the extra effort to make sure the seed fulfills its full potential and makes it to a restoration site.

The lack of demand still makes this avenue a very unaffordable option for the grower. Jerry and his company are becoming nationally recognized, yet he still has his staple agricultural crops that he produces in order to make enough money.  Native plants unfortunately don’t provide this, due to lack of demand.

I hope Benson Farms Inc. is just the beginning for native plant material centers in the private industry, and its success rate will spark people to increase the demand for such an operation. I learned how many people in my field desire to work in such a facility.  We realize that change starts with the seed, and we need a means to increase the seed.  So let’s keep collecting the native seeds and increase their propagation, in order to better conserve all natives.

Calo Girl Signing Out….

Hello faithful readers, it is officially summer! Though it has felt like summer here in the Mojave for quite a while now. In each blog post, I have been tempted to write about the heat. Every time, I think “surely it can’t get any hotter than this” and yet the temperature continues to climb. So although the thermometers have scaled to new heights this week with temperatures over 110 degrees Fahrenheit (a personal record for me), I doubt the heat’s full ambition has been realized. Not to worry though because, to quote the cliché, “it’s a dry heat.” Being from the Midwest, where the summer humidity often teeters around ninety percent, this was always a mysterious phrase. It does make quite a difference though! In the dessert, you feel as though you are being slowly baked in an oven, as opposed to melted in a sauna. You are not perpetually sticky and things like shade and sweat are actually effective coolants. Nonetheless, I am grateful for a bit of office work when it comes my way!

In the last month we have put the “petal” to the metal and hit a crest in our seed collection numbers with six new collections. The heat has driven us up in elevation or into shaded canyons. Thus two of our collections are from Surprise Canyon in Panamint Valley, just west of Death Valley. Spoiler alert: the surprise in Surprise Canyon is water! There is a spring-fed creek that winds its way down the base of the canyon. But the canyon also concealed a few other surprises, including a couple of rusted trucks. We were entirely baffled as to how the trucks got in there in the first place because our hike involved a fair amount of scrambling and climbing. No matter how high your clearance is, a truck could not have made it up. Yet a road used to lead up to a small city, so the most plausible explanation is that the road was washed out by a flash flood. The second surprise was a healthy population of Epipactis gigantea, stream orchid. Lucky for us each fruit contains an insane amount of seeds (at least thousands) which makes for a simple collection!

One of Surprise Canyon’s surprises.

Stream orchid (Epipactis gigantea) seed capsules and their thousands of microscopic  seeds.

We completed another two collections up at Walker Pass, along the Pacific Crest Trail in the Southern Sierra Nevada Mountains. Our first collection there was Ericameria linearifolia, narrowleaf goldenbush. Since there are plenty of ericameria species to go around and (in my novice opinion) a solid assortment of look-alike species, it took us a few tries with the key to figure out what we were collecting! We enjoyed the area so much and there were so many species fruiting, that we decided to go back for another collection, this time of Chaentactis xantiana, Xantus pincushion. The pinyon pines and junipers were a welcome reprieve from the stretches of low-lying shrubs. Plus, plenty of hikers passed us along the trail and spiced-up our days. It was neat to meet thru-hikers and hear their stories. Some were even curious what we were up to and we explained that we were collecting native seeds for long term storage, research, and conservation projects.

The view from Walker Pass on the Pacific Crest Trail.

A brilliantly-colored caterpillar exploring our target species, narrowleaf goldenbush (Ericameria linearifolia).

We finally met a member of the celebrity calochortus genus, Calochortus invenustus, (Plain Mariposa Lily).

For an even more drastic break from the desert, we traveled to Chicago for the CLM internship workshop hosted at the Chicago Botanic Gardens. There we welcomed grass, trees, and, yes, even the humidity with open arms! Overall, the workshop was a grand time, every day jammed-packed with information and new faces, leaving me exhausted and inspired. The workshop included a symposium focused around “seed sourcing for restoration in a changing climate.” I enjoyed hearing a spectrum of perspectives from academia to government to private business. The speakers helped give context to the seed collections I am personally contributing. We also learned about conservation genetics and monitoring methods, or as I like to put it, the science behind wandering around in the desert. Even though I have already been learning on the job many of the things taught in the workshop, there were still plenty of new tips. It was also valuable confirmation that we have been doing our job right! One of the most exciting parts of the week was meeting interns from all over the country, currently scattered across the western United States. I enjoyed swapping field stories and sharing the personal histories that landed us in conservation. Generally, the week gave me a greater understanding of the scope and purpose of the CLM program.

Chicago skyline on a lovely afternoon in Lincoln Park.

CLMer’s waste no time in trying out their new found monitoring skills.

And back to some heated collections!

E. O’Connell
Ridgecrest BLM Office