We completed our last rare plant survey in July, and August has been taken over by seed collection and vegetation monitoring.

One of my favorite seeds to collect has been Oregon grape. By the end of July the thick, leathery leaves had turned a fiery orange and the pale green clump of berries darkened to a beautiful matte blue. When collecting the berries, they make a satisfying “click” when pulled from their stalk. After awhile I’d have a paper bag slumping with the weight of all the berries.

Other berries we’ve collected have been kinnikinnick, snowberries, and black currants.

Our first priority for seed collection are species in the East Bulk seed mix. This mix is a new iteration of the Seed Transfer Zone seed mix, which was previously used for revegetation seeding. Both the East Bulk and Seed Transfer Zone seed mixes are full of “work horse species” that are ideal for colonizing disturbed land and making it more suitable for other species to grow later. For the East Bulk seed mix, seeds are collected across multiple forests and grown out at the Coeur d’Alene nursery with the goal of increasing genetic diversity of seed collections.

One thing that is somewhat frustrating about seed collecting is the amount of paperwork required for each seed collection. On our tablets we make a point or polygon on the map and fill out information about the watershed, aspect, elevation, collection purpose, and associated species. Then we fill out a FACTS form which is used to help determine funding and to be able to connect the seed collection to the point on the arcGIS map. Then we fill out a Short Form which is sent with the seeds to the nursery in Coeur d’Alene. We also fill out a tag to put directly on the bag so we can keep track of them as they pile up in the office. While it does take awhile, I see how useful it can be to have multiple ways to keep track of a bunch of information.

We have also been doing some cross training with other departments this month.

With hydrology, we went electrofishing, which is one method for surveying for fish. We were doing a general presence-absence survey to see which species were in the stream and got measurements for the biggest and smallest fish of each species we caught. Electrofishing uses metal wands that shock the fish and allow a netter to scoop them up. We learned that many creeks in the Bitterroot mountains are very low conductivity because the dissolved minerals from granite do not ionize. In medium or high conductivity water, the fish get attracted to and “frozen” in the ring of the wand. But in low conductivity, the shockers don’t work that well, so we improvised by stunning the fish with the shockers and using our nets to block parts of the stream.

We were very excited when we caught a bull trout, which are a threatened species. According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, bull trout live in cold, clean, complex, and connected habitats, which includes mountain streams and Bitterroot River. The hydrologists told us that some bull trout stay in one stream their whole life, and others are migratory. But, the rising temperatures of the streams, dams and water diversions, and water usage that drains the river damages bull trout habitat. Now these fish only rarely occur in the Bitterroot river. However, the one we caught was not messing around—while in the bucket it tried to eat another fish!

Our other cross training was with archaeology, surveying cambium peeled trees. According to Meghan and Matt, the archaeologists we went out with, the trees at this site were most likely peeled by the Bitterroot Salish and Nez Perce between the 1860’s and the 1910’s, though this practice has been around for thousands of years. In the spring they would peel the outer bark from the tree and eat the inner cambium layer which is a rich source of carbohydrates. For the survey we measured tree diameter at breast height, the length, width, and depth of the scar, aspect, and tree condition. Some trees also had test scars and cut marks that we also measured.

The other main project we have been working on is vegetation monitoring. This includes decommissioned roads that have been seeded as well as landings and burn piles from logging that have been turned into pollinator islands. We use line-point intercept monitoring to evaluate vegetation growth. This involves setting up measuring tapes between two set points marked with rebar, then at each foot, dropping a “pin” which is a long thin rod. We record the canopy above the pin, the vegetation that hits the pin, and the ground cover. This data is then used to determine the success of the seeding or planting, and to keep track of erosion.

One thing I find both difficult and enjoyable about monitoring is the challenge of determining different species from limited information. Because we started monitoring in August, some plants have started to senesce and shrivel, or they are still vegetative and have not yet produced any flowers, which makes them difficult to identify.

This makes monitoring kind of like a scavanger hunt. While monitoring a pollinator island, I came across this shriveled plant. As I investigated its dried form, with its creepy, curling petal-bits, nothing came to mind. I was stumped. I marked it as an unknown and continued monitoring. Later, I came across a harebell that solved the mystery. It had both shriveled and young flowers, confirming that the weird spikey flower had in fact been the soft and delicate harebell.

Many of these sites are also grazed, so we end up trying to sort through different clumps of stubby, dried grasses. My favorite monitoring-scavenger hunt example was a mysterious, soft grass. It had long, bright green leaves that were larger than other species nearby. When I bent down to investigate, I noticed its distinctly soft leaves. It wasn’t smooth like pinegrass or fuzzy like mullein is, but very tender. But, there were no seed heads to tell me who it was. I felt the blades of different grasses around me, and none were nearly as soft as this mystery grass. I checked the clump multiple times to see if I missed any seed heads. I investigated the ligule to see if it might tell me something. Nothing. I resigned myself to marking it as an unknown.

When we finished with each transect line for that plot, we coordinated our different unknowns. This time we walked around the whole plot, searching for other clumps of the soft-leaved mystery grass. Eventually we found it. My co-intern Eliza spotted a large and drooping bunch of green. I felt it and there it was, the soft leaves! This clump did have its seed heads and with it we knew immediately that it was Orchard Grass. I had previously liked Orchard Grass because its seed head is distinct enough that I could immediately tell what it was. But I had taken its distinctness for granted and never noticed anything else about the plant. Now, I have another characteristic in my Orchard grass tool belt.

Monitoring has taught me to use a combination of small cues to tell which grass is which. I now can recognize Psuedoroegneria spicata for the blue tinge and the sharp angle at which the leaves extend from the stem, rather than just the distinct bent awns of the seed head. I now can reconize Koeleria macrantha for the “racing stripes” on the leaves rather than for its pretty, narrow panicle. Many of these characteristics are not even things I can easily articulate, but after many repeated exposures to the plant, some part of my brain is able to sort different shapes and colors of grasses that at the beginning of the summer would have all looked the same to me. While it is true that I am learning, it is also true that we have a long list of unknown grasses on our data sheets.

Overall, it has been another good month, and the cool days have me looking forward to fall!

– Cicely

This August has been a great month. We have been keeping up with our Swift Fox Trail Camera study, and while we have yet to catch a swift fox on there, we have seen some pretty goofy critters!

While this month has been full of many exciting excursions, the highlight of my August was surveying sensitive species. The sensitive species, that were last surveyed in 2005, are the Dakota Buckwheat (Eriogonum visheri) and Smooth Goosefoot (Chenopodium subglabrum). We set out early one morning to survey one of the sites where the Dakota Buckwheat had been observed years before. We visited all of the past points and were even able to find new points that we added to the map. The Dakota Buckwheat is found on formations called Hell Creek which is also where dinosaur bones are commonly found. The growth of the buckwheat is dependent on the weather each year, so once we upload our current findings, it will be interesting to compare the growth and weather from 2005 to now. Right now it can be difficult to spot this plant because it is quite small, but as time progresses the buckwheat will turn red and be much easier to see.

When we were finished at the Dakota buckwheat site, we set off to look for the smooth goosefoot. Smooth goosefoot grows in loose sandy soils, but I was not expecting to find a sand dune in the grasslands.

I have never seen a sand dune in real life before so exploring it and seeing the plants that grow in these conditions was a neat experience. Although we visited all of the previous points, we were not able to find the smooth goosefoot this time. I am excited to find the smooth goosefoot on our future trips and visit more sand dunes!

As the Fall season approaches, our Bumble Bee Atlas surveys will be coming to an end. We visited the Cedar River to complete some surveys and found some pretty neat bees. We still have one more survey we need to complete on the Cedar River and will hopefully complete a few more additional surveys. This has been one of my favorite activities while being here so far since I have not had much experience with bees. I can’t believe we are already halfway through this internship, but I am excited for Fall and the new adventures and experiences it will bring!

Seed collections have really picked up on Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. It’s been fulfilling to watch our collections grow, especially for the species where we can only pick a couple seeds at a time. The table we organize our seeds on is starting to get full, and we still have more to go! Each month seems to pass by faster, and it’s hard to believe that three months have gone by since I moved here to Montana. It’s been quiet in the office since the two other interns on our crew left for school, but we got to send them off with a celebratory dinner before they left. I’m feeling grateful to be working with such a great team.

My favorite field day from this month was when we learned about lichen biomonitoring. I absolutely love anything related to fungi, so it was great to be able to ask about the obligate partnerships that lichen use to survive. Once we were done with the biomonitoring, we were able to hike to the top of Goat Flat and do some bee surveys. It was such a beautiful hike, even though our bee survey got interrupted by a hailstorm. I had never actually been outside for one of those. They hurt a little, I found out. But it was an experience I will never forget! We have such a great crew who all worked together to get us down the mountain safely, and we even managed to preserve our notes and finish our survey after.

August was also a great month for exploring outside of work. My parents were able to fly out and visit me, and we decided to spend a day at Yellowstone. My favorite sites were definitely the Grand Canyon (not that Grand Canyon, the other one), and the prismatic pools. These are places I likely never would’ve seen if I didn’t move here. It’s my goal to visit at least two more national parks in September, since they will (hopefully) be less crowded. As the months go by, I’m really trying to be present and enjoy the rest of my time here. It’s hard to believe that in about two months, I’ll be able to see my dogs back home (don’t tell the cat).

Speaking of the cat, an update. Skateboard has been finding new ways to entertain herself since I’ve been a little busy recently. Her favorite thing has been sitting on anything I pay attention to. Perhaps she hopes that’ll get her attention by proxy. I promise, I pet her literally all the time.

At over 10,000 feet, Relay Peak boasts a beautiful and unique landscape from any in the Lake Tahoe Basin. As you climb the slope on the rocky service road, the change in plant communities is striking, going from lodgepole pine forest to alpine fellfield quite rapidly. Near the peak, most plants are herbaceous and low-growing, and whatever trees or bushes grow have gnarled and twisted branches.

The reason for my visit to this singular place was to look for plants on LTBMU’s sensitive plants and watch list, of which there are 43 in total. Although it required a short hike up a somewhat steep trail, we were fortunate to find two of them. Tahoe draba (Draba asterophora var. asterophora) is a succulent member of the family Brassicaceae, and it grows only here and on a couple of the surrounding mountains. The other rare plant found was Austin’s milkvetch (Astragalus austiniae) from the family Fabaceae, which has a wider range but is still limited to the high peaks of the northeastern Sierras.

Better still, while at Relay Peak, we discovered several seed collection target species. One of these is Solidago multiradiata, a clumping, yellow-flowered member of Asteraceae. Another was the very cute, purple-flowered Brewer’s lupine (Lupinus breweri). The lupine is the population we will likely collect from because there is a lot more of it and it will probably be more useful for revegetation projects.

To my surprise, whitebark pine was growing along the ridge of the mountain nearly to the peak. My cointern and I chose a trunk of one of these as a candidate for future cone collection. This candidate tree was one of the tallest and healthiest, and it had many second-year cones, indicating that it has good potential for seed production. In whitebark pine, mature cones are rarely found with seeds still intact, as they are coveted by many animals as a food source. Clark’s nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) is especially important in opening the closed cones and dispersing seeds. Because of this, however, a cage will be put up around this tree to safekeep the cones. In later years, tree climbers will visit the tree and collect them.

Now that most of our target species are past their flowering period and starting to seed, we will begin seed collection very soon, which I am very excited about.

The past month has been filled with a mixture of hot daily temperatures of over 100, contrasted by frequent torrential downpours. Such is life in Arizona. But, as they say, with the rains, life follows. It’s strange to see such bright colors contrasted with the dead grass and the occasional plot of cow bones. It’s kinda strange to see so many of them in the middle of a juniper forest sometimes. (The Wild West is still alive!) I found my second coyote skull this month in a ditch while searching for some Parkinsonia seeds, and whoop there it was, bleached and slightly dusted, with no other bones around it. Strange, really, how I just decided to go in the direction of the skull like it was asking me to find it. I like to think that magical moments like this are more frequent than we give credit for. I really like the natural metaphors and poetry that the desert provides, and I’m particularly inspired by the level of resilience and life that exists contrasted with such obvious symbols of death, like the cow bones. I believe that death and endings are underappreciated and over stigmatized. After all, it provides the opportunity for something new to exist when it may not have before. Sure, the rain provides life, but we only ever think of the death following it under the scorching sun. It’s just as natural as everything else. I’m still reflecting on our recent trip to Diamond Point near Payson, where we found crystal-clear quartz points when scavenging for some woodland target species. It was interesting to see scorch marks that looks like they may have been from lightning, contrasted by the sparkle of the crystals in the gravel and sticking up from the pine litter.

July’s sizzling temperatures have helped me realize that I am, indeed, a little lizard. How else am I to explain how much I loved being out and about full-sun mid July in Utah?

The beautiful landscape and weather make this easily one of the best offices I’ve had the pleasure of working in.

There’s a particular trail we can’t seem to stop revisiting due to the amount of target species we are finding. Art Nord’s Wheeler Creek trail has truly been a gold mine of harvestable populations! The list currently consists of Chaenactic douglasii, Eriogonum heracleoides, Eriogonum umbellatum, Lomatium dissectum, and Purshia tridentata.

We’ve completed a few collections, unfortunately, we now know what it’s like to miss a population. When we first started, Balsamorhiza sagittata (BASA) seemed to be everywhere. As we began scouting for new ecoregions and populations we took BASA’s abundance for granted…missing a population has been extremely frustrating but, I try to stay positive in that we’ll collect from another population and that the particular population we missed will likely flourish next season.

In other news, this past month also provided me the luxury of camping for a week in the Heber-Kamas east zone with the Botany department and Student Conservation Association (SCA) Interns where I had the opportunity to act as a botany tech lead! We worked on multiple surveys for two proposed timber sales (Silver Meadows Timber Sale and Flytree Timber Sale) as well as two large sections of a fuels reduction project. Throughout the 698 acres we kept our eyes peeled for Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive (TES) species: Botrychium crenulatum, Botrychium lineare, Corydalis caseana ssp brachycarpa, Cyprepedium fasciculatum, and Cypripedium parviflorum. Fortunately for me, I’d seen a few in previous surveys so I knew what to look for and could help provide tips and guidance for others. We didn’t find anything in the proposed polygons however, a decent population of the tiny Botrychiums were spotted in a meadow not too far from camp. The little guys were no longer than my pinky!

One of many cool aspects of this internship is the amount of collaboration we get to take part in. A team from the Great Basin Institute had been in contact with our FS mentor and so we coordinated with them to complete a Lomatium dissectum (LODI) and BASA population collection. They follow the seeds of success protocol which was extremely useful to see in action! Thank you to Brian for being an amazing lead and mentor!

Another blog post means another month has come and gone. I’m enjoying this seasonal internship too much, if that’s possible, and just wish it could be a permanent position 🙂