It is hard to believe that this is my last blog for my internship here in Buffalo, Wyoming. The time really has flown by, and I certainly have lots to reflect on- so here come’s a long post!….

Overall, I found seed collecting to be very challenging personally. From abundant rains early on in the season to insect damage, plants proved to be a very unpredictable realm for me! I would be lying if I said that it was completely enjoyable, but I did learn a lot about the type of work and the work environment I enjoy, and for that I am very grateful.

That being said, this internship has taught me a lot about my limits and the type of work I enjoy to do. I was exposed to a lot of new topics, work environments and culture. For example, coming from Chicago, experiencing the ranching and small-town culture of Wyoming was very foreign to me. This definitely made the experience challenging because I not only had to learn how to perform a seed collection on my own, but also get acquainted with the culture of my office and the small-town community that I was living in.  

Aside from all of this, I also feel that I benefitted a lot from this experience. I tend to be attracted to challenges, because they give me a lot of insight into my own interests, life outlooks and professional goals. Although I am not necessarily interested in pursuing the botany route further, I definitely gained a lot of valuable knowledge about conservation and land management through this opportunity, and insight into what it means to work within a federal agency. I am definitely interested in exploring work in other environmental agencies as a result of this experience.

There were also a lot of new skills that I can say I’ve gained through this internship. Everything from learning how to drive 4WD vehicles on dilapidated roads, learning how to identify western plants in the field, improving my communication skills with the public and professionals at my office, gaining familiarity with the policies and administrative work involved in range land health, and getting real-world experience with ArcGIS throughout the various office projects I performed.

I feel that the most rewarding experiences I had at this office  was getting the opportunity to interact with the public and see that side of a federal land management agency. I really enjoyed the field days where I ran into landowners, because I was able to speak with them about what I was doing and why I was collecting a species, while also learning about their insights of conservation strategies and land use. I found these conversations to be the most rewarding, and they definitely encouraged my own interests in the human dimensions of conservation and environmental management.

For the most part, I did not know what to expect for this internship. As I mentioned earlier, moving to Wyoming and organizing seed collections was definitely a change of pace for me and certainly challenging, which is one thing I did expect it to be. However, I assumed that I would learn what I would need to as soon as I got out here and began training, and that I would be able to rely on my office to help me with the process along the way. Unfortunately this is not exactly what happened, as for most of the summer interns were displaced from the main office due to flood damage, and we didn’t have as much guidance from our mentors as we had expected. Because of this though, I was able to really develop a team with my fellow interns, as we relied on each other for support in and outside of the office. That being said, at the end of the day I can’t say that I regret this experience, and I would certainly be interested in pursuing another internship with a federal agency in the future.

-Katie, BLM Buffalo Field Office

You’re beautiful Wyoming! Thanks for the memories.

This is my last blog post, my last day was yesterday. My experience in Klamath Falls and with the CLM internship has been great. I loved living in Oregon and being so close to nature. Klamath Falls is within an hour from two national parks and within five from a lot of cool places like the Oregon coast and the redwoods. I will definitely miss it here.

This internship has helped me develop a lot of new skills. I got a much larger variety of experiences than I thought I would. I got to help conduct plant surveys with private contractors, help with outplanting surveys on Milkvetch, and do a ton of fish work. I got a lot of different fish trapping experience. The boating experience I got was fun and really rewarding. Passing the training to operate the motor boat was more rewarding than I thought it would be.

The best part of my internship was the project down at Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. I worked independently most of the summer. I did the data collection, management, and analysis.

Taking on a project like that was really rewarding because it gave me a sense of ownership over the process and this internship. I wasn’t expecting that when I started and it has been the best part. I never felt like a lackey, I felt like my input was wanted and valid. Working on my own made me feel more confident in my abilities and I learned to trust my own judgement. I have a tendency to defer to what the others on my team think is the best course of action, and while this can be good, it was really important for me to realize that I do know what I am doing. I think that lesson will be the most valuable one I will take with me, though trailer backing is a close second.

This internship has made me really excited about a future career in conservation. It has also reinforced my desire to go to graduate school. I am returning to Ohio for a winter seasonal job and hope that by next fall I will be in a master program moving toward an awesome career. I am saying see you soon to Oregon, I hope I will be back here soon. But no matter where I end up, I am excited to see where my career takes me.

Where to start? I’ve had an interesting year in 2015. I left for Poland in March and to my surprise, got accepted into the CLM program near the beginning of my stay. I returned to Chicago two months later, and two weeks later, I was driving across the West to the Central Valley of California to intern with the US Dept. of Agriculture. Now, agriculture was never an interest of mine. I consider myself an ecologist, not an agronomist; but I am interested in land management, which was a common thread of the two. I am also open-minded to different things so I decided to take PMC Manager Margaret Smither-Kopperl’s offer as a way to challenge myself and grow in my field. 

A PMC is a Plant Materials Center. They are part of the plant materials program of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and they work across agencies to address different public needs, whether producing seed for the BLM or NPS’s conservation programs, or conducting agricultural experiments to determine which cover crops best improve soil health. 

The Lockeford PMC in California has over 100 acres of land and is lightly staffed, so my role there wasn’t well defined – which I am grateful for because it allowed me to wear many hats. A typical work day would look something like this: Wake up at 5:30, drive from Sacramento at 6:20 to get to Lockeford by 7:00. I would check my emails, get the key for the pickup and go do field work (which varied greatly day-to-day). Many times myself and two other coworkers would move irrigation pipes to prep the fields for fall plantings.  Other times I would collected bloom count, percent cover, pollinator visitation, soil sample, biomass, etc. data, usually with Jeff, our biological science technician. When it got hot out, I’d head to the office and do computer work. One of my big projects was making sense of the cover crop data for the previous 4 years. It was very tedious work, but valuable for future plantings. Otherwise I would work on other projects, including planning, research, and writing USDA Plant Guides (which I loved to do). I would also clean seed (rarely, maybe 5 times, there wasn’t a lot this year), or work the greenhouse and propagate plugs. 

Some large projects I was responsible for were:

1. That cover crop data management project

2. Preparing the 2015 Adaptation trial planting which included: determining seeding rates, weighing out and preparing seed, coming up with an order for planting, flagging out the field and making signs

3. Creating seed mixes for critical area plantings, which included combating the erosion of the PMC levee by seeding bank-stabilizing native vegetation

4. My favorite: the restoration of the riparian corridor on the PMC property. The goal was to enhance the natural and cultural resources that the tract of land by the river provides by removing the invasive blackberries and weedy trees and planting native sedges and grasses. I did a lot of research on this, ordered a brush cutter and blade for the job and, following the schedule that Jeff and I came up with in June, we prepped the site and seeded it in the fall. It was a LOT of work. If anyone is interested, take a look at the pictures from my post from July and you will see the difference is dramatic. It’s a shame that I couldn’t stay longer to see what it looks like a year – two years from now, but I’m sure Margaret will update me and let me know!

The people:

Let’s start with Margaret. She is AMAZING. If any prospective interns are reading this, you will be very, very happy with her. She is a very realistic, yet positive person. She really gave me a lot of independence and freedom to engage in projects I was interested in (such as the riparian restoration), and was really trusting and supportive all the way through. She was a truly amazing mentor and I have nothing but great things to say about her. Jeff was my other favorite person at work. We collaborated on a lot of things and really got along. We seemed to value each other’s ideas and if we ever disagreed, we could always see the other’s point of view and got the job done. Other co-workers were fine; there was an individual that was difficult to work with, but for the most part we were able to work amicably. 

Social life:

I’m a pretty social person but during the 5 months it was pretty stagnant. Mia (another CLM intern) said she moved in with a friend and was able to make mutual friends that way, so it depends on your situation. I sort of fell into a routine during the week. On the weekends I would travel to Tahoe, San Francisco, Big Sur, the Sierras and hike, which was super nice. You don’t get those kind of views in Illinois! I would also chill with Jeff occasionally and go out in Midtown, which was nice. This was just my situation, but it could be very different for you. 

So, what did I get from my internship? For one, the environment, climate, and drought of the Central Valley forced me to approach environmental problems differently. I was taken out of my familiar way of thinking, which was conducive to growth. I got to meet people of very different backgrounds and learn from them. I also gained an appreciation for agriculture and the realm of conservation within it. This particular internship afforded me a lot of freedom in making decisions and built my resume in a way that other positions would not have, so I’m sure it will help me as I move forward in my career. If you are a CLM candidate considering working in Lockeford, it would do you good to be well-rounded. You should be able to not only monitor vegetation, collect and analyze data, but also perform practical farm labor like operating irrigation systems and tractors. With that being said, for me, this was a very rewarding experience. 

On that note, I am signing off. I thank Krissa and Rebecca for all their patience and hard work and I wish all of you guys luck in your careers!

Michal Tutka

Conservation and Land Management Intern

USDA-NRCS Lockeford California 

Hello again from the Eastern Sierra!

Life has slowed down here lately, as has my field schedule, which means that my last several weeks here in Bishop will be a time for reflection, for ending well with purpose, and for drinking in deeply and slowly all that these mountains have to offer before I leave them. Fall is the perfect season for this process of looking back in appreciation. Its smells, colors, and sensations are unmatched in their richness, and lend themselves well to afternoons spent wandering thoughtfully through trees. However, this is not the space for me to share with you all that is running through my thoughts this autumn. Instead, I’ll try as best I can to give you some sort of a picture of just how beautiful this place is right now. And I’ll throw in a little botany just for fun.

We don’t have too many deciduous trees in the Eastern Sierra, but these willows are one of them. Their yellow leaves are pretty, but just wait til we get to their more spectacular cousins

We’re talking fall colors today, and in much of the western part of the country there is one unchallenged star of the show: the quaking aspen. But before I write about these splendid trees, there are some other players I should mention. Most of the areas in which I work are filled with vast expanses of shrubs and perennial grasses, with scarcely a tree to be seen. These habitats undergo changes in autumn that are less striking than the turning of leaves on the trees, but they are beautiful nonetheless. Their display employs a more subtle range of browns and yellows, but in the warm, soft light of fall, these colors give the landscape a wonderful tone.

Shrublands like this one are where I spend most of my time for work. A bit flat. A bit monotonous. But I like them.

The showiest of these shrubs are the rabbitbrushes, a group of plants that are viewed by many with mixed feelings. These waist-high shrubs are late-season bloomers, so they have been bursting with bold, bright, yellow flowers this fall after most plants have long since gone to seed. Rabbitbrush are really abundant in many places, so as they flower they create beautiful seas of color on the land. Unfortunately, these plants can become a great annoyance, at least for allergy-sensitive humans. Their release of pollen means a steady diet of itchy eyes and runny noses for people here in Bishop, so that blooming rabbitbrush are sometimes looked upon with disdain. But they still look good.

Here’s a yellow rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus). They’re very common, and not all that exciting to some people, but their bold, yellow, fall flowers are pretty great.

It might be a tough sell for me to convince you all of this, but tall, perennial grasses also add a wonderful touch of beauty to these landscapes. Now, I won’t try to deceive you with exaggerations about their colors. In the spring and summer, these grasses are green. And in the fall they dry out and turn brown. Nothing special about that. But where they shine is the way they take on a rich warmth in the long afternoon light of autumn. The light passing through their fading leaves produces varying hues of golden, and sometimes reddish, brown. It’s subtle, but it’s lovely. They are tall and abundant, so each grass’ small contribution of color adds to the charming richness of the landscape in fall, especially as they sway in unison to the afternoon breeze.

Here you go, a field full of pretty fall grass. This could almost be a prairie from my home back in Illinois, except that, you know, this place has hills.

Well, that’s my attempt at moving you with the subtle beauty of shrublands. But let’s face it, when people talk about the magic of fall colors, they don’t wax poetic about shrubs and grasses, they look to the trees. Well, in the Eastern Sierra, that means aspen. And what a show they put on!

Bam! Colorful aspens.

So let’s talk a little bit about quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides). They are the most widely distributed tree in North America, growing all over Canada, down into Mexico, and everywhere in the US except for the southeast. They grow in groves mixed with conifers on the sides of mountains, in dense pockets occurring within otherwise unbroken oceans of sagebrush, and in wet areas along streams. So they are a flexible and highly successful species.

Few trees can match the extravagance of the show put on by quaking aspen in the fall. Their simple, nearly round leaves begin to die and transform as temperatures drop and the first frosts hit in autumn. The leaves break out into dazzling cascades of bright yellow, richer gold, orange, or fiery red. When sunlight reflects off the leaves, their brightness and vibrancy is bold and blinding. When you take in the trees from below, with light filtering through their leaves, they glow with a softer gold that fills and warms everything in their shade. As the leaves fall, the ground itself takes on their yellow hue. Earning the name “quaking aspen”, the leaves spin and twirl on long, thin stalks, so that the groves of stunning colors flutter and shimmer in the wind.

Most of the aspen that I’ve been around this fall have had golden yellow leaves, but fantastic reds and oranges are sprinkled in as well.

Here in the Sierra’s we get to take in these trees against the backdrop of rugged mountains, clear, blue lakes, and deep, green conifers. The air is clear and crisp, and the colors are bold. The beauty is astounding.

You have to love the way their leaves glow and light everything up with sunlight behind them.

Aspen have some unique, funky characteristics that sometimes produce spectacular results. They reproduce using flowers on catkins, and seeds carried on the wind by fluffy, white fruits like those belonging to cottonwoods. But in my part of the country, they don’t seem to go to seed very often. Instead, they typically reproduce by root sprouts. The roots of a tree will spread out, and then sprout out of the ground, producing a clone. Most stands of aspen are made up of numerous separate patches of clones, but some stands may contain just a single, clonal individual.

It’s impossible for me to say which aspens are unique individuals and which are part of a colony of clones. I don’t know what to look for.

One such aspen clone is just about the most extraordinary organism on the planet. In Utah, there is a clonal colony of one individual male aspen, that may be the oldest and the largest single living organism in the world. The clone is named Pando, a Latin word that means “I spread.” Spread it does. According to the Forest Service, the clone covers more than 106 acres, weighs close to 13 million pounds, and has more than 40,000 trunks, all connected by the same genetically identical root system. Figuring out the age of such a plant has to be difficult, and it’s hard to have much confidence in the estimates that different scientists come up with. But those age estimates are spectacular. Some suggest that the plant is 80,000 years old. Some propose an age of 1 million years. I sure don’t know how old it is, but clearly it is an amazing, exceptional plant.

After spending last year down in the Mojave Desert without much of a fall to speak of, seeing all the colors this year is sure doing a lot of good for my soul. I hope you’re enjoying the season and its colors wherever you may be!

This wild brown trout isn’t a plant. And they are colorful all year long. But I caught this one in the fall, and it’s too beautiful to exclude it from my color blog

Until Next Time,

Steve Tillman

Bishop BLM Office

For the last couple of months, our job has focused somewhat more on riparian monitoring as opposed to only post-fire rangeland monitoring. The word riparian describes the areas along the edge of a stream or river. Besides being a refreshing change of pace, riparian monitoring at this time of year is excellent because the trees that grow along stream banks are changing color dramatically.

Grass is Greener on the Other Side

We hiked up and down a couple of hills, looking for the stream on which we were supposed to do photo monitoring. The final descent was fairly steep and covered in brush, so we were relieved to reach the open area around the stream. We were taking our photos near a fence that ran across the stream- lining up all the angles just right so they would be comparable to photos from past years, when we noticed that everything was different on the other side of the fence. The side we were on had been grazed recently and all the grass was close cropped. The healthy sedge rush community had been replaced with a short grass and clover community. The other side of the fence had not been grazed, and the sedges and rushes looked robust. The problem with cows is that they cluster together in riparian areas and use them heavily, resulting in very high impact to these fragile areas, as opposed to the rest of the rangeland.

Our side of the fence                                                 The other side of the fence

Horses Come to Water

While hiking along a stream and taking photos for our photo monitoring plots, we were struck by the sight of a band of wild horses just across the stream. They seemed to pose there for us, a little curious, maybe. Usually, we only see wild horses from the truck. The BLM spends tens of millions of dollars on these wild horses from breeding them, to gathering them, to housing and feeding the gathered horses, and even hauling feed and water out to the ones remaining in the wild to make sure they do not starve. It makes sense that many BLM workers dislike the wild horses, especially since they are more accurately feral horses- escaped beasts from European settlers. Strangely though, several groups feel very strongly about preserving the wild horses, forcing the BLM to leave them wild, while also maintaining and feeding the herd so they stay healthy. Despite this animosity, I can’t help but enjoy watching them sometimes.                 

The wild (feral) horses

Rattler

We were on a mission to retrieve temperature probes from along a stream and we had several miles to hike that day. I was walking in front of the group of four interns, crossing a dense patch of cheat grass, when I heard the girl behind me yell and jump back. She had been a few steps behind me. “Snake!” Sure enough, as I turned around, a saw a young looking rattlesnake slithering out of the path. I had just walked right over it, and it hadn’t even rattled. It was the first rattlesnake I had seen on the job, and only the second since coming to Oregon. I never intended to come that close to a rattlesnake in the field, but fortunately the little guy was too cold and sleepy to bite!

My rattlesnake!

As my time here in Burns comes to an end, I’m reflecting on all of the best things that I’ve experienced over the past 5 months. Without further ado, here is my internship summarized in threes:

3 Coolest Field Work Sites:

1. The Steens Mountains – this view was super gorge-ous.

2. The Alvord Desert – the playa was so cool to drive on!

3. Coyote Gap – it was exhilarating trying to outrun the rain.

3 New Field Techniques:

1. Pace 180 and Step-point vegetation surveys
2. Multiple Indicator Monitoring (MIM) of streams
3. Back-country navigation via map + GPS

3 Favorite Place in Oregon:

1. The Oregon Coast – just beautiful (and the Country Fair was quite interesting)

2. Newberry National Volcanic Monument

3. Crater Lake – coldest, clearest water I’ve ever swam in.

3 Favorite Trips Outside of Oregon:

1. Seattle, WA – an amazing Labor Day weekend.

2. South Warner Wilderness, CA – my first backpacking trip!

3. Boise, ID – floating down the Boise River was a highlight of the summer.

3 Things I Learned:

1. Always be open-minded and receptive. Spend your life learning from others, embracing different opinions, and expanding your viewpoints.
2. First impressions are important – exude an air of poise and confidence.
3. Travel as often as possible. The world is so much more vast than you think; there will never be enough time to see it all.

And so ends my internship with the Chicago Botanic Garden & the Burns District BLM. Time for my next adventure!

-Austin Yantes

Still had an inch of standing water the next day after a night of flooding

Remember the survival guide I provided in last year’s post? Remember the point I made about being flexible? June 3rd my flexibility was put to the test. The Buffalo BLM office experienced record rains that left 3/4 of the office flooded. The worst section to be flooded was Resources, which is where the CLM Interns have their cubes. Everyone in the office that was effected by the flood had to relocate to other parts of the office, sharing cubicles with others. For the remaining individuals, like Resources, a relocation to the “Annex” was required. The “Annex” is basically a working trailer down the street from the main BLM building.

Standing water in my cube.

Everything in the Resources area had to be removed. At this point the drywall had been replaced but that was about it.

Now here we are, over 4 months later. Resources is still trapped in the “Annex” building, but most of the other sections of the office have returned to their previous stations.

4 months of progress. Still not finished.

So what is a CLM Intern suppose to do with all this craziness? FIELD WORK!!!!!!!

Jade Metzler and I spent a lot of time out of the office. With the addition of grass clippings to this year’s normal responsibilities for Range Interns, Jade and I had our hands full (no pun intended). Field work was a blessing and a curse this year. After this massive flood, we found that many roads to access our range sites had been washed away. The only evidence left was the road right before a massive ravine and the preserved road on the other side. Many sites we were unable to get to, had to reroute, or move our monitoring point completely.  The good thing is that we were able to escape the “Annex,” where interns go to be forgotten. Although we were faced with many challenges this year, Jade and I were able to complete around 30 sites, which was the goal set for us by the Range specialists in the office.

Although the flood derailed our normal routine for the office and field work, it did not stop us from making great memories!

Jade and I met many members of the cast from “Longmire!”

Longmire Days takes place every year in Buffalo, WY. Members from the cast come to town for the event. This event is easily one of the most exciting times for Buffalo. If you have not seen the show, all 4 seasons are on Netflix.

With the Range Monitoring field season over, Range Improvement Inspections/Projects (RIPS) are coming up soon. I have also been asked to help a few other departments of the office. CLM Intern to the rescue!!

Until my next post, keep it easy CBGers!

~~~Sara Burns- Buffalo, WY Range Intern

Warning: This is a long one

Hey ho, it’s already been eight months here in wonderful Colorado. So what have I been up to since the last post? Let’s think.

At the end of August I went on a river survey for Sclerocactus glaucus, Colorado’s Hookless Cactus, on the Gunnison River with the Montrose field office. That was three days and two nights of beauty, fun, and discovery. S. glaucus is endemic to Colorado and is currently listed as threatened. Our aim for the river trip was to find and map new populations. The more plants we know exist, the closer we are to delisting this species. This species actually has an interesting taxonomic history. Originally known as Unita Basin Hookless Cactus, S. glaucus has recently been divided into three distinct species. Based on phylogenetic studies, common garden experiments, and morphological characteristics, what was once considered one species is now S. glaucus (Colorado Hookless Cactus), S. brevispinus (Pariette Cactus), and S. wetlandicus (Unita basin Hookless Cactus). After this distinction all three species were recognized by the USFWS and each remain listed as threatened with the same protections as before the split.

The river trip proved fruitful. We found several new populations of considerable size. S. glaucus is starting to prove more abundant than previously thought. These surveys in combination with our five long-term demographic monitoring plots are crucial in working towards delisting. Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures on this trip. The Gunnison River traverses through some truly beautiful landscapes, including Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. We surveyed farther north on the Gunnison, obviously not in the park, however, the whole trip was utterly enjoyable. I was happy to be invited and glad we were able to find several additional populations.

Early in September we returned to Montrose to monitor another listed species, Eriogonum pelinophilum (Clay-loving Buckwheat). This species is listed as Endangered, and also endemic to Colorado, specifically the Montrose and Delta area. It exhibits edaphic endemism growing only on the Mancos shale soils in the area. We have five monitoring plots across the species range, three of which were established in 2012, two in 2013. Despite the short length of the study, trends are visible. Longer data sets will reveal more accurate trends, however, at present populations are stable or increasing in number. This trend holds true for total population number and number of reproductive individuals.

Our plot’s sampling objectives range from detecting a 5% change in population density to 20% with 90% to 99% confidence. In total, when compared to the year the plots were established, four of the plots show a significant increase in mean population density and one shows no significant difference. These results are promising, considering the various levels of protection and exposure to threats at each site.

Another project I’ve been working on is creating estimated total population graphs with 95% confidence intervals for each monitoring plot for every species we monitor. Below is one said graph for E. pelinophilum.  When only monitoring a portion of a population, as we do for each monitoring plot, the gathered data is meant to be used to make inferences of the whole population (the whole monitoring plot). Thus, I thought it would be advantages to calculate the estimated total number of individuals, stems, and so on at each of our plots.

Estimated population total for Eriogonum pelinophilum individuals at all study sites with 95% confidence intervals

I’ve also been working hard to organize all of our monitoring data. This is something the interns before me started by compiling data from every year for each species into one excel workbook, instead of having one workbook for each year for each plot for each species. I’ve been checking all our calculations, creating the est. population total graphs, reformatting all the excel workbooks into one format for the sake of consistency, and reorganizing how raw data is entered into the workbooks in order to make analysis easier. I’m happy I’ve been able to accomplish these tasks. Having different interns every so often can make consistency in data organization difficult, especially when only using excel. So, I have also written a guide in each species’ workbook for how to add and analyze the data for future interns/employees. I’ve also been writing explanations for some of the formatted calculations within every workbook. It can also be difficult to try and decipher how someone before you analyzed data, especially when there are no clear explanations or directions. While this work is not as exciting as field work, I do still enjoy it. There is something I find very rewarding in being organized. Perhaps that sounds crazy. I enjoy the efficiency that stems from organization.

In mid-September I was able to join our fisheries biologist for a day of educational outreach up near Kremmling, CO. This was a lot of fun! Together with Carol, and several other people from the National Operations Center and Kremmling field office, we met a 7^th grade class at a private ranch (who allows this activity each year) to learn about stream health and the scientific method. We broke into groups and each performed a series of experiments in the stream in order to measure stream velocity at various depths, on the surface, and around a curve. We also talked about water quality, stream structures, and a little about stream vegetation. Most of the kids in my group were interested and participated in the activities, it was great to see. We stressed the scientific method during each experiment, and it was fun to see what their hypotheses were and why. Two highlights of the trip for the kids were the water proof paper their worksheets were printed on, as well as feeding time for the fish stocked in this stream. As I said, we were on a private ranch, and the owner has the stream stocked and fed. Several kids were able to identify the fish. It was impressive, given my lack of knowledge in this area.

At the end of September we spent a day monitoring Penstemon debilis up on the face of the Roan Plateau. This species is, again, a Colorado endemic only existing on the Roan Plateau. More specifically, it resides on white shale talus slopes, making for steep and erodible conditions. Our plot was established in 2004 and has been monitored yearly (excluding 2006) since. Given the nature of this environment, we count stems instead of individuals. The stems grow from underneath the talus, rising through the rocks, making it very difficult to determine individuals without displacing the rocks and destroying the habitat. Compared to 2004, 2015 showed no significant change in stem number. However, statistically significant changes have been noted over the span of the study.  Most of the plants had already gone to seed, but we did see a few still in flower. Penstemons are so beautiful.

Estimated population of P. debilis stems at Anvil Points with 95% confidence intervals

View from P. debilis monitoring site. Heck, there could be some P. debilis over there, but it’s too steep to find out

Last, but not least, we have been making some seed collections. This has not been our primary objective, but together with the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens we have been able to make eight collections this year. Carol and I just made two collections last week, Frasera speciosa and Carex uticulata. They were opportunistic. We set out to check on another population of Phacelia but were unable to access that exact location. So, after some brief scouting we found these two species still with plenty of seed. It is great having Carol.  I’m not sure I would have been able to make the identification of the Frasera since it was all in seed with no flowers.

Sorry I don’t have more pictures of the plants I’ve been working with or their locations. I tend to forget to take pictures when I’m out in the field.

I have also been exploring on my free time. My parents and brother recently visited. We saw a fair amount of Colorado while they were here, spent some time in Rocky Mountain National Park. Needless to say, they loved it all. You just can’t get views like these in Illinois. Then my sister and our good friend came for a visit. We enjoyed a mix of nature and city exploration. We explored the Botanic Gardens, some, went to an amazing drag show, and enjoyed some live music. I also took them to Rocky Mountain National Park, and one of my favorite restaurants in Golden. They were very sad to leave. I also flew up to Seattle to meet up with my boyfriend. We explored the Olympic peninsula and Olympic National Park. Wow! We were able to enjoy the coast and the mountains all in one day. That whole area is so beautiful, I could get used to the Pacific Northwest. In early October he flew out here and we hiked Conundrum Hotsprings near Aspen, CO. This is a very popular trail, but luckily not busy when we went. The combination of going later in the season and backpacking in on Sunday to Monday meant there were only about 20 people up there in total, maybe less. Starring up at the stars in the warmth of the spring with the chill of fall in the air was unbelievable. I also got to fly home to be there for a surprise celebration for my two very close friends on the night the one proposed to the other. I can’t believe more of my friends are getting married, but I’m so happy I could be there to surprise her! I also most recently got to enjoy the start of the Halloween season here in Denver by going to the Zombie Crawl in Denver, and making it out in time at one of Denver’s haunted escape rooms. I’m looking forward to enjoying the rest of fall as well as winter here in Colorado.

My brother and I at the top of Mt. Quandry

My brother above Emerald Lake, RMNP

My sister and I at Dream Lake, RMNP

My boyfriend on the Olympic Peninsula coast, WA

Olympic mountains, Olympic National Park, WA

Conundrum Hotsprings, Aspen, CO

The happy couple and me

Denver Zombie Crawl

All my best,

Colleen Sullivan

CO BLM State Office

I feel extremely privileged to have had the opportunity to take part in the CLM internship and work for the Burns District Bureau of Land Management.

Not only has my knowledge of land management and conservation increased ten-fold, but I now better understand what it is like to work for a federal agency. In regards to skills, I now know how to better operate a GPS, ID flora and fauna of the West, make maps on ArcGIS, navigate rough terrain, conduct Step-Point and Pace 180 vegetation surveys, conduct Multiple Indicator Monitoring on streams and riparian areas, understand rangeland health management, and comprehend and write a cumulative impacts analysis for a NEPA document.

Being immersed in both a different culture and professional work environment was both challenging and rewarding. I learned how to interact with a variety of people with different environmental experiences and, consequently expanded my opinions and perspectives of environmental issues. I feel more rounded and informed on environmental topics and I know I can make better conservation and land management decisions from my time at the Burns BLM.

I am going to sorely miss all of my Burns BLM coworkers- for all of the laughs we shared and for truly making me feel welcome- I cannot thank them enough for that.

And thank you to Krissa and Rebecca and all of the other CLM folk, for setting up such a beneficial internship program for recent graduates!

Megan Hoff
Burns District BLM

Jessica and me hiking at the Newberry National Volcanic Monument! I’m going to miss my fellow CLM coworkers!

Living on the farm was also one of the most memorable aspects of this summer.

I was a CLMer last year and thus attended the workshop at the Botanic Garden in Chicago. This year presented a different opportunity, the Oregon Vegetation Management Association (OVMA) annual conference, and the Oregon Plant Conservation meeting.

Let me begin by saying, the two events couldn’t be more different! OVMA is geared toward invasive plant control and attracted land managers, weed warriors, and chemical company representatives. Many talks were about regulations, safety, and the newest materials available for the weed killers’ toolbox. A “nozzlehead” dream come true. I did learn quite a bit on these topics, and I appreciate the role that herbicide use plays in land management, but I’m not super enthusiastic about the whole thing. My favorite talk was from a company that uses goats as an approach to controlling weeds. It was a nice break from the chemical focus of the day. Goats can be advantageous in certain situations and a part of the Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) approach. While they are not going to completely solve your problem, they can drastically reduce the amount of herbicide or mechanical treatments needed. Goats can easily get into difficult to access areas and love what they do (eating weeds). They can really put a dent in English ivy, poison sumac, himalayan blackberry and a host of other weeds. They are agile and light, therefore ideal for delicate riparian areas. I was excited to learn about how the business was run, and I would definitely consider this as a retirement! My mentor even said that if I can think of an appropriate project area on our BLM district that she would hire a goat crew there. Overall it was an informative meeting.  I just wish there was more focus on IVM methods other than herbicide, like goats!

Next it was off to the college town of Corvallis, OR for A Meeting of the Botanical Minds! This is a big event where all the BLM Botanists and guest partners share ideas and their work with each other. A big part of the meeting is deciding which plants need to be the focus of conservation efforts – rare, threatened, and endangered – on all levels, BLM, state, and federal recommendations. Peggy Olwell, the BLM Plant Conservation lead from Washington D.C. was even there! Peggy introduced the National Seed Strategy, which SOS relates directly to, and really made a point to recognize the hard work that botanists (and CLM interns) are doing for native plant conservation. She encouraged everyone to keep up the good work and to be assertive in situations where the importance of native plants is being overlooked. I really enjoyed meeting everyone! It felt like I was with my people and everyone was welcoming and down to earth. I learned so much hearing the perspectives of botanists throughout the state, and it was very inspiring. I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to attend, and the experience reaffirmed that I want to continue a career that works to protect native plant resources!