Cattle Point Lighthouse part of the San Juan Islands National Monument

Hello CLM folks! I hope this message finds you well and warm wherever you may be. This is my final post as a CLM intern (at least in the foreseeable future, never say never). For the last two years, I have worked for the San Juan Islands National Monument in Washington State. It has been a deeply rewarding experience, one that has allowed me to learn and grow more than I could ever imagine.

Vegetation Monitoring at Point Colville, Lopez Island, San Juan Island National Monument

During my time there, I’ve handled three projects for the monument: creating baseline vegetation monitoring system, starting a Seeds of Success program, and producing a map characterizing vegetative communities.  My mentors have always given me a great deal of independence in my work.  This opportunity for initiative has allowed me to put all my creativity and passion into projects to achieve more than expected. I have collaborated with other community organizations and land managers, presented in meetings, taught science and monitoring to kids, and tabled at many events to teach the public about the importance of our native plant community and the Seeds of Success program.

Eriophyllum lanatum, a common coastal prairie species, was collected for SOS in summer 2015

I was constantly learning during the last two years. From familiarizing myself with area botany to figuring how to communicate science to kids without boring them half to sleep, each day gave me something to think about. During my first year, I studied various BLM monitoring strategies, GIS and other data standards, and available plant related GIS datasets.  My second year, I learned all about Seeds of Success.  I worked with other land managers, met potential growers, created a target plant lists, and planned the collection season.  I even had my own intern to help me collect seed.  My second year taught me some invaluable lessons about communication, time management, partnership, and botany.

After my SOS summer, I moved to Seattle and started working remotely to create a vegetation map for the monument.  The map used information that I collected in my first season to give an accurate picture of plant communities on its 970 acres for the monument’s resource management plan.  It also allowed me to see a project to its completion, which, I gotta say, is very satisfying.  Working from home created its own challenges however.  I had to perfect my phone meeting, phone call, and email skills.  It also forced me adopt a higher level of organization to get all tasks done in a timely manner.

Sisyrinchium angustifolium collected for SOS 2015

Of course, CLM internships are not only about the work you accomplish but the experiences you have along the way.  Thanks to my mentor and monument manager, I have worked with specialists throughout the Oregon/Washington BLM and the San Juan Islands community.  I have met all manner of plant and wildlife folks as well as facilitation, recreation, outreach, management, and GIS gurus.  I’ve gotten to travel a lot, within Washington and in other states.   My favorite trip was to New Mexico for the 2015 National Native Seeds Conference.  The dozens of talks and workshops filled my brain to bursting with info and inspiration. I got to meet so many plant passionate people, an experience that cemented my love of plant science and the plant folk.

Lomatium nudicale, an important forage species for the federally listed Island Marble Butterfly, was collected for SOS in 2015

In addition to amazing informative opportunities during my internship, I’ve had lots of chances for pure fun.  Working on an island monument, I have had my fair share of kayak and boat trips.  I have been lucky enough to camp on beautiful remote islands and to see spots many lifelong residents don’t get to visit.

Just another day’s paddle out to check out island plant populations

Plant identification on the side of a trail at Iceberg Point, Lopez Island, San Juan Islands National Monument

By far the most rewarding parts of my internship were the people I saw every day in our little office.  The San Juan Islands National Monument has only two full time employees, Nick Teague (recreation planner) and Marcia deChadenedes (monument manager).  Nick has been with the San Juan Islands BLM for over ten years.  In fact he was the sole employee until 2013.  He does incredible work for the community, spearheading innumerable projects and often acting as the interface between the public and the government.  What’s more, he does all this with unfaltering positivity and heart.  Nick cares deeply about the land and each person he meets (I don’t know how he does it).  I have watched many a Nick Teague interaction, trying to decipher his disturbing good person-ness.  I haven’t quite solved that puzzle but I’ve yet to see someone leave a conversation with Nick without a little more smile on their face and just a tad more pep in their step.

The other full time actor in the monument office is Marcia deChadenedes.  Marcia is a force to be reckoned with.  She navigates the challenging worlds of bureaucracy and local politics with such grace and wit that sometimes I have to stop and stare.  She constantly pushes for what’s best for the entire community and landscape, redefining what it means to be a public servant.  Partnership, understanding, and mentorship are part of her every day.  She pushes for collaboration, fosters progressive thinking and helps others to reach their potential.  Marcia has the ability of quiet leadership as well as leadership through surprising people with chocolate in their desks. But more than a manager,  Marcia is of course one of the most creative silliest broads I know.  She is as likely to tell you an hilarious tale of unthinkable mishap as to drop a piece of sage wisdom.  I deeply appreciate her for that.  She is a constant source of inspiration for me and I’m so happy to have her as my mentor.

Lavender chip ice cream is one of my favorite flavors

My time at the San Juan Islands National Monument has given me confidence and experience with plants and people.  I have met great people and had priceless experiences.  I’ve sincerely enjoyed working with the BLM and will likely pursue a position with the federal government in the future.  However, I
am leaving the monument to follow another dream of mine: botany ice cream!! That’s right, I am starting a business selling ice cream at local farmers markets.  My ice cream generally highlights some botanical; often local native plants.  I love showcasing little known plant flavors and being able to show people plants they have seen a thousand times in a new light.  My ice cream includes Douglas Fir and Yerba Buena Chip (plus more universally tempting flavors like caramelized brown cow and lemon vanilla cheesecake).  As I prepare for this new adventure, I will remember all I have learned in my time as a CLM intern.  I am thrilled to have had this experience and excited to see what comes next.

It’s my last day here at the CO State BLM Office working with my mentor Carol Dawson. I’ve been here two weeks shy of a year, and what a year it’s been.

When I first approached Carol, basically asking her to hire me, there were several things I had hoped to gain from working here. First, I wanted to be a part of the rare species monitoring program she has established in the state, and I’ve done just that. It’s been wonderful to be able to see the amount of data on some of the plots that we have here; to be able to confidently say whether a population is stable, increasing, or decreasing. Working with a species for only one summer, or one year, doesn’t typically allow for these trends to be seen. So, it’s been encouraging to continue studies that were established, sometimes, more than 10 years ago. I’ve not only continued many long-term demographic studies, I’ve also modified monitoring plots in their infancy, and established new plots altogether. I am much more confident in my ability to develop a species specific monitoring study and protocols that will provide measurable, meaningful, and statistically sound results. It’s been fun putting the BLM technical reference for monitoring plant populations into practice. I found I not only really enjoy the field work involved in monitoring, the physical plot establishment and data collection, but I also enjoy the number crunching, ensuring enough of the plot is being monitored in order to detect a certain percent change over time with a specified power. It’s critical for reliable data. The second goal of mine before starting work was to gain experience writing technical reports. Again, I have done just that. I have written species reports for Penstemon grahamii and Penstemon scariosus var, albifluvis, and an annual summary of our rare species monitoring.

So, where am I going from here? While I had originally hoped to spend another summer here, I will be moving to the Tri-cities in Washington instead.  (It’s been my choice to leave, I think Carol would have let me stay). Over the last two years I’ve learned how important relationships are to me and my happiness, and while I have built many truly wonderful relationships here and would love to spend another summer working with these species and developing a monitoring study for a new one, I have chosen to move in order to be with my boyfriend. Fierce, independent ladies gag here. In all seriousness, we’ve been long distance for two years and I’m happy with my decision. However, it does mean I need a new job. I do have a part-time tutoring job lined up already, but am unsure exactly where my ‘career’ is heading. I took the GRE this summer, and am keeping grad school as an option, but don’t know exactly what I would want to study.

Overall, I loved learning about each of the rare species we monitor here in CO, working with personnel in our office and field offices across the state, working with the BLM’s partners, organizing years’ worth of data, compiling reports, mapping possible new plot locations, and more. I feel lucky to have explored such a large part of this state and to work with such an amazing mentor, as well as co-intern, Nathan. This internship has been an invaluable experience. Participating in the CLM program for two years has been an extremely worthwhile learning experience. I hope I have been as helpful to each of my mentors as they have been to me.

Colleen Sullivan

Below are some pictures of my experiences in CO, both work and play

Eutrema penlandii monitoring

Top of Mt. Quandry. Hiking ’14ers’ is very popular in CO, thus I had to do at least one.

Another ’14er’. Mt Bierstadt

Denver Botanic Gardens

From an SOS collection site

Penstemon grahamii

Near a monitoring site. P. grahamii I think

While at another monitoring site

Near Astragalus debequaeus monitoring site

View of Pikes Peak at Garden of the Gods

On the hike to Hanging Lake, outside Glenwood Springs CO

Hanging Lake, outside Glenwood Springs CO

Devil’s Backbone, outside of Loveland CO

Snow day

Rocky Mountain National Park

Dream Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park

View while working outside of Montrose CO (I think)

Conundrum Hotsprings, outside of Aspen CO

I arrived in Carson City, NV about three weeks ago via the California Zephyr Amtrak Route from Chicago. Leaving behind the flat-lands of Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska, climbing the Rockies of Colorado and Utah, and waking up in the sparse sagebrush landscape of Nevada, made for a whirlwind journey through some remarkably diverse landscapes. I am thrilled by this opportunity to explore a new part of the country.

Through getting out in the field with my stellar team of fellow botany interns, I am starting to familiarize myself with the Great Basin landscape. This past week, we went out to the American Flat Mill, which is the site of a former gold and silver processing plant. The abandoned structure was recently demolished, and the site is in critical need of ecological rehabilitation.

This past Wednesday we spread a variety of native seed throughout the site including Basin wildrye (Leymus cinereus) and Antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata).

Teammates, Alec and Sam, loading up the seeders.

The following day we returned to the American Flat Mill to collect willow trimmings from various aggressive willow species, so that they might be propagated in May. We dug the trimmings a trench home for their dormant season.

Alec posing in our willow trimmings trench/bathtub.

The various debris and structures left behind from the processing plant give this site a curiously eerie aura. Learning about the rise and fall of the silver and gold mining era provides important insight into how this site has evolved, and how it has had to adapt over the last century. Our hope is that the seeding and planting efforts here will culminate into a place that has not forgotten its history, but has developed the strength necessary to thrive in the future.

Although still very foreign to my Midwestern home, I look forward to getting to know the landscape of the Great Basin–its stark geological features, xeric vegetation, and intense sun–and serving as a steward of its health.

Margaret Lindman

BLM, Carson City, NV

I have been doing a few more things since last month and mainly that has included getting out into the field more and working on a five year plan for the restoration department.

On most excursions into the SBNF, I work with a more experienced staff member on restoration monitoring. This means going out to sites where restoration occurred in the past to see what condition they are in. This gives me a chance to see a lot of different types of sites, conditions, and treatments. For example, last Thursday I saw a restoration site where extensive chunking had been done, a technique that rips up the ground creating swales that are not pleasant to ride an OHV on. I also saw a different type of fence, which is called pipe rail. It is good practice to diagnose additional treatments for monitoring sites when other staff can give you feedback. I am also getting much better at mapping features with the Trimble, which is a lot of fun.

Monitoring a restoration site.

On Thursday it was very interesting to monitor in a front country section of the forest. To drive to this area, you go down the mountain, cut through San Bernardino, zip along the highway which intersects the forest land, pull off abruptly onto a dirt road, and zig zag through private property to again reach the forest land. If I hadn’t known that the highway was on forest land, I never would have guessed it. I got to see one cool plant last Thursday, which is a rare cactus species. It does not occur in many areas, but it was very abundant in the particular area we worked in on Thursday. There was one area where it was growing on a slope that was partially eroded away, and you could see the root structure clearly where the dirt was gone. I have never thought about the root structure of a cactus much before.

I am also making some headway on the five year strategic plan for the restoration program, which outlines all of the goals the program wants to reach and how to reach them in the next five years. The most interesting part is reading all the policy related to the different areas the restoration program works in, such as native plant materials, OHV restoration, weeds management, and threatened and endangered species. Each of those areas has a little section about the federal policy that I wrote up; this section is kind of supposed to show the higher ups in the Forest Service why what we do is important, you know, this work is a federal government directive and such. I have been working on it a lot today, especially the threatened and endangered species policy section because on Thursday we will have a department-wide meeting to go over it. I am sure that will be very helpful in improving the document and the revisions I have made. I am looking forward to hearing what everyone says.

Additionally, I went downhill skiing this weekend which is just about the most fun I have ever had. It gives me a new perspective on Big Bear and why the tourists flock here. I had a lesson and actually went down a substantial hill and will definitely be back on the slopes as soon as I can to practice! I also went to Joshua Tree National Park a few weekends ago and have hiked around Big Bear a few times. Other updates, I have also joined a gym where I get beat up every Saturday doing yoga, and I am reading ALL the books in the library.

Looking out over Joshua Tree National Park. No Joshua Trees in evidence.

All the best,
Marta
San Bernardino National Forest
Fawnskin, CA

With our mentor Dean away this week for training, the Carson City Botany Interns were planning to spend most of our time in the field, seeding one of our restoration sites, American Flat Mill. However, the snowstorm that passed through the area this past weekend put our plans on hold since it would likely be too muddy to make it to American Flat. With a quick email from Dean Sunday night, we had a new plan for the week – start gathering information and putting together a story map for visitors at another restoration site, Swan Lake.

Entering Swan Lake Nature Study Area

Although we have talked a bit about the restoration work we will be doing at Swan Lake, we had not yet been there and knew little about it. So on Monday the research commenced, and I’ll share with you some of what we have learned.

Officially, it is known as the Swan Lake Nature Study Area. Over 150 bird species have been sighted here, so it is unsurprising that the Audubon Society designated Swan Lake as a Nevada Important Bird Area. It hosts birds that live here year round and is an important stop for migratory birds. The lake’s namesake is one of these migratory birds, the tundra swan.

What is so amazing is that Swan Lake is nestled in between a mix of commercial and residential areas. In fact, its primary water source is the Reno-Stead Wastewater Treatment Plant. And this is not an accident. About twenty years ago, local birders recognized the importance of Swan Lake and started working to protect it. Part of this protection was guaranteeing that water would be here year round, especially during years of drought, so the effluent from the nearby treatment plant was diverted to Swan Lake.

This is only a small bit of what makes Swan Lake interesting; I could go on for a lot longer. I could tell you how the Washoe have lived around and subsisted off of resources from Swan Lake for 9000 years or that Swan Lake is a shallow playa marsh and its surface area shrinks from 1000 acres at normal water levels to 200 acres during dry years. I could also talk about a few of my favorite topics, the importance of wetlands like Swan Lake in nutrient cycles and the roles of plants and microbes in these cycles. BUT I’m not going to. First of all, that would be too much information, and second, we want you to come to Swan Lake and learn these things from the story map we’re making.

As you might imagine, we really wanted to see this place, and since it’s so close to developed areas, unlike our other site, we didn’t have to worry about getting stuck in the mud. So we went! Maybe naively, I was imagining a beautiful, green wetland teeming with birds. When we arrived, I realized that Swan Lake, like pretty much everywhere else in the area, was covered in snow (and/or ice).

Since parts of Swan Lake are densely vegetated with cattails and bulrush, snow cover makes it difficult to tell that a wetland is here

And the areas that were not vegetated were covered with a thin layer of ice

So it wasn’t as green as I was imagining, or as abundantly filled with birds, but it definitely was still beautiful. We spotted a few birds – a hawk, a couple marsh wrens, and a skein of Canada geese. Walking around, seeing all of the senesced cattails and bulrush, I only got more excited about the nutrient cycles I had been thinking about. I also got more excited about what this place will look like as the year progresses.

Besides the story map and restoration work we will be doing out here, we are also going to develop a lesson plan for a local fourth grade class. Hopefully, we will be able to convey how awesome Swan Lake is and how lucky they are to have this natural resource so close to home.

Alec
Carson City BLM

Introduction

Hello Everyone! I have arrived at my next destination in Buffalo, Wyoming! The last few months after my Wenatchee, Washington internship have been extremely busy! I have traveled to all of the western states except for Montana and I have traveled to Australia to explore the Great Barrier Reef. My friend, Heather (CLM Alumni), notified me of a great opportunity back in Buffalo! This experience would be a remote sensing/GIS based internship for the BLM (Bureau of Land Management). I would be working with Janelle Gonzalez and Diane Adams on the PRBR (Powder River Basin Restoration) project. Primarily, I will be looking at aerial photographs for areas of cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) using remote sensing techniques. There will many other GIS projects that I will be doing during the late Winter/ Early Spring season. All of this will be explained in detail below!

Opportunities
I have been at this internship for almost a month and I have been extremely busy with all kinds of GIS and office activities. At the very beginning, I had computer access trouble, so I did a variety of interesting jobs. I cleaned out the range files area and organized many of the maps and notes, so the overall area would not be cluttered. I helped out with billing and I learned about allotments in the Buffalo Field Office area and about the people who work with the BLM. I did two different kinds of data entry. I updated the Eagle Survey Database and I inputted AIM data into Microsoft Access and produced reports for the fire ecologist!

When I had access to my computer, I was able to do a variety of GIS tasks regarding the PRBR project. (I will explain more about this later on.) Another job that they wanted me to do was to document and organize all of the very old aerial photographs from 1954-1969. These huge aerial photographs were surprisingly heavy and it took me multiple trips to carry all of the photographs back to my office from cold storage. I think it was around seventy five pounds worth of aerial photographs. I had to look at the top of the photographs and type into a computer database the date and the serial number of each photograph. Then I had to look in the Wyoming NOC database to see if these aerial photographs have been scanned and digitized into a file. If they were not scanned in, I had to make a note about which of the photographs had to be scanned. Some of the photographs from the 1950s were eerily beautiful. There were clouds in the photographs and some of the landscapes had some light fog, so the pictures looked like they were taken during prehistoric times. Some of the forested areas looked very haunted in north central Wyoming. O___O

A collection of 1954-1969 maps! They were very heavy and were difficult to carry around. It was worth the effort! Looking at these aerial photographs was an interesting experience.

I had to write down the information on the top of each map in a Microsoft Excel file and document them. In the future, I will see if these maps have been digitized or scanned into the computer.

Another small opportunity was to attend a regional GIS meeting in Buffalo with Diane. I was able to talk with other GIS people in Wyoming and learn about GIS projects and activities that were going on in the Powder River Basin. I learned all about the GIS tools that were being used for the energy sector in Wyoming, which was very interesting to learn about. I also was fortunate to learn about the GIS programs that were being used for sage grouse monitoring!!

Remote Sensing

For the majority of my winter time in Buffalo, I will be working on remote sensing classification of landscapes in the Powder River Basin study area. In 2014, the BLM worked with the Department of Transportation to take aerial photographs of a large section of the Powder River Basin in north central Wyoming. The plane took very detailed aerial pictures and digitized them as four banded orthorectified photographs for computer use. The pixels size for the photographs were six inch by six inch. This meant we could get detailed and accurate images of sagebrush and individual plant colonies (even individual cows). The plane took pictures during a time when cheatgrass was drying up and becoming senescent. During this time, the cheatgrass would show up as dark red in a green landscape. Since the orthorectified photographs have four bands, I could easily use various remote sensing techniques to isolate the cheatgrass light signature and make a specific raster file for cheatgrass for the BLM to use for future restoration work!

There were about one thousand mosaic tiles of landscape imagery of the Powder River Basin. Each mosaic tile incorporated a few sections in a township. I would process each mosaic tile with a few tools. The first part would be to look at various signatures in the landscape. I would take samples of each signature in order to do a classification at a later point in time. Using an image classification tool in ArcGIS I drew polygons around various signatures I wanted and made a small template of sample signatures. I drew polygons around areas of cheatgrass (1), cured cheatgrass (2), roads (4), bare ground (7), riparian shrubs (10), scoria hills (12), grey badlands (13), sagebrush (16), deciduous trees (18), conifers (19), riparian grasses (20), shadows (23), upland grass (26), algae reservoirs (28), muddy reservoirs (29), and areas of no data (30). Once I developed a sample template with each group of signatures, I did an interactive classification method to see what the map would look like if each of the signatures were assigned a color. For example, all the areas of cheatgrass would be assigned a red color, all the sagebrush would be turquoise color, and all of the other signatures would be assigned a different color. The final product would show a raster map with ten to sixteen different colors representing all of the signatures.

I am using a classification tool in this picture. I drew polygons around certain signatures and assigned them a class. For example, I drew a few polygons around shadow, riparian grass and sagebrush signatures in the above photograph. The small box you see are the class signatures I created. Each color represents a different class signature. I will use this signature template for the image classification process in my next step.

After gathering my signatures, I used the interactive classification process. The process quickly looks at the signatures files and  projects the estimated results. You can see various patterns and images in the landscape. The Class 1 Red colored represents the cheatgrass signature. The image classification process is only used to see if different signatures results matched with the aerial orthophotographs. If there was a red area that shows up on image classification and it was not a cheatgrass area in the aerial orthophotographs, then I would have to readjust my signature sampling process.

If all the signatures were correct and the raster colors matched with the aerial images locations, then I would proceed with the maximum likelihood classification for the signatures. The maximum likelihood classification would look at the raster signatures and evaluate each pixel on the map. For example, the highest likelihood of a pixel with a similar signature to the cheatgrass sample would be assigned under a cheatgrass signature. The computer looks through all of the raster signatures samples and calculates which pixels belong to which raster signature class. The end result would show a raster signature map with a more accurate representation of each of the ~sixteen signatures that were sampled on the map. When you zoom in, all of the areas of cheatgrass would be assigned a specific color and the same goes with all of the other signatures. The overall product would show a very colorful mosaic of colors.

(Side note: Some signatures may not be present on the aerial photograph, so the number of signatures per mosaic tile may vary.)

The maximum likelihood classification process would fine tune the signature results creating a more accurate classification.

The final step would be to isolate the cheatgrass signatures into a another raster file. I would use a Spatial Analyst tool known as Con to isolate the cheatgrass signatures. After running the Con tool, the computer would extract the cheatgrass signatures only and create a raster file showing only areas of cheatgrass. When I turn off all of the layers and show the aerial image, I could add the extracted cheatgrass raster on the map and show specifically where all the cheatgrass areas are on the aerial image. The final product would show all of the areas in the Powder River Basin that have cheatgrass areas. Later on, I would evaluate density levels of the cheatgrass and show areas that might need to be treated for future restoration projects.

The yellow on this map shows where all of the cheatgrass areas are on the mosaic tile. The Con tool extracts the specific cheatgrass signatures and creates a raster file that could be laid on top of an aerial orthophotograph.

The final result would be to process all the cheatgrass signature files for each mosaic and combine them into a large raster file. Anyone in the future could use this data to look at cheatgrass densities and find out where there needs to be treatment. It is good to look at all the raster files together to make sure everything lines up and that you did everything correctly when creating the signature files.

There were a few small issues that I did encounter with detecting cheatgrass. Some of the signatures were a little askew due to the quality of the aerial photographs. Some of the photographs around the perimeter or ends of the study area were lighter in color, making cheatgrass detection a little harder. Scoria hills were orange to red and showed very similar light signatures to cheatgrass, so I had to be careful when choosing my sample signatures.

Some of the interesting views I see from these aerial photographs were astounding! When working with these photographs for a long period of time, I pictured myself looking at a different alien landscape. Some badland or riparian areas looked very exotic and from the air, it did not look like a landscape you would see in Wyoming. The only dominant lifeforms on these alien landscapes were cows. Some of the cows were so big I could actually see what they were doing. Some were sleeping, laying on their side, climbing up very steep topography, and some were standing in water. I would actually see their trails and daily activities. Some of the red angus cows show up as a cheatgrass signature, fortunately they are rare and could be easily detected apart from the cheatgrass when looking on the aerial photograph. There were some areas in the Powder River Basin where the red to purple cheatgrass was so dense it looked like Mars! I would not want to walk through that area when the grass is seeding. My socks would be ruined!

A small screenshot of a very dense population of cheatgrass!! D: This cheatgrass population is surrounded by sagebrush, riparian grass, cured cheatgrass, and upland grass areas.

Preparing for NISIMS
A very small project that I will be working on during my BLM internship would be doing NISIMS! I did NISIMS for the Wenatchee, Washington BLM and I loved looking for and documenting different kinds of invasive plants. I put together a small power point and I am researching some of the invasive plants that were in north central Wyoming. Later, when I am ground truthing my remote sensing results for the PRBR project, I will also be documenting different invasive plants that I have encountered on the landscape such as cheatgrass, leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula) and various thistles (Cirsium). I am very excited for the NISIMS opportunity and I can’t wait to go out in the field and begin classifying invasive plants again!
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Those are the events for this month! Stay tuned for more adventures, CLM Interns and Family Members!!

Have a Great Adventure Everyone!

Justin Chappelle
BLM: Buffalo Field Office
Buffalo, Wyoming

And Now….. Your Moment of Zen

Sunset at the Grand Tetons!

PS. Time for a Secret A-HA Moment! \(>_>)/
Be warned about eating berries in the sagebrush steppe or badlands. I have seen people eat berries from Astragalus and Sambucus and get really sick from them. You have to be aware of the properties of the plant before consuming a berry. Some berries have to be cooked and prepared. Different plants growing on badlands or salt flats may contain harmful alkaloids and selenium, which would be stored in the seed pods/ seeds. Please check with your supervisor or book about consuming berries.

I must admit I am way behind on posting to the CLM Blog. I started my second internship the beginning of December and every week since has been a whirlwind!

But I should start at the beginning…

In October, while finishing up my first CLM internship with the Rae Selling Berry Seed Bank, I was asked to present my SOS seed collecting adventures on Steens Mountain at the OR/WA BLM botanists meeting. I hadn’t thought much about what I was going to do once my internship ended, but assumed it would require a million job applications via USAJobs and scouring the internet for the best plant conservation grad school programs. But for now, these daunting tasks have been put on hold.

Tara Donovan transforms seemingly two dimensional index cards into towering three dimensional sculpture, Renwick Gallery.

It was at the botanists meeting in Oregon that I met the Plant Conservation Lead for the Bureau of Land Management, Peggy Olwell, and decided that I would move to Washington DC for a second CLM internship. So, that is where I am now.

Working at the Washington Office in DC has been quite the change of work environment − from the remote solitude of Harney County to the hustle and bustle of the capital city. Although my daily tasks at times feel far removed from the field botany I so enjoyed, the work happening in DC is what keeps all those botany positions funded and the native plant materials programs running.

Currently, most of the energy within the Plant Conservation Program is focused on implementation of the National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration 2015 – 2020. Involvement in this effort has me communicating with representatives from 12 Federal Agencies such as USFWS, NPS, USFS, and USGS as well as with the Smithsonian Institute and National Botanic Garden. The Seed Strategy has been a cooperative effort since its conception and it is inspiring to see collaboration between agencies at this level. With lands protected/managed by so many different agencies and organizations across the country, collaboration is essential in restoring the health and function of our ecosystems. Before beginning my internships through the Chicago Botanic Garden, I never would have thought the Bureau of Land Management was at the front of such concerted efforts for plant conservation.

The National Botanical Garden. Toasty warm in the winter!

I have also been involved with the Plant Conservation Alliance (PCA), a joint partnership among 12 federal agency members and over 300 non-federal cooperators. In addition to its work on the National Seed Strategy which was released in 2015, PCA also developed the National Framework for Progress in Plant Conservation in 1995. I am thrilled to be working with such a radical force for botanical justice! Currently I have been reaching out to leaders in the plant conservation world looking for potential speakers at the upcoming PCA meetings.

Besides the overwhelming amount of networking here in Washington, DC I have also been seeking out the local flora – not an easy task in the winter!

This little Oxalis species showing off its adaptive capabilities in the Petworth neighborhood.

Graffiti tree on Roosevelt Island

Snowzilla definitely has been a highlight! I grew up in Seattle where snow rarely sticks around and spent much of my adult life in sunny Arizona, so shoveling snow and experiencing “blizzard” conditions was super fun!

Snowzilla Sickels!

SNOW DAY!

I’m looking forward to the remainder of my time in Washington, DC. I am extremely grateful for the opportunities my CLM internships have afforded me thus far, and I am honored to be working with such an effective plant advocate and fierce feminist, my mentor Peggy Olwell.

Till next time,

Lindsey

“I bet you’re really wondering what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

People have been saying this to me a lot during my first week as an intern with the BLM in Carson City, and I’d say they’re pretty much spot on with that assessment.  They’re mostly referring to the uncertainty that’s followed in the wake of recent events in Oregon. But I’ll be working here in an unknown place for the next ten months, so “what I’ve gotten myself into” is a question that I’d already been pondering anyways. It’s been a rather hectic first week here, and my fellow interns and I have already learned that our plans can be changed by events outside of our control.  So – what have I gotten myself into?

I arrived here in Carson City on Sunday after spending the better part of a week driving across the country from Pennsylvania.  The next day was my first day at the field office, so my fellow interns, Alec, Monique, and Margaret, gave me a tour of the place.  My first day mostly was filled with meetings and paperwork and training videos.  Now don’t get me wrong, all of those things are great – but the part of my job I’m really looking forward to is the time spent outside among natural scenery.  So, Tuesday was a bit more interesting in that regard.

One of the major tasks that our group is undertaking at the beginning of this field season is the restoration of the former site of the American Flat Mill.  This mill processed silver and gold during the 1920’s, but was subsequently abandoned.  When it was demolished a couple of years ago, a barren field was left behind.  Now it’s the task of our crew to plant native seeds in this area, in the hopes of preventing noxious weeds from claiming the land. We spent Tuesday morning mixing seeds from different plant species together, and after lunch we drove to the site to begin planting.

Dividing up the seeds.

Native sagebrush will be sprouting up here in no time!

We’d also planned to head back out into the field the following two days, but Tuesday night’s events in Oregon forced us to change our plans.  It was decided that we would be safer if we didn’t go out to our field sites for the rest of the week, so we spent the time completing more training and orientation.  We also got a chance to visit the herbarium at UN-Reno.  For me, this just built up even more anticipation to dive into the ecosystems of the eastern Sierra Nevada and Great Basin and discover new plants – or at least plants that are new to me.  That’s what I’ll be doing as a BLM intern for the next ten months, and I couldn’t be more excited to find out what the future will hold!

Until next time,

Sam Scherneck