With our SOS goals met and exceeded, field season is finally coming to a close. At the end of August, we traveled to the remote town of McGrath to make our final SOS collections via helicopter. Three days and forty-two collections later, we met our 70-collection quota for the season! Upon returning to Anchorage, the following week was spent digitizing and organizing data, and on Thursday we sent our seed off to the Plant Materials Center in Palmer for cleaning and processing. Since then, we’ve been mounting vouchers more or less constantly.

Floodplains just west of McGrath

Nomex and voucher-material-collecting

The panoramic vista from our collection site at Mystery Mountain

Polygonal tundra!

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Last week, I joined a handful of folks from the BLM Anchorage office, The Kuskokwim Corporation (a Native corporation), and the Army Corps of Engineers on a trip to Red Devil Mine. Red Devil Mine is a retired cinnabar mining facility is currently being rehabilitated by the BLM. Thus far, engineers have rerouted Red Devil Creek so as to minimize contamination from old pilings. My task was to collect seed and to scout for potential next-season SOS collections so that local seed sources will be available when the project reaches the revegetation stage.

Cinnabar! Presumably the namesake of the village, too.

On Thursday, we leave for our final stint with the NRCS Soil/EcoSite Survey crews. This time we’re headed up to the village of Central, which lies about 100mi NE of Fairbanks, and with the Alaskan Autumn already in full swing, it promises to be a chilly stint indeed.

Immersing myself in Alaska’s autumn ochre while backpacking in Kachemak Bay State Park

All in all, it’s been a wonderfully productive field season. I’m sad to see the long days fade, but I’m excited for the season of winter sports and kitschy sweaters to commence!

Until our return from Central,
BB

Trees!

Rain!

I’ve officially spent multiple days in the two things that make me happiest!

Look! Trees! In the distance! Soothes my displaced PNW soul.

Grand Tetons, looking across Jenny Lake. So dramatic and beautiful if really quite cold.

Fall seems to have hit Wyoming early this year. Suddenly, attempting to make our last few seed collections is becoming difficult. We should have had a natural lull between our grasses and forbs and our shrubs but now we struggle just to get into the field. Everything is too sodden. Constant rain and thunderstorms have practically stopped all field work (well, thunderstorms and my sinus infection; goodbye 2-year, illness-free streak). Can’t have soaked, moldy seeds and can’t drive on clay roads in the rain. Can’t really function with your head on the floor or feeling like it should be although you swear you’re sitting upright.

However, as our mentor likes to say “the seeds come first.” So, in the last weeks we’ve finished 18 collections, have one partially complete, all data sheets are up-to-date and all information is written in standardized format, half our collections are shipped, and everything is verified. Now, if it will only pause in the unseasonable rain and let us finish our last Psoralidium lanceolatum, Elymus elmoides, Geranium richardsonii, both our Krascheninnikovia lanata, and both our Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus collections we will only have to wait for our Artemisia collections and we will be done!

I do love grey, stormy weather, I do love rain, but this is August. I just want to finish those collections so we can help with new projects. For example: next week we get a rare break to take two days to help the fisheries biologist survey Muddy Creek, an area of special interest as it is prime habitat for four fish species endemic to the Colorado Basin; Colorado River cutthroat, bluehead sucker, flannelmouth sucker, and roundtail chub. Coal and natural gas development in the area cause huge amounts of waste water that has not always been properly disposed of, often making its way into the riparian system. Agricultural runoff, grazing, and a naturally high sediment load further stress this watershed. Finally, invasive species prey upon and have begun hybridizing with the native species. I really just want to get back to some solid hydrology work. I miss working survey and hydro and I’m pretty stoked to get to learn a new protocol and help with a new project.

Outside work, I spend most of my time trying to find ways to stay sane. Sometimes, sanity is really difficult to find and to keep in a place like Rawlins, WY. So, I run away on weekends. Or I dog sit. Dog sitting is good. I don’t have to stay at the barracks. I get to breathe for a second when I dog sit. I also get a lot of free salmon, antelope steaks, white tail burgers, white tail tenderloin, and ground elk. I never ate much meat before coming here but this is different. This is all sustainably hunted and processed, hormone-free, fantastic, tender, game meat. Shoot, never thought I’d say or write such a thing: I get paid in meat. Ha!

I also ramble, I knew that though. Here, pretty flower pictures! Cool bugs!

Scarlet Gilia, Prospect Creek Road, S of Riverside off 230 E toward CO.

Geranium richardsonii, Prospect Creek Road.

I also apparently forgot to hit the “submit for review” button so this is now quite late. Whoops!

BLM Rawlins, WY

Sorry everyone! I am a week late! o_O I have been very busy with all sorts of projects and adventures! No worries, this blog entry is going to be shorter than my other entries… I think ^_^;;

Wildlife Society: Wyoming Chapter Annual Conference

For a couple of days, all of the interns had the opportunity to go to the Wildlife Society’s Wyoming Chapter Annual Conference! This conference was located in Sheridan, Wyoming, which was a thirty minute drive away! We went to many lectures that involved the study of ungulates, diseases, rodents, birds, lizards, and bat surveying. Most of the lectures involved sage grouse, mule deer, and moose. We learned a lot about the inner workings of what the wildlife biologists and policy makers in Wyoming and other Central Plain states do for a living. This was a great place to make connections, network, and learn about new research opportunities. We even met two other CLM interns, Lila and David, from Cheyenne, Wyoming! Since I did not go to the Chicago Botanic Gardens this year, it was nice to see other interns and hear about what they do for their job. Overall, the conference was very educational and I learned a great deal about GIS, wildlife biology, and the importance of restoration/ mitigation studies.

Heather, Myself, Jill, BLM Legend Don, and Sara at the Wildlife Society Conference! \(^_^)/

PRBR: Powder River Basin Restoration Program

Heather had the fantastic opportunity to work on the PRBR program. This study helped with the restoration and enhancement of sage grouse habitat. She would take us to different sites to do an assortment of ground truthing projects. Heather wanted to make sure that the ground truthing/ ocular estimates were similar to the supervised classifications developed from the ArcGIS program. This would help with an accurate assessment later in the planning stages. We mapped different juniper stands, looked for prairie dog towns, and estimated cheatgrass cover density. The results would help with future restoration projects involving the spraying of cheatgrass and the planting of sagebrush and other native plants in the area to promote ideal sage grouse roosting conditions. (Heather could give you a more detailed explanation of the project… I am just giving the cliff notes. <_<;;)

Determining cheatgrass densities using the ocular estimate method.

When we would go out to some of the sites, we would draw the landscape on a paper map with colored pencils showing where there were cheatgrass patches, sagebrush, warm season grasses, and bare ground areas. Heather would then use a detailed scale form to assess the landscape. All of the sites we visited had fire history, so we were looking within the fire perimeter for disturbed areas and cheatgrass densities.

When doing PRBR assessments, we would go by prairie dog villages and see burrowing owls. They were pretty hard to find. If you look carefully, you can find one in this picture! ^_^;;

Office Work! Into the BLM Catacombs!

Did you know that the Buffalo BLM has their own hallway-road system within their office? They labeled each hallway with a specific name and there were maps of the office layout in different cubicles in case you were lost. Especially in the beginning of my internship, you could easily get lost within the building when trying to find the filing system. That was just a fun fact! ^_^;

An over exaggerated representation (brought to you by my imagination) of what I thought the BLM office looked like when I first arrived for my internship.

Anyways, Sara and I were very busy with all kinds of office work relating to our 2014 field season.  Our main job would be to work with DIMA (Database for Inventory, Monitoring, and Assessment) and make maps with the ArcGIS. DIMA required a large amount of data entry involving habitat quality, species list, detailed notes, sagebrush densities, topography, slope, fire history, grazing history, invasive plants, water sources, climate, transect data, and soil profiles to name a few. We also had to develop detailed maps of our study area to help with future monitoring efforts. My goal would be to make the most detailed and accurate maps ever. After DIMA and the maps, photograph files of the transects for each site would have to be developed. In the end, we would have to enter the catacombs of the filing system room and create folders for each of the allotments we monitored. All of our data entry would be printed out and put into a folder within the filing system.

The Return of Russian Thistle

Watch out! Russian thistle is ready to take over! Luckily the Buffalo CLM Interns are ready to weed!

We had to return to Welch Ranch Recreation Area to continue with weeding. Most of the field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) had been pulled, except for a few sneaky plants growing under the plastic tarps within the green needlegrass (Nassella viridula) section. With the absence of field bindweed, Russian thistle (Salsola tragus) wanted to take control and dominate over the southern section of the BLM Field of Dreams. Most of the Russian thistle was difficult to remove, because they had matured and developed a series of tiny spines. Each plant was the size of a softball with some growing to the size of a soccer ball. They love disturbed sites and each plant contained around 250,000 seeds! Fortunately for us, they were very easy to pull out of the ground. All of the interns used thick leather or rubber gloves and pulled a large amount of the Russian thistle. Now the bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata) and green needlegrass were at peace thanks to the weeding efforts of the Buffalo, CLM interns. Looks like the Russian thistle would not make another appearance until next season.

CLM Interns weeding the Russian thistle. ^_^

To Newcastle, Wyoming! Where are you, Paper Birch!?

Jill was given the task by one of the Buffalo BLM fire planner staff members to go out into the field and collect seed from paper birch (Betula papyrifera) in the Black Hills region in the Newcastle District. The goal was to collect seed to help with future post fire restoration efforts. Jill, Heather, and I drove to the Newcastle BLM to pick up Caroline, who was another CLM intern who knew a lot about the Newcastle District. She helped us navigate in the back logging roads to the areas where there were paper birch! Caroline was talking about the forestry practices and helped us identify all kinds of trees. We went to two sites to look for paper birch. The first site was not very productive and we did not find a lot of birch trees.  We looked in different areas near ravines or valleys, but there were hardly any birch. We followed the map to the second site. When we arrived at our next destination, we found a huge population of paper birch!! They all had seed, but the majority of the crop was not ready to be harvested yet, so Jill would have to come back in a couple of weeks to collect some of the birch seeds.

On an adventure to find the elusive paper birch trees. We eventually found a huge patch!

Misadventures

Grand Tetons

On Labor Day weekend, all of the interns and one of the seasonal employees decided to visit Grand Tetons National Park! This area was my favorite place to visit! I must have been to this region at least twenty times in my life. Even though the weather was rainy and a little cloudy, we managed to do a couple of hikes, look at different visitor centers, visit Jackson Hole, watch all of the sunsets, take many pictures, and try to find as many bird species as possible. This place was so beautiful even with all of the rain clouds!

Some pictures of the Grand Tetons and their biological wonders!

Would You Like to Go Rock Hounding?

Wyoming offers an abundance of wildlife, trails, mountains, and festivals, unfortunately they do not have many areas to go rock hounding. Areas like Oregon, Montana, New Mexico, or California have a plethora of rocks, minerals, and fossils. The state of Wyoming does have plenty of fossils, but they do not have a lot of interesting rocks or minerals. One of the most bountiful objects that could be found almost everywhere in the Buffalo Field Office District was degraded petrified wood. Some areas have orange calcite and interesting gypsum crystals. Areas around by Worland do have agates, jasper, star impact calcite, but they were hard to find. I do have a nice collection of rocks including a small meteorite that I found in the field! I am still on the search for rare rocks and minerals. Hopefully, I would hit the jackpot soon! ^_^

Here is an example of the rocks, minerals, and fossils I found in the field!

Thank you everyone for reading!! Have an awesome day! \(^_^\)

Justin Chappelle
CLM Intern
Buffalo, Wyoming

And now…I will leave you with a picture of a bemused cow in mid-chew.

Bemused cow.

Hello,

The time here, in Carson City, as I presume everywhere else, flies fast. It is already autumn and I can’t believe that I’ve been here for more than half a year… Back in spring we saw all around vegetation sleeping, then flourishing and blooming. In the same way winter birds were here, then they left and are coming back already. As time is passing by, we try to be efficient, as usual, working on same projects but, of course, faster and better. As we spend three out of four week days in the field, a pile with completed field datasheets keeps growing. Which is logical and natural but at the same time, is always pleasant to notice. As we spent our summer primarily in the field, the oncoming events are going to balance our duties a little. This past weekend we had a Labor Day event at Sand Mountain, then we’re going to have a Public Lands Day and Tree Day. All of these recreational/educational events require an incredible amount of time for preparations. I’m sure we’ll do our best. The memories from the past weekend are still bright and vivid but after the Labor Day rest all efforts are directed to work again. Hopefully, along with decreasing temperatures the time flow will slow down a little too…

Until next time,

Andrii

Carson City, BLM

cf Solorina spongiosa

San Bernardino grass of Parnassus (Parnassia cirrata var. cirrata, white flowers) on a rocky ledge on the Frontcountry RD

Dwarf checkerbloom (Sidalcea malviflora dolosa) in a meadow in the Santa Ana River valley

We conducted night surveys for arroyo toad at the Deep Creek hot springs in late August (my last blog post included a bit about this endangered toad).  The hot springs are good habitat for this species because the warm water excludes non-native trout, which feed on the toads.  A more lurid inhabitant of these hot springs is an ameba called Naegleria fowleri, which enters the human body through the nostrils and can cause a disease called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM).  PAM caused by N. fowleri infection is rare; since 1962, there have been 134 reported cases in the US (CDC).  However, the survival rate from infection by N. fowleri is very low; of those 132 cases, three (2.3%) have survived.   The presence of this ameba doesn’t seem to deter the many people who soak in these hot springs.

One interesting find in the past few weeks was a possible location of Solorina spongiosa, “fringed chocolate chip lichen”.  This lichen has relatively large, brown, sunken apothecia (fruiting bodies), which are surrounded by a distinctive ring of green tissue.  It has a worldwide distribution, but is rare in California.

I’ve been continuing surveys in the Santa Ana River drainage, focusing on areas near roads and streams, and also monitoring older occurrences.  One showy inhabitant of meadows and streams in this area is Sidalcea malvaflora subsp. dolosa (pictured).  We finished the invasive plant guide and will print this fall.

Mountaintop Ranger District

San Bernardino National Forest

I have seen so much spectacular scenery these past few months that it’s almost becoming commonplace; oh, look, it’s just another run-of-the-mill extremely gorgeous view over there. One of the best things about being here is getting to explore all that Montana has to offer, although I wouldn’t even come close if I had a lifetime. I have come to appreciate the plains of central Montana, but on the weekends I like to seek out the enchantment of trees and this past weekend that prompted a visit to the “Bob”. The “Bob” is the nickname for the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, the second largest wilderness complex in the lower 48 that has been protected for about the past 75 years. It was named after a fascinating wilderness pioneer, Robert Marshall, a forester by trade and adventurer at heart who believed that it should be the right of all people to have access to wilderness and the adventure that comes with it.

Bob Marshall Wilderness, not sure of the mountain’s name

“Adventure, whether physical or mental, implies breaking into unpenetrated ground, venturing beyond the boundary of normal aptitude, extending oneself to the limit of capacity, courageously facing peril. Life without the chance for such exertions would be for many persons a dreary game, scarcely bearable in its horrible banality.” -from, “The Problem of the Wilderness”
Bob is pretty dramatic here, but I did get a taste for the adventure that he’s talking about last weekend and yeah, it was pretty exhilarating. I hiked past blue-green waters of Holland Lake and watched it retreat as I gained elevation and distance from civilization. The trail we took was well traveled and we passed many fellow hikers and mules carrying supplies, so for the most part I didn’t feel as though we were in true wilderness (most of all I felt I didn’t have to worry too much about encountering a grizzly). I also heard a few jets fly overhead, which also took away from the wilderness characteristics of the place.
I finally crossed the border into the wilderness so nicely labeled by a dilapidated sign and immediately the number of people we encountered dropped to zero. Other species of animal were a bit more abundant, though. A few grouse made appearances on the side of the trail and we were visited by a large hoofed creature in the night just inches from the tent who remains unknown because I was too scared to take a look. Rain was the biggest hardship on this trip since most of the other backpacking trips I took this year luckily had been dry. Although I spent several steep, cold miles hiking in water-logged shoes, which was a bit miserable at first, the weather made for some dramatic scenery and the wet shoes became normal. Hidden lakes popped up in rocky canyons, yellow buckwheat and white beargrass added bright contrast to the dark grays and greens, and every summit provided a new view of craggy peaks as clouds constantly veiled and unveiled them. I finally felt truly in the wilderness with the solitude and immense vastness that comes with it.
Back at work that thought reoccurred to me; the feeling of solitude and vastness still imminent. As I worked with a range tech on the hunt to check range improvement projects, we wandered the landscape without catching the glimpse of a single human being, although knowing that they weren’t too far off. I have come to understand the importance of the range specialists’ job here with the BLM, which in essence is finding harmony between humans and the natural world because both are vitally dependent on each other. Because of that most people here work closely with plants even though their official title is not botanist. When we asses rangeland health, the majority of what we monitor is the species of plants because they tell us the story of the land. Finding the harmony between humans and nature is such a difficult yet noble task, although one can argue whether we really are that separate from nature. I have been thinking about whether or not we have an equivalent to the range specialists back east. Possibly forester, but I can’t really compare apples and oranges; I am simply enjoying the fact that I am learning so much about a previously unknown part of my country.

Sapphire Lake in the Bob

Spruce grouse possibly?

Swainson’s Hawk juveniles hanging out

Thanks CLM for a great opportunity to work with the forest service!
My last month has been a whirl wind of new projects away from rare plant surveys. The last project to be put on my plate was setting up transects through different habitat types to measure shrub production and forage in grazing allotments. Its been great getting to be involved in so many different projects starting with rare plant surveys, then moving on to wildlife, soils and finally range. It has been an interesting experience being involved in the Rim fire recovery work and seeing how the forest service is moving forward. Our work surveying for sensitive and rare plants is only the first step in a long process of recovery for the forest. I will continue to follow the progress and hope that the work we did this season will keep the sensitive plant populations growing in the years to come!

-Emily

Since my internship has been extended, I have transferred from the Alturas office to the Surprise Valley office. So far, I like it here. Since Alturas and Surprise are about 30 minutes from each other, I have worked within the Surprise boundary earlier in the season. I have some knowledge of this area, but since it is towards the end of the season, I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do in terms of where things are out in the wilderness.

At the Alturas office, the word on the block was that the interns last year and my mentor did not get along so well. I feel as though I was really able to leave that office with a good reputation and the respect of my former coworkers. This gives me a since of pride in knowing that I did good work, or at least worked to the best of my abilities. In my experience, people notice your mindset and attitude more so than the work you actually do. Not to say be happy everyday and you dont have to work, but if you are learning something new, whether skills, information, or just how to navigate a new area, you are bound to make mistakes and therein lies the importance of coming into work everyday ready to try again and not be negative about your task or abilities.

I do feel like I am living in a whirlwind right now. Many things are happening back home in Ohio with my family while my friends are getting married. Here I am, living in a 14 foot trailer driving around the wilderness where people can’t get a hold of me half the time. During this summer, I also began a move across the country to Oregon and all the planning and communicating that goes into an endeavor like that has become rather distracting. My new home is about 2,500 miles from my old home and also about 315 miles from where I currently work, yet my only internet connection is in the office, so I have to use my time wisely.

All in all, I would say that we have it easy. Back in the day, there would be no emails, no phone calls, and no long weekend drives to check on things. I would be here, family, fiance, friends, would be somewhere else, and it would take a long time to send letters back and forth. I would be down here working and saving my money so I could move my fiance here where we would probably live in my 14 foot trailer and scrape through a cold desert winter. Puts it in perspective a little bit.