When I waited for my time to start my internship with the Lakewood, CO State BLM Office over a month ago, time practically stood still. Now that I have already worked nearly a month, the beginning of my internship has been a blur!

This is the second year I have been in the Conservation and Land Management Internship Program. For those of you that don’t know me well, I started my first year as a CLM intern in Carlsbad, NM, collecting seeds for the Seeds of Success Program. Long story short, it was an incredible journey and crazy experience, yet, must have been good enough to try the internship a second time around in a different location this year! Although I would suggest young adults to travel around and try living/working in new places, I am happy to say that I got placed this year close to home, close to my husband and two dogs. I am a Colorado Native working in the BLM Colorado State Office, only 15 minutes from home! As I was last year, my main focus will be working with the Seeds of Success (SOS) Program yet again, collecting common native seeds from BLM lands of Colorado. Although, I am excited to also be a small part in helping with Colorado rare and sensitive plant monitoring.

My first week started a little slow, as I am sure was the case for other CLM interns across the country. I toured the office, met employees, found a cubicle to take refuge in for the duration of my internship. I anxiously waited for a government ID and computer access to come through. To help the time pass by, I researched Colorado natives and began to hone in my plant ID skills, as these qualities will be crucial this field season. I also was the lucky duck of assembling plant tags (metal numbered tags attached to long, large, galvanized nails) for use in the long-term rare, sensitive, and endangered plant monitoring projects going on.

A single plant ID tag, to be placed near whatever plant will be monitored in the future. The tag is attached to thin wire, then wrapped around a nail…and meant for many years of use once put in the ground! Photo by B. Palmer

However, I was off and running by the second week of work – already in the field! My SOS work has not lifted off the ground quite yet, so I tagged along with the rare and sensitive plant monitoring group (CLM intern Taryn, Phil, and my mentor Carol Dawson) to check out Astragalus debequaeus, near Silt, Colorado.

Near Rifle, Colorado in Garfield County. Not a bad site to see on the first day of field work in Colorado, hiking to an Astragalus debequaeus macro-plot. Photo by B. Palmer

Astragalus debequaeus, commonly known as De Beque Milkvetch, is a Colorado endemic, and one of many subjects of long term rare plant research. Monitoring this plant was a valuable experience for me, as this was my first time doing this type of fieldwork, setting up plots to record data on a species of interest. I learned the process quickly: we traveled to long-term macro-plots, set up the measuring tapes, and checked the number of seedlings, vegetative, and reproductive A. debequaeus found at random transects within the marcoplot. New seedlings were tagged, and old ones hopefully were still tagged from years past. The idea is to get a sense of the mean plant density, and see if we can detect a change in the population’s density over time. I love the fact that research can be done outside of academia…a possible reason to stay in this type of work in the future.

The group of us set up a plot at an area we called North Webster Mesa, in Rifle, CO. The macro-plot is 36m x 20m, and plants in random transects along the 20m side were counted. Photo by B. Palmer

A tagged A. debequaeus plant within one of the transects. Data is collected from this and other plots, and later analyzed back at the office, using a paired t-test. Photo by B. Palmer

For that first trip of ours, it was nearly all Astragalus all the time! However, while scouting for different populations to setup another macroplot, we stumbled upon some other pretty neat plants that one would only see on the Colorado Western Slope!

While scouting for A. debequaeus populations, I stumbled across this beautiful common bloom – Echinocereus triglochidiatus. Photo by B. Palmer

We also stumbled across a not-so-common bloom: Sclerocactus glaucus (Colorado Hookless Cactus), a rare, endemic Colorado gem, and one we were schedule to monitor the following week. Photo by B. Palmer

Of course, we saw a few more things than Astragalus and Cactus. Here is the little common plant Townsendia incana, Hoary Easter Daisy. Photo by B. Palmer

The next week was just as busy as we rolled into another 5 days of field work. The same group of us took a trip out to Delta, Colorado in search for Sclerocactus glaucus, the endemic Colorado Hookless Cactus. We had stumbled onto some healthy populations the week before, so I was in high hopes that we would have positive results in the coming plots. I had come to realize this area was incredibly dry from a mild winter of little snow and precipitation, and not many flowers were out to be enjoyed.

The Star Nelson Sclerocactus glaucus macroplot/allotment in Delta, Colorado. This was one of the bigger plots we surveyed over the week, the macro-plot encompassing 30m x 70m area. The weather was cold and windy, the area was dry, and vegetation sparse.  Photo by B. Palmer

Not only was the vegetation we saw dried up and crispy, a lot of it was chewed up and stomped on by cattle! Even the saltbushes (Atriplex app.), sagebrush (Artemesia app.), and Galleta grass (Hilaria jamesii) were demolished and munched on (and these are the kinds of plants that are a last-resort food source to cattle. We found it especially true for one of our macro-plot areas placed in the Escalante Canyon and National Conservation Area. Although the soaring sandstone cliffs of the canyon are quite beautiful, it was hard to enjoy among the decimated vegetation below, impacted by cattle of the Escalante Ranch sharing the land nearby.

Escalante Canyon and National Conservation Area, in Delta, Colorado. Cattle from Escalante Ranch frolic through an area we JUST finished surveying for Sclerocactus glaucus. We had just taken the measuring tapes down from the macro plot, when it became blatantly obvious that the cattle were impatiently waiting for us to leave so they could enjoy the area, and stomp all over our little rare cacti looking for food. Photo by B. Palmer

Looking for Sclerocactus glaucus proved to be more difficult than I realized, and it became something of an Easter egg hunt, or what I thought to be a thrilling, tedious game of I Spy. This was especially true during a day we decided to conduct a Point-in-Time Survey of S. glaucus. The idea behind using a point-in-time is to help calculate a population density within a given area. Once the average plant density is found within a reasonable confidence interval, these data are compared to the set long-term plots to see how the species is doing on a landscape level. So we went to an area were there was a previous record (EOR – Element Occurrence Record) of the species being seen here, we branched out, and we searched. We searched for the little cacti, and flagged every one we could find before setting up a plot and counting just about every single Sclerocactus we could find!

One of the few Sclerocactus glaucus I found and flagged while putting together a Point-in-time plot. Notice the drab appearance of the cactus, blending in to the dry, beaten down habitat around it. Hardly any were flowering, making it even more difficult to find the individual plants. Photo by B. Palmer

I am not only a month into the second go-around of this internship, and I have learned oh so much. Until Seeds of Success kicks into gear, I am happy to be working around BLM sensitive, rare, and endangered plants in the meantime playing games of I Spy and Easter egg hunting. I get to travel around Colorado, work outdoors, enjoy the little things. I am also working with great, fun people full of positive vibes, and you can’t ask for more than that. I am excited for what the future brings me!

To all the other new and returning CLM interns out there: wishing you all safe travels and exciting adventures at the beginning of this field season. This is Brooke Palmer from the Lakewood, Colorado, BLM State Office. Until next time!

Fun times making transects, looking for plants with awesome coworkers, not to mention little Collared Lizards! Looking forward to another field season as a CLM intern, closer to home! Photo by B. Palmer

When I arrived in Southern Oregon, from Upstate New York, I immediately knew this could be my second home. After traveling across the country I passed through beautiful areas including the Badlands in South Dakota, Yellowstone and the Oregon coast but none compared to how at home I felt in the forests of Oregon. The combination of topography, abundant rivers, friendly people and of course rich plant diversity made me excited to explore the area and learn a whole new set of plants.

Rogue River Trail, Galice OR. About 4 miles from the house I’m living at! Plectritis congesta (Sea blush) in foreground.

My dear friend and fellow botanist in New York would introduce herself to new species, just as you greet a new friend. When I got to Oregon I was excited to see familiar plant friends and I just needed to know their last name or “species”.

There are many relatives of the east coast; native species such as Trillium, Trientalis (starflower), Cornus (flowering dogwood), Oxalis (wood sorrel) and members of Sarraceniaceae (pitcher plant family) and was unpleased to see familiar invasive species such as Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese knotweed) and Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven).

Left: Trientalis boreali ssp. borealis (starflower) in Cranberry Lake, NY                                        Right: Trientalis borealis ssp.latifolia (broadleaf starflower) in Grants Pass, OR

Left: Sarracenia purpurea (northern pitcher plant) at Labrador Hollow, NY                                Right: Darlingtonia californica (California pitcher plant) at Eight Dollar Mountain, OR

The internship is going great, I’m learning a lot and I’m happy to work with other people that are intrigued with botany as much as I am! I’m excited to learn more and meet new friends – humans and plants.

Till next time,

Sienna McDonald

BLM Grants Pass, OR

Looking North at the Sawtooth Range from Laidlaw Park

May in South-Central Idaho is bursting with beautiful wildflowers, covered with blankets of lush grasses, and offering an unexpectedly wide range of daily temperatures. I did not realize how desert-like this part the state is! So far, my time working with Danelle has been absolutely wonderful as we have mostly spent our days exploring the complexity of the Shoshone field office and the “tiny super bloom” that is currently in progress. The majority of our field work has been west of the Craters of the Moon National Park on several “kipukas”, large patches of land surrounded by volcanic lava flows, each with a unique plant community.

When I first arrived, I was unaware of how abundant the wildflowers were, and quickly learned to squint in order to see the astonishing diversity of spring time inflorescences. I am thrilled to be familiar with much of the common herbs and grasses after only a few field trips and remain eager to learn more about seed collection, sagebrush, and general range ecology. Moreover, Danelle and the other interns have been delightful to work with as we have had the pleasure of experiencing some magical country and encountering unexpected blooms.

Crater Butte

In sum, I’ve been awestricken by the snowcapped Sawtooth skyline, expansiveness of the landscape, and the overall diversity of the Shoshone vegetation. Til next time, you can find me whispering scientific names to myself as I roam blissfully through the vast Idaho country.

The mystery Ranunc! (Ranunculus andersonii)

One of my favorites (Viola beckwithii)

Shoshone Falls

The Nevada BLM Carson City District Office CLM Intern Team discovers population of threatened species Ivesia webberi. An amazing find!

A mixed sagebrush-juniper community covers a large semi-remote area of rangeland only 30 minutes north of Reno, Nevada.  Much like most of the state, the area is managed primarily by the BLM with allotments of private land interspersed throughout the region.  As new opportunities arise, private land owners look to alternative ways to achieve a wide array of management goals.  This area in particular has been slotted for land use change pertaining to the large population of Utah Juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) and potential Sage Grouse habitat.

Sagebrush Steppe, Dry Valley, Washoe County, NV

Before significant change on BLM land can happen, a variety of environmental assessments and rare species surveys must be completed to evaluate the impact of the specific project.  This is where our responsibilities for botanical surveys come into play.  Webber’s Ivesia (Ivesia webberi) is an ESA Threatened species, BLM Special Status species, and a Critically Endangered species in the State of Nevada.  The area of interest was designated as potential habitat for Ivesia webberi by our mentor and other BLM Staff.  Our team was tasked with navigating polygons of likely Ivesia habitat and conducting surveys for the rare species across hundreds of acres.  We spent the better part of the work week performing surveys for Ivesia webberi throughout the region while camping in the field.  On the last polygon of the last hour on the last day of our surveys, a fellow intern called the group over as we walked our lines.  “I’ve got it!”  Nestled in a dry ephemeral drainage line, free of Bromus tectorum and other competitors, thrives a newly recorded population of Ivesia webberi!  We recorded the GPS information, created Polygon and Line features, and pin flagged the area for a future return trip.  The discovery of this satellite population is the first in the area and a land management determination is currently in the works.  We are scheduled to return next week for further surveys!

Webber’s Ivesia (Ivesia webberi)

Lake Tahoe calls on the weekends.  In the past few weeks, we have explored Emerald Bay, Eagle Lake at the trailheads of Desolation Wilderness, and Marlette Lake high on the slopes of Tahoe’s eastern border.  Whether we are botanizing, birding, skiing, backpacking, swimming or biking, the seemingly endless activities draw us back over the Sierras to our weekend getaway every time.

Lake Tahoe from Marlette Lake

Eagle Lake, Desolation Wilderness

Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe

Finished my first month at the Grants Pass BLM. Finally got computer access this week! It only took lots of meetings and running in circles trying to find the right person to talk to, but finally got my USAccess card to finally work. Also finally got poison oak for the first time in my life! The heat has picked up just as our field work has too, but I cannot complain. Most of our days are spent hiking (up very steep hills) searching for the endangered Fritillaria gentneri. We have been very lucky to find a lot of good views and a lot of blooming Frittilaria. However, there have also been some difficulties when it comes to access issues -because of the checkerboard pattern with private land ownership we sometimes struggle to get to the sites we need to, however when we do it’s well worth it.  Other days are focused in invasive management, which usually involves hacking at Dyers Wode on gravel bars by the Rogue River and occasionally spraying herbicide.

Some of the amazing views we get: 

Is it even possible to cram this last months activities into one blog post? Not likely, but I will do my best.

I left Kansas at the beginning of April with my 5th-wheel trailer and two kitty cats in tow. With my internship starting in a couple of weeks, I decided to have myself a little adventure getting out to Oregon. I followed two strangers into the wilderness of New Mexico to a community of hippies (you could call this reckless behavior), I was humbled by the enormity of the Grand Canyon, I wore the soles of my shoes thin hiking around Zion National Park, and I nearly lost my home in Death Valley. All in all, the adventure was off to a pretty good start.

Bringing the ol’ home out to Oregon!

The Subway at Zion National Park

The adventure continued upon my arrival to Klamath Falls, Oregon and my first day at the field office! Introductions were made and I thanked my lucky stars for getting such an awesome mentor and group of coworkers. I established myself at a local RV park and took a tour of the town and surrounding areas. Wow, is this a pretty area! I can hardly even believe that I get to spend 6 months here!

Upper Klamath Lake- home to thousands of endangered suckers!

Rogue River National Forest is a large forest outside of Klamath Falls!

One of the first projects my fellow CLM compadre, Jeff, and I were given was assisting with the juvenile, endangered Lost River Suckers and Shortnose Suckers at the local fish hatchery. We started out by preparing the juveniles for release. Several days were spent going through each juvenile (over 1,000) and measuring, weighing, and checking for PIT tags on the fish. Once every fish had its data recorded and tags were ensured, the fish were taken to two separate locations and released. It was pretty incredible getting to be a part of the final release. You get to stand back and take in all of the work that went into that particular batch. Quite rewarding, if I do say so myself.

Me, neckless, on the right, measuring a juvenile sucker. Jeff, on the left, is checking the Ranger for PIT tags.

Jeff measuring one of the babies! So cute! (They are very squirmy.)

The transportation tank used to move the juveniles from the hatchery to the release site.

Releasing some juvenile suckers into Klamath Lake

Another project that we were fortunate enough to help out on about once a week was with the Bureau of Reclamation netting adult Lost River suckers and Shortnose suckers from Lake Ewauna for transportation to the Williamson River where better spawning habitat is offered. The nets were laid very early in the morning and pulled out of the water several hours later. This entails someone driving the boat while two people pull each side of the net out of the water and into the boat. Data is recorded for what species of fish are captured and any suckers are kept in a holding tank on the boat. We always have a good time when we are out with the Bureau of Reclamation guys. From ridiculous jokes to a group of American White Pelicans that follow us around, we are never short on laughter.

This group of American White Pelicans always follows us around in hopes of getting a fishy snack from us

Jeff and Brock pulling in one of the nets

Jeff and I have also been helping out with Oregon Spotted Frog surveys! Seven mile creek is located in beautiful Winema National Forest about an hour outside of town. The first time we went out we didn’t have any luck in finding egg sacks or adult frogs (unless you call it lucky that we still got to hike several miles in the wilderness, uh heck yea). BUT upon returning to the site a couple of weeks later when it was warmer, we came across several egg sacks and adult frogs! Data sheets were filled out with site locations, stages of the embryos (these were all hatching!), specific measurements, etc, pictures were captured, and GPS points were taken. It was a beautiful, sunny day in good company and not much more could be asked for.

Seven Mile Creek. More like seven miles of the most beautiful forest I’ve ever seen!!!

Adult Oregon Spotted Frog and bottom right is an egg sack full of hatching larvae!

What else are you supposed to do when you come across bear scat?!

The most recent project that Jeff and I have been helping out on is with larval sucker collections. This involves us getting to the office at 3AM, driving out to the site, throwing some plankton nets into the water and catching little tiny larval suckers! They are then transported to the local fish hatchery to be treated and raised into larger juveniles for later release. You have to be extremely careful when handling the larvae or moving them from one tank to the other because they are very sensitive to changes in water temperature (kind of like me with the cold lol). The perks to being in the field at 3 in the morning is that you have some seriously beautiful sunrises. It’s hard to not be completely content in moments like those.

Dip netting later in the morning for larval suckers

My experience so far with this internship is nothing short of amazing! I am so thankful for this opportunity to acquire knowledge, meet wonderful people, and immerse myself in some new adventures. I am looking forward to what is to come and getting to share my experiences with those who will listen. 🙂

Marissa- Klamath Falls Field Office- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Hello Upper Willamette Resource Area!

After several seasons of working around the Pacific Northwest, this year my duty station will be in Eugene/Springfield Oregon where I’ve made my home for the past 6 years.  I can’t wait! The majority of time I’ve lived in Eugene I haven’t had a car (don’t worry, the city is great for bicycles) so my exploration of the area outside of city limits has been guided by the wills of friends with vehicles. For the next 5 months, however, I am going to spend hundreds of hours exploring and getting to know the nooks, crannies, and plants in what I consider my own backyard!

Working for and alongside people who have led my field trips, mentored school projects, and who I have generally thought of as natural resource heroes, I think this field season is going to be a great one.

My mentor, Cheshire Mayrsohn, (Botanist for the Upper Willamette Resource Area, Northwest Oregon District) showing me the ropes of filling out GeoBOB survey forms.

My first week has brought about the usual routine of paperwork, trainings, technical difficulties, and a whirlwind tour all the folks in the office. I even got to drive part of an OHV course as part of my driver’s training test. You’ve got to love the opportunity to drive over logs, rocks, and slosh through giant mud pits!

One of the rocky mud pits I got to drive through.

Having survived the first couple of days, I got geared up and headed out the door to start the first of my rare plant monitoring. My target species: Eucephalus vialis, also known as wayside aster.

Eucephalus vialis

Belonging to the Aster family, this sensitive species is somewhat tricky to spot. Varying in height depending on habitat conditions and currently in a vegetative state, it does a great job of blending in with other vegetation. It’s also prone to growing in and among poison oak, which makes for an even bigger challenge. Hooray for Tecnu (and Dawn dish soap my mentor has recently divulged)!!

Eucephalus vialis has some look alikes, especially when the plant doesn’t grow very tall. Luckily Cheshire has lots of tricks for plant identification. For this aster, one of the best ways to identify it from others is its anastamosing veins, where the veins rejoin after branching and forming an intertwining network (which can be seen in the picture below).

It’s only a been a few days and my brain is already swirling with names of new plants or familiar plants that I’ve never properly identified, but I can’t wait to learn more! It feels great to be starting a new field season. I have a feeling this internship is going to be full of adventures, an abundance of new tasks and skills, and an experience I’ll never forget.

Emily, Bureau of Land Management, Upper Willamette Resource Area

Despite numerous trips out west, I’ve never had the opportunity to drive the whole way. So as I started thinking about the logistics of moving to Wyoming there was clearly only one option: road trip. Well, I could not have had more fun transitioning from New England. It was a perfect excuse to explore some beautiful national parks along the way, have a little adventure, and spend some extra time getting to know home for the next 5 months.

The sun begins to set in Badlands National Park, SD

Now, over 2,000 miles and 12 states later I find myself in Buffalo Wyoming, surrounded by the Bighorn mountains, and about to wrap up my first week as a Surface Use and Environmental Compliance (SUEC) Intern with the BLM.

Spring Snow on the Bighorn Mountains, WY

My time in Buffalo started off with a snow storm, road closures and unpredictable weather, but it took a turn for the better as my internship began and we are now experiencing daytime temperatures in the 60͒s and 70͒s; it’s supposed to hit 80͒ this weekend! My first week as an intern has certainly consisted of the necessary enrollments and trainings – not to mention getting to know the logistics and numerous aspects of the position – but there are plenty of assignments for me to get started on. I’ve been inundated with information and work in the best possible way, and now that the weather is cooperating I’ve gone into the field to join on some inspections. Of the number of sites we visited, the largest was easily a reclamation site waiting for final approval of abandonment. It had been resurfaced and reseeded, and after a number of years, had integrated back into the landscape. While the sagebrush regrowth wasn’t complete, we were happy to see that the other native vegetation had completely filled-in, and that the sage brush is making good progress. On the opposite end of the spectrum, is a plugged pit we inspected. With no regrowth and some erosion, the reclamation process will have to start over.

The vegetation hasn’t taken at this pit, plugged last year, and will need to be reseeded

View of the high plains landscape just up the road from the reclamation pit

I was also excited to realize that although unplanned, the start of my internship overlapped with the last week of lek counts/visits for the sage-grouse mating season. Given that sage-grouse have been a standard reference in pretty much every biology, animal behavior, and conservation book I’ve ever read, it was about time I see them in action. With their inflated gular sacs and fanned-out tail feathers the males are striking, and their performance did not disappoint. I was lucky enough to hear plenty of booming, and see the males strut and square off.

The first time out we visited an easily located lek, but the second day found us moving through the sagebrush looking for signs, until we finally found the lek had shifted to another hillside. It was definitely worth the 4am wake-up, and provided some great wildlife viewing. There’s nothing quite like starting your day with a sunrise and some sage grouse, or viewing a nesting golden eagle as you head to the office.

I’m already looking forward to next week, and can’t wait to meet the rest of the interns who join the office on Wednesday!

Bachelor group of Bighorn sheep in Badlands National Park, SD

Looking up at Devils Tower, SD