Wyoming- big skies, big landscapes, and lots of sagebrush. While there are some things I don’t enjoy (mostly the heat), Wyoming is a pretty great state. I love watching pronghorn run across the sagebrush and dodging young calves as they scamper away from our car as we drive to our field sites. Even the afternoon thunderstorms add a certain excitement to the day.

Pronghorn fawns running across the road

Lander is a great town. With a population of 7,400 people, it’s big enough to have almost everything you could need- two grocery stores, one movie theater, a library, and gas stations galore. Plus, the mountains are only six miles away- what more could you ask for?

View from a weekend hike in the Wind River Mountains

It’s been a month since I started work at the BLM. Over the past few weeks I have gone out with field crews monitoring prairie dogs and sage grouse, visited rare plant populations, met some of the other CBG interns at the workshop in Chicago, and identified lots and lots of plants.

One of my favorite days was during my first week of work. It was the day we visited the main population of Yermo xanthocephalus, a rare plant that is endemic to Wyoming and can only be found in the Lander Field Office. The plant was not discovered until 1991, when a botanist came across it while doing surveys for a proposed gas pipeline. Needless to say, the pipeline was laid elsewhere.

Yermo xanthocephalus from the original population

Last week, I had the opportunity to visit the second Yermo population with our field office’s botanist. She had received reports of strange activity in the area, so we went to investigate. When we got to the site, we thoroughly searched the areas that the plant was last seen in. One of the points no longer contained any plants, and another had only one. There were PVC pipes in the ground around the area, and new tracks near the population. On the bright side, the view from the area was incredible.

The view from the second Yermo population

It was amazing to see such a rare plant and all of the effort that goes in to monitoring it. While I don’t think rare plant monitoring is in my future, it was interesting to learn about the process and politics of protecting plant populations. It is important work, and hopefully it will allow rare plants like the Yermo to exist long into the future.

Hour 1 of downtime in the office waiting for the conference call. First time in weeks that                           we’ve been stagnant.

Hour 3 of the post-holiday struggle. Few hours of sleep and an early start means a rough                       morning and the hope of a nap.

Hour 8 of quiet after the fireworks ceased. The entire city went a little crazy, and the                               neighbors put on an impressive display.

Hour 22 since the parade began. Most of it was an all-out war with spectators chucking                         water balloons and paraders flinging candy.

Hour 48 of having no voice. The sore throat of last weeks progressed to a cold, and                               pushing through the weekend cost me the ability to communicate.

Hour 88 since the first guest arrived. Out-of-town CBG interns and friends visited for a                           fun, high-energy weekend.

Hour 111 of being out of cardboard for the press. The many voucher specimens are slow                       to dry without a functioning space heater in the drying cabinet.

Day 43 of loving Lander.

***To some extent, I live day-by-day here. This is a snapshot of my current experience. There is so much more to this internship than is implied here ~ and maybe the next blog post will reflect this ~ or maybe not.

BLM – Lander Field Office.

Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Deleware

The exposed mudflats of Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in the image above reveal the current state of one of the largest ever salt marsh restoration projects on the East Coast, spanning 4000 acres. Before Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012, the refuge had long been managed as impounded freshwater wetland habitat to suit the preferences of fishers and hunters, but the powerful storm sent saltwater rushing into where it once belonged, killing the life which could not tolerate it. Our good friends with U.S. Fish & Wildlife decided it would be best to create a salt marsh where salt marsh once stood.

Indeed, all along the Mid-Atlantic coast, restoration efforts are underway to re-create quality, more resilient ecosystems where Sandy has wounded the land. These efforts require A LOT of plant material, but as we botanists know, not all plant material is genetically equal for the conservation of life and land. Plants populations that have evolved to inhabit the shores of Long Island do not fare as well when planted on the shores of Delaware. Sandy has, in a way, done conservationists the favor of opening our eyes to the lack of stockpiles of genetically appropriate plant materials for disaster response in the East. The prudent folks at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Seed Bank, which we affectionately call MARSB (mars-bee), are working hard to resolve this issue. Land managers up and down the coast are anxiously awaiting the seeds we collect for their projects. This, friends, is how I find myself as a wild seed collector living in the heart of Brooklyn. It has been a sweet dream thus far.

NYC, my home-base

My partner and I have been assigned the task of collecting in the state of New Jersey. Though we have barely begun to explore all of the diverse, beautiful conservation lands for which we have permits to collect, we have had our fair share of adventures, and have seen innumerable neat plants. One of my favorites is the swamp azalea (Rhododendron viscosum), which made the trek through catbrier (Smilax) thorns, ticks, and mosquitos worth every bite.

Rhododendron viscosum— it smells as pretty as it looks.

We’ve explored dunes, saltwater and freshwater marshes, forests, swamps, and bogs. Those who know New Jersey know its famous Pine Barrens and the “Pineys” that call the infertile land home. Let me tell you, Pineys know how to claim a beautiful landscape for their home. I loooove the Pine Barrens. It seems that I’ve been too immersed in the beauty to snap a picture for y’all. Imagine sparsely placed pitch pine (Pinus rigida) and scrub oak (Quercus illicifolia), blueberries and numerous other Ericaceae members (my favorite plant family, which includes the swamp azalea), and the occasional naked patch of sandy spodosol (soil talk). Next time I’ll snap a photo haha.

So far, we’ve mostly been scouting out populations for future collection, but we have managed to make a handful of collections already.

prickly bog sedge (Carex atlantica)– collected at Peaslee Wildlife Management Area, NJ

Though there is so much collecting yet to be done this season and beyond, I dare say the next time a hurricane the likes of Sandy hits, MARSB’s vaults will be ready to dole out relief.

Well, I think I’ve spent enough time on the computer for today. It’s time I go outside and do some botanizing. There are loads of fun plants to see in NYC if you have the eye for them.  I’ll leave you with a few photographs before I go.

kayaking on Deleware Bay to reach distant stretches of salt marsh in Egg Island Wildlife Management Area

The preferred habitat of mussels is underneath saltmarsh cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora).

The native prickly pear cactus (Opuntia humifusa) growing on the dunes with coastal panicgrass (Panicum amarum var. amarulum)

Susanville, here we go!

Susanville, CA

After a long week of car breakdowns and traveling, I finally arrived to Susanville. Overall, it’s been a crazy few months, so try to keep up!

About a month ago, I graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Before graduation, I was on a very small island in the Sea of Cortez doing research on the Cardón cactus. The day after I finished school, I was on my way to Los Angeles for a couple of days before my flight to Chicago. After the workshop, I found myself packing up my things, again, and heading north. So, I haven’t had much time to process what it means to be a college graduate, especially since most of my life I’ve identified as a student. Part of me still thinks I’m going back in September…

I’ve only been in Susanville for a week now, but it feels much longer. I was very nervous to move to a place where the population is smaller than my school. I was especially nervous to be away from my friends and family, as this meant, starting over. But moving on is refreshing. Change is good, right?

During the Chicago workshop, I got to meet all of the other interns. Most of the interns had already started, so I got a lot of insight on their projects and what to expect from small towns. We shared a lot of great stories about the unique folks one comes across while being in the middle of nowhere…so many great stories! I even ran into a friend from UCSC, and got to meet Alia and Jillian, the other interns I’ll be living with for the next five months!

The workshop was great and I learned a lot about the history and relevance of the Seeds of Success program, but I am happy to finally be working. My first week at the Eagle Lake Field Office was tiring and hot, but awesome! My favorite part was being assigned my own Jeep, Callie, previously known as Trash Jeep, but now named after the genus Calochortus. On the first day, Alia, Jillian, and I, got a tour of Susanville, and the areas we’ll be working in. The following two days, we collected seeds from Elymus elymoides var. californicus (Squirrel tail grass) and monitored some special status plants, such as Ivesia aperta (Sierra Valley mousetail) and Astragulus pulsiferae (Ame’s milkvetch). We also spent some time familiarizing ourselves with the Artemsia spp, which took a long time, since they all look the same to me. On a more exciting note, I got to see Calochortus macrocarpus, which is about ready to fruit! Oh, and we also met a couple from the office who need dogsitting for the next three weeks! They happen to live in a beautiful house, with a beautiful landscape and four beautiful dogs!

Callie, the Jeep

Calochortus macrocarpus

I’ve been very excited about this opportunity, because I get to learn a lot about plants every day! The flora is a lot different from what I am used to seeing in the Redwood forest and on the coast. I’m also very excited for the three day weekends, because Susanville is located in such a pretty area. So far, I’ve seen Antelope Lake and Lake Almanor! I got some pretty amazing views of snowy Lassen while driving around the Plumas Forest. This weekend, I’m heading to Truckee for some socializing, and Quincy for some bouldering!

I’d say, life after graduating is not bad.

So there I was,in the heart of the Mojave Desert, minding my own business searching for rare plants. When I heard a sound. At first I tried to convince myself it was just the hum of power lines, but no. It wasn’t a hum–it was more of a click, and it seemed to be emanating from the nearest creosote bush (Larrea tridentata). Actually, now that I was listening for it, I realized that most of the creosote bushes around me clicking away as well. A number of explanations floated through my mind: sentient trees, maybe I’d finally found my way into Narnia, bowtruckles, dehydration?, maybe my field partner was punking me, or it could be an insect.

Occcam’s Razor states that the simplest explanation is the most likely, so while I was really hoping for Narnia, I decided to go with the idea of an insect. To test my theory, I picked up a rock and threw it at the bush. I expected a grasshopper or something to hop away and that would be that. However, rather than silencing the creosote or scaring away an insect, my actions caused a renewed volley of even louder clicks. Great, just great–I made it angry.

Fascinated, I grabbed another rock. A little further experimentation confirmed that the initial result held true for the bushes in the immediate surrounding area. At that point, my field partner Kate found me accosting the local flora and demanded an explanation. Without any further details to go on, we did what any self-respecting millennial would do–we Googled it.

According to Google, the most likely sources of the mysterious clicking were Desert Clicker grasshoppers (Ligurotettix coquilletti). Apparently, a male Clicker will likely spend most of its adult life on a single creosote bush. They are extremely territorial for both feeding and mating purposes–the word on the web is that shrubs are more desirable if they have a lower concentration of the protective phenolic compound nordihydroguaiaretic acid. (I guess the leaves taste better.) That explains why, rather than scaring the grasshopper away, a rock to the bush incited verbal reckoning.  

I guess I learned my lesson!

Don’t let the calm exterior fool you–this creosote was not happy with me!

Jessica Samuelson

Needles, CA Field Office

Bureau of Land Management

Almost a month ago I began my journey from the coast of Maine to my new home, Santa Fe, New Mexico, leaving behind the pink granite mountains I had come to know so well and moving towards the mysterious, warm hues of sedimentary mesas. My last hike in Acadia National Park, where I worked this spring, was on Sargent Mountain, one of my favorite places in the park and a mountaintop home to snowy owls in the winter and smooth green snakes in the warmer months. As I ascended Acadia’s mountains, the granite would scrape my palms, whereas the sandstone of the desert crumbles in my hands, leaving behind a rusty red dust.

I spent my first week of work at the CLM workshop in Chicago and have subsequently been exploring the southwest. Our first week of work here included training and getting to know our new crew. Our crew headed to the Valles Caldera National Preserve for botanical training with southwest botanist, Steve Buckley. At Valles we saw coyotes running through grasslands following elk herds, prairie dogs on the alert, short horned lizards, and countless new and exciting native plants. On our way to and from Valles we encountered dramatic, expansive, red landscapes.



Our first week of work also included our first couple of collections: baby aster and squirrel tail. The seeds of each species felt uniquely singular in my hands.

This week we met with a few other BLM botanists and restoration ecologists and did some collecting and scouting. We worked in several different areas including the Perea Nature Trail, La Cieneguilla Petroglyphs, and the Santa Fe National Forest. Each place presented new and exciting learning opportunities due to my unfamiliarity with the ecology of this place. New Mexico also has very rich cultural and artistic undertones. Petroglyphs, murals, and art museums present opportunities to perceive New Mexico through the eyes of other artists, I am feeling inspired!


This beautiful claret cup cactus, Echinocereus triglochidiatus, is one of my new favorite plants here in New Mexico.

That’s all for now.
Ella Samuel
BLM, Santa Fe, NM

Being in Alaska with the Bureau of Land Management, I get a lot of questions about what I do. In truth, I do a lot of different tasks. As a part of my job, I work with other organizations such as the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Natural Heritage Program, the Anchorage Botanic Garden, and the Plant Materials Center in Palmer. This week, I’m at the Plant Materials Center (PMC for short), weeding the fields of native plants and prepping a greenhouse to withstand an onslaught of summertime insects.

Pioneer Peak in Palmer, Alaska overlooks the work done at the Plant Materials Center

The PMC receives wild collected native seeds, cleans and stores it, and then grows fields of needed species. This ensures that commercial growers receive enough seed to make a full crop, which can then be used for restoration operations. There simply isn’t enough wild seed to supply the demand of restoration efforts around mining operations and after wildfires. By growing the seed that Seeds of Success collects, much more seed is produced that can then jumpstart larger scale production.

A field of native plants grown from wild seed collections by the Bureau of Land Management

I have been removing dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) and foxtail barley (Hordeum jubatum) from in between the rows of natives in one such field. The biggest issue with the weeds is that they can contaminate the native seed. As we collect the native seed, it’s possible to accidently pick up some of the weed seed, leading to a lot of issues with the cleaning and then use of that collection. There’s nothing quite as horrifying as seeding for native species and getting dandelions instead.

I’ve really enjoyed what time I’ve gotten to spend out at the PMC. Not only is the work engaging and worthwhile, the people are welcoming and generous. I feel extremely lucky to have this opportunity of working here. There’s also picturesque mountains in the background, which only adds to the experience.

Anchorage, Alaska Field Office, Bureau of Land Management

After visiting Chicago two weeks ago, I really feel like I can put faces to at least some of the other blog posts. I’ll admit, after so many weeks of traveling and meeting different people at trainings this season, it made me exhausted to even think about trying to socialize with another large group of people for a week. However, it turned out to be a very easy thing to do. Which makes complete sense since all of us attending the workshop have so many things in common: working in the outdoors, being interns, trying to figure out our career paths, and in general being rather laid back individuals. There was always something that could be chatted about no matter who you were standing next to. The week was an enjoyable one. I had never been to Chicago before so I swooped in on several opportunities to visit downtown. While I don’t think I could ever personally live in a city of that magnitude, it was still really neat to get a sense of the atmosphere, culture, and diversity of people inhabiting it. Seeing the actual gardens was also a highlight. I visited a new section everyday and still didn’t see it all by the end of the week. Overall, I left Chicago with new friends, knowledge, and quite possibly a few extra pounds (the lunches were ridiculous right?)

After a rather relaxing week away, we jumped right back into the peak of the season here at the home front. Our focus is on the BLM parcels that are within areas that burned around the district in the past few years. Our project for right now is to survey an area called Okanogan, about 70 miles north of Wenatchee and pretty darn close to the Canada border. The fire burned a total of 219,306 acres, 16,506 of which is BLM land. Some of the parcels are clumped close together, making it easy to travel from one to the other, while others are rather scattered and require extra travel. And then some are completely landlocked by private property making accessibility a bit of a doozy. We’ve only checked out a handful in the past 2 weeks and will need to organize the rest of them based on how easy they are to get to. The actual surveying for weeds part is the easy piece of the puzzle, getting to where we need to be is the difficult part I’ve come to discover. However, as the title of this post suggests, the areas we do manage to get to are sometimes quite steep. Let’s just say I’ve upgraded from the stair master to the hill master. But I absolutely love it and wouldn’t want it any other way. While observing and mapping weeds can get somewhat repetitive, the change in terrain really makes this job a lot of fun.

We camped for work the first time this week since we would be spending half the day driving every time we went out to this particular area. Other than the 2 dozen or so mosquito bites it was quite nice. No matter how hot it gets during the day it always cools down to a very comfortable temperature in the evening. And sleeping under the stars is always a plus. It’s going to take a few weeks to complete this one area so more camping is to come! 🙂 And more deet is to come as well! (though I suppose I should find an alternative…)

Cheers

I jumped back to work after the workshop ended where I had an amazing time. We had planned on having the Youth Conservation Crew come down to the Cosumnes River Preserve on the 20th. I would be the person in charge of supervising the YCC crew. The crew consisted of Jose, Ausbon, Thor, Diana, and Alicia. During that week, I had trained the crew regarding safety, tool use, and a couple of other things.

We went on a tour of the preserve and talked about precautions such as snakes, ticks, dehydration, and etc. They were exposed to some of the flora and fauna at the preserve. We saw valley oaks, turkey vultures, Oregon ash, coyotes, and several different types of habitats. We talked about different projects that the preserve is involved with (waterfowl survey, raptor survey, methyl mercury with USGS, and database management).

The crew was also trained on tool use and the associated personal protective equipment. We also talked about being cautions about fires and ways to prevent and control fire if we see one on the preserve. They were also introduced to many of the staff members, some of which were kind of enough to spend time with them and gave them additional advice on staying safe in the field.

After their training, the crew went around sites within the preserve that needed maintenance. They first worked on trail maintenance using weed eaters, rakes, and leaf blowers. We also controlled vegetation around structures such as pumps, valves, and water control structures (where pond water escapes). Some members of the crew went to prep for rip rap work where they had to use a sledge hammer to break apart concrete blocks. Towards the end of the week, we took four canoes out to the Cosumnes River and paddled around. Two of them fell in, had to jump in after them to fish their boat out. It was a fun week with the crew. They were great to work with since they were all smart and hard working students.

After the week with the YCC crew ended, I worked on the mountain lion project. We had to drive to various locations with cameras and retrieve memory cards with the pictures taken. On that same day, Perry (one of our amazing volunteers and also my classmate) and I worked on chores around the preserve. We cleaned up the storage site for our boxes trying to get ready for the move to another office. We fixed one of the doors near the storage site and removed graffiti. We also trimmed some vegetation along one of our amazing trails called the Tall Forest for the mountain lion team.

I was able to do some water work, which involved managing the water levels within brood ponds in our wetlands. I ran the pump and also altered the flow rate around our water control structures. As instructed, we again assisted with the moving process in addition to some trail work.

Went out today to Bjelland and we monitored the water level of the pond for the giant garter snake. We also did an assessment of the yellow star thistle population after applying the herbicide treatment. Another thing we are trying to do is map out the remaining population of yellow star thistle after a prescribed burn that occurred on Horseshoe Lake. This species is pretty amazing. Even after the fire, we still notice at least 25% of their population came back.

Chau

Phew, what a crazy busy two and a half weeks it’s been!  The CLM training at the Chicago Botanic Garden was wonderful.  After a full week of learning from all different types of people that are associated with native seed, I became wholly inspired, and more importantly, empowered.  Empowered by knowledge.  For example, now when someone asks me what I do and the usual follow up question why, I can answer them like I actually know what I’m talking about…Score!

Me and Laura Holloway enjoying the Japanese Botanic Garden in CBG

Best Italian sub in the World, Chicago

Oh yea, plants, Orchid in the tropical green house of CBG

Oh yea, plants, Orchid in the tropical green house of CBG

After coming back into Portland, OR late on Sunday evening, whoops, maybe Chicago just did not want to see me go too soon…. I spent a day and a half in Portland waiting to catch the Bolt Bus up to Seattle, WA for a Grass Identification class.  The class was held at the University of Washington and Discovery Park for 3 days.  I, of course, waited until the last minute to book a hotel.  Therefore, none were available under $200, so it was the hostel life for me.  At this point, I am 11 nights without sleeping with personal space.

The Grass workshop was Poaceae Botany Bootcamp.  We learned the anatomy of grasses as well as their implications for management as invasives and restoration species.  We also learned that humans planting grasses as cereal grains basically attributed to the advent of human civilization.  Now I know why I love cereal so much (instinctual, maybe?).  One of the many goals of the class was to come out able to field ID 25 genera, um, I got a couple down, but let’s just say, I’m glad there was not a test.  Also, now I am excited to collect many grass seeds for SOS.  There is that empowerment by knowledge again.

Bolt bus took my back to Portland, OR for a long 5 hours trip; in traffic for 21/2 of them.  Apparently, President Obama was flying into Seattle, so they closed down the freeway.  I mean, I get he’s kinda a big deal, but torturing thousands of people that just wanna go home on a Friday evening?, No one is that important.  Anyway, I stayed the weekend in Portland (I could not miss the World Naked Bike ride this past Saturday).  By Sunday, I have not slept in personal space for 15 days!  Sunday afternoon I drove back to Tillamook.  Unfortunately, pack rats moved into my place while I was out and colonized 2 drawers and a cabinet, leaving only carnage behind (what I do to feel like a mountain woman, sigh).  I am lying, falling asleep in my own bed, in my own room, in my own apartment and I open my eyes to look around because in sleepy fog, I forgot where I was.

I come back to find my Frye boots and Teva Sandals rigged apart with rat poopies ornamenting the crime scene.

Today, Wednesday 29, I went to another training in Lowell OR, and learned how to use Plant Associations.  Assessing where groups of plants grow gives us clues about the type of environment (ie climate, soil, and topography) and vis versa of a particular site.  When assigning plant associations one studies a plot of land 1/10th of acre in size and surmises what type of micro ecosystem and environment is present.  These associations help agencies make informed land management decisions dealing with tribal contributions, timber (resource) extraction, as well as foraging ground.  The only reason I could write this paragraph is because today I became empowered by this knowledge.

USFS and BLM employees from all different departments coming together to learn about plants

Thank you CLM and BLM for encouraging training and education in what I find most interesting.  After my 2 1/2 weeks in 4 different cities, I will be delighted to return to the field to apply my newfound knowledge and skills.