I am now 2 months into my CLM internship and have already been given several opportunities to expand my resume and skill set.  Last week for instance, our 6 person team traveled to Boise, ID to participate in the BLM Pesticide Applicators Certification Program.  Having passed the general exam and 4 category exams I am now certified to apply both general and restricted use pesticides on BLM lands in a variety of habitat types.

Yesterday our team was able to join a NCC crew to help with their tree planting effort at Indian Creek Campground.  It was an excellent opportunity to get out of the office and meet another group of conservation oriented individuals.

Exploring Cedar Mountain in early spring.

A faint orange glow turns the clouds on the eastern horizon to a fire in the sky. The Warner mountains yawn with warmth as the sun rises over the great basin, Alturas remains dark. It is my first day working for the BLM here in Modoc County, the job still remains as mysterious as the country surrounding me. Yesterday I reached the summit of Cedar Mountain (8,140 ft) in the Warner Mountains. Here lava flows were violently tilted upward in a classic fault garben that was formed with the rifting of the great basin. Erosion has dramatized the mountains by exposing large naked cliffs, towering above clay and fine volcanic soil. Staring to the south feels like gazing into a world unique from the one I am standing in, the north facing slopes of Payne Peak (7,618 ft) are decorated with White Firs towering out of snow, while the slopes I stand on are spotted with Artemisa tridenta and Western juniper and are almost completely lacking snow. To the east alkali lakes and arid desert are exposed in the great basin. To the west Mount Shasta (14,179 ft) gracefully towers above the lava plains, cinder cones, and canyons of the Modoc Plateau. Hot springs are everywhere along these fault blocks, quietly seeping into pools of hot water, breeding unique life forms and reminding us all of the energy Earth contains.  This vantage spot describes what I know of where I will be spending the next five months. Several unknowns remain, but no secrets can hide on the naked Modoc Plateau.

After meeting my supervisor, I am given introductions to the rest of the staff, and we drive to the Suprise Valley Field office to meet more individuals I will be working with this summer. I am starting to get a better idea of the projects I will be working on throughout the summer, one major theme continually arises, Sage Grouse. We also happen to be one of the most western locations containing Sage Grouse habitat, and a nation wide effort to better understand these birds and how we can protect them has created a large money pool, and tons of collaboration. From habitat modeling to track analysis, and lek counts to bird trapping the number of projects related to these birds are endless. Encroaching juniper threatens portions of critical habitat, creating opportunities for the forester to be involved in restoration projects. My office is participating in a inter-agency Sage Steppe Ecosystem Restoration Project (http://ltdl.wr.usgs.gov/SSERS/default.aspx), and many of my tasks will relate to this effort.

(Two weeks later)

As someone with a background in land conservation, forestry, plant ecology, invasive plant management and wildlife tracking. I have a diverse skill set that allows me to assist on a variety of projects. My primary position is to provide GIS services ranging from data management to more complicated analysis to the staff here in Alturas and Surprise Valley. However, in my first week of work I assisted in tree marking for timber improvement, surveyed noxious weeds, installed recreation signs and assessed the current status of designated OHV areas. In my second week of work I visited a few leks and got busy organizing data. Clearly a diverse number of projects are begging for help and I am very excited to take advantage of the opportunity to diversify my skill sets.

This week I got to know Jeffery, the pine that is, and his relationship with Incense-cedar in lower elevation mixed conifer forests of the Eastern Cascades. The diversity of coniferous trees only increases as you travel north and west from Alturas, and this fact seems to have me very excited, I love trees.

Knowing that the redwoods are just on the other side of the mighty Cascades my adventurous nature beckons to escape the rain shadow and enter the moist lands of the coastal range. Until next time, I am out exploring.

Prost,

Mike

GIS Intern- BLM Alturas Field Office

My internship is coming to a close soon. It has been almost a year since I moved to Wyoming and started my internship. I have learned a tremendous amount since starting last May.
Recently, I have been working to find uses for SOS seeds. I have been matching available seeds to projects we have going on throughout the state. Research projects include establishing seed zones for native forbs and experimenting with how our native forbs will respond to high carbon dioxide in the environment (which is predicted to happen with global warming). Another project has SOS collected seeds that will be planted in reclamation trials.
Although this desk work is not as immediately gratifying as being out in the field collecting seeds or surveying rare plants, it is very important. It is a whole side of the Seeds of Success program that many interns do not experience. I get to see that the SOS seeds will actually be put to use in the ground. It is an important part of the Seeds of Success program’s mission.

I started in the Shoshone, ID field office this week and already it sounds like I am going to have plenty of work to do, and even more fantastic opportunities to look forward to in the coming months.  It sounds like there will be a wide range of projects to work on and the opportunity to hone my plant ID skills and overall field techniques immensely.  So far I have nothing but good things to say about my supervisor and the other people that I have the opportunity to work with.  Looking forward to a great summer and the adventures to come.

Hello, howdy, and salutations!

I once again have the responsibility, nay, the honor to blog about my experience through the CLM program (and one of the things I’ve learned is how hard it is to write about yourself).  So an introduction is in order, my name is Nate Teich and I am a returning intern (last summer was in Worland, WY) to the CLM program in Carson City, NV.  I am roughly 2.5 months into the internship and my mind is already buzzing with everything I have learned so far. This internship is far more technical then my last and I feel like I can truly use the term botanist (…..loosely) to describe my position.  It has been challenging in the best way possible and I am thrilled to be given the chance to develop myself professionally.

The differences between the internships is interesting.  I feel like I have an uncommon opportunity among the interns to see how the BLM operates from office to office.  I think the biggest differences so far are the fact that the Sierra Front field office is practically in the middle of a metropolis compared to Worland.  With more people, I feel like the BLM is much more in the public eye here, I’m not sure yet how I feel about that but it will be something for me to think about during my time here.  The second biggest difference is I’m not the only intern here (hooray!).  My coworkers have been great so far, we have all come in with fairly different backgrounds and each brings something different to the team.

As far as the actual work goes it has been incredibly varied so far.  We have worked on SoS vouchers, put in fire transects (hiking in some amazing areas to do so), worked on plant identification, created conservation management plans, began restoration efforts on weed infested areas, and become certified pesticides applicators.  I am really excited for the field season to start up, to get moving on transect monitoring, seed collection, weed surveying and eradication, and who knows what else.  One of the best things about this job for me is that fact that I will rarely spend too long doing one thing.  Variety is the spice of life!

I am really looking forward to this year, I plan on making the most of it and really doing some solid exploring of Nevada and California.  Hope you enjoyed the snapshot of my life!

-Nate

Here in the Lakeview District BLM in eastern Oregon the growing season is slowly, hesitantly starting. Late spring freezes (and snowstorms!) are common here so the plants usually wait until late May or June to really go all out. So far our few forays into the field have been focused on wildfire rehabilitation areas where we’ve found some optimistic bunchgrass regrowth along with low frequencies of annual invasive grasses (woohoo!), helping me brush up with my vegetative grass ID skills. Winter bunchgrasses ID is like a fun but frustrating puzzle when all you have as references are roots, teeny tiny leaves, and no flowering parts to be seen, but I love it.

I have also been working a lot with the BLM’s GeoBOB ArcGIS-based database system, entering data and helping on collaborative Sensitive Species proposals and plans with other Resource Areas and some of the adjacent National Forests. I am really enjoying getting to know some of the inner workings of the federal system, and understanding all of the work and collaboration it takes in order to acquire funding for special and important projects.

I’m looking forward to the start of the field season in full force, with scheduled projects including Sage Grouse habitat assessments, wildfire rehabilitation monitoring, Sage Grouse-specific seed collection, sensitive species surveys, rangelands health monitoring, and others.

From high desert paradise,

Lisa

Bunchgrass regrowth and seeded species at a 2011 wildfire site just south of major lava flow formations

Today was the first day of my CLM internship. My mentor went over quite a bit of paperwork with the other three interns and myself. It was mostly tax stuff and liability forms,  but we eventually got to discussing the research projects that we will be working on this summer. It sounds like there is some very cool science that is going on in the desert that I had never considered interesting before. The way Sara and Leslie describe the adaptations that both desert plants and animals have to survive the harsh environment seems really neat. Tomorrow we will start our first over-night work trip, where we will be camping out on BLM land east of Las Vegas. We will be working on a monitoring project to collect annual data of a native shrub that is vital to a threatened desert tortoise species. Invasive grass invasion to this habitat has made severe wildfires more frequent, which has been decreasing the population of this desert shrub. We will be taking turns recording data in the field notebook every night this week, and I am sure that Leslie will show us exactly how to write it since taking good recordings and observations are extremely important!

I am looking forward to this first field experience very much, and I am sure that this summer will give me many invaluable experiences for my future.

Carson

Lately, here in Colorado, we have been experiencing snow at least once a week during this winter season, which is great because we need all the moisture that we can get for the coming field season. Here is an overall update on what has happened so far since January and February.

I have successfully packed and shipped all duplicate herbarium voucher specimens from our SOS collections to local Colorado herbaria and on a continuing project have been entering rare plant monitoring data from this summer.

In an effort to maintain a working record of the number of SOS herbarium specimens collected each year and how many donations have been made to local Colorado herbaria, the BLM Colorado State Office is helping to increase the number of specimens that can be used for future research, teaching, and education.  In a final update, I have helped donate over 200 excellent Colorado native plant specimens from our SOS collections to local herbaria and museums needing good plant materials for student research as well as increasing their working collection. These specimens have been sent to the University of Colorado at Boulder Museum of Natural History Herbarium and the Denver Botanic Gardens, Inc. Kathryn Kalmbach Herbarium Database.

Delphinium geyeri (one of the many voucher specimens donated to local herbaria)

I am beginning a new project working on Sclerocactus glaucus (Uinta Basin hookless cactus) element occurrences reports dating back to 1983 up to 2012. S. glaucus was listed as a threatened species in 1979 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. For 34 years, the Unita Basin hookless cactus has been listed as threatened because of many factors, such as oil drilling, mining, and over collecting. I will be compiling all survey and observation dates as well as the latitude and longitude coordinates to better determine S. glaucus sightings and the approximate numbers of individuals in each population. I am starting one of the many steps required to moving forward with the Sclerocactus glaucus Recovery Plan. I am beginning to read a few scholarly and highly-notable papers from authors such as Deborah Rabinowitz and Peggy L. Fiedler, which I am finding to be quite interesting. This amazing experience is broadening my understanding of how plants are classified as sensitive, endangered, or rare, and furthermore how plant rarity plays a role in practical conservation philosophies. I will keep you posted on what I am learning and discovering as the months pass.

Sclerocactus glaucus, endemic species of western Colorado, in bloom (Photo Credit: Peter Gordon)

I feel very lucky and fortunate to be extended and working here at the Colorado State Office through the winter. Its a wonderful opportunity to be able to assist with field work during the summer and then during the winter being directly involved in forming graphs and charts describing trends for the rare plant monitoring plots from this summer. I am able to be an active part in every phase of vegetative monitoring from learning how to set up a plot to count the number of reproductive individuals to entering data coordinates for plots that have been monitored since 2005/2006. Knowing the vegetative conditions and the statistical analysis of these plots are important. It can further tell us whether the BLM is achieving its goal of protecting wildlife; as well as, maintaining a balance with keeping recreational areas open for the enjoyment of the present and future generations. As the winter slowly wanes away and the temperature begins to rise again, it will be exciting to work with the new interns coming here this summer.

Stay Warm Out There!

Darnisha Coverson

BLM Colorado State Office – Lakewood

Remember that time…?
We moved to the desert,
Clouds rarely existed unless they consisted of dirt.
There were times we felt slightly lost and confused,
My brand new boots already looked tattered and used.

Remember that time…?
We had training for weeks,
All the while, salty sweat pouring down our cheeks.
We were warned of the desert and how it could eat us for lunch,
Able to cook meals on the dashboard for brunch.

Remember that time…?
We stared at the road ahead,
Thinking, “There’s no way we can make it with our current tread.”
Driving down a wash for what seemed like forever,
Realizing that this internship was one mighty endeavor.

Remember that time…?
We spent hours identifying unknown plants,
After days in the field getting holes in our pants.
The aroma of the herbarium wafting through the air,
Running veg transects even when the ground seemed bare.

Remember that time…?
We camped during a storm,
Or when we could hear nothing for a moment, but an insect swarm.
Having to watch every step for rattlesnakes,
Marking every new monitoring site with a brightly painted stake.

Remember that time…?
We spent an entire summer learning desert ecology,
Completely out of range of almost any technology.
We learned and accomplished more than I ever could have thought,
But we tackled it all, no matter how hot.

There are times when the unknown of my future fills me with fear,
But the CLM internship provided me with skills and memories that I will forever hold dear.

So long Phoenix District BLM…

As I am quickly approaching my last day here at the BLM in Roswell, NM, I am feeling grateful and reflecting on all the interesting experiences I have had here.

Eight months ago, if you were to ask me anything about rangeland ecology, I would have not known how to answer you.  Now I can rattle off a wealth of knowledge I’ve acquired about rangeland ecology with confidence.

Another interesting aspect of this internship was what I learned about the Oil & Gas industry.  Oil & Gas is a large part of my office and a vital part to the economy in New Mexico.  I learned that the local economy heavily relies on the industry and it is obviously necessary if we wish to continue to drive cars around.  With the proper protocol set in place and cooperative attitudes, this industry will continue to be important  and efficient in this area.

I am happy I decided to take this internship in such a random place.  It has opened my eyes to another way of life in America.  The pace of life here is slower than where I grew up, and I will gladly take that with me.  Because of this internship, I am increasingly marketable for other jobs.  I can now say I have 8 months of vegetation monitoring, GIS mapping, data entry, report writing, etc.

Leaving here in a few days will be bittersweet.  I will miss my friends I made here, but I am excited to see what lies next.