Along with our normal trapping project this month, I had the opportunity to assist with a multitude of different habitat assessment surveys. The assessment, inventory, and monitoring (AIM) strategy is used to assess terrestrial and aquatic habitats across our field office. This system is used to provide standardized information about the habitats in our field office and help to inform better management decisions. In terrestrial AIM you have three, 25m long transects and you start by categorizing the plants that occur along each transect at equidistance points. Gap is also measured along transects, which is a way to measure how much of each transect is not covered by living plant matter. A soil pit is dug and the different layers of soil are analyzed for their composition. I assisted with AIM surveys in sage brush steppe habitat north of the Ferris Mountains and also within an aspen stand near the Baggs area of our field office.  

Aquatic AIM differs from terrestrial AIM in many ways however the main goal of providing standardized information for habitats across the field office remains the same. In aquatic AIM, transect are set up along a stream bed and measurements are taken at standardized points. Measurements are used to determine stream characteristics and include bankfull, scour, thalweg, pH, temperature, channel widths, floodplain connectivity, canopy cover, and slope to name a few.

I also helped with Multiple Indicator Monitoring (MIM) and surface compliance monitoring. MIM is a monitoring strategy that combines long term and short term metrics to condense surveying efforts along stream systems but also inform good management decisions. Measurements taken include stubble height, bank alteration, woody browse, pool volumes, stream width, vegetation, and slope.

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Surface compliance monitoring is used to keep companies, especially oil and gas, responsible for safe practices. Active and rehabilitated well sites are examined for any hazards to humans or wildlife, including unlabeled areas, poor rehabilitation, broken structures, invasive species, and so forth. Anything found to be out of compliance with the company’s contract must be fixed by the company or they will be responsible to pay hefty fines.

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We completed our third set of trapping this month with another ten day stint. We caught plenty of garter snakes, a couple leopard frogs, and finally another rattle snake! Unfortunately we couldn’t process the rattlesnake and all we could say for sure was that she was not a recapture. One of the garter snakes that we captured was preparing to molt. Before molting snakes will develop an opaque film over their eyes and you may see some flakes of skin already starting to peel. Another interesting capture was a sagebrush vole that was in one of our pit-fall traps. This is the first sagebrush vole that has been caught since the project started in 2017. The most intriguing capture of the season so far was a horsehair worm. Horsehair worms are parasites that develop in the bodies of grasshoppers and crickets. It is common that when the host of the parasite dies, especially if it is in water, the worm will leave the dead hosts body and search for a new host. In our case, we had a dead Mormon cricket in one of the pit-falls and next to it in a puddle of water was the living horsehair worm parasite. Hopefully we will have even more interesting captures next month.

Summarizing the entirety of a season is always a challenge. Especially when the five months have provided stunning landscapes, introductions to many platforms of plant science, and meaningful relationships. My time as a CLM intern in Idaho Falls, ID with the Caribou-Targhee National Forest has been an absolute joy. Even being fully prepared by both my mentor and Chicago Botanic Garden (CBG) staff before my move, I could not have expected the amount of knowledge and experience I would gain throughout this program. Or the huge love I have now for the state of Idaho. With the multitude of different projects and interagency partnerships, I am leaving this internship feeling more grounded in my career goals and passion for science. To close out my season, I wanted to run through a handful of standout moments and thoughts for future interns. As well as a massive thank you to my mentor Rose Lehman, co-intern Olivia Turner, and CLM staff. You are what makes this program. 

One of the most meaningful experiences from the season was our opportunity to establish the fourth Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments (GLORIA) peak in Idaho. These sites are created across the world to analyze one of our most vulnerable landscapes, the alpine. With the trends of climate influence becoming more apparent every day, it is crucial to establish infrastructure to document how alpine vegetation is responding. To pull off a research site of this level, it took multiple agencies from across the state. Seeing how the BLM, Forest Service, Idaho Fish and Game, ARS Bee Lab, master naturalists, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Idaho Native Plant Society, and state botanists, came together to complete this research was extremely motivating. It showed how important working together is for the future of our environment. Additionally, having the exposure to GLORIA expanded my fascination for alpine life zones and confirmed how dearly I hope to attend a graduate program that is doing active research for alpine conservation. 

After completing GLORIA in June, it felt like a snowball of excitement and projects came tumbling down the summit. In the best way possible! Thanks to our incredible mentor, we were non-stop the entire season. This leads me to my first advice tid-bit for future CLM interns. From the beginning, be honest with your mentor and your co-intern(s) about your goals, hopes, and overall preferences for your time with them. When you do your interview with your mentor, ask all the questions and don’t be shy to follow-up throughout the entirety of your season. Olivia and I were sure to let our mentor know how interested we were in rare plant conservation, alpine ecology, climate change, community partnerships, and GIS. With that, she continually put projects on our plate that encouraged those interests. As for your co-intern, talk to them before your season starts! You will be with this person 40+ hours a week for five months! Camping, strategizing, driving for hours, sharing meals, laughing at each other for sliding down a mountain, meeting superiors together, etc. It was essential for Olivia and I to share a bit about who we were before coming to Idaho as well as staying completely honest with each other throughout the season about where we were at. 

Two additional highlights from the season were: working closely to document the monarch butterfly populations here in southeast Idaho and being a part of the Seeds of Success (SOS) seed collecting initiative. I wish I could insert all of you reading this into the Curlew National Grassland in early August just so you could fully experience how magical it is to see monarchs nectaring on native milkweed (Asclepias speciosa) surrounded by the river, cottonwoods, and rocky mountain bee plant (Cleome serrulata) in the grassland. We had the opportunity to capture monarchs, tag them for migration tracking, and peacefully release them back the same day so they could continue their journey. With the monarch populations dwindling rapidly, it was an awe-inspiring moment to be involved with any conservation effort on their behalf. Additionally, our chance to be a part of the seed collecting process of SOS provided us with the ability to travel all across Idaho, western Wyoming, and northern Utah. Seeing gorgeous areas. SOS allows you to be apart of a multi-state, multi-partner research action. We were able to discuss our populations and seed zones with other CLM and SOS seasonals, learn about sustainable seed harvesting, and be a part of the restoration efforts SOS supports.

Another tid-bit for future CLM interns would have to be, dive into this experience. Engage yourself! You have the chance to meet your future boss, colleague, research associate, graduate school advisor, and so on just from the remarkable network CLM provides you with. Send follow-up emails, reach out again, get numbers. Ask too many questions. Be yourself and laugh at yourself. Go out with other crews and supervisors to expand your knowledge. Say yes! Truly, this is an unforgettable experience so make it your own!

It is with a full heart, I leave this internship. I’ve only shared three moments from a season filled with hundreds of them. If I could, I would write 10+ pages filled with photos and accomplishments from all the hard work everyone contributes to the CLM program. Thank you again to my incredible mentor Rose and my lovely co-intern Olivia for being an outstanding team. As well as Chris and Krissa from CBG for providing all the avenues of support anyone could ask for.

I’ll leave you all with this dreamy photo of mat rockspirea (Petrophytum caespitosum)!

Warmly,

Claire Parsons

CLM 2019 Cohort: Caribou-Targhee National Forest, Idaho

My internship has provided me with meaningful learning opportunities that have given me a sense of direction in my intended career path. During the field season, I have collected seeds to be used for restoration + research practices that work to provide regionally appropriate native plant material to the Great Basin. As the threat of wildfires in the Great Basin grows, conservationists/restorationists are faced with the increasing need for native plant material and seeds. This month, my internship has allowed me to experience first-hand the positive implications of my seed collections from the summer field season. The native wildflower seeds I collected will then be sent to a seed extractory for cleaning and processing before they are used for research or restoration purposes. This month, I was lucky enough to be apart of both!

First, we helped Washoe County Parks and REI plant native seedlings at Crystal Peak Park in Verdi, California. The soils in the area were surprisingly rocky, which made digging the holes for the plugs extremely challenging! The soil auger even failed to properly create holes in the rocky soils! Luckily, there were plenty of volunteers and shovels and together, we were able to finish planting all the native plugs. We planted shrubs, grasses, and forbs! Including sagebrush (Artemisia sp.), horsetail (Equisetum sp.), globemallow (Sphaeralcea sp.), and many more. The goals of this replanting event were to beautify the park surrounding a recent art installation, attract/support pollinators, and promote the use of native plant material. This experience allowed me to realize the positive implications of my seed collections and how great the need for native plant material is. It also highlighted the necessity of native plant material in more urban/developed settings to support native pollinators and prevent the spread of invasive species!

Next, we assisted researchers from Northern Arizona University (NAU) in setting up a field study using native plant plugs grown from seeds collected within the Seeds of Success program! The NAU researchers plan to investigate plant-pollinator interactions and spatial differences that affect the plants’ ability to grow successfully in this location (Carson City, NV). They are using native forbs collected from various elevations in southern regions of the Great Basin to investigate which wildflowers will successfully grow north of their ranges. This will help inform conservationists/restorationists of the feasibility of assisted migration, a relatively new concept born from the concern that species may not be able to move/and or adapt fast enough in response to changes in climate and should be manually relocated in order to conserve genetic diversity/prevent the extinction of the species. This concept is growing in importance as sub-populations of critical plant species cease to exist as a result of wildfires and other forms of disturbance (usually perpetrated by climate change). This lessens the genetic diversity of the species as a whole, affecting its ability to adapt to disturbance and changes in climate. The issues we face as a result of climate change and other anthropogenic disturbances force conservationists/restorationists to critically evaluate the best ways to mitigate the loss of genetic diversity so we can assure the persistence of critical plant species.

Setting up the study required using a soil auger to drill holes for the plants at each experimental plot. There were over 500 experimental plots and each contained six holes for the plants! Half of which were set up in a cleared area while the other half was placed within the sagebrush. The researchers are interested in investigating the variables within sagebrush habitat that may affect the plants’ ability to grow (e.g., distance from sage, percentage cover of cheatgrass). Nearly 3,000 holes were made and nearly 3,000 native seedlings were planted! Luckily, we had the help of several volunteers to set up the study.

Overall, it was an impactful learning experience for me to see how collected seeds are used for research intended to help conservationists/restorationists mitigate the impacts of climate change/biodiversity loss. Having the opportunity to experience the direct applications of my work has driven home the value of native seed collection. Above all else, these experiences have inspired me to continue learning more about native plant-based restoration methods and pursue career opportunities allowing me to invest deeper into this passion.

Our Last trip out into the field- We got a nice send-off!

The chill is rolling across the Sierra Nevada mountains, reminding locals and interns alike that the desert still has the power to get quite cold. With the coming of winter comes the winds off the mountains and “Rabbit-brush Season”, woe to anyone regardless of allergies or not. Many of the native forbs and grasses are preparing to bed down for the coming winter. Still now isn’t the time for relaxation and staying indoor working on reports and administrative duties.

We are currently developing the next phase of the Seeds of Success Program (S.O.S.), the development of Plant Development Areas (PDAs). Most interns are gone by this time but, the luck and fortune of being a ‘late-breaking position has granted me a wholly unique and amazing opportunity to witness and be apart of the phase that comes after collection.

Planning out the plots for a forbs study!

Ready, Set, Plant! Finally marked out our plots

We had lots of help, from everyone at the office! USFS, Fire crews, Arizona Univerisity, and even our fellow interns for the Hydrology team. Who wouldn’t on such a nice and perfect day!

Two weeks of hard work has resulted in the creation of four research plots for our partners, and we will continue perhaps for another two weeks to get everything settled. It does come with its challenges, like the issues of hydrophobic soil (not so good for baby forbs) and predation by the rabbits and rodent that live in the sagebrush. However, it has been a time in which everyone can escape the office and enjoy the few warm days left to offer.

Coming from New England, I didn’t expect fall in West Virginia to compare. Boy, was I wrong! Autumn here is absolutely beautiful. I’ve been enjoying the cooler weather and seeing how the leaves change at different elevations. Usually, I only have time to appreciate changing leaves on the way to class. This is the first year I’ve gotten to fully immerse myself in the changes of the season, and I appreciate it now more than ever before. With the change in season comes change in work as well. I was afraid that the end of summer meant the end of outdoors work, but luckily I still get out in the field most days.

NNIS
Abbie and I finished up our trailhead surveys and have begun using the information we gathered to create a management plan for future interns. One thing I noticed in my time here was that we missed our time frame to treat many invasive species because we were too busy finding them- this plan will help solve this problem by suggesting when and where to target efforts.

Since my last post, we’ve done a few more NNIS treatments. One of the most notable was treating over 700 trees for Hemlock Wooly Adelgid in partnership with the West Virginia Department of Agriculture and State and Private Forestry. The area we treated at, Blue Bend, has a rich history and is characterized by big, beautiful Hemlock trees that I’m proud to have helped keep healthy.

Native Plants
My favorite part about this fall has been finally doing some seed collecting! The seed collection I have been doing isn’t for Seeds of Success like most other interns, but instead we collect from our forest and bring it to a local plant materials center to be processed and propagated. On rainy days, we help out with drying and cleaning the seed, which has been a really cool process to learn about. The plants will be replanted on our own forest in the future. A lot of our restoration efforts are focused on high elevation mineland areas, but not many nurseries offer plants that are adapted for these conditions. By collecting seed from plants in high elevations like Mountain ash, Hawthorn, Mountain holly, and Speckled alder, we ensure that we will have hearty plants built to survive on the Monongahela National Forest. Don’t worry- we still employ SOS collection protocol!

Professional Development
During the CLM training week, I remember taking note that we should always be searching for professional development opportunities. Luckily, I have an awesome mentor (Amy Coleman) who searches for valuable experiences for me! Amy, Chris, and Flo (both from CBG) made it possible for my cointern, Abbie, and I to travel to Saratoga Springs, NY to attend the North American Invasive Species Management Association and New York Invasive Species Research Institute joint conference (huge thanks!). 

I have never been in the same room with so many plant nerds (in the best way!!!) before. The NAISMA conference was filled with people just as passionate about protecting native ecosystems as I am. It was inspiring to hear about progress, new ideas, and hope for the future from professionals from all over the country and beyond.

The workshop had a total of 52 workshops and presentations on the schedule- that’s right, enough to attend one a week for a full year! The theme of the conference was “Connecting Science to Action.” I got to learn everything from how to communicate with policy makers to get results, to using population distribution models to predict invasive species spread. It was interesting to hear from people from different areas of expertise as well as different regions.

As a cherry on top, Abbie and I got to explore the Saratoga Springs area. The mountains in the area were gorgeous with the changing leaves and sparkling lakes, and the downtown area had all types of neat shops and restaurants. As it turns out, it was only about a 2 hour drive from where I went to school- I’m kicking myself for not visiting sooner!

Miscellaneous
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned yet how much I love the diversity of things I get to do through this internship… but I love it a lot. In addition to all of the things I’ve already talked about, just this past month I’ve had the opportunity to dabble in fire monitoring (the first ever on this forest!), salamander surveying, rare plant monitoring, water sampling, and clearance surveys to name a few. I’ve been able to gain experience in a variety of field work that has been extremely valuable in planning what I want to do after this internship ends. Even experiences outside of work have given me insight into work I might want to do in the future…

I remember when moving to West Virginia, someone told me that if someone offers to take me caving- say yes! I was finally asked, and despite my fears and doubts, I said yes. It was one of the most extraordinary experiences of my life. A couple of my coworkers and I went with a local grotto (aka caving club) to Organ Cave, which spans at least 45 miles of underground passages. At one point, we all shut off our headlamps and waved our hands in front of our faces… nothing. Complete and total darkness. If we were completely still, you couldn’t hear a single sound. It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It was amazing to see all the natural cave formations occurring in a world underneath land I’ve walked on and driven over for months, but never imagined. My favorite part, though, was realizing that I wasn’t scared at all. I really loved it! I enjoyed the challenge of climbing, crouching, crawling, and navigating the cave. Bat research is something I’ve wanted to do all my life, but was worried I would be too claustrophobic in caves to follow this dream. I’ve banished this fear and I couldn’t be more excited about it!

Looking Forward
I only have a few weeks left in my internship, which means my time here is coming to an end before I know it. It seems cliche, but it really does feel like I’ve been here for less than a month, and at the same time it feels like I’ve been a part of this office community for years. Marlinton has become a wonderful home and I can’t wait to gush about my time here in my final post next month. I already have intense nostalgia for something I haven’t left yet! I’m looking forward to my last couple of weeks here and figuring out what my next big steps will be. 

Signing off,
Tara McElhinney
Marlinton District Ranger Station
USFS

Well, this is it. My five months are up. I’ll be leaving the Forest Service in beautiful Southeast Idaho in less than a week. More than that, I’ll be bidding the best co-intern ever good-bye. I have faced all the thrills and challenges of this summer alongside my CLM teammate: Claire Parsons. From our first exposure to the sagebrush steppe and glorious mountains of Idaho in May to our final botany adventures in the October snow, we have been quite the team.

Some final thoughts/advice regarding the friendship and CLM internship experience that I have shared with Claire:

1. Embrace working with a partner. Don’t be shy! Learning with someone is so much better than learning alone. Both myself and Claire started as interns here in Idaho with botanical knowledge of OTHER places, so we were both faced with the learning curve that new flora poses. Taking notes together and admitting ignorance regarding the new flora was such an awesome way to learn and build solidarity between us early on.

2. Seed collecting, and any other field work, is always easier with 2 people 🙂 Talk about your strategy and plan before heading out to streamline the process (e.g. while seed collecting Claire was a champion with photo and voucher taking while I covered collecting the necessary GPS points).

3. Communicate, communicate, communicate. With each other and with your mentor. Be honest about your boundaries, comfort zone in the field, and skill set! Don’t be afraid to tell your mentor about your interests and passions, they may be able to provide unique opportunities to you as a result. Don’t be afraid to share your life goals and dreams with your work partner, if you are as lucky as me, they will be such a great listener and provide priceless council and advice…or at the very least, commiserate right along with you 🙂

4. Share driving responsibility and road snacks! We put a lot of miles on the work truck because we had such amazing opportunities to do botanical work all over Idaho and in Wyoming and Utah. Soak up the places you work in and thank the many professionals and volunteers you meet. Write down names and network away!

5. Talk to the individuals in your office, seasonal and permanent employees alike. You will feel more at home at the office and may garner new/difference management and conservation insights from them. Thanks to the flexibility of our incredible mentor, Claire and I got to go out into the field with soil scientists, hydrologists, and the range crew. Ask for these opportunities!

5. The staff at CBG are amazing. Don’t hesitate to reach out to them with any questions you have or issues that arise with travel, paychecks, or time sheets! They are an incredible resource. Also, your mentor is a seasoned professional in their field-ask them questions, tap into their knowledge, take their advice! They can offer you so, so much 🙂

Well folks, that is a wrap. I hope the above reflections and suggestions are helpful! I’ll be leaving my CLM internship more skilled in all things botany and plant conservation and bidding a wonderful mentor good-bye. And, saddest of all, for the first time in five months, I will no longer be spending almost every day with my most favorite fellow botanists-in-training.

Thank you CBG and R. Lehman (best mentor ever!) for this outstanding internship opportunity, and thank you Claire for being such a gem, I am forever grateful.

My time in Carlsbad has officially come to an end. To say I have learned a lot during my CLM internship is an understatement. Not only have I learned skills related to my field (plant identification, seed collection strategy, etc.) but I have also learned about wildlife, archaeology, and so much more.

As a crew, we met our seed collection goal and finished 20 range monitoring plots as part of a project to determine if herbicide spraying of desert shrubs increases forb growth. One caveat of the range monitoring project was that we had to identify every plant to species. There was surprising diversity at some of the range sites and our last week in the office we spent nearly 3 full days identifying specimens of unknowns that we had collected. We probably identified at least 100 unknown species, not including specimens we had collected that turned out to be species we already knew.

I think my favorite aspect of my internship was learning so many new plants. The Chihuahuan Desert is much more diverse than I expected and I didn’t even scratch the surface. In May, I had a very basic knowledge of grasses and little experience identifying them, and now I feel confident keying them out, even if they’re still not my favorite.

I really enjoyed my time in New Mexico. I was able to explore so many new places I never would have gone if I hadn’t been in Carlsbad. From the beautiful Guadalupe Mountains, the bat flight at Carlsbad Caverns, the cute little mountain town of Cloudcroft, to the Organ Mountains, New Mexico has some special places. Thanks to Carlsbad, my mentor, and my crew for making my CLM internship great. Here are some last few plant pictures to sign off!

Scene over the Black Rock Desert Salt-pan 

Now with the field season over, well at least in terms of camping, we have switch gears excitingly. When not traveling out to places still accessible to us, we are becoming deeply engrossed in the process of SOS beyond merely collecting seeds.

Now we are collaborating with many groups, to clean data, and prepare and lay the groundwork for the next year’s intern. However, by a stroke of luck perhaps we will also be involved in the preparation, propagation, and rearing of native seeds given to us in common gardens and greenhouses across the county.

It is with hope that in mid-October we will be chain sawing, brush cutting and clearing, laying tarps upon common gardens to begin the process of understanding success and phenology, in a cultivar setting.

After my first trip to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone, I stayed busy at work continuing my rangeland monitoring routines. The cattle have been steadily transitioning out of the summer range allotments for the past month, so, many of the pastures within them are completely empty now. It has become the new norm to hardly see any cattle out in the field, but this means that we can focus on studying the patterns of vegetation heights in individual pastures. Lately, we have been in an allotment called Silver Creek. It has four pastures within it: Strawberry, McLean Meadows, Sweetwater Canyon, and Rocky Draw. As of right now, we’ve finished monitoring all but the very last one! We monitor them by mapping the grazing/utilization patterns. This requires us to venture around an entire pasture as much as possible. Whether we are in the truck or on foot, we are constantly observing the vegetation to determine what percentage has been grazed, and therefore, what percentage has been utilized. Once we agree on a number, we then mark the patterns we see on a huge map with colored pencils. This has definitely been one of my favorite responsibilities of my internship, especially considering all of the wildlife we’ve seen in Silver Creek. This includes more greater short-horned lizards, birds of prey, a badger, a prairie dog, and finally, two moose! 

Mid-September-ish, we were able to get one last autumn camping trip in before the cold really came to Lander. A few of my Wyoming coworkers and friends joined me and Johnny at Worthen Meadows Reservoir in Shoshone National Forest one weekend! We found the most perfect campsite right on the water, got a fun hike in, grilled burgers, and saw a really beautiful sunset. We had the best time!

In the following weeks, the autumn colors started to pop out everywhere in Lander and around our BLM field office. It had literally been a dream of mine to see aspen trees in the fall, but for some reason, I had only thought that they grew in Colorado. I was incredibly surprised when I saw them out here and realised that I would still be here to watch them change. Needless to say, I was out there almost everyday taking pictures. The landscapes turned magical, but soon after the leaves turned yellow, they were falling to the ground. I swear it changed from fall to winter in a matter of days — we have already gotten several snow storms!

While we were monitoring our third pasture of Silver Creek Allotment, Sweetwater Canyon, our timing couldn’t have been more perfect. We got to see several shrubs and tree species in their fall colors, and some incredible wildlife. On our way home one day, we came across a small family of prairie dogs, as well as a badger, all in a span of a couple miles.

The other week, I got to go out in the field with another one of the BLM’s rangeland specialists. Along with his main job responsibilities, Steve is in charge of collecting a few rain gauge and mercury samples for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program. This program, run by the National Trends Network, collects samples from all over the United States (and further). They study the bases, acids, and nutrients in nationwide precipitation in order to show trends over time. This was so fun for me to assist with because, earlier this summer, I was exposed to this program in Shenandoah National Forest! My Chemistry class took a field trip to the Big Meadows NADP site near my university. We learned about the same rain gauges, as well as various other equipment that the NTN uses.

The first NADP site we went to that morning was in Sinks Canyon State Park, one of my favorite places. Usually it’s a bit colder there in the mountains than in Lander, but that day, it was so cold that it was snowing! After work, I went back to take some photographs of the snow and fog that had settled throughout the day. I included just a couple below.

Our Sweetwater Canyon monitoring still wasn’t complete until later that week when we hiked along the riparian land down in the canyon. This ended up being a 9+ mile hike, and so much fun. We saw a few snakes, two moose, and an abundance of heavily grazed land. Our team started on the East side of the canyon, while a second team started on the West side. The idea was to meet in the middle if possible, in order to map the entire riparian zone. Along the way, each team had several photo points to take for the rangeland specialists, and a few transects to run. We were also noting anything strange, unexpected, or over-utilized. The canyon seemed like it had been a paradise for the cows, with endless shade spots, water, and vegetation.

Our CLM Blog has been down for a couple of weeks, so this post is pretty late. The photograph that I found from the field below is one that I love, but have no idea where I took it. A bald eagle, or Haliaeetus leucocephalus, had been standing in a field we drove through, right next to a golden eagle, or Aquila chrysaetos. I was blown away by these magnificent birds. Usually, bald eagles live along rivers, or bodies of water, so I don’t know why this one was seemingly in the middle of nowhere. He took flight, and flew right alongside us for a half mile or so down the road. Just a couple of dreamy minutes. Another blog post or two will be following this one — so much is happening in my last month here. 🙂

It is not often that I get to spend the entirety of a day surrounded by millions (yes, millions!) of tree, shrub, and forb seedlings. We were sent to collect 1,096 wildflower starts from the US Forest Service Coeur d’Alene Nursery to plant in southeast Idaho for forb island research promoted by the Caribou-Targhee National Forest botanist, Rose Lehman, and Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS). This nursery is a force to be reckoned with. It consists of a seed extractory, germination facility, large cold storage warehouse, extensive land for tree reserves, and current forest health research sites. They also have roughly 20 greenhouses fully stocked with various conifer species such as: white bark pine (Pinus albicaulis), western larch (Larix sp.), and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa). One conifer greenhouse can hold up to 1.2 millions seedlings! Additionally, they have four native plant greenhouses filled to the brim with multiple species including: kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), snowberry (Symphoricarpos sp.), and black elderberry (Sambucus racemosa). These plants are grown for various projects throughout Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, and Utah for reforestation, landscaping, timber sales, and forest conservation. 

The main goal of the trip was to arrive early enough to individually pack each one of the wildflower seedlings needed to complete the restoration project south of Idaho Falls on the Curlew National Grassland at the end of the week. The initiative is working to establish native plant zones in a low elevation, sagebrush-steppe landscape by hand-planting the following forbs: parsnip buckwheat (Eriogonum heracleoides var. heracleoides), curly cup gumweed (Grindelia squarrosa), tansy aster (Machaeranthera canescens), low beardtongue (Penstemon humilis), and tapertip hawksbeard (Crepis acuminata). These flowers provide strong pollinator habitat, upland establishment, and tender forage for sage-grouse chicks. The chicks thrive off of the insects found on wildflower species and often use the vegetation for shelter. 

Orchestrating a planting operation like the Coeur d’Alene Nursery is beyond impressive. Seedlings are documented from the beginning of their seed collection, through gestation, germination, upsizing, transplanting, and then their shipment. Every flat, in every greenhouse, has a barcode that provides a timeline and location for the individuals. It acts as an electronic paper trail for each organism on the property. For our specific project, we were able to see the final stages of a plant’s life at the nursery. This consists of collecting the flats, removing them from their plugs, getting rid of any dead leaf matter, cleaning the root bases by trimming them with scissors, compiling them into plastic bags, and placing them safely into large shipping boxes. We loaded them into the chiller for the evening so they would remain properly hydrated until we picked them up the following day.

Overall, this was an incredibly successful trip and partnership! Each one of our chosen species grew with great success which ensured we could get them to the restoration project safely. We were able to see a very small snippet into what it means to facilitate active plant conservation on a national forest scale. Learning that there are only six national forest nurseries made us both overwhelmed with the importance of these facilities. I certainly look forward to future opportunities that allow me to be involved with any one of these nurseries.

To learn more about what came next for these plants and the planting process for our project, check out my co-intern Olivia Turner’s recent blog post, “A Planting Frenzy”.

Here’s to working for three more weeks in such a special place!

Claire Parsons

Caribou-Targhee National Forest, S.O.