The past month has been busy in Klamath Falls. Last week one of the damns from the Klamath Irrigation Project was shut down, so we went out with the Bureau of Reclamation to try and salvage some fish! To do this, we set tramp nets in the pool beneath the damn and we also electroshocked for fish in some of the smaller rocky pools beneath the damn. This was necessary because as the summer continues, the pools will either dry up or the oxygen levels will plummet, causing fish die off events. Both species of endangered suckers are found in the reservoir, so US Fish and Wildlife wanted to make sure as many individuals as possible were saved. We only found five suckers in the pools, but a lot of other fish including catfish and perch. The suckers that were caught were pit tagged to determine how well the fish are surviving in the reservoir after they are moved and how well they are moving through the river system. We also took general condition data on the suckers and took genetic samples.

Pit tagging fish!

Juvenile sucker

I’ve also been working down at Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. I’ve been taking water quality measurements as well as trapping the ponds to see if fish are able to move through the water supply channels. I still haven’t caught any fish in the smaller ponds, which is good. The largest pond should have fish in it, but I hadn’t caught any until last Friday. I caught four small Sacramento Perch.   This is a little concerning because Perch eat suckers. They also grow much faster than suckers, making them easy prey. We still have not caught any suckers in the large pond, but we are getting larger traps, so hopefully we will be able to find them.

Sacramento Perch

Earlier in the month we worked more with Applegate’s Milk-vetch. As part of the mitigation plan for reducing the impact of runway construction on the endangered Milk-vetch, seeds were to be collected from the plants along the runway. The seeds would then be taken to a nursery to be planted and grown to a certain size and then planted out at a Nature Conservancy preserve. This method was chosen because typically transplanting Milk-vetch has been unsuccessful, due to both a deep tap root and a close symbiotic relationship with mycorrhiza.  There has been some success taking seeds and planting then with soil taken from sites where Applegate’s Milk-vetch already occurs.

Unfortunately this was not a good year for Milk-vetch. A lot of the plants at the airport had aborted the seeds in their fruits. In addition, Milk-vetch is a plant that annually dries out and goes underground. A lot of the largest plants, and the easiest ones to collect seeds from, had already begun to dry out. This meant that we will not be able to collect many seeds from the airport. Luckily some of the other populations were in better condition so we were able to bag plants at other locations. It was surprising to see how different the condition was of Milk-vetch in different populations.

I also helped a professor from the Oregon Institute of Technology. As part of the recovery effort for Milk-vetch, plants were grown up from seed and then planted at a preserve managed by The Nature Conservancy. This preserve was bought and is managed specifically for Milk-vetch. There is currently a demographic study on the out-planted Milk-vetch plants that is looking at survival and reproduction, a project looking at the wild plants just received funding from USFW. In addition, there is a study looking at the plants that grow around Milk-vetch to see if there is a correlation between survival and the plant community around Milk-vetch. This was a super fun survey to do because it meant that I got to learn a lot of new plants, including some common grasses. Can’t wait to see what the next month brings!

The Buffalo BLM range staff, Dusty Kavitz (standing center) and me (standing right), teaching body parts of an insect to first graders.

May 27, 2015 Buffalo, Wyoming-Dusty Kavitz, Rangeland Conservationist, and myself, Range Intern, headed down to the Clear Creek Trail System to teach about insects, particularly grasshoppers and crickets. Upon arrival we visited with Nicole Schmidt, an elementary school teacher at Buffalo’s Meadowlark Elementary School. There were other professionals teaching too; Wyoming Game and Fish Department teaching about Aquatic Invertebrates, Johnson County Weed & Pest teaching about Mosquitoes, US Forest Service teaching Bugs & Trees, and Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality teaching Food for Fish. The roughly 70 first graders piled in with their respective teachers.

Our first group of first graders ready and willing to learn about INSECTS! Dusty started out explaining insects are made up of head, thorax, and abdomen.  One volunteer was chosen to stand in front of the rest and get dressed with head (helmet), antennae (costume antlers), wings (costume wings), exoskeleton (garbage bucket cover), and an egg (plastic Easter egg) for the abdomen. After the dress-up was finished we sang “head, thorax, abdomen and three legs” to the tune of “head, shoulders, knees and toes”. First we would sing at normal speed and then faster, telling the group they were the fastest yet.  Next, Dusty quizzed them on what is an insect? A spider? No. A roly-poly? No. A lobster? No. A cricket? Yes. A grasshopper? Yes.

To make the lesson a bit more specific we focused on grasshoppers and crickets. These insects live in grasslands of wide open spaces in Wyoming. They are an important food source for birds and help break down plants to turn into soil. The difference between grasshoppers and crickets; crickets are nocturnal and grasshoppers are diurnal. Grasshoppers have vivid colors and crickets are more neutral colors to blend in with the landscape. We ended each session with a poem Walking on Ears from the Center for Insect Science Education Outreach at the University of Arizona. The poem relates how a cricket chirps, hears, sees, and smells to how humans see, feel, smell, hear, and sing.

After 5 different sessions and 3 hours of sunshine in a grassy field, our work was done. The kids were heading back to school and the professionals heading back to their respective offices.  What a terrific way to start the day!

Over the past several weeks the New England CLM interns have been focusing on salt marshes and the species that grow there, especially the ubiquitous Spartina alterniflora, S. patens, J. gerardii, and Distichlis spicata.  However, at our latitude the phenology schedule lags a bit behind those of our colleagues further south, so it wasn’t until July 14th that we made our first collection; at Scarborough Marsh in southern Maine, we collected some seeds and vouchers of saltmarsh arrowgrass, Triglochin maritima, family Juncaginaceae, which bears six seeds per pod along a stalk bearing 35-80 pods.

Saltmarsh arrowgrass (Triglochin maritima), Scarborough Marsh, ME

We are planning to continue our reconnaissance and collection over the coming weeks and months as more species start bearing ripe fruits; the Juncus is nearly ripe and we hope to start collecting that within the next few weeks!

CLM has been so rewarding in offering an opportunity to identify and learn about not only plants, but also insects and birds as well, which frequently accompany us on our excursions.  Here are a few snapshots:

Eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) on common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), Great Marsh NWR, NH

Hairy woodpecker (Picoides villosus), Scarborough Marsh, ME

Greetings from New England! It has been a truly lovely summer up hear in the northeast. The New England Seeds of Success (SOS) team has been getting lots of sunshine while we travel to project sites. We’ve continued our focus on salt marsh habitats but have also added projects inland such as a dam removal site in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

New England SOS team plus Laney Widener, NEWFS Botanical Coordinator

Last week we attended a Survey of Grasses workshop at Garden in the Woods, New England Wild Flower Society’s headquarters in Framingham, Massachusetts. The workshop was led by Dennis Magee, author of Grasses of the Northeast (2014). We spent a good chunk of the day reviewing over 40 genera that Magee divides into 12 tribes (groups of genera with common characteristics). Using informational handouts, dried specimens, dissecting scopes and a 10x lens, our group dove into the taxonomy of one of the largest plant families. It was a fantastic opportunity to work with a plant family I personally struggle to identify in the field. With each genera we discussed a variety of field characters that will help us be able to feel more confident in our accurate identification of grasses.

This week we have finally collected seed! After what seemed like months of training, preparation, research, and communication with land and property managers, our first common native plant species of interest are producing seed. Our first collection was Triglochin maritima (seaside arrowgrass) in the Juncaginaceae family. We found a viable population in the Scarborough Marsh in Scarborough, Maine (about 15 minutes south of Portland, Maine). We’re still waiting on seed collection bags, so we used a large brown paper bag and my lunch bag to make the collection! As we surveyed the marsh and upland margins, I was happy to notice my improvement in recognizing plant species and being able to recall their latin name and whether they were native or invasive. Although our first few weeks were slow in field work, this time for me has been well spent with my head deep into Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide (1989), A Field Guide to Coastal Wetland Plants of the Northeastern United States (1987), Life in the Shifting Dunes (1960) and A Beachcomber’s Botany (1963).

Salt marsh in Rowley, MA.

The rest of the week the New England SOS team is heading to Charlestown, Rhode Island and then to the Cape. We’ll be camping at Nickerson State Park to get an early start to our collection in the Cape. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to camp during my work week – what luck! Until next time!

Greetings from Cedarville, CA!

I have just completed my first month working with the BLM Surprise Field Office and it has been a very exciting month. Much of my first month has been spent getting adjusted to a new environment. Coming from Michigan means that I have to learn a whole new set of plant species and adjust to the terrain, which is very different than what I am used to. I also have to get used to living in a different state. We did end up getting lost in our resource area one day, but it was a great chance to test out my gps and map reading skills. I am glad to say we did make it to our destination after a slight delay. It has been a great experience and I love being able to compare the two areas and have found great things about both.

Most of the work that me and my co-intern have been doing has been post fire vegetation monitoring. We have been collecting lots of data to see how the area has responded after a huge wildfire burned through last year. We look at the species found on different plots as well as how stable the soil is in an area. Eventually, after all the data is collected, the goal is to compare our data to data of similar plots not affected by the fire. Hopefully, this will give us a good idea of how the resource area is doing as a whole. This has been a great tool to help in learning many of the species found in our resource area.

We have also started collecting seeds for the Seeds of Success program. We have done 5 collections so far. It has been a struggle to get our timing down. If we have been off with our timing we have had to come up with a back up plan while in the field. We have to decide whether it is worth our time to collect or not. If it is not worth our time, we have to decide if we should go back to the office empty handed or if there is a different plant population that we could collect. Also, on our first couple collections we learned that we have been under prepared. We needed to do more research in the office before we head out to collect. Hopefully, that will make future collections go more smoothly.

Overall, my first month has been fantastic and I can not wait to see what is in store in the coming months!

AZ

Over the past month I have spent a great portion of my time out in the field trying to track down little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus). They are the only bat species thought to have a home range that extends as far as Central, AK. I am using several SMZC acoustic monitoring devices to determine the presence or absence of the species. The acoustic monitors are placed within a grid that has been created based on suitable habitats. A microphone is fastened atop a pole and the acoustic unit is strapped to a tree. The two are connected by a microphone cable.

Each unit is placed somewhere within the grid and is then left for a period of two to three weeks. The units automatically begin recording around dusk and stop recording in the early morning. During the recording time if a bat were to fly within range of the microphone an acoustic trigger would be tripped and the device would begin recording. The data cards are collected after the deployment period and the detectors are relocated. The data cards are brought back to the office and analyzed with an acoustic software.

RC

July in Carson City, NV generally means lots of sun and hot temperatures, and we have had our fair share during 10 hour days in 100+ degree heat. A variety of techniques have emerged amongst our crew to deal with such heat. My personal favorite is storing a handful of ice in my hat. Luckily, over the last two weeks, we have seen a fairly regular dose of afternoon thunderstorms that have helped mollify our heat stress. However, it does look like warmer and drier temperatures are on the horizon.

Generally speaking, this time of the year marks the end of seed collection for the early season bloomers. As these plants wither or go into dormancy in the hot sun, we will shift gears and spend a lot of time doing fire rehab monitoring. This task entails intensive data gathering at recently burned areas in the district that have been reseeded. Once this is finished, it will be time to pick up with the seed collecting once more. Until then, I will be coming up with new ways to beat the heat.

AR

Hey Everybody,

Here, at last, is the long overdue farewell blog for my CLM internship in Needles, CA. But don’t worry, this will not be my last CLM blog! I have taken and started a new internship in Bishop, CA along the eastern Sierra’s. In the business and chaos of travel, moving, and getting used to a new place and job, I have neglected to write this blog post. But now I’ve had some time to slow down and think about my time in the Mojave Desert, and it’s about time that I share some of those thoughts.

First of all, the landscape and ecology of the desert is amazing! I don’t think I ever would have sought out the Mojave on my own, but I am very thankful that I ended up there, and have been able to get to know the place. It is thoroughly unique. From my first day in the desert to my last, the landscape never ceased to demand my attention and amazement. The vastness of space in the open desert is incredible. It is interrupted by mountains and valleys, but still one’s gaze can extend for 70 or 80 miles in all directions. And often, that great expanse of space is permeated by stillness and silence. Some days bring the sound of insects and birds, or the frantic scurrying of lizards, but many times a gentle breeze would provide the only visible movement for miles. The place is stunningly beautiful, and sometimes intimidating. On days when I worked alone in isolated places, I was consistently reminded of my own smallness. It was a striking feeling that I won’t forget.

The life that endures and survives in the desert is also amazing. If you spend any time there, you begin to feel just how inhospitable the place can be. The heat of summer is staggering. The dryness is complete and inescapable. When rain finally does come, it often arrives violently with storms and floods that can devastate the land. Living things face challenges everywhere, but the difficulties and threats posed by this hot desert are always in your face. I’m just a weak little human myself, and I was constantly aware that I absolutely could not survive out there on my own. So it is amazing to me that so many plants, animals, and other living things can make it. Their margin for error is tiny, and the desert is a place where they simply cannot survive any mistakes. The adaptations that allow life to make it here are as varied and special as the species that possess them – unique organisms for a nearly impossible home. Learning about and working with the species that survive here has treated me to an incredible display of diversity.

Work with the Needles BLM was wonderful, and desert ecology was fascinating, but I must also say that Needles was a very difficult place to live. The vastness and openness of the desert is beautiful, but the accompanying isolation is a challenge. Needles lies right along the Colorado River and Interstate 40, both a source of life and connection for the people there, but the town is still small, and the isolation is real. Loneliness was often a burden for me. But the difficulties of life in Needles also produced growth and learning that may prove valuable to me for the rest of my life. The desert was a lonely place, but I worked really hard to develop relationships there, and I ended up with a small group of friends that kept me healthy and sane through the year. I could not have made it without them.

So here’s some advice for fellow CLM interns who end up living in isolated and difficult places: Invest in the community and the people there. Put in the effort to find and join the community. You will benefit from it. Some of these isolated, small towns are surprisingly full of life, others can be very sad places. Either way, take the time to learn about the people who live there. Practice empathy. Be positive, appreciative, and encouraging. It will be worth it for you, and the people around you. Look at that, in this blog you get plant stories AND free life advice!

Here’s another bit of short, practical advice for any future CLM interns that are offered the position in Needles. The work and opportunity provided to me by my mentor, Lara, was exceptional. The work of seed collecting and plant monitoring was fascinating. The flexibility I was given to plan my own projects and schedule was exceptional. I was given tremendous encouragement and freedom to make this internship what I wanted it to be, so that it benefited me as much as possible. And the skills, experience, and professional benefit I have gained from this job have been fantastic. I had to be very self-driven and self-reliant to learn well and to do good work here, but I was given great space and opportunity to develop that independence. And they kept me around for a whole year! So if those things are valuable to you, know that this office and this internship will not disappoint.

Here’s one last reflection about the Mojave. I was able to spend a full 12 months working for the BLM in Needles. Sticking with the desert for the cycle of a full year dramatically increased the richness and value of my experience there. I started my internship in May, and if I had only been able to stay through my original 5-month commitment, I would have left in October, and only been able to live through summer and early autumn in Needles. That is no way to see the desert. If you are ever able to spend time in a desert, even if it that means just the occasional visit, understand that the character of the desert changes dramatically with the seasons. Find a way to experience these changes. Summer may be intensely uncomfortable and challenging, but it is awe-inspiring in its brutality. The power of the monsoons in late summer and early fall is startling, and the resulting fall bloom of plants is a treat of color. The coolness and gentle, soaking rains of winter are wonderful, and deeply refreshing. And of course, the bloom of spring flowers in the desert can be magical and spectacular. All of those seasons are different, and all of them are memorable. I’m sure this can be said of most places, but it certainly holds true in the desert. It is a place worth getting to know, worth exploring, and worth seeing throughout the year.

That’s all from Needles! I’ll be back with a blog from the new job in Bishop soon!

Until Next Time,

Steve Tillman

Needles BLM Office