It’s time to give you all an update about the noxious weed program here in Carson City!  Yes, we are in the so called “war against weeds,” and our months of strategic planning  (i.e.  data analysis and weed mapping) have prepared us to begin the attack against these exotic invaders…

Ok, so I thought you might like to see our personal protective equipment (PPE) intended for the days when we utilize chemical controls.  This week Doug and I decided that we ought to make sure everything  fits correctly.  As far as we can tell, it fits fairly well…and, we believe that the cowboy hardhat adds a nice touch!  It has definitely stimulated a number of laughs.  While we hope that we never have cause to be glad for the PPE, it is always better to have more protection than less.

Our first species to attack will be tall whitetop, otherwise known as perennial pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium). This will possibly be followed by several thistle species.  Later, we plan to return to the sites where we mechanically or chemically removed the invaders to determine the success of our efforts.  If all goes as planned, we will be able to revegetate these areas with native collections!

If you see us around in our gear, don’t worry–we are not invaders from another planet! Rather, we are the agents removing the noxious weed invaders!

–Brittany

Carson City, NV

Bureau of Land Management

Hello All!

Well, I must admit, the last place I thought I’d end up this summer and beyond was Colorado.  As a native East-coast girl, I had never ventured west of New York until this opportunity presented itself. My original plans for June were to explore the wildlife of Borneo until my traveling partner canceled at the last minute, so I called Krissa and Marian the next day and changed my start date to after I graduated from the University of Vermont.  Things really do have a funny way of working themselves out, and I was extended an internship offer with the National Park Service tracking aquatic invasive species in the parks around the country. A week post-graduation, my friend and I packed up our  lives in my car and we began the six day journey out west exploring the vastness, beauty, and ecological diversity of our own country. Driving through the Midwest was definitely a culture shock! The thing that caught me off guard the most was the further out West we drove, the nicer people became! Of course we thought something was fishy, but no…I soon found out that’s just how people are out here.

It was equally exciting and surreal to be driving towards the Rockies into a city I had never stepped foot in but was going to spend the next five months living in. Seeing the Rockies made the Green Mountains look like foothills, and I knew this was going to be the beginning of a life changing experience. I loved Ft. Collins, CO the moment I drove into it. The downtown, microbreweries, college atmosphere, medium-sized town reminded me of the familiar Burlington I had just left a week before.

I met the other CLM intern, Chenie, and despite coming from opposite backgrounds we instantly became good friends. Nervously waiting outside the doors of the National Park Service on our first day was something we both look back on and laugh. All of our nerves were swept away when we met our phenomenal and hilarious mentors, Eva and Rita, and were immersed in a building that was full of extremely passionate people working on the oil spill and helping make a difference. It has been almost two full weeks now since I’ve been here and they have kept me quite busy! Between tracking Rock Snot (Didymosphenia geminata, an invasive diatom), the parasite that causes Whirling Disease in salmonids, and helping create an extensive database tracking all invasive species in aquatic systems in the parks, I feel like I’ve been chasing criminals across the country! It’s especially exciting because there is very little research done on microbial invasive species and I’m honored to be a part of this project. In October we will submit our database to Congress to make it publicly available, as well as turn it into a website that all of the National Parks can easily refer to when managing their aquatic systems!

Chenie and I are both excitedly awaiting our trip to the Grand Canyon in a little over a week and plan to camp at Arches NP on our way down! In late July we have a week of field work planned in Rocky Mountain National Park, and at the end of August they are sending us to San Diego for a week to represent our division, Water Resources, at the 17th International Conference on Aquatic Invasive Species!

So far the weekends have been spent exploring the “Switzerland of America” and this weekend we are camping at the Great Sand Dunes NP. Both Chenie and I are getting a National Park pass and are going to try and see as many parks as we can in these next five months. I am learning more and more everyday and I can’t wait to find out what happens next! Basically, Chenie and I are constantly pinching ourselves to make sure we’re not dreaming…

Until next time!

Britt

Ft. Collins, CO

National Park Service

Hello, my name is Charity Deatherage and I’m in southern Oregon working on the Seeds of Success program at the Medford BLM.  I’ve actually only worked two days so far, but the days have been filled with educational botanical experiences!  I’m from the Willamette Valley (a few hours north), so many of the plants are familiar, but I’m enjoying the diversity here and I’m learning to recognize the many plants that are native to southern Oregon.  It’s also great that this region still has a lot of its native landscape relatively intact, compared to Willamette Valley prairies, which occupy less than 1% of their historic area.

I’m including a sample of the journal I intend to keep while I’m working at this internship.  Edward Abbey kept a journal when he worked as a park ranger which eventually became Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness.  I’m going to follow in his venerable footsteps and keep a journal during my four-month season in southern Oregon.

Wednesday, June 16

We had a day of orientation.  Doug, our mentor, showed us around the office and introduced us to BLM employees for the first half of the day, and after lunch we went out into the field.  We went to a few sites near Table Rock, and Doug pointed out plants from which he’d like us to collect seed.  These included Madia, Clarkia, Agoseris grandiflora, Eriophyllum lanatum, Ceanothus, Danthonia californica, Festuca californicum, and Elymus glaucus.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Amy, my partner, and I went out on our own today.  Doug sent us to Antelope Road, where we were supposed to find BLM land to explore.  Although we drove to the end of Antelope Road, we were not able to discern any public lands or any of the natural surface roads that should have branched off of the main road, according to the map.  There were many “No trespassing” signs, fenced lands, and gates on any roads we could see.  We did brush up on our taxonomic skills and were proud when we could key plants out to species, even if they were non-natives or weeds.  I couldn’t remember even the common name of Centaurea cyanus, and hadn’t tried to key out anything from Asteraceae in quite a while, so that was a good refresher.  We also did our best to identify a few grasses; Amy recognized California fescue and I tried to key an Elymus species which we brought back to look at under the microscope tomorrow.  We did note the location of a large population of Clarkia, as well as Castilleja (hispida?), Eriophyllum lanatum, and what we believe is Cryptantha intermedia.  From now on, I will be bringing my camera!

About a month ago I threw my cat and as many needed possessions as possible into my small car and drove from IL to Arcata, CA.  That was an experience in itself, anyone who has the opportunity to make that trip should definitely do it!  My last three weeks have been amazing.  Settling into a new enviornment, both biological and the psychological switch out of a small close knit college life, has had it’s ups and downs. 

The BLM office is filled with friendly people, all with their own area of expertise.  So far I have been working with the archeologist, surveying archeological sites and reading up on the Native American and early settlement history of Humbolt County.  Throughout my months here I will work on at least three different projects dealing with archeology, soil errosion and plant monitoring, and there have already been several opportunities to sit in on GIS organization meetings and volunteer at fesitvals and elk habitat restoration projects. 

The wildlife here is abundant.  Everything from rattle snakes to bears can been seen while driving to field sites.  Walking along the beach, tide pools and sealions are easy to find.  Each day is something new and exciting for a Midwest raised girl to find.  It’ll be fun to see how the rest of this internship develops!  Hopefully I’ll have some pictures by the next time I post.

Mindy Miller, Arcata, CA Bureau of Land Management

So I’ve been in Anchorage, Ak for 6 days now and I am already in love. Alaska is beautiful! My 1st night we saw a Moose and her baby. It was amazing. Then we were lucky enough to eat at one of our bosses houses where we were served freshly caught halibut tacos. They were great!

Anyways we have been getting permits set up for seed collections and we have been exploring our area. We are getting a very good feel for the plants of Alaska. There are so many! So far the internship has been going great! We couldn’t have been placed with a better guide and boss. Our mentor, Mike Duffy is so intelligent and friendly!

Until next time

-Chrissy

I have been a Seeds of Success intern with the Forest Service for about two months now. I was curious to see what kind of adventure I would have here in Boise (I’m from Texas and I’ve definitely never been this far northwest- I was a Chicago Botanic intern last summer which is how I heard about this internship). I have been able to see and play in snow already! I honestly wasn’t expecting that to happen till next winter! It was definitely fun learning how to make a snowman (didn’t realize there was a technique to it).

As far as work goes, I have been fortunate enough to be able to do different tasks so the weeks have just flown by. I spent many hours on the computer searching different herbaria to find where plants grow in our area for possible seed collections. Meanwhile there have been gaps in between where I went out with the rest of the Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) crew to weed plots or collect data of plants they have been growing and observing in different locations around Boise. It’s nice to get out of the office once in a while. I and the rest of the crew collected some data at a 100 acre site we had in Utah in conjunction with the Joint Fire Science Program to observe restoration practice and establishment of seeding after fire. I was there for 7 days identifying what was growing at points along a tape so at every meter I had to identify what was growing at that point. I was nervous because I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to recognize what I was looking at. I had gone through pictures and read descriptions several times before the trip but still wasn’t sure how well that would help me. I worked with a partner who called out while I recorded on the first day before letting me try the following day.

It helped me to become comfortable and familiar with what I was looking at. I have to say that I did pretty darn well! I was kind of impressed with how fast I caught on to the species I saw and became confident that what I was calling out was correct!

My boss (not to get mixed up with my mentor) said that when you first start learning species of plants you start off with a blank page but once you start learning more and more plants it becomes easier to fill the page and identify more and more plants in the field. I guess every new habitat is a brand new page! I have worked with habitats in Texas, Illinois, and now Idaho! That’s exciting yet overwhelming at the same time! I guess I will be three pages in after this experience! I’m sure the more the better and more diverse my knowledge with plants will be!

Like I said earlier, I am an SOS intern but we haven’t begun seed collecting because plants are just now starting to bloom. I’ve heard from several people that because of the cool summer we are having, plants are barely starting to bloom. In the next few days my mentor, I and the rest of our crew will be scouting for big populations for seed collecting. I recently went to the SOS training in Vale, OR so I’m looking forward to following out the entire seed collecting process from beginning to end. I’ll let you know how that turns out!

Merry Marshall
Boise, ID
FS

As temperatures in the Southern California deserts are regularly topping the 100 degree mark, it’s high time for seed collection. Plants that once made a vibrant carpet of bright color on the desert floor are drying up and turning brown. This is great news for our Claremont seed collection team, because it means that nearly all of our targeted plant populations are in full fruit and starting to shed their seeds!

The past month has consisted of a series of overnight trips out to the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts that have resulted in hundreds of brown paper bags full of seed being collected from all sorts of crispy plants. Today was a landmark moment for our team, as we have just shipped out our 50th seed collection. One of our largest collections has been of the thistle sage, (Salvia carduacea) an annual mint with spiny foliage, purple flowers, and the most amazing scent I’ve ever experienced that could only be described as being lemony fresh. The ensuing collection resulted in a fresh smelling field vehicle for the next two days. In addition to the interesting plants growing out in the Desert, I’ve had the pleasure of coming across a number of cool animals. I’ve been lucky enough to see three desert tortoises, a federally listed threatened species.

Life in Los Angeles county has been excellent as well. While here, I’ve taken the time to visit interesting places like Hollywood and Venice Beach. Last weekend I made my first trek out to the historic Hollywood Bowl concert venue for the Playboy Jazz Festival, an all day marathon of dancing, good food, and even better music. The balance between city living and working out in the most remote parts of the desert has given me a complete tour of all that Southern California has to offer.

– Drew Monks, Claremont, CA, BLM Seeds of Success team out of the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden

This week I began my internship with the Bureau of Land Management, in the Seeds of Success program. I was assigned to the Vernal Utah Field Office some 2,000 miles from my Upstate New York home. Upon taking this position the general reaction of my family and friends was “wow, that’s really far away!”. Of course they are correct, however the opportunity that I have been blessed with by the people of The Conservation and Land Management Program is one that I could never pass up. Having never traveled to the Western United States there is an amount of excitement mixed with nervousness, but this passed as I had expected.

In the first few days of my experience I have come to realize the vastness of the West. The land in Utah goes on for what seems like forever, with amazing views of mountains and canyons. Seeing these things on a daily basis is something that I can really learn to appreciate coming from a more or less flat region. There are many different cultures and regions of the country, and being able to move to Utah and experience something that is so different than what I am familiar with has caused an inmeasureable amount of personal growth.

The field work thus far has also been as unique to me as life in Vernal. Being able to go out each day and work with species I have never seen before has allowed me to reach a greater understanding of different types of ecosystem functioning beyond what I am familiar with back East.

 

Josh M.

Vernal, Utah

Bureau of Land Management

Miriam Johnston
Buffalo, Wyoming
BLM

I’ve always lived in the East, so deciduous forests, Eastern grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), Northern cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis), and the rolling Appalachians are intimately familiar and feel definitively like home. When I first arrived here in Buffalo, Wyoming, I had never seen sagebrush (Artemisia spp.). The pronghorns (Antilocapra americana) looked like they belonged on a photo safari, and there were cacti (Opuntia spp.) growing out of the actual ground instead of in pots (?!). The word “range” was only a synonym for geographical distribution or of the “Ohhhhhh, home on the” variety, and I quickly discovered that snow-capped peaks DO exist beyond pictures.

I’m currently in the middle of my second week here at the Buffalo BLM, and though I’m still often struck by my comparatively unfamiliar surroundings, I don’t feel so out of context anymore. Thanks to my thorough and friendly training, I recognize the vast majority of the flora and fauna I see out on the range, and I’m starting to feel more at home here. Beyond the “Look! It’s a… thing” stage. Whew. It’s been quite an adventure, and I’ve gotten to see a lot of the northeastern Wyoming countryside, which is stunning (pictures later…). Definitely a good introduction.

Now that I’ve settled in a bit and taken a few leaps forward re. natural history (with, of course, a few leaps left to go), I’m really looking forward to expanding my horizons. My job description is quite varied – from rangeland monitoring to sage-grouse projects – and my supervisor is helping us to experience as much as we can. Today, we’re going to specific range sites to do photo monitoring. Tomorrow, we’re leaving the office at 4 a.m. (optional, but worth it!) to tag along on a riparian bird survey. This active office also houses hydrology, fire, and natural resource specialists, as well as petroleum engineering technicians. There is SO much to learn here; I’m really going to have to make these next five months count.