Goodness, how time flies! We are about half way done with our internship already! While the beginning of the summer focused more on scouting out sites for plants we were able to collect, we are now finally getting into the full swing of seed collecting season. We’ve made over 40 collections so far (sometimes up to five in one day) covering all five New England coastal states. We’ve voyaged over seas of sand dunes, gotten sucked into mud waist-deep, narrowly escaped endless clouds of mosquitos, bushwhacked through 10-foot tall stands of Phragmites, walked through creeks chest-high in water, canoed through rivers that were more plant-matter than water, and had a few lucky days of being caught in the rain – a very welcome way to cool off. Every day has been a different adventure with new things to learn. It’s been a very immersive (figuratively and literally) way to experience the natural world, and I’ve been enjoying every bit of it.

The rare winged monkey-flower (Mimulus alatus) – totally worth the wading through a creek up to our chests!

These seeds drying in pans really brighten up our living room, but our neighbors think we are really weird…

Our first fleshy fruit collection! Gaylussacia baccata (black huckleberry).

Currently most of New England is in a moderate to severe drought. Although we don’t have enough comparative data to draw any solid conclusions, we are pretty sure that the drought has been impacting many of the plants very badly this year. Last week were in a small salt marsh in Southern CT, when we came across a huge patch of Schoenoplectus pungens (three-square bulrush). There were plenty of plants to collect from, however after sampling a few of them we realized it wouldn’t be worth it. The seeds were either absent or had turned to mush, the top half of the plants yellow and sun-scorched. Similarly, there have been several times now that we’ve witnessed a very distraught population of Juncus gerardii (black grass). This is one of the four main component species of a salt marsh, usually filling the landscape of the upper marsh area. Most of our sites with J. gerardii have massive populations, yet we are having trouble finding good seed – some we have had to not even attempt a collection from. According to our mentor and last year’s records, J. gerardii should have plenty of seeds available for collection well into August.

Great Marsh, Barnstable, MA. Most of the green here is composed of Juncus gerardii, but we haven’t been able to collect it here because the seeds simply were not there. But it is still a really beautiful site.

I don’t think I would have fully understood the effects of the drought if I hadn’t been out in the field this summer. It’s one thing to read or hear about something like this, but it’s another thing to see it up close. And it’s a third thing to experience it. Because we have been out in the field during the hottest parts of the day, I found I’m able to empathize with these plants on a much more personal level. However, we know that at the end of the day we will catch a breeze in our air-conditioned cars, fill up water bottles from a cold faucet, and eat a nutrient-balanced meal. The plants and animals in these habitats can’t make that assumption, especially during a drought like this. Being out there with these plants on a daily basis is helping me not take these gifts essential for our survival for granted… Yet for those few hours of our day, we are united in our experience. We’ve been drained and wilted under the relentless heat, and we’ve been dancing and laughing and re-energized during the rains. I like to think that the plants are having the same reactions too – we are just much more vocal about it.

Dry/dead Juncus gerardii at Great Marsh, Barnstable, MA. Sometimes you have to just make the best of the situation…

…and take a nap in the salt marsh 🙂

Here’s to hoping for more rain, and moving forward with gratitude.

—

Krista Heilmann

Seeds of Success East Intern

New England Wild Flower Society

Framingham, MA

It’s crazy that summer’s over. I don’t mean my internship – that still has several months left – but summer itself. We’ve had weeks of crazed collections and 95+ degree days, but now the highs are in the 80s, it’s begun to rain again, and we only have a handful of species to collect.

Besides filling out herbarium labels and sending off the rest of our seeds, we’re starting to move onto other projects. Some of them are plants-based, such as pre- and post- aspen treatment monitoring and abandoned mine land restoration replanting. Others are wildlife-based, like prairie dog surveys. We’re not really sure exactly what the next couple of months will hold, but there are a lot of cool projects that we’ll get to help out on.

Outside of work, our lives have settled into routine. Evenings generally leave time for one extra activity before dinner, and three-day weekends encourage a lazy day before adventures. I’ve been in a slump for a couple of weeks, but gained some momentum last weekend and went backpacking in the Tetons with other Lander interns. I’m tied to Lander for a couple weeks while housesitting, and I’m hoping to stay out of the lazy funk and do some local climbing and general getting-my-life-together things.

Yep. August.

BLM – Lander Field Office

I am in my last few weeks here as the botany assistant in the West Eugene wetlands. I am still working slowly but surely through the Wetland Plant Identification Guide I am making. The process is much more intense than I had initially thought it would be and I am a little nervous for its turnout. However, I am excited to finish it up and have it be of use to future interns.  And to keep a copy for myself, of course.

A new CLM intern, Emily, joined the crew as a biological technician in July. We have been working together along with the local youth crews to remove tanzia ragwort and meadow knapweed in the wet prairies, and blackberries that are encroaching on some of the endangered plants.  Our highlight last week was the pack of llamas we ran into on the Long Tom river.  It was in the high 90s and they were having a river party with lawn chairs and floaties. I’m only half-joking (see photo below).

Long Tom river party with some llamas in Eugene, Oregon.

On my last week following labor day weekend I will be visiting our seed castle with the City of Eugene’s ecologist, Diane Steeck. We will be preparing seed for upcoming planting projects throughout the city.

As my hours terminate on September 9th, I am taking the opportunity to visit my family in Minnesota before embarking on a new venture- whatever that may be, I’m still trying to figure it out.  I would like to stay here in the Pacific Northwest and continue to work in the botany field.  So that’s what I am aiming for. Keeping fingers crossed and sending out resumes and cover letters like nobody’s business.  I’ve had a great time here in Eugene with the BLM and its partners.  I admit, I am a little sad to see it come to an end, but oh-so appreciative of all that I have learned and the people that I have met.

I’ll wrap up with ya’ll in a few weeks.

Happy August!

DANICA MALONEY

BOTANY ASSISTANT

BLM WEST EUGENE WETLANDS

What does this mean to you?  Wildlife and rangeland.  Does it mean conflict of interest?  Does it mean working together?  Or does it mean two completely separate entities that should never have anything to do with each other?  To me, they are one in the same.  I have a Rangeland Management degree with an Option in Wildlife Management.  Basically, this means that I took not only all of the range courses but all of the wildlife courses as well.  I wish everyone had to do that.

Wildlife and rangelands need to go hand in hand.  You can’t have one without the other.  If you think you can, you’re kidding yourself.  The BLM does a wonderful job of promoting multiple-use landscapes, and this includes wildlife.  However, growing up in ranching communities, I know not everyone loves the idea of an elk eating their haystack.  We moved into their space, not the other way around.  I might sound preachy here, but it’s something that I feel more people need to understand.  My internship this summer has allowed me to explore some absolutely beautiful and unique areas in Wyoming.  I get to hang out in wide open spaces with little to no people within a 20 mile radius of me and little to no “improvements” on the landscape to ruin the view.

I’m lucky and I know it.  Seeing exactly how the multiple-use landscape comes together is awesome.  I have seen bikers, hikers, and horseback riders on the Continental Divide Trail, cows on rangeland, wildlife on rangeland, different agencies conducting research on BLM land, oil and gas exploration, and historical artifacts that take you back to the pioneer days.  My passion will always be wildlife, but rangelands are important too.  Maybe more important in many ways.  There is beauty and importance in everything if you only take a look.

This is my first post to the blog, as I was very late in coming to the CLM Internship program.  I was notified that there was a position available, and within a very short period of time I was packing up my valuables and making a 20-hour drive from British Columbia, Canada to Kremmling, CO to work for the BLM Field Office located there.  I had very little idea about what I was going to be doing, but I knew it was a good opportunity and that I would be a fool to pass it up.

After being here for a month I think I finally have a good grasp on what our goal is and the methods involved.  I am working under the Assessment, Inventory and Monitoring initiative, or AIM, that was outlined by the BLM in order to guide land management decision making.  In my location specifically, a lot of the data collection revolves around the sage-grouse habitat.  From a broader perspective though, the project is concerned with the overall mapping of habitat regarding species diversity, soil composition and stability, and generally the types of stands that are found and how well they are established.  The data is hopefully meant to show trends over time in how the habitats are progressing, and provide some information for making management decisions.  I was browsing some of the other blog posts and It seems that many others are working under the AIM project as well, so I am sure this is old news to most of you, all the same I thought I would include it in my entry for clarity.

The specific nature of our data collection is fairly rigorous and tedious, as it should be with respect to its implications.  Accuracy is important, however, this can make doing a plot a rather slow process and our team is fairly far behind in the goal that was set for the season.  To be fair though, my mentor and team lead has been handicapped from the start.  She was late in receiving the position and then had a series of interns back out on her in the beginning.  She was alone essentially until a month into the job when the first intern arrived, and then another month later I came in.  Conducting a plot with three people can take long enough, let alone two.  So with that being said, we are behind, but not without reason.

Overall I think we are getting better and sliding into a groove, navigation can be an issue though, with BLM land checker-boarding private land.  At times this makes for very difficult hikes to get to a plot, as there may be a road very close by, but we are unable to access it due to a private gate.  Therefore, we must opt for a road further away and a longer hike.  Most recently, we encountered a gamble oak site, it was a rather humbling experience.  If you’ve ever encountered a gamble oak stand and had to go through it, you know what I am talking about.  Unfortunately, I do not have a picture as my phone was out of battery after camping for 3 nights, but for those who don’t know I will try to describe.  Gamble oak is more like a shrub than a tree, but a large shrub, standing around 8-10 feet tall.  And it is everywhere.  It feels like you’re fighting through the jungle and should have a guide with a machete, except it’s woody.  A long sleeve is recommended, preferably one that you don’t mind being shredded.  I did not foresee this and have the battle wounds to show for it.  Hiking through it is one thing, but laying out and taking data from a transect can feel near impossible.  An entire plot becomes a much longer and more painful/frustrating ordeal.  In summary, I will never forget my experience in gamble oak and will do my best to avoid it.

I feel this post has taken a somewhat negative turn, but that is just a small part of what has overall been a great experience thus far.  I have been camping a lot, and was pretty inexperienced in that regard before coming to Colorado.  I had some minor trepidation beforehand about my ability to cook and get a good night’s rest.  I have since found that cooking is not that difficult if you prepare well, and that there is a lovely calm to falling asleep under the stars with nothing but the sound of crickets.  I have also experienced an abundance of wildlife that continues to amaze me, including bald eagles, great horned owls, and an up-close encounter with a moose!  I stumbled upon it near a stream crossing as I had my head down just chugging along, next thing I knew I heard a loud clomping sound through the water and it emerged out of a thicket of tall shrubs maybe 15-20 meters away.  I think we both startled each other pretty well, and my heart was pounding as we eyed each other with a mixture of fear and curiosity.  I backed up slowly trying not to turn my back, as the memory that moose are known to charge came to the forefront of my mind.  But it didn’t, it just stood there, almost timidly looking at me and hardly moving.  After alerting my fellow crew members to its presence, there was a lot of picture taking as is expected, naturally my phone was out of battery.  I will never forget that encounter though, the picture is in my head.

  Sand dunes near Walden, CO

 The moose! Taken by my mentor.

Until next time,

NA

BLM Kremmling, CO Field Office

As a brand new CLM intern I have just returned from my first week in the field. The previous week had been a whirlwind of meeting new colleagues, learning the ropes of planning, data collection, varied methods of seed cleaning, packaging, herbarium work, research, and paperwork at lightning speed.

Finally it was time to get out there. With a mix of glee and trepidation I set off with my new colleagues to areas within Virginia to collect seed for the the Seeds of Success Program.

Waiting to board a Jon boat to Presquille National Wildlife Refuge

Bolboschoenus sp., Schoenoplectus sp. and Spartina sp. taunted me for much of the week but by the end of of it, thanks to patient new colleagues and making collections, I felt less challenged.

Presquille NWR from the boat

Old friends such as Lindera benzoin, Uniola paniculata, Cephalanthus occidentalis, Hamamelis virginiana,  Rhexia sp., Saururus cernuus, Solidago sempervirens and Asclepias incarnata were welcome sights and scents.

Passion flower

We made some successful collections, did a lot of scouting, keyed out a species of Solidago and were delighted to confirm it was indeed S. juncea and we would be back to collect seed.

We met interesting characters along the way but one man, a Deputy Refuge Manager, stands out because of his genuine excitement and enthusiasm on hearing that we would be returning and he would then have the opportunity to accompany us in the field to optimize our experience.

Chippokes Plantation State Park

This work is so crucial on the East Coast and in addition to the tasks we undertake, those who cross our paths understand and are only too willing to encourage, help, ask questions and applaud us for our work.

On my first field trip away from home, I felt right at home.

Caroline Healy

North Carolina Botanical Garden

When I was first planning my move to the southwest, I expected desert. Desert dryness, desert hotness, desert cacti. I expected no relief from heat and sun.

Now, after more than two months in my new home, I am thoroughly impressed with the diversity of habitats and plant communities in this corner of the southwest.

Of course there are dry areas, like where the cholla (Cylindropuntia imbricata) live…

… and expanses of sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata).

But with an increase in elevation, real trees grow, like pinon (Pinus edulis) and juniper (Juniperus spp.), along with a diversity of grasses.

With even higher elevation, Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) takes over. Some places they are small and crowded from fire suppression, with a dense, soft layer of needles dropped at their feet.

In other places they grow in picturesque, park-like and open woodlands, full of grasses and flowers.

Then there are the aspen (Populus tremuloides), growing high in the mountains, and reminding me that the Sangre de Cristo Mts. near Santa Fe are the southernmost extension of the Rocky Mountains.

Along with habitat diversity, the weather has also surprised me. Coming from the Pacific Northwest, where summer begins with absolutely soggy soil soaked from months of winter rain that slowly, slowly dries out to a crispy fall, experiencing the monsoon rains and afternoon thunderstorms has been exciting. Here, clouds build so fast that it’s important to keep one eye on the sky when out scouting or collecting seed a few miles up a dry dirt road that could quickly turn nasty after a downpour.

Clouds build quickly and dramatically

Becoming familiar with the diversity of small herbaceous plants living among the larger and more distinctive species in all the diversity of habitats has been a fun and engaging challenge. As the monsoon rains continue to pour down on us, I’m looking forward to the new growth and seed the moisture will bring!

Laura Holloway
Santa Fe (New Mexico State Office), BLM

This internship has proven to be full of adventures so far – it seems like there is always a story to tell about our days in the field! We have been very busy this past month and a half, which is why this blog post is a bit delayed. The good thing is that I have been feeling very much at home in Northern California, even though it hasn’t even been two months yet! Heres a summary: work-wise, Jocelyn, Alia and I have been helping with many different tasks around the field office. I am really enjoying this because rarely are we out in the field doing the same thing two days in a row, so I have gotten to know and explore many different parts of the field office. Along with SOS and SSP monitoring, we have been helping with the water rights inventory that our office is working on, a juniper tree mapping project, AIM/Upland health monitioring, marking trees with the forester, monitoring forbs for sage grouse habitat and other tasks that come up. With all of these tasks we get to work with lots of different people and it has given me a good idea of what it is like working in a government agency and all the different perspectives that go into managing land – it’s quite a lot! As a result, I have been learning about the importance of multi-use land management and the difficulties that arise, especially with the large size of our field office and the fact that there tends to be a lack of funding and staffing to get everything done.

Some cows at a reservoir we visited while doing the water rights inventory

There have been a few days and experiences that have stuck out to me so far. The top of that list was definitely seeing a mountain lion for the first time! I was out early in the morning driving to a water right (it was a stock pond that actually had water!) and my field partner spotted it as we came over a hill. We saw the mountain lion leave the pond and then walk through a stand of juniper trees. It was really exciting! Last week we collected Limulus guttatus (common yellow monkey flower) at a beautiful location in the field office, called Hole in the Ground. It is a riparian forb, so we wandered along the creek as we collected seed pods and even got stuck in the water a few times. I guess my waterproof hiking boots that I got on the east coast actually came in handy for once! This creek was easily my favorite place we have been so far. This past week Jocelyn, Alia and I helped with a GIS mapping project with some researchers from Chico State. We got to hike around with them to different plots in the Skedaddle Mountains and saw some great views at the peaks.

Views while hiking down from one of peaks in the Skedaddle Mountains

Along with the brutal heat we have, field work definitely comes with difficulties. Navigating the extremely rocky two track roads in our jeep can be stressful, but with more experience I am getting better with it. This past week we got a flat tire, but luckily we discovered it while we were still in the parking lot before we left for the day. We are hoping that we will be able to get all new tires soon! I also got a flat on my bike tire yesterday so I guess this is the week of flats…

Nonwork-wise, we are definitely taking advantage of our three day weekends! So far we have explored some areas near Lake Tahoe, took a long drive to Fort Bragg and Mendicino on the Northern coast, hiked Lassen Peak in Lassen National Park and I visited some family and friends in San Fransisco. These weekend trips have kept me busy and have already surpassed my desires for adventures out here. Can’t wait to see where the remaining weekends take us. I am feeling lucky to have the opportunity to get to see so many wonderful places. I am sure next weekend will be incredible as Jocelyn and I are off to Yosemite!

we found some snow on Lassen Peak!

Golden Gate Bridge

It’s been cooling down a bit this past week and it is making me look forward to the fall temperatures that will hopefully be coming in the near future 🙂

Till next time!

Jillian

BLM Eagle Lake

Susanville, CA

Hello from Santa Fe! This past month has been challenging but also very insightful. Our crew’s many adventures have ranged across diverse terrain in the Southwest. We have had the pleasure of scouting, collecting, and camping in the Santa Fe National Forest, Cibola National Forest, Carson National Forest, and countless other places. As we become more familiar with New Mexico, we also become more comfortable with its flora. It is exciting to be able to start recognizing and appreciating each of the species that seemed so foreign just a month ago. This place still feels indisputably unfamiliar but recognizing the small things makes it feel more like home. Laura and I set up a vegetable garden in our backyard a couple weeks ago, which was a satisfying way to secure some roots. In addition to learning the plants and protocols here, we are opening our eyes to different reptiles and insects that cross our paths in the field. We are applying different lenses to the surrounding landscape to better understand this place. The other day I learned that bees have separate sets of eyes for perceiving light and color and that only female bees collect pollen and have the ability to sting. The monsoons are finally upon us and I am excited to see which new plants will emerge!Ella Samuel

Santa Fe, NM

This time of year, field work starts to become almost second nature.  Monday through Thursday start to blend together and all of the scenery starts to seem the same.  I am of course talking about the doldrums of the field and the brutal repetition of the day to day work.  However, there are always moments of beauty interspersed within the mundane elements of the job.  This could be anything from a towering Ponderosa Pine standing alone amongst the sagebrush, or a beautiful marshy pond out in the barren landscape.  These moments are what keep me going day to day, always exploring and searching out these enchanting elements.

One particular passion of mine is birding, and the landscape of junipers offers up a bountiful habitat for birds off all varieties.  Recently, I have started seeing Green-tailed towhees, a beautiful bird with vibrant greens and red.  My silence has been shattered by the nasal calls of Clark’s Nutcrackers.  Aside from these momentary asides from the typical, I have had the opportunity to expand my horizons through working briefly with a couple of different projects.

Two weekends ago, I had the opportunity to go out to do a project with bats.  I had to adjust to a different schedule with the day starting at 5pm and ending around 3am.  To prepare for this dramatic shift, I stayed up late the day before so that my sleep schedule wouldn’t be too messed up.  We arrived at 5pm and then set out to the Maury forest.  We arrived before dusk and got to our first site, only to find that the pond we were going to mist net, was dry.  Then we changed our plan and headed to a second site.  We found that the stream was running and so we decided to set up our mist net here.  At the stream we set up 3 nets and then the waiting began.  I went out with my mentor and two other colleagues from the office.  Our boss had sent us snacks in a cooler, so during the waiting we went to work on the snacks.  At the beginning we saw bats flying overhead, but the wind started to pick up, making the net move (this causes the bats to be able to pick it up on sonar).  We continued to wait and eventually the other two people had to leave around 11.  Ironically, it was soon after that they left that we caught our first and only bat, a silver-haired bat.  I got to watch my mentor remove the bat from the net (you need to have a rabies shot to handle bats, so I did not handle them).  Then my mentor showed me the different parts of the bat that help to ID them.  Eventually we took the nets down and headed home late, or early depending on how you look at it,

This bat experience was a great break from my normal schedule.  I really had a great time, and will be working more with bats in the future.  Now I have been back on my schedule for a while, but I will give you an update about other adventures later.