The month of August is upon us here in Pinedale, and we are already three months into our Seeds of Success (SOS) internship. As SOS interns, we have amassed an expansive amount of seed from numerous species and populations within the Pinedale Field Office (PFO). We have observed a variety of different phenotypes from the species we have collected. A plant phenotype that our bodies have especially noticed, during our various collections, is the different heights of the plants. We have found, that each plant population requires several different body alignments for a most efficient harvest. Some of these positions can be quite physically challenging. However, if one prepares for the aerobic and anaerobic challenges in the field; the aches and pains of a full day’s work can be alleviated and avoided.

8 Recommended Practice Positions

The Jumping Frog                                             The Tired Harvester

Fabaceae Astragulus sericoleus                             Ranunculacae  Delphinium Bicolor

The Spread Raptor

          Polygonaceae Polygonum bistortides

The Bridge                                                      The Prayer

Asteraceae Achillea millefolium         Scrophulariaceae Penstemon humilis 

The Sleeper

ZZZZZZZZZZZZ

The Arrow

Polemoniacae Pholox Hoodii

The Proposal

Asteraceae Stenotus acaulis

WARNING: These positions should be done at your own risk. Failure to do them correctly could result in serious harm or death. The following exercises are not approved by the Bureau of Land Management, Chicago Botanical Gardens or Conservation Land Management Program. 

 We also suggest taking up yoga, in addition to practicing these positions to your own mantra every morning or evening. We have found that our rigorous collection exercises have significantly increased not only the amount of seed that we pick every day but also our mind, body and souls. We would love to hear any input on any other valuable hints to other techniques to enhance our seed collecting.

Thank You,

The Pinedale Team

I am typing to you all from the Pinedale BLM Field Office in Wyoming. Pinedale is nestled between Omernik Level III ecoregion’s 18 and 17. It oversees the management of 912,000 acres of federal surface/federal minerals and almost 300,000 acres of private surface/federal minerals. Of those acres that are disturbed from oil and petroleum use   reclamation and restoration plans exist to prevent invasive and noxious weeds from out-competing and dominating the native vegetation. I have learned a lot about the procedures for restoration in Pindale. While learning I came to see how vital Seeds of Success (SOS) is for this area.
The month of May is coming to a close and almost all of the native forbs are still dormant. Aside, from a few like the perennial Phlox hoodi. The climate is so harsh in this northwestern part of the United States of America they only have a total of 19 frost-free days. So if you all thought you were having a hard time growing your tomatoes… Here the word for a functioning garden is considered a greenhouse. Stepping back from that tangent, however; a lot of the  seeds available  for restoration have genes that predispose them for the South or Central Western areas of the United States. Alas, when they are planted here they tend to be a cause for unsuccessful restoration or a bottleneck population with low genetic abundance.
SOS can open a lot of doorways for more successful restoration here in Pinedale. Bend Seed Extractory, our national seed bank, will be able to hold these seeds and supply them to operators within the Wyoming Basin. Securing these seeds is vital to maintaining a genetically diverse community of plants in the field. The time period we have to collect these seeds here in at the Pinedale BLM is roughly two months so preparation along with training is what I have been up to so far. When I am not working, however; there are thousands of things to do here in Pinedale. Most of the land out here is owned by the government, which means there is public access to most of the lands. You can go boating, biking, hiking, hunting, ATVing, fishing, camping, climbing and running. Not to mention, that Jackson, the Tetons and Yellowstone are about 1-2 hours away.
I know that I probably did not do my current geographical location justice. However, I am loving it here and cannot wait for SPRING SEEDS!