I can honestly say that after reflecting on my time in Lakeview, OR, I feel very blessed to have been a part of the CLM Program and to have been placed with so many great people. I highly recommend the program to anyone interested in working for government.

View after an intense hike

This summer I was able to grow both professionally and personally. I had the privilege of working with a great group of interns through the CLM program. This internship has helped me to figure out which direction I would like to go in the future. Now that I have returned to the Midwest, I find myself citing skills and experiences from my time as an intern in CLM in interviews repeatedly.

Just a few quick tips for future CLM participants:

1. Go to the CLM Workshop if you can- there are great workshops and it’s always fun to hear about other interns and their experiences.

2. Travel on the weekends- Make the most of your time, wherever you are, and take advantage of all the opportunities available to you. You will be done before you know it!

3. Keep in contact with those you meet- both professionally and personally, I made some great contacts and I hope to stay in touch with them in the future.

4. Don’t be afraid to pursue/request specific skill sets- Your mentors are there to help you and take the time to discuss your interests with those you work with.

Those are just a few off the top of my head but just make sure you take advantage of your adventure! If any other future interns have any specific Lakeview questions, feel free to ask one of the many interns available.

I feel very lucky to have been placed in Lakeview, OR for 5 months in the West. Best of luck to all of the other CLMers in their future endeavors!

Well it’s hard to believe that two months have already passed since I first set foot in Lakeview, OR. The last month has been full of activities such as the CLM Workshop, Safety Week, and the holiday week where most interns left the area for adventures elsewhere. My crew has now almost finished our rare plant monitoring and we are beginning to move on to seed collection and fire monitoring. I’ve really enjoyed the variety of work and skills that I have gained during my internship so far.

I am looking forward to putting the Seeds of Success workshop knowledge to good use. So far it seems as if it is going to be a more difficult year for seed collection than the last year. We have begun a few seed collections but are going to need to do more scouting for sufficient sites.

Fire monitoring has been really interesting at the Poker Jim Fire site in the Lakeview Resource Area. I have had the opportunity to get experience with some of the same monitoring done by the range crew. We even have used nested frequency, which I first learned at the CLM Workshop. We are examining the impacts of the difference management practices used by the FWS and the BLM. The data should be interesting!

FWS land on the left and BLM on the right

Monitoring using a nested frequency frame

Good luck to all that are or will be collecting seed!

This last week marked my fourth week as a botany intern in the small town of Lakeview, OR.  In that month I have experienced many new things. This is my first adventure out west to the mountains and sagebrush.  Coming from Iowa, the mountainous horizon is a welcomed change from the flat farmland that is present back home.  Learning about this new ecosystem has been very interesting but also challenging.

Conducting a botany clearance at Silver Lake

Already my crew has performed a botany clearance where junipers will be cleared in the future.  Now we have moved on to rare plant monitoring of all of the sites in the Lakeview Resource Area. We have seen many beautiful sights and I enjoy traveling to many different areas each week.

View from Table Rock while surveying rare plants

Most of the interns live in the BLM trailers which are located near the office, allowing us to ride our bikes to work.  With 10 interns here in various positions, there is always someone to hang out with and so many things to do!  I feel very lucky to have so many great people to work with.

A colorful Castilleja found hiding in the sagebrush

The next four months will certainly be an adventure and if the first month is any indication, it’s going to be a great summer!