It is sad to think that my time in WY is coming to an end. I have had an amazing and memorable time here in Pinedale. When I first learn that I would be placed in Pinedale I was slightly concerned. All I was told was I would be living in an extremely small town in the middle of nowhere, but only after a short amount of time I fell in love with the place. In Pinedale I am surrounded by mountains, tons of outdoor activities, and some the nicest people I have ever been around. 

I have enjoyed working with the BLM and getting to know the inner workings of a government agency. I have learned a fair amount during my 5 months here doing SOS and weed monitoring. I was very fortunate to work with fantastic people during my time here. The last few weeks I have been able to work with the wildlife crew doing pigmy rabbit surveys, giving me a chance to get new experiences.  Here are a few pictures of what I have seen and done. 

Participating in a local activity, antelope hunting

RANUNCULACEAE DELPHINIUM BICOLOR

Indian paint brush

Transect on an oil field

Wind River Mountains

Canyon Lands, Devil's Arch

Fly fishing in WY

Hiking at cirque the towers.

I am now starting my third week of work at the field station in Pinedale, WY. The first week I was here was mostly paper work and meeting my coworkers. I did get to escape the dull paperwork to do a little field work. Pinedale is like no other place I have ever been. The cold, altitude, and lack of trees takes a little getting used to, more so because I have only lived in South Carolina and South Africa. The beauty of the landscape has something new to offer everyday, but is always breath taking.

I am currently working on three projects. The first is Seeds of Success. In this program we collect the seeds of several species of plants that are important to the reclamation process. The seeds we collect are put into a seed bank to be used at a later date. The second project I am working on is native plant monitoring in reclamation areas. We monitor to see if a certain area has gone through a successful turn over. Thirdly we monitor for invasive plants. WY has a very strict invasive plant program. If we find any invasive plants we report them and they sprayed soon after.

The second week in WY was spent in Rawlins doing mandatory train such as defensive driving, sexual harassment, and other fun things.

I now starting my third week.