Last words from an Alaskan weed warrior

My first few weeks on the job I didn’t know where I fit into my work environment and I wasn’t sure what was expected of me.  The feeling of being in limbo never left entirely (that’s part of being an intern), but as I learned more about my coworkers and non-native plant management in Alaska I discovered that most of the time I could direct myself on where my project should go next.  Having limited supervision was scary at times, but the experience of planning and carrying out projects mostly one my own is one of the most valuable pieces of knowledge I will take away from this internship.

At the end of my time in Alaska I have to comment on how many exciting opportunities I have participated in as part of this internship.    I’ve spent  surveying for non-native plants on a BLM property in Anchorage, helping collect native seeds, attending my first professional conference in Fairbanks, working with volunteers on several projects at the BLM office in Anchorage and even treating infestations of non-native plants!

One of my favorite experiences from the summer came on National Public Lands Day.  Before working with BLM I had never heard of this event, but I soon found out that at the Campbell Tract it is a big deal.  We had almost 150 volunteers in attendance and spent most of the week prior preparing.  On the day of the event (a Saturday) I and a BLM employee lead a group of volunteers on a re-vegetation project near the entrance gate to the facility.  We pulled weeds, spread topsoil, and sowed seeds over an area of about half an acre.  Many of the volunteers shared their enthusiasm for the event and make a tradition of volunteering at Campbell Tract every year on this day.  One gentleman has been attending for 15 years, since the very first National Public Lands Day at Campbell Tract!  Strangely, this gentleman also sustained the only injury during the volunteer work (a small cut on his ear).  As it was a minor injury during the closing ceremony with all of the volunteers one staff member gently teased that this  man had heard 15 years worth of safety talks at events like these and still managed to hurt himself.

There have been lovely moments (like serenading a moose with my trumpet) and not so lovely moments (spending several weeks entering data) as a CLM intern, but as a whole the experience comes as advertised.  I got the opportunity to work with a government agency, work outside in a new environment, and develop professional skills relating to my interests in conservation and botany.  Thanks for a great internship!

Carl Norlen

Anchorage Field Office

BLM, Alaska

Rohn Roadhouse

September 2, 2010

I’ve been in Alaska for about three months now, but until last week I hadn’t learned much about the annual Iditarod sled dog race or the historic winter trail that the race takes it’s name from.  That all changed on a trip to the historic Rohn Roadhouse.  As part of a team of four I spent three days removing infestations of non-native plants around the cabin.

Rohn Roadhouse

Idyllic Rohn cabin

This trip was exciting because I spend most weeks working on a seven-hundred acre BLM property in Anchorage, so  getting to take my first trip  in a small fixed wing plane was very exciting.  The “bush plane” as these vehicles are known here  is a uniquely Alaskan creature.  These wonderful machines are used almost like a charter bus is in the lower 48.   Except in Alaska charter vehicles need to fly because the majority of the state’s land area is not connected to the road system.  That means that people and supplies from the outside come in by barge or plane in the summer, and by plane, snow machine, or in the old days dog team in the winter.

Bush Plane

Alaska AirTaxi "Beaver" at Rohn airstrip

When we arrived at the cabin to begin removing weeds we were greeted by two sheep hunters sprawled out next to the airstrip napping.  They were waiting for a ride back to Anchorage and had their meat and sheep skin hanging up next to them.  The hunters said that another group had bagged a caribou, but they were nowhere to be seen.  We brought out supplies over to the cabin and began working.  I was surprised to notice that throughout the day a plane seemed to land or take-off about every twenty to thirty minutes.  When I asked the other members of my team about this they simply responded with “It’s huntin’ season”.

The bi-hourly winged arrivals calmed down during the next two days and we were able to get to work.  On this trip I was designated as the “invasives expert” and it was my job to identify which plants were non-native and needed to be removed.  The situation was a little unusual because I was technically in charge of three people in their fifties.  It felt good to have knowledge that I could share with others and that could allow us to perform our job effectively, but it was novel and a little uncomfortable to be in vague position of authority that reversed the habitual age hierarchy.

Bagged plant materials from Rohn cabin infestations

In the end we worked well as team and got the job done.  Two of my workmates are Iditarod volunteers.  That means every year in March they spend one or two weeks at the Rohn Cabin for the Iditarod sled dog race.  They set up the checkpoint, feed dog mushers, clean up after mushers, load planes with trash and extra food, cajole straggling mushers into leaving the checkpoint, and much more.  They told wonderful stories about having to get their gear and them selves under 180 lbs to get on the plane, broken down snow-machines, and forty below temperatures.  They made it sound like one hell of an adventure and it was exciting to work with them to preserve an area that they truly love and cherish!

Carl Norlen

Bureau of Land Management, Anchorage Field Office

Anchorage, Alaska

The City Closest to Alaska

The first weeks on the job have been felt overwhelming and disorienting at times. The Bureau of Land Management Anchorage Field Office (BLM – AFO) is a huge maze of offices complete with emergency response supplies, a helipad, and a warehouse full of a seemingly endless variety of tools, gear, and other odds and ends. I have been splitting time between the Field Office and a small University of Alaska office called the Alaska Natural Heritage Program (AKNHP).

The two locations couldn’t be more different! It seems like an exaggeration, but the field office has over two-hundred employees and is located in the middle of the seven-hundred acre Campbell Tract (CT). The CT is an urban forest managed by the BLM, that is used mainly for recreation and environmental education. Based on the location, employees at the AFO like to jog and mountain bike on CT trails during their lunch break. On the other hand the AKNHP office calls a small office building in downtown Anchorage home. There are about ten employees, and instead of a huge warehouse there is a small room used for gear storage and to house the growing herbarium collection.

You may have noticed that I’ve thrown quite a few acronyms into this blog entry. I’m taking the opportunity to practice because working in a government office seems to require fluency in acronyms. Here is a list of some of the ones I’ve heard so far: AFO, AKNHP, BLM, CT, CWMA, CNIPM, MOA, DOI and DOT.

Fortunately, I haven’t spent all of my time trying to decipher strange combinations of capitalized letters. During my second week I was able to get out with the first weed pull of the summer with a group from the Forest Service (USFS). We met at Cuddy Park near the Anchorage public library and pulled Canada Thistle, an unpleasant prickly plant that members of the Anchorage CWMA (Cooperative Weed Management Area) want to eradicate.

Getting the chance to pull weeds with some really die-hard invasive plant haters has gotten me excited about the work I am doing to help put together an weed management plan for the CT. Residents of Alaska are proud of the natural resources their state has to offer and they are genuinely worried about the effects invasive plants could have on these resources.

Now that some of the acronyms are starting to come naturally I know that I’m settling into my new role here in what some residents call “the city closest to Alaska” or “a suburb of Seattle”. The long summer days are beautiful, especially when a nasty weed infestation has just been assaulted!

Carl Norlen
Anchorage, Alaska
Bureau of Land Management

Weed pullers diligently controling a Canada Thistle infestation

Canda Thistle

The hated adversary!