lshaffer | CLM Internship Program Blog

As my time here with the Carson City Bureau of Land Management Office comes to a close, I look back on all of the beautiful sunsets that I have seen over the last six months. This was a fantastic work opportunity, and I am so thankful that I was assigned to an area so ruggedly beautiful. Since June I have been able to travel throughout Northwestern Nevada and into Eastern California. Every field day was an amazing adventure with a new experience. I am thankful to have been given the opportunity to work in this area and to have experienced life out in the desert. I would recommend this program to anyone who would like a change of scenery and the opportunity to gain hands-on work experience in conservation. Whatever that next step might be, I know that I have come away from this internship with more than when I went into the program. Someone told me that I need to be careful when I move back, that the west will remain under your skin once you have experienced life out here and you will be itching to come back. I hope they were right.

Making Friends in Nevada
“You’re going to Nevada? Maybe you’ll see a rattlesnake!” That’s what I kept hearing before I left for my Conservation and Land Management Internship in Carson City, Nevada. From the very first day of work we were out in the field for a range assessment. My first three-day trip exposed me to the beautiful scenery of western Nevada. My job requires me to get to know the vegetation; however I couldn’t help but notice all types of natives. While familiarizing myself with the flowering plants of the area to make note of future collection possibilities, lizards, jackrabbits and birds surrounded me. I photographed as many reptiles as flowers that first trip. On our third day in the field, I was participating in a noxious weed assessment near a creek in Bureau of Land Management pastureland. I was following behind a fellow intern when I spotted my first rattlesnake! I couldn’t help but jump when my eyes focused on the patterned back of this snake, but from a safe distance this rattlesnake was one cool creature. This was our last day in the field for the week and as we drove back to the office I couldn’t help but wonder what amazing things I will find in the weeks to come.

Lauren Shaffer
Carson City, Nevada