Hello from the Jarbidge Field Office in Twin Falls Idaho! Springtime has arrived and so have the young plants and animals. Because of this, the monitoring season is starting up again and the race is on to monitor all the forbs and grasses possible before the hot summer sun dries them all up. Unfortunately, southern Idaho is experiencing very dry conditions already this year, making our job as a monitoring crew much more difficult. However, we have excellent mentors and leaders who will help us to efficiently completely all the required sites for this season.

Along with monitoring plant populations we have learned important skills such as using Trimble units and Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. We have also experienced some adventures already including muddy two-tracks and sudden snow storms. I even managed to find an elk shed while walking a transect! As mentioned before, it is always enjoyable to see the young calves and other baby critters running around the desert. It’s pretty hard to beat the weather in southern Idaho right now, the mixture of cool nights and warm afternoons make for an awesome work day in the field. Being a local in this part of Idaho, I am fairly accustomed to the hot summer sun that burns through most of July and August and I can see why the forbs choose not to be out during this time! Like most deserts however, the Jarbidge Field Office is full of diversity and its own set of unique plant species that thrive all year long. I truly believe that this landscape is one of the most beautiful and underrated places on earth.

I can already tell that this summer will be full of great experiences and invaluable knowledge I will need for a career in natural resource management. Like my crew lead always says, “Every day in the field is an adventure!”

So long from Twin Falls! Good luck on all your internships!

Hello from Twin Falls Idaho!
After my first month and a half of this internship I am proud to say that Habitat Assessment Framework (HAF) sites for sage-grouse are completed! We as a monitoring crew worked very hard performing these monitorings. We oftentimes camped out in order to complete all of the HAF sites we needed to before it became too hot and dry in the Southern Idaho Summer! Monitoring these HAF sites was a very dilligent and sometimes tedious endeavour. For these HAF sites we measured the point-cover and perrenial forb densities of two 50M transects located 90 degrees from each other. Many of the sites that needed to be monitored were located in rather remote locations and required us to walk over a mile just to reach them. I am very proud of the monitoring crew that I am on for being able to complete these sites before the perrenial forbs dried up. The experience and knowledge that I gained by monitoring these sites is invaluable and will help me to understand more of what a job in natural resources requires.

We as a monitoring crew will now be performing wetland inventory and riparian monitoring. I am looking forward to learning more about where water is available in this desert landscape and learning about the various species that exist in these types of habitats.

Throughout this internship I have gained so much understanding of just how delicate yet adaptable our wildlands are. By being in direct contact with our rangelands I feel like I can understand the effects of different elements on our environment and what we can do to manage them.

Until later,

Holt Bright

Hello from Idaho! This is my last blog for the year and I’m sad to be done. I am so grateful for this opportunity and I hope that I can be a part of this program again next year. I have learned so much from this internship and I know that the skills I have learned throughout this experience will help me in my future careers. I have learned so much more about the types of jobs in natural resources and conservation and have learned many new things about the importance of conservation. Everyday was an adventure and I always had new experiences that helped me better understand what sort of occupation I would like to pursue as well as gain the knowledge I will need in order to be successful later in life. I am very grateful for my crew members and my mentor. From the very beginning, they showed me the ropes and introduced me to all of the skills and procedures necessary to perform our monitoring effectively. They were very good teachers and friends and I would not be as far ahead in this internship if it was not for them. Thanks again for everything CLM program, I hope to back again next year.

Hello from Twin Falls Idaho! these past two months of this internship have been a great learning experience for me. I have learned so many skills that I will be useful for me in the future when I am looking for a career. The crew has
helped me in more ways than I can imagine without them I would have no idea what I was doing or if I was doing it correctly. Just last week we explored all over the field office and as a result we traveled down to the Bruneu River Wilderness and looked for the Bruneu River Phlox which only grows in this area along steep cliff walls. However, in order to get to the river we had to take a grueling 3 hour drive through the entire field office which eventually led to the Bruneu River Cherrystem which is as steep and rocky of a road as you can get. After taking some pictures from the top of the canyon we descended the slope and made it to the river. We all put on our life jackets and waded downstream to look for the elusive phlox. The life jackets were necessary in order to cross the deeper holes. However, after looking all day we could not find any sign of the phlox and we had to head back home. It was a great trip and I’m glad I got to see more of the area I am working and still find ways to enjoy this type of work. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to work through the CLM program and I know that all of this hard work and experience will pay off.

I just started my internship in the CLM program on 06/18/2013. I got a crash course in monitoring when our crew camped out for three days at Buck Flat Well to monitor HAF sites and trends. I’ve already learned so much from everyone and I learn new things everyday. I’m still very lost when it comes to naming different grasses, forbs, and shrubs, but with practice I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it in no time. Through this internship, I’ve learned that there is so much out there for people to learn about and study that most people take for granted. Before being a part of this monitoring crew I can remember thinking that all the grasslands and shrublands in Idaho were the same. Now I know that there are big differences in the species diversity just between two pastures. I’m very grateful for this internship and I know that my experiences will only get better with time.