Staying true to my word, this is the 2^ndentry (the first was posted 12 October 2011) stating a couple of ways in which a career in conservation and land management have been satisfying my desire for variety in a job:

Cercis orbiculata (western redbud) seeds collected for SOS

• Tasks: The tasks I have been performing through my internship have been even more varied than the settings and conditions in which I work (refer to previous entry): collecting seeds and associated voucher specimens (which includes packaging and sending the seed as well as pressing and labeling the voucher specimens); identifying common plant species from which to collect seeds and monitoring these populations in order to collect the seeds when they are
  

  Collecting monitoring data for the federally endangered Ceanothus roderickii

  mature; recording rare plant monitoring data (transect, point intercept, plots, etc…sometimes while dodging poison oak!); developing spreadsheets for recordkeeping; conducting rare plant surveys; flagging rare plants and supervising an AmeriCorps team using chainsaws to cut down shrubs for a fuelbreak; distinguishing between male and female plants of the small dioecious rare bedstraw (also while trying to avoid poison oak);

  

  Stretching to find satellite reception with the GPS receiver

  operating GPS units to gather spatial data of both rare and invasive plant populations; making maps using ArcGIS; preparing website updates; engaging in trail maintenance; floating in a raft moving downstream to distribute cleaning supplies and toilet paper to composting toilets along the stream; meeting with neighbors to discuss fuel management concerns and solutions; removing yellow star thistle by hand or with a weed whacker; learning how to use a chainsaw; picking up trash; setting up a computer

• 

  A volunteer planting a propagated Ceanothus roderickii plant

  and projector for a public meeting at a community center or school; coordinating volunteer work days; participating in red-legged frog surveys and bird counts; shooting photos of our field work, plants, habitat, and human-inflicted disturbances/possible trespasses then labeling and organizing them; writing incident reports, press releases, annual reports, and blogs; designing a poster; revising brochures; creating and presenting presentations; guiding school students or adult members of the public on an

  

  Instructing middle school students about an oak woodland habitat

  educational hike through the Preserve; and more! I immensely appreciate that the diversity of specific jobs that need to be done require a well-rounded mix of physical activity, mental exercise, and social interaction.

• Job Opportunities: As an intern looking forward to a non-intern job, I can look in a variety of sectors (as long as I’m willing to be somewhat flexible and a bit broad-focused until I get a foot in the door and establish myself). In addition to federal agencies (such as the BLM), I can look for jobs at other government levels (state, county, city), in academia, in the business arena, with non-profit organizations, or other groups within the private sector.

Chaparral habitat of the Sierra Nevada foothills & the South Fork American River

As you can see (from ALL of these blogs posted by other CLM interns), a career in land management and conservation offers a wide range of jobs with a seemingly infinite variety of actual tasks to be completed…so if you get bored easily and need a job that is not routine, consider working in conservation and land management. To find out if this is something that you’ll enjoy, explore your options and take advantage of volunteer opportunities as well as apply for related summer jobs and internships…and check out the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Conservation & Land Management Internship Program!

In two previous entries (22 June 2011 & 30 Aug 2011), I shared about the “hits and misses of perceived desire,” or, in other words, the ways in which my pre-experience idea of and desire to work in a conservation and land management career matched and didn’t the reality of this career as well as how it fit and didn’t fit with my personality and the way I generally function in day to day life. One statement I made was “Perhaps the all-encompassing factor resulting in a match between my prior perception of land management and the reality of land management based on what I have been learning through first-hand observations and experiences has been the rich variety that accompanies this type of career.” And then I asked “So what kind of variety am I talking about? Sounds like a great topic for another blog entry…”

Here’s the 1^st of two entries sharing an area of variety in a conservation/land management career that I’ve discovered and have been enjoying…

Settings. I may be working inside or outside. Typically, indoor work involves the computer, but the tasks performed and the programs used are diverse. I have communicated with email, typed public meeting notes with Microsoft Word, established a record-keeping spreadsheet for our office’s SOS seed collections with Microsoft Excel, created presentations with Microsoft PowerPoint, designed brochures and a poster with Microsoft Publisher, uploaded photos and data from GPS units, and produce maps with ArcGIS; I have also coordinated volunteer work days.

“In the field” has encompassed a wide range of settings and conditions including but not limited to along trails through chaparral vegetation…and in the thick of it (accessed either by crawling or bushwhacking through the shrubs); oak woodlands, annual grasslands, and pine/cedar forest land; on a hilltop and in a valley…and the slopes in between; in the sun and in the shade; bearing with the heat or with the “cold” (these are definitely relative terms); mostly dry days but also some wet days; a backyard with a small group of concerned neighbors; a school gymnasium with eighty members of the public; and rafting down the South Fork of the American River.

People. I have had opportunities to work with a partner or team on a particular projects yet I have also been able to work independently on other assignments. The people I work with have included BLM-employees (preserve manager, biological science technician, botanist, wildlife biologist, directors of fuels management and fire, recreation planner, maintenance specialist), representatives of partnering organizations, volunteers (an undergrad student, members of the Shingle Springs TANF organization), and members of the public (neighbors to BLM land, users of BLM land, elementary students).

More to come in the near future…

Viewing an endangered plant species recently discovered in a new location (biological science technician, botanist, intern)

In a prior entry (22 June 2011), I wrote the following:

“Our eyes can deceive us. We may see something and develop a desire for it, but until we actually experience it, we cannot know if our desire is for what it is what we’ve actually seen OR if our desire if for what we have perceived that something to be based on our knowledge and past experiences. [Examples] It can be the same with a career. I grew up thinking I had wanted to be a teacher. After a few years of teaching high school biology, I learned that I love to teach but that my childhood desire of being a teacher by profession was based on an incomplete, experience-lacking perception. Through my CLM internship with the BLM, not only have I been learning both the hits and misses of my pre-experience perception of working in land management, but I am also learning how to adjust to the misses and capitalize on the hits.”

I continued to share how my perception of desiring a land management career had a couple of flaws as well as several misalignments with the way I typically “do work” and most effectively function. However, reality has also proven that not every part of my pre-experience perception of and associated career aspiration in land management was off base for me.

The most obvious hit is threefold: I perform “hands-on” tasks [1] involving nature (namely plants) [2] outside [3].

Planting a propagated Ceanothus roderickii (federal status is endangered; California state status is rare)

First of all, I appreciate and enjoy working directly with the land and the resources of the land. Although there are some things I refuse to touch because they are too gross, I love to get my hands dirty when it comes to plants and soil in natural habitats. I keep in shape by exercising 3-5 times a week so, in general, the physical activity required for managing land is attractive to me, especially after an office job in which I sat in front of a computer at a desk every day (some days I was glad for it; other days i got quite antsy). The physical activity involved ranges from crawling through tick-infested, thick chaparral vegetation as a means of surveying for rare plants to pulling yellow star thistle along trails, from tromping through poison oak or blackberry shrubs to monitoring plant populations and recording data, from hiking a mile or more to or through a project location to collecting seeds and voucher specimens.

Counting stems of Galium californicum ssp. sierrae (El Dorado bedstraw) (federal status is endangered; California state status is rare)

Secondly, I absolutely love working with nature and in nature. Nature never ceases to amaze me; there is always  more to learn and to understand in regards to biology, ecology, botany, genetics, conservation…and the list goes on. As for me, I’m hooked on plants: the anatomical and physiological adaptations of many fascinate me; the beauty of some captivate me. And the interactive complexities within the plant communities and the ecosystems in which they exist either puzzle me or astound me. When I participate in monitoring, sampling, or inventorying or any kind, I believe that I may be contributing to something important, not just collecting data for the sake of science but for the practical implementation of effective and adaptive land management. And there’s just something humbling and wholesome about working directly with the ground and plants which serve as foundations for our physical lives and the natural world as a whole.

South Fork American River flows through the Pine Hill Preserve

Thirdly, having an “office” in the “great outdoors” is definitely a plus (at least on most days). The “office” aesthetics are undeniably unbeatable. (Considering that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, this may not ring true for all. But really, who can create anything as incredible as nature?) And the health benefits of all that make the outdoors a low-stress (if not stress-free!) environment–including the fresh air, adequate space for moving around, calming sounds (i.e. leaves rustling in the wind, flowing streams, etc.), and breath-taking scenes–are a priceless perk.

Perhaps the all-encompassing factor resulting in a match between my prior perception of land management and the reality of land management based on what I have been learning through first-hand observations and experiences has been the rich variety that accompanies this type of career. It’s certainly not that I am unable to handle routine (on the contrary, I have the ability to focus on one task of a long time and strong relate to the structure of routine as i function most efficiently and effectively with logical order and organization); I just prefer to engage in more than one basic type of activity if I have the opportunity to do so.

So what kind of variety am I talking about? Sounds like a great topic for another blog entry…

One of the eight rare plant species at the Pine Hill Preserve: Helianthemum suffrutescens

To conclude, my pre-experience desire to serve in a conservation and land management career included both misperceptions and on-target expectations. Additionally, this type of career is not a perfect match to my personality and functionality, but I do enjoy the work and have a passion for the purposes and goals. I participate in projects for which I have been well-educated and trained (not to mention will continue to learn about because of my interest in botany, ecology, and conservation) and contribute to causes which matter to me while engaging myself physically, mentally, and socially. As long as I can manage around the “misses” (how this career clashes with my personality and functionality) and focus with a positive attitude on the “hits” (the reasons and ways this career does work for me), I’ll be doing just fine (if not great!) and believe I will achieve success in this career field.

View from South Fork American River Trail in Pine Hill Preserve

Our eyes can deceive us. We may see something and develop a desire for it, but until we actually experience it, we cannot know if our desire is for what it is what we’ve actually seen OR if our desire is for what we have perceived that something to be based on our knowledge and past experiences. For instance, a man may see a recliner in a furniture store and think it’s going to be the most comfortable chair to set in front of the tv at home, but until he sits in it and experiences the level of comfortability it provides, he doesn’t know if he really desires this particular chair. Or perhaps a woman sees a dessert and desires to eat it; unless she actually tastes the dessert, she cannot know if she desires exactly what she sees or if she desires what she perceives the taste of the dessert to be.

It can be the same with a career. I grew up thinking I had wanted to be a teacher. After a few years of teaching high school biology, I learned that I love to teach but that my childhood desire of being a teacher by profession was based on an incomplete, experience-lacking perception.

Through my CLM internship with the BLM, not only have I been learning both the hits and misses of my pre-experience perception of working in land management, but I am also learning how to adjust to the misses and capitalize on the hits.

Pulling YST (yellow star thistle) at Pine Hill Preserve

Generally my misses revolve around the nature of how I function, so to speak. For instance, I am a list person. I make lists of what I need to do and feel productive and successful if I can cross items off the list. Although land managers can regularly accomplish objectives, land management goals and projects are often long-term (multi-year). I am learning that I can leave a field at 4:30 even if I didn’t pull every yellow star thistle plant and that I can even cross “pull yellow star thistle” off my list, because there will always be more of it (or another invasive) to remove. And there will always be something new to add to the list tomorrow, next week, next month, next year (especially with adaptive land management!).

I also tend to work, hmmm, systematically? Or perhaps I should say I perform tasks in an “orderly” way, in an order that makes sense to me and motivates me to keep moving through my to-do list. For example, item #1 on the list should be crossed off before I begin #2. I can multi-task, but I am definitely wired to focus on one project at a time and fully immerse myself into it. My ability to focus, however, can negatively affect my time management skills. These characteristics do not usually jive with the nature of land management which frequently involves having multiple irons in the fire (several projects in the works) at a time. I am learning how to effectively prioritize and juggle land management tasks and projects and re-learning the importance of setting a deadline when no particular deadline has been set in order to keep me on task and not too focused on just one project.

Splashes of purplish-pink in the chaparral--Cercis occidentalis (western redbud) during spring

Being a planner may be the most challenging characteristic that requires some adjusting for me. I like to plan out my days and weeks, I like to know what I’m doing when I show up to work for the day; knowing what is ahead helps me manage time and accomplish tasks more efficiently. (And I can be sure to put on the appropriate attire for the field or for the office.) However, managing land is about working within the natural system, and natural systems are variable in their cycles and how they respond to environmental conditions. A land manager often can aim to complete a project by a particular date, but the “deadlines” sometimes serve more as “guidelines” due to factors that are beyond the control of a land manager. (With all the interconnectedness of their individual parts, ecosystems don’t always function as systematically or predictably as we would like them to.) Moreover, the role of a federal land manager extends beyond managing land; it’s about working with people—educating the public about the resources of the land, organizing and facilitating outreach events, coordinating with partners to accomplish large management goals, communicating progress with funders as well as the state and national offices, maintaining the land according to the allowable uses (i.e. hiking, biking, grazing, hunting) and dealing with the unfortunate abuses (i.e. trash dumpings, trespasses). I am learning to be patient and flexible, to go with the flow, to keep a list of alternative tasks to do if “the plan” falls through, to respond to the changing circumstances—the weather (rain?!), species biology (it’s not fruiting yet?), and/or concerns involving members of the public (fuel breaks between homes and BLM land is a critical priority; trespass issues are also important to deal with in a timely manner).

Calystegia stebbinsii (Stebbin's morning-glory), a federally listed plant, intertwined with Adenostoma fasciculatum (chamise)

The upside of the unpredictability associated with planning is that there is always a plethora of management activities that can be done—from writing reports to picking up trash, from coordinating volunteers to monitoring populations, from creating a brochure to leading a hike for members of the public—there will always be something else to do if the plans fall through. For a planner like me, the downsides have included not wearing the appropriate attire, leaving my lunch and/or extra water at the office not realizing that I would not be returning to the office until mid- to late afternoon, and finishing work later than expected and having to shift evening plans.

I know it’s sounding like my desire to pursue a career in conservation and land management was way off, based solely on misperceptions or ignorance…perhaps I had desired what I formerly perceived and lacked the experience to verify my perception. Hold on, not so fast. There are definitely some hits, too. But I’ll save them for another day…stay tuned!

View of Sierra Nevada Mountains from Pine Hill

When I moved to El Dorado Hills back in May, I had no idea if I would still be in California during the Christmas season…yet here I am. My experience as an intern for the Pine Hill Preserve (BLM Mother Lode Field Office) has offered me a plethora of opportunities to learn a wide range of management strategies, become familiar with a variety of plant species, and network with individuals from other organizations who are working from different directions toward the same goals as my mentor who is the manager of Pine Hill Preserve. During these past six-plus months I have been fortunate to be involved in various aspects of conservation and land management. In short, I have been involved in accomplishing something good. More specifically, I have…

• gotten on my hands and knees in oak woodland habitat where poison oak is present to take pictures of and use a hand lens to identify male and female plants of the dioecious plant Galium californicum ssp. sierrae, a rare and federally endangered plant in the Pine Hill Preserve;
  

  Conducting point transect monitoring for Ceanothus roderickii

• recorded and organized data for as well as photographed several rare plant monitoring projects–counted reproductive structures as well as measured height and diameter of Calystegia stebbinsii plants; conducted point and line transects to see how non-native shrub removal affected the growth of the rare Ceanothus roderickii; counted stems and reproductive structures of the rare Wyethia reticulata to determine effects of masticating equipment and chip deposition on its growth and population size; counted stems and estimated % cover of shrubs in a G. californicum ssp. sierrae habitat; measured C. roderickii cover along transects within plots to monitor its response to shrub removal;
• surveyed proposed fuelbreaks for the presence of rare plants such as Fremontodendron californicum ssp. decumbens and Iris hartwegii;
• collected seeds for the SOS program–a total of 17 collections of 13 different species (including 2 fleshy fruits);
• operated a GPS receiver to map the locations of SOS seed collection populations, rare plants and weed populations in the field;
• created maps using ArcGIS of SOS seed collections;
  

  Pulling Centaurea solstitialis (yellow star thistle)

• pulled yellow star thistle and tocalote in multiple locations;
• edited, revised, and reformatted a rough draft of an educational brochure about the Pine Hill Preserve and its rare plants that has now been printed and are available to the public;
• created and presented a PowerPoint presentation about the Pine Hill Preserve to leaders of a group interested in organizing monthly service days with the Preserve;
• participated in a couple of volunteer work days to lay jute matting and straw wattles to prevent soil erosion along a new trail;
• introduced two girl scout members to some of the plants of Pine Hill Preserve by showing them the plants in the field (As a community service project, they will be creating educational childrens’ activity pages about the Preserve to post on the Preserve’s website.);
• assisted with public meetings–in office preparations such as making sure the projector worked and making signs, setting up the meeting room, taking meeting notes, and cleaning up–regarding the community-based process to develop a management plan for Kanaka Valley, a newly acquired parcel of land;
  

  Viewing a relative of Calystegia stebbinsii

• saw a potentially new species or subspecies of the rare plant Calystegia stebbinsii;
• picked up trash on public land to keep the land safe, healthy, and attractive;
• and posted signs to inform the public of land use rules and upcoming public meetings.

 As I near the end of my experience as a CLM intern, I look forward with confidence in the knowledge and skills I have gained through this internship at the BLM Mother Lode Field Office that I will be an effective employee for any federal, state, county or private agency whose primary aim is to manage our public lands and protect our natural ecosystems. There is much to be done in terms of biological and ecological research and land management, especially in the face of continuing development of communities, industries, transportation infrastructures, and major energy projects.

Pine Hill Preserve in summer

Before I entered this career field, I was very aware that conservation and preservation of our natural resources and ecosystems could not be accomplished by just one; it requires the contributions of many. However, that does not mean the power of one cannot positively influence conservation effort. My internship experiences have bolstered my belief of the following mindset: Just because one person cannot accomplish everything that needs to be done does not mean that one person cannot accomplish something good…and something good is far better than nothing at all.