Time is flying by here in Idaho. I just entered by fifth and last full month of my internship at the BLM’s Jarbidge Field Office in Twin Falls. While the first few months were mostly consumed by plant identification while doing upland trend monitoring, the last month or so our crew has been able to do a variety of things such as conduct wetland inventories, monitor thermographs, help with riparian assessments, and conduct cattle compliance assessments. We even got the opportunity to put on hip boots and do some spotted frog monitoring.

Using a GPS to record qualitative information regarding the wetland.

Often times in order to reach a wetland site or a thermograph there is quite a bit of hiking involved. Last week I had the opportunity to travel to the farthest Southwestern portion of our field office to do wetland inventories, which required us to camp overnight. The hiking was strenuous for a flat-lander (Wisconsinite) like me but the views at the top of the canyons were absolutely worth it.

There’s me looking rather sheepish and exhausted after a long day of hiking the canyons behind me.

Our awesome view at dusk over Deep Creek Canyon.

My supervisor and I came across the skeletal remains of an elk. She carried it all the way out of the canyon on her shoulders!

The information and skills that I have learned throughout my internship so far have been invaluable. Even though there were days that I tested my physical limits, I can still say that I have truly enjoyed this internship and that the days that felt like “work” were few and far between.  I am so appreciative for this opportunity and for the connections I have made here at the BLM.

Friday marked the completion of my first full week as an intern with the BLM in Twin Falls, Idaho. Although the city of Twin Falls only has a population of roughly 46,000 it is bustling with activity and, in my opinion, has the atmosphere of a larger city. As soon as you get a mile or two out of the city limits the landscape is mainly made up of farm fields, cattle, and horses. The BLM’s Jarbidge Field Office, which includes the expanse of land that we will be conducting our field work on over the course of the internship, is desert dominated by Artemisia tridentata (Basin Big Sagebrush) with an under story of mixed grasses and forbs.

My view of the Jarbidge Mountains in Nevada while working out in the field.

The very first day on the job, my fellow interns and I were shown how to use the handheld GPS systems and spent time outside getting familiar with the types of plants that we will be working with. The next few days involved learning how to set up transects for the upland trend sites and how to calculate nested frequency.

The other main project that we will be working on will be monitoring Lepidium papilliferum (Slickspot Peppergrass), which is a rare forb that only occurs in a type of microhabitat called a slickspot. A slickspot is a small area containing silty clay soil that is flat, dry and cracked. On Thursday, we went to a spot that contains Lepidium papilliferum and were able to take pictures.

Mature Lepidium papilliferum

Lepidium papilliferum florets

Overall, I am amazed with how much I have learned already in the first week of my internship with the BLM and I am extremely excited to see what the next five months have in store for me here in Twin Falls, Idaho.