I feel extremely privileged to have had the opportunity to take part in the CLM internship and work for the Burns District Bureau of Land Management.

Not only has my knowledge of land management and conservation increased ten-fold, but I now better understand what it is like to work for a federal agency. In regards to skills, I now know how to better operate a GPS, ID flora and fauna of the West, make maps on ArcGIS, navigate rough terrain, conduct Step-Point and Pace 180 vegetation surveys, conduct Multiple Indicator Monitoring on streams and riparian areas, understand rangeland health management, and comprehend and write a cumulative impacts analysis for a NEPA document.

Being immersed in both a different culture and professional work environment was both challenging and rewarding. I learned how to interact with a variety of people with different environmental experiences and, consequently expanded my opinions and perspectives of environmental issues. I feel more rounded and informed on environmental topics and I know I can make better conservation and land management decisions from my time at the Burns BLM.

I am going to sorely miss all of my Burns BLM coworkers- for all of the laughs we shared and for truly making me feel welcome- I cannot thank them enough for that.

And thank you to Krissa and Rebecca and all of the other CLM folk, for setting up such a beneficial internship program for recent graduates!

Megan Hoff
Burns District BLM

Jessica and me hiking at the Newberry National Volcanic Monument! I’m going to miss my fellow CLM coworkers!

Living on the farm was also one of the most memorable aspects of this summer.

The last few weeks have been a conglomeration of different activities at the Burns District BLM.

In the earlier part of this month, we conducted a botanical clearance on 3 potential well sites. An inventory of the current plants was needed to determine if any special status species (SSS) were located on these sites. If this proved to be the case, the disturbance from the construction of a well could potentially be detrimental to the SSS habitat.

Later in the month, we conducted riparian photo monitoring. That is, we located different photo points along streams using GPS coordinates. After we hiked to these locations, we had to document the site condition, which included noting the greenline vegetation composition, soil characteristics, grazing patterns (i.e. livestock usage, wildlife foraging intensity), etc. Next, we had to take an upstream photo as well as a downstream photo that replicated the photos taken from previous years. The purpose of this is to juxtapose the current site condition against previous years’ and to determine whether or not current management decisions are fostering riparian ecological health. Accessing some of these photo trend sites has proven to be a challenge at times, as the streams are oftentimes located at the base of canyons.  Nevertheless, it has been a fun activity and truly refreshing to be around water!

A floodplain of one of the riparian sites we visited.

Another riparian site we visited. It has a dense overstory cover of Salix sp. and Juniperus sp.

Today and tomorrow we are auditing a two day NEPA training class called: Cumulative Effects Analysis: Concepts, Methods, and Applications. Having done research on DEIS information and environmental quality ratings in college, it has been fascinating to see the thought processes of the government workers writing the documents. It has also verified that the same conclusions we surmised as to why the ratings have worsened over time (lack of standardization between field offices, the subjective nature of NEPA guidelines, the lack of experience because of quick worker turnovers) were recognized by the government workers as ongoing problems in the NEPA process. In addition, working on a live Environmental Assessment (EA) has offered me optimal experiential learning as a BLM employee. I’m looking forward to completing the workshop tomorrow!

Only 2 weeks left in Burns! The time has flown by.

Megan Hoff
Burns District Bureau of Land Management

During the last month and a half, we have been wrapping up our ESR monitoring and doing data entry. Looking back, I have learned an enormous amount over the course of my internship. My knowledge of the Bureau of Land Management-as it encompasses public land management -has increased ten-fold. I now believe that I have a more holistic approach to land conservation and management. In particular, my knowledge has augmented in the subjects of fire ecology, riparian monitoring, and rangeland management.

Monitoring at the fire sites, I now understand the multilateral characteristics of fire, as it relates to ecological integrity; fire is an inherent part of the sagebrush steppe ecosystem. However, as an ecological tool, fire has become detrimental to the rangeland. Overarchingly, the invasion of annual grasses, most notably medusa head rye and cheat grass, has displaced native vegetation, and has subsequently increased the fine fuel load. In addition, the extensive drought that has plagued the West has amplified the fine fuel load, as annual invasive plants are more competitive than native vegetation in drought conditions. Consequently, this makes the landscape extremely flammable. A management technique to combat this has been to intensify grazing, which reduces the fine fuel load. Yet, this must be done in a sustainable methodology, so are to preserve the integrity of the plants, especially given the drought conditions.

Moreover, we have learned how to conduct riparian monitoring using the Multiple Indicator Monitoring (MIM) of stream channels and streamside vegetation. This included measuring the greenline to greenline width, documenting what species were in the greenline, what tree species were in the canopy, and what different size substrate was found across the steam channel. I had never done this before, so this was entirely new and fascinating to me. We also had the opportunity to help out with a riparian construction project where we amended head cuts in a stream, so as to raise the water table. To do so, we laid out boulders in a methodical way, which should hopefully catalyze the buildup of sediment. This, in turn, over time, raises the stream back up to the original flood plain level, as head cuts erode streams, making them deeper. I hope to do more riparian monitoring during the remainder of my internship!

Our riparian head cut project!

I have been pleasantly busy these last few weeks traveling for work and leisure. In late June, one of my roommate and I went to Bend, OR to attend a Grass ID workshop hosted by the Carex Working Group. During this two day workshop, I learned about grass morphology in order to better identify grasses! In addition, we were supplied with a comprehensive grass key of Oregon and Washington, which has been much desired by my fellow interns and me during our vegetation surveys.

Identifying grasses on a rocky hill as part of our Grass ID workshop.

Moreover, I have made several trips for work to a ranger cabin that is located two hours away in Fields, Oregon- a town that has a population of 8 people. However, Fields has world-famous milkshake, so, naturally, I love going there. We have continued our ES&R (emergency stabilization and rehabilitation) vegetation monitoring on fire rehab sites in Fields. A lot of the trend sites are inaccessible via a rig, necessitating the use of a UTV, which is a blast to ride on. Even though I have been here for over two months, I am still astonished by the vastness of open land.

Unloading the UTV at the allotment where we will have to do trend.

The Fourth of July weekend I went backpacking for my first time! A group of friends and I went to the Strawberry Mountains and did a two day, 18 mile loop up and down the mountain. It was the most beautiful hike I had ever been on! The landscape alternated between conifer forests and rocky alpine hillsides covered with wildflowers, many of which I could identify! We even hiked past snow! I’m not really used to camping yet, but I’m getting the hang of it.

Backpacking in the Strawberries!

The weekend after we made a trip to the Oregon Country Fair in Eugene, OR- a town that is known for its wackiness. Never before had I seen so many different flavors of people and forms of expression. The fair was nestled in a forest on a winding path, and it was set up almost like a craft fair, with rows upon rows of booths of handmade, sustainable items. Afterwards, we traveled to the coast of Oregon. The beaches there are unlike any that I had ever been to; cold, windy, cloudy, sea-salt mist choking the air, conifer forests running adjacent to the white sand beaches, and dark, cold water. It was hauntingly beautiful! We went at high tide to see the famous landmark: Thor’s Well. At low tide we went back to check out all of the tide pools. I felt like a child as I ran from pool to pool, squealing at all of the sea organisms. I feverously tickled every lime green sea anemone I could find, watching them curl up in anticipation of food. In addition, there were royal purple sea urchins, hermit crabs, regular crabs, chitins, barnacles, mussels, limpets, and snails. My favorite was all of the starfish, which ranged in colors (from deep pink to pale yellow to orange) and sizes.

Thor’s Well!

I’m excited for what is in store for the rest of my stay in Burns! We anticipate starting our riparian monitoring within the next month, which I am entirely enthused about!

Until next time,

Megan Hoff

Burns, OR BLM

I love my new job working at the Burns Bureau of Land Management in Burns, OR. The people at the BLM as well as the people in Harney County are unbelievably friendly. However, moving from the densly populated city of Chicago to the rural high desert of Burns has been somewhat of a culture shock. First off, cowboys DO exist! I thought that the American West was a romantic historic notion; never did I think it was still alive and well, especially in Oregon!

My first week working at the BLM, I tagged along on a Rangeland health monitoring with an ID team. We took the big government trucks and drove through hundreds of acres of Sagebrush country into these remote locations. Once there, we looked at the plants in different ecological sites to determine the health of the rangeland and its fire susceptibility. This is done using different ecological indicators. Never before had I see such unique flora! The desert shrubs and forbs are so beautiful and small! That same week, I was able to accompany two BLM employees in an ATV to do a fish liberation in one of the stock ponds on their allotments. While we cruised into the mountains, a buck pronghorn antelope raced us- I felt like I was in Africa! When we got to the pond, we were really cold so we made a fire while the fish acclimated to the water.

I’m working 10 hour days, 4 days a week so I have 3 day weekends, which is great because that means I can travel to other places on the weekends! I’m living on a farm, and every morning I wake up and I see the horses outside of my window, which is quite different than seeing and hearing thousands of cars and people like in Chicago. And there are also cows, goats, donkeys, and a llama. Oh and there are two adorable barn cats that require an impossible amount of attention.

Two weeks later and I have finished my field work training with my new roommates! What I essentially have to do is go to these fire rehabilitation sites, and survey what kind of plants are growing back. They have a lot of wild fires here because it is so dry; millions of acres burn at a time! And global climate change has exacerbated this. Therefore, the fires are burning longer than they ever have before, and at a much higher intensity. Invasive species, such as cheat grass and medusa head, are also contributing to this, making the landscape more flammable. After a fire, my roommates and I come in and we do a survey called the Line-Point intercept and the Pace 180. First, we set up a photo plot and take photos in all 4 cardinal directions, which gives us a visual of the current area to juxtapose year by year. Next, we walk 50 paces. For each pace, we drop a flag, and whichever plants the flag touches, we have to identify and mark down. We repeat this for 50 spaces, walk 10 paces to our left, and then repeat the same methodology back for 50 paces. This gives us an unbiased sample of the vegetation composition! And based on this, you can determine what plants are making a comeback after the fire. If the species composition is diverse and native, the current land management techniques the BLM are using is working. If the species composition is homogeneous and has a lot of invasive species, then the current land management techniques are not working and they need to be modified. So it’s cool! Oftentimes, we drive at least 2 hours to get to our field sites. And there, you can see for miles and miles. It looks like a landscape picture. The landscape is usually dotted with cows and antelope. But it does get boring after a while, especially since the drought here has curtailed the wild flower season. I do miss the green of the forest in Illinois. Nothing is quite as green and lush here as it is there- but I am in the high desert after all!

Until next time!

Megan
Burns District Bureau of Land Management

Rangeland Health Monitoring in Sagebrush Country!

Desert Cushion Buckwheat

Desert Indian Paintbrush

Bitter root

Alvord Desert

Trout fishing!