Well, it’s already the 22nd of September, and we are wrapping things up here in Boise, Idaho.  The pressed specimens need to be affixed to their respective pieces of paper, and the labels need to be typed, printed, and glued in place nicely.  In addition to this exhilarating office task, we have been entering, analyzing, and organizing the data required for a GIS layer that will have points for every Habitat Assessment Framework (HAF) transect for our field office that has been entered into our Access database since the beginning of time.  This has proven to be a bit tedious, but rewarding once we looked at the (almost) complete Excel file ready to be converted to a practical, all-encompassing GIS layer.  Well that sure was boring; let’s look at some pictures of some stuff  that relates to the bad title that only fans of The Decemberists will (maybe) understand.  Here are some hazards that we have faced with poise and bravery throughout our rather varied internship:

Watch out for those arm spikes!!! (not to mention the invasive medusahead!)

Always make sure to take a drink of water before you start looking similar to this guy.

Always make your best effort to avoid getting run-over….this poor guy didn’t fare quite so well in the rather dangerous parking lot at our office.

That’s a fairly large rattlesnake.

That’s a scary dog.

That’s a smaller rattlesnake hiding under an Arrowleaf balsamroot only making him(or her)self known by rattling.

Now don’t sell this guy short…just think how hazardous it would be to step on this guy with no shoes on. OUCH.

…and those, my friends, are The Hazards of Work as presented by The Septemberists.

Thanks for reading and until next(the final) time.

Dan King

Four Rivers Field Office – BLM – Boise, ID

Hello again my fellow CLM interns and CLM blog readers!  My internship is now well-over halfway through, bringing both excitement to move on to new places and new things and slight dread regarding moving away from the friendships I’ve made and fun I’ve had in Boise.  I think that my last 2 posts efficiently covered the seed collections and habitat assessments that we have been doing over the past 3 months, so I shall instead write about other things we have had the opportunity to experience/help out with.

Given Boise, Idaho’s 5 hour proximity to Bend, Oregon, we were able to personally deliver our last batch of seeds to the Bend Seed Extractory.  The assistant manager there,  Sarah, was kind enough to give us a tour of the facility and even demonstrate some of the equipment used for seed cleaning and separation.  It amazes me how few people work at the extractory, given the quantities of seed they must process.  Many of the collections they receive are somewhat new to them, so they must use the process of trial and error to determine the best combination of equipment and settings to extract, separate, and clean the seeds.  The top photo is of an anti-gravity machine that pumps air up from the bottom like an air hockey table to elevate the seeds and then shakes back and forth at a slight angle to separate heavier and lighter materials.  The seeds are slowly pushed off the end of the table, and the adjustable wooden wedges are used to direct the different weight classes into different bins.  Pretty cool!

Anti-Gravity Seed Separation Machine

Gradient of pure seeds at the top and unwanted material at the bottom

Samples of seed collections from our field office last summer

Another day was spent accompanying some BLM employees from the Washington D.C. office and Idaho State office on a tour of the Intermountain Bird Observatory/Research Station.  We helped the researchers check their mist nets for songbirds every 30 minutes during their 5 hours after sunrise shift.  The birds are all identified, tagged if they aren’t already, measured, aged, and inspected for parasites and overall health.  Everything is then recorded, and the birds are set free to go about their daily activities.

Colorful individual ready for release

Too content to fly away

One of the many mist nets in the area

Thanks for reading!

Dan King

BLM – Four Rivers Field Office – Boise, ID

Greetings again from Idaho!  It has now been just over 2 months since my internship partner, Emile, and I have been transplanted to Boise.  We have worked around the Four Rivers Field Office long enough to have seen some pretty seedy areas.  Sometimes working with the BLM feels a little like working for the IRS because we are trying to minimize plant taxonomy evasion.  But all puns aside, if there is any doubt of the quality of the CLM internship program, I can personally voucher for the skills and experience gained through work related to the Seeds of Success program.

Since my last post, we have made multiple collections of primarily Elymus elymoides (Squirreltail bunchgrass) and Eriogonum heracleoides (Wyeth Buckwheat).  We also attempted to make a few collections of both Festuca idahoensis (Idaho Fescue bunchgrass) and Pseudoroegneria spicata (Bluebunch Wheatgrass), but unfortunately not enough of the seed pods were fertile to make the collections worthwhile.

Feeling like hunters with our fresh kills lined up in the bed of our truck

In addition to our work related to the Seed of Success program, we have also had the opportunity to help with other projects around our field office and others in the area.  One such project was monitoring “Species of Special Concern” in the Bruneau Field Office.  The species we were looking for was Astragalus yoder-williamsii, a rare milkvetch found primarily in Idaho and Nevada.  We located and analyzed 2 populations that hadn’t been monitored since 1992.  The plant itself is quite small (less than 8 inches wide/long and less than 4 inches tall) but seems quite tough; it was growing most densely in and along the dirt roads in the area.

Astragalus yoder-williamsii

Astragalus yoder-williamsii peaking out from beneath a savory pie

Idaho has also proven to have spectacular hiking, camping, and backpacking opportunities.  My first visit to the Sawtooth Wilderness a few weekends ago was amazing.  From camping along the Salmon River, to hiking to and swimming in freezing-cold, snowmelt-filled Sawtooth Lake, and relaxing on the bank of Redfish Lake, the Sawtooth wilderness weekend was a great one.  A subsequent hike in the Boise National Forest to Blue Lake and three rocky peaks surrounding it was also beautiful and memorable.

Beautiful Sawtooth Lake!

Beautiful Alpine Lake!

Beautiful Redfish Lake!

Beautiful Blue Lake!

Thanks for reading/looking! Until next blog,

Dan King – signing off

BLM – Four Rivers Field Office – Boise, ID

My internship situation is quite different than many in the CLM program.  Having been born and raised in the country about 10 miles outside of the ‘city’ of Grants Pass, Oregon and then going to school at Oregon Tech (about 4000 students) in the ‘city’ of Klamath Falls, Oregon (twenty-something thousand people), I have little-to-no big city experience. Getting stationed in Boise, Idaho meant that for my internship I was going to be living in a city far more populated than anywhere I had lived before.  Boise has a population of more than 200,000 with a metropolitan area population of close to 700,000.  I feel lucky to have found a relatively inexpensive apartment ideally located between, and easily within biking distance of the BLM office and downtown.  I moved in about a week before my start date of May 18.

As expected, the first week was largely spent on training, introductory information/preparation, and getting acquainted with BLM processes and locations.  After the first 3 weeks, we had already collected vouchers for Eriogonum heracleoides (wyeth buckwheat), Eriogonum sphaerocephalum (rock buckwheat), Pseudoroegneria spicata (bluebunch wheatgrass), Elymus elymoides (squirreltail), Festuca idahoensis (Idaho fescue), and likely a few others whose names escape me at the present moment.  We have also made 3 seed collections: Balsamorhiza sagittata (arrowleaf balsamroot), Crepis occidentalis (western hawksbeard), and Lomatium triternatum (nineleaf biscuitroot). Enough plant names already!

Here’s me assessing the buggy-ness of some seeds

In addition to feeling lucky about my housing situation and location, I am also very thankful for the great people that I get to work with.  The three of us get along very well, and I think there is a pretty great group dynamic between all of us.

Emile (my internship partner) and Joe (our mentor)

Our mentor Joe is actually a wildlife biologist, so we aren’t solely focusing on plants and/or seeds.  We have also been doing some habitat assessments, some of which have been in extremely beautiful and remote areas a few hours outside Boise.

Approaching the top of the first ridge on one of our beautiful and steep hikes

Because many of our drives are 2 hours or more from the office, camping near sampling sites is a good way to maximize work hours spent on collecting data and minimize those spent in the truck.  We spent 2 nights and three days based at this inviting spot, central to a few habitat assessment sites.

My hammock tent in an Aspen grove  near a creek

After three weeks in the field, we headed off to Chicago for a week of training with about 62 other interns.  There was some great information at the workshop, and Chicago has many fun and interesting things to offer.  In an effort to keep this post concise and interesting, I will finish it off with a few of my favorite photos.

Picturesque Lewisia

Pollinators rock!

A species of Blues enjoying some Eriogonum umbellatum

Some fritillaries enjoying more sulphur buckwheat

Lark sparrow nest hidden under an Eriogonum elatum plant

A super-sweet caterpillar

Nature’s neat!

Thanks for reading/looking!  To all of you who I met, I say hello again, and I look forward to reading your posts.  To anyone stationed near Boise or planning a trip near here in the next 5 months, don’t hesitate to look me up if you want to do something or need a place to stay for a few nights.

Cheers,

Dan King

CLM Intern – BLM Boise, ID