It’s the last day of my CLM Botany Internship with the Groveland Ranger District, and time has flown by. It’s been a pleasure to spend the past 5 1/2 months working on the Stanislaus National Forest.
I arrived in Groveland at the tail end of the field season and jumped on board with an awesome all-lady botany crew. My coworkers were extraordinary mentors for me- helping me get into the groove of field work in a new environment and showing me what the job entailed in terms of day to day tasks. I performed noxious weed and sensitive plant surveys for a number of projects in the Groveland Ranger District and have had the opportunity to foster many new skills.
Seeing as I began my position here long after a majority of the plants we were surveying for were fully senescent, I’ve become somewhat of a master at what I have deemed “forensic botany”. One of my goals coming into this job was to become more competent working with GIS software, and the last few months have provided ample learning opportunities. I have become well acquainted with the flora on Staunislaus National Forest, and have been able to partake in many adventures both on and off of the job.
The following photos are some highlights:
Sunrise over the Rim of the World – Groveland, CA
Smoke plume from a fire that sparked up during the early days of my internship.
An overcast day on the Stanislaus National Forest
Old growth Quercus kelloggii (black oak) – DBH = 79in.
Crown of another old growth Quercus kelloggii (black oak)
Base of old growth Quercus kelloggii (black oaks) DBH = 72in.
Lamprocaphus spectablilis (bleeding heart). One of the few plants I was lucky enough to witness in bloom.
Coprinus comatus (shaggy mane).
Thousands of ladybugs!
Cooling of in the Tuolumne River during a weed treatment rafting trip.
One of my coworkers attempting to navigate through a sea of manzanita.
A field of the noxious weed Centaurea melitensis (tocalote) documented while surveying the El Portal Dozer Line.
Noxious weed Sisymbium altissimum (tumble mustard) population.
Clarkia biloba ssp. australis (mariposa clarkia), one of the more common sensitive plants encountered during botany surveys.
Remnants of Balsamorhiza macrolepis var. macrolepis (big-scale balsamroot) – one of the sensitive plants that we surveyed for.
Can you spy the Balsamorhiza macrolepis var. macrolepis (big-scale balsamroot)?
One of the spectacles along Evergreen Road.
The following photos are from stochastic adventures I’ve been able to go off on during my weekends. Such fun!
Sunset on the way up to the Incredible Hulk – Sawtooth Ridge
Sunspot Dihedral on the Incredible Hulk – Sawtooth Ridge
A pair of ravens after a storm in Yosemite Valley
A view of the sunrise on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park
Edging and smearing on the Burning Arches pitches of ‘The Arsonist’ on Fairview Dome -Tuolumne Meadows
Wrapping up the final pitch of Sons of Yesterday in Yosemite Valley
Thank you to CLM and the Groveland Botany Crew for a great field season!