Six months ago, I had never even visited a desert, never experienced 110°F+ temperatures, and never heard of Needles, CA. I did have a B.A. in biology, some field experience, and a willingness to learn new things outside my comfort zone. My main goal when I accepted this internship was to gain field experience and skills that would help advance my career. I definitely checked those boxes during my time at the BLM Needles Field Office.

The most surprising thing to me when I first came to the Mojave was how alive it all was. I’d always thought of deserts as dry, sanding places with a few straggly tumbleweeds. And maybe a lizard or two. In reality, the Mojave supports tons of flora and fauna—some of which I had never even heard of. Case in point: ocotillo.

Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens)

Ultimately, I’m really glad I accepted this internship. It gave me the opportunity to gain field experience within a government agency in an ecosystem that was completely different from anywhere I had ever been before. If you’re considering applying to the program, I definitely think you should go for it.

Advice for future interns:

As with any new experience, what you get out of it ultimately depends on you—your willingness to learn new skills, your openness to new ideas or ways of doing things, and your outlook on the internship at large.

Remember that you are part of something bigger. You may sometimes question whether what you’re doing actually matters, or you might feel like you’re not doing enough. Trust me, it matters. You may only make a few seed collections or map a small percentage of populations during your field season, but you are just one of many people doing that same thing in different places throughout the country over a period of several years. Any seeds or information or whatever it is that you can deliver during that time is adding to the overall seedbank or scientific knowledge. Don’t undersell that. Be proud.

Drink water. Lots of water. Lots and lots of water. And wear sunblock. And a hat.

Your fellow interns are your friends. If you’re lucky enough to be stationed somewhere with other interns, use that support system—especially if you’re in an isolated area like Needles.

Perspective is everything. If you start an internship and it doesn’t quite meet your original expectations, that doesn’t mean that you made a mistake or that you’re wasting your time. It just means that your internship will be a little different than what you thought it would be.

Don’t let the clicking creosote bushes scare you. It’s just a grasshopper.

Happy Trails

Jessica Samuelson

BLM Needles Field Office

So there I was,in the heart of the Mojave Desert, minding my own business searching for rare plants. When I heard a sound. At first I tried to convince myself it was just the hum of power lines, but no. It wasn’t a hum–it was more of a click, and it seemed to be emanating from the nearest creosote bush (Larrea tridentata). Actually, now that I was listening for it, I realized that most of the creosote bushes around me clicking away as well. A number of explanations floated through my mind: sentient trees, maybe I’d finally found my way into Narnia, bowtruckles, dehydration?, maybe my field partner was punking me, or it could be an insect.

Occcam’s Razor states that the simplest explanation is the most likely, so while I was really hoping for Narnia, I decided to go with the idea of an insect. To test my theory, I picked up a rock and threw it at the bush. I expected a grasshopper or something to hop away and that would be that. However, rather than silencing the creosote or scaring away an insect, my actions caused a renewed volley of even louder clicks. Great, just great–I made it angry.

Fascinated, I grabbed another rock. A little further experimentation confirmed that the initial result held true for the bushes in the immediate surrounding area. At that point, my field partner Kate found me accosting the local flora and demanded an explanation. Without any further details to go on, we did what any self-respecting millennial would do–we Googled it.

According to Google, the most likely sources of the mysterious clicking were Desert Clicker grasshoppers (Ligurotettix coquilletti). Apparently, a male Clicker will likely spend most of its adult life on a single creosote bush. They are extremely territorial for both feeding and mating purposes–the word on the web is that shrubs are more desirable if they have a lower concentration of the protective phenolic compound nordihydroguaiaretic acid. (I guess the leaves taste better.) That explains why, rather than scaring the grasshopper away, a rock to the bush incited verbal reckoning.  

I guess I learned my lesson!

Don’t let the calm exterior fool you–this creosote was not happy with me!

Jessica Samuelson

Needles, CA Field Office

Bureau of Land Management

In case you were wondering, this is what a lake looks like in the desert.

Mesquite Lake is actually a dry lake bed.

Welcome to Mesquite Lake, which is actually a dry lake bed and therefore not (in my humble, Northern Wisconsin opinion) a lake. It does, however, provide a different environment for desert plant life than what I’ve seen thus far.

Not all of the Needles Field Office is all dried up, though! The very next morning after surveying Mesquite Lake, I was able to tag along on a secretive marsh bird survey in the backwaters of the Colorado River.

I didn’t want to wake up at 3 A.M., but I did it for the birds!

Our main goal was to determine if there were any rails present–particularly the ridgway rail, which is considered a threatened species. We were able to hear a couple ridgway rails as well as several other marsh bird species. We even noticed a nesting pair of western grebes.

Trying to see the nesting pair of Western Grebes.

I know it’s a little hard to see in the picture, but there’s a white spot in the reeds behind the blue kayak–that’s the female grebe on the nest. There’s also a white spot a little in front of the blue kayak–that’s the male grebe trying to distract us from the nest.

In other water-related news, it rained a lot in April– at least 5 days (4 of which were consecutive) which I’ve been told is really weird! We’ll have to see if all this unseasonable rain affects bloom times or not.

It rained a lot (for the desert) this April.

Happy Trails

Jessica Samuelson

Needles Field Office

Bureau of Land Management

One Saguaro for you, Glen Coco! You go, Glen Coco!

That’s why the Nolina parryi is so big—it’s full of secrets!

Greetings from Needles, Ca—The Heart of the Mojave! (At least, that’s what all the signs say.)

Needles is also the home of Snoopy’s brother Spike, but we don’t talk about that.

My main project for the next five months is monitoring rare and sensitive plant species throughout the 3.2 million acres of desert within the NFO. The idea is to identify areas where endangered species (or species that are rare in California but common elsewhere) are present so they can be protected.  This mainly involves identifying favorable habitats, scouting for current populations, adding GIS plot points when a positive ID is made, and some pretty epic views.

Horse Thief Camp in the Kingston mountains

Whipple Wash

Amboy Crater

The view from the top of Amboy Crater!

A few of the rare California species we’ve found so far include hairy blazingstar (Mentzelia hirsutissima), Coves’s cassia (Senna cassia), and saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea).

Hairy blazingstar (Mentzelia hirsutissima)

Hairy blazingstar (Mentzelia hirsutissima)

Sometimes we get the opportunity to assist others with their projects. Earlier this week, we met up with some Northwestern University/Chicago Botanical Gardens graduate students near Prim, NV where they were searching for Walker’s sun cup (Chylismia walkeri tortilis), a member of the Onagraceae family and…

We found it!

Walker’s sun cup (Chylismia walkeri tortilis)

Walker’s sun cup (Chylismia walkeri tortilis)

It was a lot of fun to meet up with other members of the Chicago Botanic Garden clan! I’m looking forward to more collections and collaborations in the coming field season.

Jessica Samuelson

Needles BLM Field Office