“Not only is it blazing hot, there isn’t anything out there that won’t poke, prod, prick, scratch, itch, stab, and try to hurt you. And I am not even talking about the animals there.”

This was something a friend had told me, regarding the location I was placed in for the Conservation and Land Management program. Back in April, I decided to go to Carlsbad, New Mexico to work with the BLM in the Seeds of Success Program. Preparing for this prospect I was encased in a whirlwind of emotions. I was so excited to pursue and practice what I have been studying in school for years for! On the other hand, I would be leaving my family, my fiancé, my dog. I will have to compromise and plan my August wedding from afar. On the other hand, how many people get the opportunity to travel out of state and work with not only the BLM, but as an employee of the Chicago Botanic Garden? Oh boy, now I sound like Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof.

I am not going to lie, the move from Golden, Colorado, to Carlsbad, New Mexico, was no walk in the park. For those of you who are not familiar with Carlsbad, it is a town in Southeast New Mexico, close to the border of Texas. It is located in the northern tip of the Chihuahuan Desert. I prepared the best I could for my move, but sometimes, there is just no great way to prepare oneself to leave everything behind and temporarily start anew. Coming here, I experienced culture shock and a wave of heat. My apartment was even broken into within the first few days of moving here. At this point in time, I was thinking that moving to this city in the middle of nowhere, New Mexico, where oil and gas reign upon the land, may have been a mistake. Have I mistaken myself to be “adventurous”?

Oh the gas and oil! Carlsbad is known as a busily busting oil and gas town. There is no getting away from that out in the field here in Carlsbad. Photo taken by B. Palmer

Despite the series of events I have encountered since I have started, there have been positive experiences here to counteract the unpleasant. The people here in the BLM office of Carlsbad are all extremely friendly (yeah, even the gas and oil people!). I have been able to go out into the field with other people in the office to see what kinds of things people work on.

It was important to tag along with other people in the office to see what they do. Here is CLM intern Meridith McClure, other BLM interns, and I that got to take a tour of one of the Cave/Karst gypsum features in the area. Photo taken by B. Palmer

My mentor and other CLM intern have so far been wonderful to work with, a breath of fresh air in the avid heat. Speaking of fresh air, that was nice to get at the Workshop at the Chicago Botanic Garden just last week! We participated in everything from seed renovating symposiums, to learning the SOS protocol, to even getting a good refresher in using dichotomous keys and remembering plant families of the West! The workshop was so full of useful information, and I am excited to use it productively in a job setting.

I spent time in the Prairie of CBG practicing my identification skills during the Flora of the West workshop day. Photo taken by M. Smith

I got to enjoy walking around the beautiful Chicago Botanic Garden after a long day of CLM workshop. I attempted to soak in every bit of green foliage Chicago had to offer me before my travels back to Carlsbad. Photo taken by B. Palmer

After enjoying the nice green flora of Chicago, I came back to the desert of Carlsbad. Just this past week I got to meet The Las Cruces District botanist, as well as go out and work with the CLM/Seeds of Success crew based out of Taos. There is a plethora of knowledge and information that is being shared already among us – and it has only been a few short weeks! I feel privileged that so many people have been willing to share their knowledge, and are happy to give me the information I need, nay REQUIRE, to succeed in this internship.

And of course, I am happy to be surrounded by and work with plants. It may be hot here in the Chihuahuan Desert, but there is a certain beauty that comes with this arid, sandy  land. A desert solitude, if you will. The desert habitat and ecotones seem to be underappreciated, and I am here to preserve and restore its original purposes. Although it will be taking some getting used to, I am happy to be working in the desert, and know I will be able to find some wonderful hidden treasures if I look.

Ratibida columnifera, potentially the first species my group will collect from this area for the SOS program. Photo taken by B. Palmer

“If it were easy, everyone would do it,” I have kept reminding myself. In this, I have learned that this sort of job is not meant for everyone. I can’t be afraid of bushwhacking through catclaw acacias (Acacia greggii), or the rattlesnakes hiding underneath the little-leaf sumac (Rhus microphylla). I have to prepare myself appropriately to be working in the heat of the desert sun. If I am too overwhelmed by the poking, prodding, pricking, etc. of the fauna and flora here, I will not be able to do my job. This is not a job for the weak, and in knowing this, I feel privileged to be here; I was one of the few picked for the job. So to those of you in the internship and in reference to my own journey, I say cheers! Cheers, to an incredible adventure, to the astonishing flora of the Southwest, to meeting new people, and cheers to what I hope to be a successful internship here in Carlsbad, New Mexico!

Hello desert flora – The site from the trail head of Slaughter Canyon, at the base of the Guadalupe Mountains. Photo taken by B. Palmer

Brooke Palmer
BLM Carlsbad, NM