The last month or so has consisted of me and two other fuels botany techs working on three five year emergency stabilization and rehabilitation (ESR) qualitative monitoring reports. Over this period of time we have traveled to some far reaching parts of the Jarbidge and Shoshone Field Offices to perform qualitative monitoring of fuels treatments. Qualitative monitoring looks more or less like what the fuels monitoring protocols are but sped up and straight to business. What does this area look like? How has the vegetation treatment established? What are the top forbs, grasses and shrubs? What is the effect of disturbance on the treatments? Rapid fire qualitative data scribbles in 90 degree heat, then driving for hours, mix and repeat.
We have been having many partial office days compiling the data, creating GIS maps of fire perimeters and seeding treatments, delineating if a site has ‘good’ or ‘moderate’ success, captioning photos, looking up precipitation data for the last five years and attempting to use the proper and unbiased wording to describe cheat grass cover. It has been interesting to use my degree and analyze data as opposed to being the fuels monitoring robot. It feels comprehensive to see where the data we collect goes, how its packaged and how it impacts management plans moving forward. It has made me look at the post fire landscape a lot differently and peaked my interest in fire ecology and post fire rehabilitation. It has forced me to reflect on the entirety of my experience in Idaho, specifically working in the Twin Falls District.
A herd of antelope looking confused in a burned area of the district like a CBG trying to figure out what to do next…..
Work truck aesthetic….
I would be lying if I didn’t say it was extremely difficult to be here, socially, emotionally, and even physically my skin has dried up and my hair falls flat and my office place fashion is often uninspired. Southern Idaho is ripe with conservative principles and some uncomfortable social norms and this culture unfortunately persists into the work place. It has been difficult coming from the west coast and trying to be a fly on the wall here, and at times it has been distracting to the work and learning I came here for. However, I have gained a lot of vital professional skills that I will carry with me for the rest of my life, seriously though, Krissa told me once, “you will have workplace disasters for the rest of your life, get used to it” and this has been the single most important piece of advice while being a seasonal transplant, get used to being uncomfortable. I have all of Idaho to thank me for these invaluable lessons really, lessons I am thankful to have learned early on in my botanical career.
It goes without fail to mention that there have been many rewarding experiences. The learning I have done here is insurmountable. I have gained an incredible amount of technical skills in both the field and the office, increased my botanical prowess, taken the botany intensive of my dreams and driven four wheel drive trucks more than I ever imagined. It has also been nice to have been so encouraged to take advantage of the immense wilderness out here. I have been fortunate enough to have a crew of west coast botany tech friends to meet up with and regularly camp and backpack around the inter-mountain west, we have had some really breath-taking adventures in the Sawtooths, Salmon, Western Montana, Yellowstone, Northern Nevada, around Salt Lake and more. These weekend experiences made living and working in such a foreign place all the more managable.
And now at the end of the position I feel a hint of somberness for leaving. Despite the genuine roughness of place in Southern Idaho, I have had really positive mentorship from my mentor Danelle and many other strong inspiring women in the fire offices within the district. Bearing witness to the female strength that carries this district in both the natural resources and fire side of land management has been inspiring. I find myself letting go of the idea that I will get the job of my dreams and leaning into the idea that I want to prioritize learning more, to get red-carded, work with prescribed burns, apply to grad school, read systematics articles, write out angiosperm phylogeny, study on my own more, and key key key. This feeling is often overshadowed by the bleakness that is moving and transitioning away from the security that a home and a job provides, but get used to being uncomfortable right?
So long and farewell Twin Falls…
