For many everyday users of ArcMap, layers are brought into a map, labels added and edited, a few colors that mesh well together selected, drop in a legend and scale, and place a compass somewhere that’s out of the way but not too out of the way. With the guiding hand and patience of our GIS Specialist, Courtney, I’ve been improving on my Editor skills and learning to code in Python (right click on feature class, click on Python snippet, add to Python, understand magic). Most of my job up to this point has been editing, merging, and appending datasets from consultants into our office wildlife database, a necessary tool for our wildlife biologists as they write NEPA documents for projects.

However, this has begun to change the last couple of weeks. Courtney has encouraged me to dip my toe into Python and learn coding with the hopes that I can put together several scripts to automate some database processes. While this doesn’t sound that exciting to some, running some lines of code to replace an hour of step-by-step instructions sounds like a gift from above when you’re doing the same process for the second time that day. However, Python has made me incredibly frustrated at times while trying to debug a syntax error that I swear I fixed before. At least, until I solved it and the tears of joy puddle on my keyboard (do I bill the CBG for that?). Now, Courtney and several staffers have dangled something in front of me that I can’t say no to: a challenge.

The field office is heavily invested in maintaining and improving habitat for sage grouse within the office boundaries and to that end I’ve been asked to help on a couple projects. While there is no need to tell you about each project, the challenge that was laid at my feet involves looking at fire disturbances, sagebrush habitat quality, existing road networks, and cheatgrass to help determine planning habitat and range improvements for the next couple of years. This intrigues me so greatly because of the wealth of information that will have to be compiled, sorted through, interpreted, and visually represented is a wonderful scholarship opportunity. And to know that I was part of a project that helped steer sage grouse towards recovery….well, someone’s cutting onions again.

I have been settled into Buffalo, Wyoming for one month now and I have very much been enjoying my work and my play. I was brought in to fill the need for GIS help within this very busy BLM office. Unfortunately, this would have to wait for a few weeks while my access cards and clearance to come through. But I would not be sitting idly by as such a busy office abounds with wonderful opportunities to go into the field. I got to get hands on with the AIM process, land reclamation, plugging defunct mineral wells, and my personal favorite, proper flow and conditioning of a river (this one required sidehilling up and down a 1200 foot canyon wall) that took my breath away (literally and figuratively). Once my access was granted, I’ve taken every opportunity to increase my GIS skills by learning from my mentor, Courtney. I’ve created several wall maps to be  used in the office and have started digesting the wildlife data that comes into the office.

My play around Buffalo has featured much hiking and fishing. Despite the obscene cost of an out of state fishing license, I took the plunge and have been enjoying the local lakes and streams. This is my first foray into trout fishing and the results have been mixed at best. The hiking is also a new beast to me as I didn’t realize there would be a difference between Michigan hiking shape and Wyoming hiking shape. The mountains and rivers provide the perfect backdrop for an afternoons travels and eating a sandwich alongside a mountain lake surround by the sounds of nature just puts a soul at ease.

The balance has been great and with so much still yet to explore, I look forward to my next four months here in Buffalo. And, like the title said, I got my own cubicle.