We were off to a ~great~ start this month when we had a blowout driving down a mountain road! My fellow MCC intern and I found ourselves in a bit of a sticky situation when we were driving down a long Forest Service road and caught a flat tire. We luckily had one bar of service to look up how to get the tire off the back, but once we did, we were golden. It was definitely nerve racking doing this all on a hill, but the road continued at this incline for miles, so it was not feasible to keep driving to a flat location – less we want to damage the car. Either way, we fixed it and successfully changed our first tire! Peep the photo below – our Ram named “Gloria” – she has gotten us THROUGH IT this summer. Long Live Gloria!

Other than the tire debacle, this month has been quite calm. Mostly seed collection – with might I say some of the best views of the valley thus far. It’s kind of amazing to think about how much of the bitterroot I’ve explored given that I’ve only been here for 4 months. I’ve surveyed miles and miles of land, driven extensively throughout the mountains, and seen acres and acres of forest. I feel very connected to the land after working on it so intensely. I don’t know where I’ll end up next, but I doubt I’ll have lunch views quite like I do now. (Sometimes I’ll just stop for a minute to admire the landscape, please don’t fire me…)

It’s also been an amazing thing to see all of the wildlife. From Elk to Big Horn Sheep, we have seen so many amazing animals that we definitely don’t have back east. I have certainly become more observant when driving and hiking, and have found so many cool things in the forest. I think at first I was just so focused on the surveying because I wasn’t used to it. I had to sit and figure out so many plants because I wasn’t too sure what I was looking at yet. Now that I am pretty confident in my plant skills, I can be more observant to my surroundings. It’s a bit sad that just as I am more confident in my skills, the season is coming to an end. I of course still have a month here, but it’s sad to see my fellow seasonals leaving, the colors changing, and leaves falling. I will say I miss Northeastern fall (there is nothing quite like the Adirondacks changing colors in peak season), but the golden hues are ~almost~ as homey. I’m a bit nervous for the snow to begin in the valley, although it already has in the higher altitudes, but I am so excited to see how pretty it looks here with a fresh blanket of snow.

Boy was this a busy one. We started the month with monitoring the pollinator islands that were established in landing sites throughout the forest last year. One of the goals was, of course, to remediate the land that was cut down and compacted from tons of lumber. However, another goal was to essentially build a pollinator bridge – to bring the pollinators from the forest and encourage them to head down to the farms below. Our purpose was to perform line point intercept in order to understand how the landscape is changing after planting and seeding last year. The seed mix was a very long list of all the different native pollinator-friendly species in the forest and so far it seems like most of the plots are doing well. The hard part about seeds though is that it can be tough to judge the success in the first year because many seeds won’t come up the following season, and could possibly not come up for multiple years. So even if the seed success isn’t impressive the year after planting, that doesn’t mean the project is not a success in the long term.

We spent a while monitoring these 17 plots, but to break things up, we had a cross-over episode with the Beaverhead-Deerlodge botany team at the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness. They taught us all about how to survey for bees – where to find them, how to catch them, and what to do with them after. This was also my first time backpacking!

From here, we did a bit of surveying. We focused on areas that have planned pesticide treatment, and we looked at historic populations that may be in the area. Although we didn’t find anything, we got some great views! Other than that we also worked on some timber seed pilot monitoring, where we looked at seeded skid trails and temp roads to see how the grasses are growing in. Most were pretty successful, with Bromus, Psedoroegneria, and Elymus being the most common. We have been working on a bunch of these plots in two finished timber projects, one on the west side of the forest, and one on the east side. So far, these plots have been quite promising, but we will see in thee coming years how the seed mix is working.

Last, but of course not least, we have spent days and days working on seed collection. We have collected about 30 different populations – most on the smaller side. There are still lots of plants that we are waiting to collect, but I’m surprised at the amount that we have found ready. I hope this next month we will get some larger populations!

Picture this… You are a simple ant, living your life in the Bitterroot mountains of western Montana. You have not a care in the world – except to help feed your hundreds of family members and to protect your queen. “Hm this looks like a cool place, possibly lots to eat!”, you exclaim as you stumble upon a wide open fen.

“What is this sugary looking delectable delight? I’ll just have a little taste, then I’ll go let the others know!” You trek the long distance over the Carex, Mimulus, Cinquefoil, and more.

“Wow look at all of this! I’m gonna feed my family forever!” Your little ant brain fills you with joy as you make your way to the new delicious plant. You climb up the stem, and although it’s a bit sticky, you don’t think much of it, very few things that are worth getting are easy to get – you rationalize to yourself. “What is this, what is going on??” As you step onto the leaf, you find yourself stuck in the glandular hairs. You can’t move. Your body starts to tingle, and you come to the realization that you are not leaving.

The English Sundew strikes again. Drosera anglica uses its long tentacles to trap another victim. At least – this is what I imagine happens with this carnivorous plant, although it’s likely much less dramatic than this. On one of our monitoring projects this month, we checked out a population of this English Sundew, and found that is was more than double the size that it was presumed to be a few years ago, and whether it has actually grown that much, or if it just wasn’t documented, we are unsure, but the population size was massive – possibly up to 10,000 individuals! I have seen very few carnivorous plants in person, and this was so amazing to see such a huge population of this sensitive species. This species is cool because it can actually be found in many places throughout the world from Alaska to Hawaii to Japan to Southern Europe at higher elevations. This plant also specifically grows with sphagnum moss, which is not very common in Montana, so this is an interesting find. Because this is a carnivorous plant, it does not photosynthesize, and relies almost solely on the nutrients obtained from insects that find themselves caught in their hairs. They also self fertilize, so they do not need to be pollinated, therefore saving maximum amount of food for their sustenance. Overall this plant is really amazing, and it never ceases to amaze me that nature always finds a way to survive!

https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/drosera_anglica.shtml

The first week was all about getting started. I learned so many plants, my brain was fried by the end. We had an introduction to the Forest Service, an introduction to the botany team and job, and training on how to use government vehicles. The people here have been absolutely amazing, and although I don’t have another CBG intern, the rest of the team is outstanding.

Getting used to the Bitterroots has been so easy – I mean how could you NOT like it here?? The scenery is stunning, the job is great, and the plants are even better! There is nothing more satisfying to me than to be able to walk along a trail and be able to identify 75% of what I see, and after a month here, I am fairly certain I could do more than that. Not only is this my first time in Montana, but its my first time doing field work! I’ve always worked in greenhouses or gardens, so this change has been quite refreshing. I feel like I am contributing to the greater good with this work. I’ve been trying to pick my favorite part about this internship so far, but I honestly can’t choose. Whether it’s being able to just touch and identify plants all day, being able to pick my head up and see the mountains, or simply being outside, there is so much to love about it here.

It’s also really generous that the Forest Service team here wants me to try a little bit of everything. It really feels like their priority is teaching rather than just assigning jobs for them to get done. This season we plan to join the wildlife team for bird banding, the fish team for electroshocking, the heritage, silviculture, and hydrology teams for TBD. The whole Botany crew got First Aid and CPR certified last Thursday, and we may even head out to get chainsaw certified! I can’t wait to see what’s in store for these next few months.

My coworker and I found this on the side of a trail. The Bitterroot! The namesake of the Bitterroot valley.