Author Archives: Claire Buczacki

Sandy Summer

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This August has been a great month. We have been keeping up with our Swift Fox Trail Camera study, and while we have yet to catch a swift fox on there, we have seen some pretty goofy critters!

While this month has been full of many exciting excursions, the highlight of my August was surveying sensitive species. The sensitive species, that were last surveyed in 2005, are the Dakota Buckwheat (Eriogonum visheri) and Smooth Goosefoot (Chenopodium subglabrum). We set out early one morning to survey one of the sites where the Dakota Buckwheat had been observed years before. We visited all of the past points and were even able to find new points that we added to the map. The Dakota Buckwheat is found on formations called Hell Creek which is also where dinosaur bones are commonly found. The growth of the buckwheat is dependent on the weather each year, so once we upload our current findings, it will be interesting to compare the growth and weather from 2005 to now. Right now it can be difficult to spot this plant because it is quite small, but as time progresses the buckwheat will turn red and be much easier to see.

When we were finished at the Dakota buckwheat site, we set off to look for the smooth goosefoot. Smooth goosefoot grows in loose sandy soils, but I was not expecting to find a sand dune in the grasslands.

I have never seen a sand dune in real life before so exploring it and seeing the plants that grow in these conditions was a neat experience. Although we visited all of the previous points, we were not able to find the smooth goosefoot this time. I am excited to find the smooth goosefoot on our future trips and visit more sand dunes!

As the Fall season approaches, our Bumble Bee Atlas surveys will be coming to an end. We visited the Cedar River to complete some surveys and found some pretty neat bees. We still have one more survey we need to complete on the Cedar River and will hopefully complete a few more additional surveys. This has been one of my favorite activities while being here so far since I have not had much experience with bees. I can’t believe we are already halfway through this internship, but I am excited for Fall and the new adventures and experiences it will bring!

A Whirlwind of a September

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September has gone by way too fast.

This month has been a lot of weeding and maintaining our USFS plots and cleaning a TON of thistle seeds – over 50 hours of cleaning! However, with a good audiobook or music in the background, it was a breeze. We’ve also spent more time surveying Dakota buckwheat and getting out in the field to collect Echinacea, Liatris, and Amorpha.

My family came midway through the month. I was able to show them the great town of Lemmon, SD and around the DPG on the first day. Then we spent the weekend in Theodore Roosevelt NP hiking and sightseeing, where I was able to show off my amazing plant identification skills. It was a much-needed getaway and a great time!

A very windy day

The following week as we were driving to check one of our wildlife cams, two dogs came running right toward our truck on the highway. Though they were drastically different sizes, they ran at the same pace which I thought was adorable. I pulled the truck over, and they both hopped right in and made themselves at home! We drove to the closest ranch and the lady recognized them to be her nephew’s dogs. Apparently, they had ran four miles from their home. She didn’t know their names, but I’d like to think their names were Rita and Tini.

We recently conducted an evaluation of the area where a new fence and waterline will be installed in preparation for a herd of bison that will be placed into the pasture (the first ones on the DPG). While driving the route, we stopped by a grove of cottonwoods where a known golden eagle nest has been active for over 20 years. I was expecting a large nest, but I did not realize how massive it would be. Underneath the nest there were many bone fragments which was a little freaky, but a good identifier of an active nest.

The temperature is starting to cool off and it is really starting to feel like fall. I can’t believe this experience will be coming to an end in a little over a month, but I am excited to see what new adventures will come in October!

long trip for a small flower (worth it)

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The first time I met with my mentor and the ranger at my office was over zoom and I asked if there were many opportunities to camp. They mentioned that around the 4th of July a rare orchid blooms in the eastern district of the Dakota Prairie Grasslands. Before I left for training people were curious about my job and not having a super specific answer for what I was doing I’d answer with native seed collection and mention the surveying of this mysterious rare orchid.

The orchids bloomed a little late this year, so we went to survey them 2 weeks after the 4th of July. The week before our excursion I spent my free time researching and reading up on them so I would be prepared. The western fringed orchid (Platanthera praeclara) grows in the Sheyenne district (which is much wetter than our district) and is declining due to multiple threats. The documents I read discussed the conservation efforts and goals from the project. It took a bit before finding one of the orchids, but once we found the first one it was very easy to notice them. The areas that were most abundant with the western fringed orchids were the sides of the roads. It was really neat and special to see such a beautiful flower for the first (and possibly only) time.

On the same trip we brought along our gear and completed a few bumblebee surveys. We got to teach the public affairs specialist, who came to see the orchid as well, how we conduct our bumble bee surveys and he ended up writing an article about it!

July was a great month full of amazing experiences and I am excited to see what August brings!

Clarence says see everyone next month

Change of Scenery

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I have lived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania my entire life and have only been to western America a handful of times. I knew moving to a small town in northern South Dakota would be different, but I was not expecting such a big change. As I neared Lemmon, SD on my 26-hour road trip from PA there were rolling hills as far as the eye could see on the 80 mph highways. I have never driven on a highway with that high of a speed limit!! 

I got to town on a Wednesday and had a few days to adjust before starting work on the following Monday. I went out early the next morning to the Blacktail trail, which is the main trail in the Grand River district of the Dakota Prairie Grasslands NF, to explore! I have not spent much time in grasslands before so many of the plants were new to me. The first thing I noticed was the silver sagebrush (Artemisia cana) which adds a beautiful blue to the scenery and made the trail smell amazing. I was then very excited to see prickly pear cactus (Opuntia fragilis) which I had not seen growing wild before. Along the trail there are also many gorgeous badlands’ formations. 

The first week of work was a lot of onboarding and training, but we did get  to explore the grasslands. We went out into the field and got familiar with some of the very common plants and used our books to ID them. We were also introduced to the bumblebee atlas which we will be participating in throughout the season. This is a very enjoyable field activity and a great way to learn more about bees. I thought I was a pro after my first time because I didn’t let any of the bees escape when I was transferring them into the tubes, but my second time I lost 3!   

The second week of work We did a Juniper tour in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. This was my first time visiting this NP and it was so amazing to see the wild horses and the badlands formations. The tour was very informative and hearing from Carissa Wonkka about her research on juniper control was fascinating. I also enjoyed hearing the opinions and feedback from the landowners that were on this tour. At the end of the second week, we went to the North Dakota State University extension center to learn about the project that we will be collecting native seed for.  

Our third week we have gotten to go out to the badlands to finally start collecting seed. We have been collecting a lot of needle and thread grass seed which is super sharp if it gets you (hence the name…). We also got to collect some green needle seed one afternoon, but it is not all ready yet. On the 4th of July, our office will participate in a local parade, and Smokey Bear will be making a guest appearance. It is an amazing opportunity to be working in such a beautiful area and I am looking forward to the rest of the season!!