Having just completed our perennial data plots last week to characterize community composition and distribution of shrubs in the Ft Irwin area (where the Desert Tortoise is being relocated off expanding army lands), we’ve started a similar study on Mojave Ground Squirrel habitat last week. Although the Mojave Ground Squirrel is an elusive creature (making estimates of population size difficult), it is currently under review to be listed under the Endangered Species Act due to loss of habitat and habitat degradation. This is easy enough for us to understand as we drive through areas in their range which have been decimated due to off-road vehicle use allowing invasives such as Russian Thistle to take over these disturbed sites. Even in such areas rodent holes are prevalent and sometimes make getting to our study plots difficult since one wrong step on top of their intricate underground burrows could lead to one foot buried knee deep in sand. The other day my field partner Heiki stepped accidentely into one of these burrows and ended up with a bewildered Kangeroo Rat riding on his bootlaces for several seconds. No sign of the Mojave Ground Squirrel although they tend to hibernate when food is scarce from August to March. It’s possible that we have seen a few dashing ahead of our vehicles on back roads but since there are so many rodents in the Mojave and since none of us are self proclaimed rodent experts, we have no idea which ones they are. In several weeks we’re camping in Death Valley National Park in order to gather perennial data. Not looking forward to the heat (which may be unbearable mid-August) but I am looking forward to spending some time in this very beautiful and dramatic landscape. We’ll bring lots and lots of water!
Thats all for now.

Cheerio
Nora Talkington

4 am and its hot, hot already
sun peeks up over henderson suburbs
sleepy neighbors with daschunds in tow
NPR and coffee on the long drive
north of vegas traffic chaos
to the peace of the desert,
red tinged in early morning light

Pile out of the car, yawning, rubbing sunscreen
lace boots, don hats
treck off, avoid cactus, plow through creosote
find plots, get data
Each task memorized through months of repetition
laughing easy lunch under Joshua Tree
Sweet shady relief

End of day, car in sight
out of water
throats parched and Bromus socks
Lazy return
Flurry of last minute tasks
Organize data
Early bedtime

Nora Talkington

Field partner Leslie Parker poses with a Joshua Tree and one of the many balloon bunches which float their way hundreds of miles from Vegas

Horned Lizards are easy to catch

Just 2.5 months ago I journeyed from Vermont blizzards to begin work at the USGS in Henderson, NV. Most of our field time has been spent in and around Barstow, CA conducting vegetation surveys in the Mojave desert in order to assess desert tortoise habitat. During long field days my mind sometimes wanders and I find myself thinking about the incredible adaptations needed for the plants and animals to survive this windy, hot, generally inhospitable environment. Somehow though the plants that are able to survive here are some of the more interesting and beautiful that I’ve ever seen. I only wish that we were more adapted to life in the desert. If only, like tortoises, we could go without water for up to two years! Instead were foolishly out and about during the hottest part of the day (curse conventional work hours!), slathered in sunscreen, dripping with sweat, blasted by wind. There are also so many plants with spines, stickers, and sharp edges that immediately burrow deep into your socks the very moment you step out of the vehicle, or find their way straight into your pocket. Yet there are daily consolations. Like stumbling upon an abandoned stone house with a beautifully made fireplace (complete with owls nest in the chimmney), or discovering a new species in your plot, or picking up another extremely cool rock for the mantle at home (which is already overflowing with treasures). There are the days when you catch not one but two Horned Lizards (which are actually quite easy to get), or climb to the top of a mountain just because you can.

Cheers,

Nora

Last of the annuals bloom near "Hamburger Point", one of the better camping spots in the area