I reflect on my life in Nevada, otherwise known as “The Silver State”:

When I first arrived in Nevada, I was greeted by an 8″ snowfall.  Later, I was able to watch the Sagebrush shrubs unfurl their tiny leaves with the arrival of spring.  Over the following months, I observed the green hillsides melt into a pallet of browns as the spring forbs senesced.

Working in Nevada was a pleasure that I did not anticipate…

Yes, there were days when pulling thistles or spraying tall whitetop in 90 degree heat was the last job I wanted to do. But, if I had never come to Nevada, I would never have met my fellow interns, experienced the hurricane force winds of Washoe Valley, or attended quilting gatherings at a nearby town.  Working for the CLM and BLM has broadened my understanding of applied botany, preparing me for exciting days ahead in a new chapter of my life.

As I say goodbye to Nevada one last time, my heart is full of many wonderful memories and life lessons that will follow me in the days ahead.  Blessings to you, Nevada, Carson City team, and beautiful Sierra Nevada Mts. I will miss you!

–B. N.

9/2/10

Carson City (BLM)

September 2, 2010

I’ve been in Alaska for about three months now, but until last week I hadn’t learned much about the annual Iditarod sled dog race or the historic winter trail that the race takes it’s name from.  That all changed on a trip to the historic Rohn Roadhouse.  As part of a team of four I spent three days removing infestations of non-native plants around the cabin.

Idyllic Rohn cabin

This trip was exciting because I spend most weeks working on a seven-hundred acre BLM property in Anchorage, so  getting to take my first trip  in a small fixed wing plane was very exciting.  The “bush plane” as these vehicles are known here  is a uniquely Alaskan creature.  These wonderful machines are used almost like a charter bus is in the lower 48.   Except in Alaska charter vehicles need to fly because the majority of the state’s land area is not connected to the road system.  That means that people and supplies from the outside come in by barge or plane in the summer, and by plane, snow machine, or in the old days dog team in the winter.

Alaska AirTaxi "Beaver" at Rohn airstrip

When we arrived at the cabin to begin removing weeds we were greeted by two sheep hunters sprawled out next to the airstrip napping.  They were waiting for a ride back to Anchorage and had their meat and sheep skin hanging up next to them.  The hunters said that another group had bagged a caribou, but they were nowhere to be seen.  We brought out supplies over to the cabin and began working.  I was surprised to notice that throughout the day a plane seemed to land or take-off about every twenty to thirty minutes.  When I asked the other members of my team about this they simply responded with “It’s huntin’ season”.

The bi-hourly winged arrivals calmed down during the next two days and we were able to get to work.  On this trip I was designated as the “invasives expert” and it was my job to identify which plants were non-native and needed to be removed.  The situation was a little unusual because I was technically in charge of three people in their fifties.  It felt good to have knowledge that I could share with others and that could allow us to perform our job effectively, but it was novel and a little uncomfortable to be in vague position of authority that reversed the habitual age hierarchy.

Bagged plant materials from Rohn cabin infestations

In the end we worked well as team and got the job done.  Two of my workmates are Iditarod volunteers.  That means every year in March they spend one or two weeks at the Rohn Cabin for the Iditarod sled dog race.  They set up the checkpoint, feed dog mushers, clean up after mushers, load planes with trash and extra food, cajole straggling mushers into leaving the checkpoint, and much more.  They told wonderful stories about having to get their gear and them selves under 180 lbs to get on the plane, broken down snow-machines, and forty below temperatures.  They made it sound like one hell of an adventure and it was exciting to work with them to preserve an area that they truly love and cherish!

Carl Norlen

Bureau of Land Management, Anchorage Field Office

Anchorage, Alaska

For the past few months I have been lucky enough to work with John Carlson at the Bureau of Land Management in Glasgow, Montana. Being here has been quite an experience for me; my background is in marine biology and being located in a land-locked state and working in a prairie is considerably different from the coral reefs of the tropics! However, since my start date I’ve developed strong interests in this ecosystem…to me, it’s new and fascinating.

I have actively been engaged with a broad array of wildlife work that this office conducts on an annual basis. Projects have ranged from Greater Sage grouse habitat assessments to burrowing owl surveys to NEPA training and writing. Learning a new flora and fauna early on seemed like a daunting task, however, it came quickly to me and now it’s official…it made it to the resume people.

Now, as the field season has really winded down and we’ve completed all of our objectives (as far as field work is concerned), I’m working in the office every day. Though considerably less exciting than field work, it’s a good time for me to focus on an entomological project I began earlier this season…the hope is that the results will be publishable, but time will tell. Other than delineating a mass amount of insects, I maintain my sanity by learning GIS and familiarizing myself with NEPA analysis and writing. These are two skills that will surely make me more marketable and I’m glad to take advantage of the opportunity to become better acquainted with them.

Aside from the work I’ve been doing at the BLM, the town of Glasgow, Montana is a pretty good time. It too has grown on me a great deal since I made my way here about four months ago. I spend a good deal of my time fishing and running around the town…the fishing here is rather amazing, Fort Peck Lake is stocked (I mean REALLY stocked) with walleye. I would consider myself to be a bad fisherman at best, fishing here is like cheating…you just catch stuff, all the time.

I’ve also become addicted to Glacier National Park, which I regularly visit about once every two weeks now. I’ve spent a fair amount of time camping around the country, but Glacier is by far my favorite…I would highly suggest it to anyone who enjoys the outdoors (all of ya!).

As my time here is now beginning to wind down, I intend to learn as much as I can and enjoy myself as much as possible. I’m hoping to head westward (Washington/Oregon-ish) once this internship has ended for me in late November. I grew up in Buffalo, New York and I enjoy the left (west) side of the country a fair bit more, my hope is to kick it out here for awhile/ever @_@. This internship has been a wonderful experience thus far and has provided me with a great deal of useful skills that will certainly buff up my resume a bit. Aside from that, working in a federal government setting has been fantastic; it is something I will hopefully have the opportunity to do again in the near future.

Hope ya’ll are having as good (or better) of a time as I have had thus far!

Cheers,

Joe Carlo