The most recent month of my internship has been the quickest yet, which has made me realize how short five months really is…I don’t want it to end! I literally pinch myself every day because I feel so lucky to have a job I love so much.

Given that I live in the mountains, near a lake relatively close to the ocean, the surrounding landscapes of the San Bernardino National Forest are not as dry as some in the Great Basin where my CLM compadres are. We have been getting afternoon thundershowers nearly every day, making some plants that I have been surveying bloom for a second time when they normally just bloom in the late spring or early summer. It’s crazy!

The past month has been pretty mellow; I’ve been chipping away at cleaning up our geodatabase with field checks of rare plant occurrences. In other words, I’ve been going on daily treasure hunts in the mountains for beautiful, little-bitty plants, most of which are endangered.  Much of our current geospatial information we have was created by my botanical predecessors (before my boss’s time) by judging from aerial photographs where certain plants were likely to occur. For the most part, the plant polygons are close to correct, but some are fixer-uppers. I haven’t had a field partner for two months due to a reorganization after budget cuts, so I’ve been going out in my green Chevy Tahoe all alone. Although it would be fun to have someone with me, I’ve been glad for the challenges that have come with flying solo and being completely unfamiliar with an area’s flora. I have become very self-sufficient and resourceful in my work ethic.

Other than looking for tiny plants that normal people wouldn’t notice or care about, I’ve been doing the GIS work that corresponds to my surveying project  and working on my wildflower book of the San Bernardino National Forest.

A couple of weekends ago, I attended a lichen and air quality conference that was hosted by the Jepson Herbarium for Region-5 Forest Service botanists at the James Reserve in the San Jacinto Mountains. It was a wonderful opportunity to network with other FS botanists. A lichenologist, Linda Geiser from Oregon, came down and presented on the methodology that she has developed that uses lichens as air quality indicators. A local lichenologist, Kerry Knudsen, took us out in the field for a crash course in lichen genera field identification. The latter entailed many a minute with your nose pressed against the rock with one eye squinted and the other eye looking through your hand lens. Lichenology is a much understudied field, as I learned, so if you ever want to describe a species of something, you should probably become a lichenologist! The whole weekend was a fabulous experience and I felt very fortunate to be included in it.

That just about sums it up around here. I hope everyone else is having a great time with their internship! Here are a few photos: 

Castilleja cinerea, my favorite paintbrush species and one of the threatened plants I survey/

A big Aspicilia lichen. It was huge!

Until next time!

Lizzy Eichorn, San Bernardino National Forest

Truthfully, monsoon season had never really crossed my mind. Of course I have known about this season but in the locations where I have lived before, there is ample precipitation, so heavy rains don’t have the same effect. It is a totally different story here in Roswell!

We were warned that monsoon season had arrived, but that statement did not carry as much weight as it does now. Let’s just say, monsoon season matters here! First there were a couple of light rains, which were pleasant, but when these light rains turn into normal or heavy rain it definitely makes a difference when you are driving on the back dirt roads! We figured this out rather quickly on one of the first days of monsoon season. We were surprised when the clouds opened up and rain came down hard and fast while we were in the middle of an allotment without a compacted road within miles…. we have learned to take monsoons seriously in Roswell, and here is the picture to prove it!

Evidence that monsoon season is serious in Roswell!

-Stephanie Burkhardt

BLM

Roswell Field Office

The work load of the staff at our BLM office is too daunting to fathom. Through observation and participation, I have learned two very valuable lessons about science, government work, and life in general: there is never enough time or money.

Instead of bitterly swallowing this reality I’ve decided to work these ideas into my everyday life in order to make myself more humble and…less in control. I cannot live my life in complete order, nothing I do personally or professionally will ever be so neat and tidy as task A leads to B and so on. Sometimes you have to skip down to X, realize you haven’t the funds, try to allocate them while you start on M, get turned away by your not-so-charitable donors, trash project X and right after ward you find just enough excess in the budget. All of life follows this kamikaze flight pattern and the longer it takes one to realize, or accept, then the more misery one can perceive life to be.

I am probably way off track with this assessment, but I think our mentor wanted us to learn this during our time here. I think he wanted us to walk away with the knowledge that systems that are put in place are imperfect because life is erratic and unpredictable, but success is possible and attainable through 1) understanding this fact 2) bobbing and weaving, ebbing and flowing. Its a struggle everyday in my life at home and at work to “let go and let god” so to speak, but I have the BLM to thank for motivating me to try to be free.

Several times this summer, my co-intern, Patrick, and I have been up to Lake County, CA to scout and collect seeds on BLM Land. The interior chapparal surrounding the San Joaquin Valley is the best habitat to look for unique plant species in the region, despite being decimated by the intense drought this year.  In Lake County, we had our eyes on a particular population of Western Redbud (Cercis orbiculata), and we had already factored it into our SOS list. We kept ourselves busy as we patiently waited for the seeds to mature, but we were definitely anxious to go back. Redbud has these excellent qualities that only other SOS interns can appreciate: the plants are easily identifiable and difficult to confuse; the fruits grow at eye level; there are plenty of seeds per pod and plenty of pods per tree; there are no spines, resins, or irritating hairs; and bags of seed are lightweight, pest-free, and odorless. Yesiree, we wanted that seed.  So when the time came to pack up the truck and head out, we were horrified to hear that the night before, two wildfires had spung up on either side of the collection site.

The Wye and Walker fires blazed for nearly a week and we had no idea whether our areas of interest had been swallowed by the conflagration. Any attempts to contact the field office were answered only by messages of staff on fire duty. When the fires had been contained, there had, luckily, been little damage. Only two structures were destroyed and there was only three injuries.  The acreage burned, 7,934, was a flash in the pan compared to the larger fires seen in Colorado and elsewhere earlier this year, and all BLM areas were reopened almost immediately.

Being from the east coast, fire has never been on my radar. I had no idea what to expect. We drove up to the area and everything seemed normal, but as we rounded a corner, the scenery suddenly changed. The rolling uplands we had seen before had been transformed into an otherwordly landscape blackened, charred and covered with ash. What really piqued my interest was the realization that the fire had only engulfed one side of the highway. We were subsequently fortune in being able to complete our collections, but I couldn’t help but picture the fire crews working tirelessly to hold that line. It was amazing to me, truly-eye opening to see how a small stretch of pavement could make that difference as a fire break and how close this:

had come to looking like this:

Marc Bliss

California Plant Materials Center USDA – NRCS

While camping a few weekends ago, I was asked by another camper where I lived and I replied, “Richfield, Utah.” They immediately shot back, “Why?”  That pretty much sums up most people’s perspective of the agricultural town containing about 7,500 people.  But there’s a detailed answer to that question.

Most people know Utah for its homogeneous culture and lack of good beer.  Utah is also famous for its sandy canyons and stretching desert.  Intrigued by the words of Edward Abbey, one of the reasons I accepted this internship in Richfield was to experience the mystery and enchantment of the tablelands he experienced and wrote about. Watching the sunrise from our field sites, some of which are dubbed badlands for their lack of resources but possessing jaw-dropping beauty, I can’t help but feel fortunate.

My internship is divided into two parts; working with an endangered cactus species, Sclerocactus wrightiae (my love for succulents being another reason for accepting this position) and Seeds of Success.

Our typical day in the field involves revisiting known Sclerocactus localities and monitoring for cactus survival, including recording number of cactus found, size, geographic information, and several other variables to fully grasp the cactus habitat and environmental impact.  In the office, we spend time analyzing the large amount of data. This extensive study is successfully helping to ensure the survival of Sclerocactus wrightiae as well as keep BLM land monitored for multi-use purposes. Fortunately, the recent rains have perked up the cactus and provided quite an advantage at finding S. wrightiae! Although the dry spring in Utah did not pan out in our favor for collecting seed, as we drive throughout Utah our eyes are frequently peeled for large groups of plants that will potientially produce at least 10,000 seeds. There are some promising sites and we have collected vouchers. The seed is so close to being ready! I am looking forward to honing my plant identification skills and being able to recognize new plant species! If I haven’t mentioned it enough, again, I feel so fortunate that I am getting paid to play outside and contribute to environmental consciousness!

Much of my free time in the past month has been spent seed collecting and identifying plant species for potential collections.  Although many parts of California have dried out completely, there are still many flowering species here on the wetland.

We have had some very large scale drug operations on the preserve lately.  This has restricted my work and collections as entire sections of the preserve have been shut down to all types of operations.  It’s one more danger to add to the already substantial list of potential threats.

Between the weather elements, the unfriendly environments, and additional dangers of our jobs, it has become abundantly clear that seed collection is not always a walk in the park!  I’m sure this type of work is not for everyone, but for me, there’s nowhere else I would rather be.

The wildlife viewing has continued to be outstanding here.  I regularly see coyotes, owls, pheasants, snakes, river otters, minks, deer, turtles, quail, eagles, hawks, turkeys, rabbits, lizards, and ground squirrels, among other critters.  We also have a large population of feral cats inhabiting the preserve and although cute and fluffy, feral kittens are born dangerous!

Most recently we have been doing work to prepare for the fall “flood-up”, when our artificial wetlands are flooded for the large numbers of migrating birds passing by.  I am hoping I will have the opportunity to see these magnificant creatures arriving by the thousands.

Hi Everyone!
I am finishing up my internship, so this is my final blog post. I have had a blast working for the Park Service; I have learned a ton, worked on so many different projects and met some really cool people. Overall, I would say this summer was a success and my experiences here greatly exceeded my expectations. From cutting cattails in Cumberland, searching for the federally listed Harperella, to exploring the Smithsonian behind the scenes, I have some great experiences that have helped me move into the next steps of my career.

I would say the most exciting project I worked on was doing surveys for a reintroduction of the federally listed plant Harperella nodosum. This involved several days of driving along the C&O Canal and getting to wade out into flooded sections searching for this plant. Harperella flower in the summer, so it is best to search for them then as they are easier to spot. Searching at this time has the added advantage of viewing all the other summer plants in bloom, brightening the canal with splashes of color. Working on projects such as this, it is hard to imagine this as “work”. It reminds me why I do what I do and why I love my job.

Sadly, I am leaving my position early, as I have accepted a job with another agency in Florida. I will miss working with the folks at C&O Canal and Catoctin Park. My time here was well spent, both at work outside as well as playing along the rivers and streams after work. I will miss my new friends and will always cherish the memories I have made.
Thanks to NPS and CBG for this amazing experience!
Stephanie

Wow, August really flew by.  This was a really great month; I am loving my job and really enjoying my time out here.  Earlier this month I organized a solo project that involves going out to potential leasing sites for minerals and doing a brief vegetation and wildlife assessment then taking a photo and GPS point.  At first, I wasn’t too thrilled with the prospect, it sounded…….uneventful.  I was mistaken; I have gone to so many places in our field office’s management area that I wouldn’t have been to visit otherwise.  I did field site visits from the western foothills of the Shoshoni forest to the eastern foothills of the Big Horn forest and all the wonderfully rugged sage scrub and badlands in-between.   I drove around on roads (I use the term loosely) that were so hazardous I was honestly surprised that my Ford Explorer could traverse them. I saw black bear, sage grouse, rattlesnakes, and a huge number of raptors.  It has been a really unexpected treat.  After that project ended, I moved back into bag’n and tag’n weeds and surveying.  The most interesting area I surveyed this month was a creek-carved canyon that was on fire in early June.  Over a hundred foot tall walls with blackened earth and vegetation made for an awesome hike through.  I’ve also been helping construct a shade shelter  these last few days of August — hopefully I’ll have some pictures of it to post next time.  On a personal note, I climbed my first mountain peak (going for a 14er this weekend!), started to harvest fruit and veggies from my garden, went fly fishing for the first time and I’m hooked (….I love puns….), had a birthday, and brewed my 3^rd batch of beer (brown ale, pumpkin ale, and now a stout!).  I’d say that it was a pretty successful month professionally and personally and I am really looking forward for the next one.

-Nate T.

To have the sense of knowing when to make a seed collection after scouting a site can be somewhat difficult – to say the least.  We spend time keeping an eye on a certain species, becoming connected to the species and eager to see the fruits ripen so we can begin our collection.  I became very excited about our  long anticipated collection of Ribes cereum.  We traveled to the site ready to start a collection  and discovered the first cluster of shrubs were completely and entirely barren. I was in awe and disbelief that almost one week ago the shrubs were loaded with berries – in every direction we had looked there were berry filled shrubs.  Immediately, we searched the whole park in hopes of finding a few shrubs with enough fruits to still make a great collection.

Every single Ribes cereum shrub was without a single berry.  There are many deer, elk, bears, and other animals found throughout this park. Our thoughts are the animals must be eating these ripe red berries, which must be a nice change to their diet.  It’s good to know that even though it’s been a very hot and dry summer, the animals are finding enough to eat!

Although we missed this opportunity to make a collection of this species for this year, we are on a roll, increasing our number of collections for the year.  Berries are a favorite collection, not only for CLM interns, but for wildlife as well. Collecting berries for Seeds of Success is so much fun! I can’t wait until we find our next berry patch! Below are a few of my favorite collections so far this year.

Ribes cereum with fruits still present.

Ribes cereum fruits

These are the most “magical” of berries we have collected thus far. Common name for this plant species is roughfruit fairybells.

Surprisingly these fruits are so very light and airy….almost like a “fairy” 

Beautiful deer watching us very closely.

Deer in Strawberry Area near Fraser River — they were quite beautiful and did not seem too timid to pose for the camera.

Oh Happy Day!

Darnisha Coverson

BLM Colorado State Office