Hello stranger,

Just finished up another long week in the Jarbidge Field Office completing habitat assessments for the Greater Sage-grouse, a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act.

I’d like to tell you about my favorite day this summer: Tuesday, June 3rd.  We – a BLM monitoring crew made up of four CLM interns and a temporary employee – were spending our third week camping in the stunning canyon formed by the Jarbidge River.

Jarbidge Canyon

It sure is nice waking up with the birds and bugs.  We loaded up our two trucks with food and water, navigation equipment, vegetation and soil monitoring equipment, and motion tablets for data recording.  Taters and I were on our way out of Idaho and into Nevada, heading towards a point on our map and GPS called “Little Island.”

I love when the vast, rocky desert of southern Idaho and Nevada, blanketed with sagebrush, suddenly opens up to reveal a lush green canyon.  We drove to the edge of one of these oases, loaded up our bags, and headed downhill.  We soon realized that our destination, Little Island, was on top of the opposing canyon wall, guarded by columnar shaped rock outcrops like a castle wall.  So we pointed to a gap in the rock wall, and then pointed our steps in that direction.

About two miles, one creek crossing, and a lot of rock scrambling later, we discovered why the site was named Little Island.  Little Island is an island in the sky, standing tall between the juncture of two canyons with an incredible view of the snow-capped Jarbidge Mountains.  Spirits were high as we counted, measured, and described the grass, brush, forbs, and soil of the area.

Indian Paintbrush

The day concluded back at the campsite where the rest of the crew was waiting for us with a fire and hot dogs ready to roast.  A crescent moon, and an incredible view of the stars followed shortly after.

Thank you everyone who helped me get going on this incredible journey.

Take care,

Jonathan Kleinman

Jarbidge Field Office

Bureau of Land Management

Drowning in Lupin – The Needle in the Haystack

For the past two weeks, my field partner and I have been looking for the needle in the haystack, the needle being the number of butterfly eggs and the sea of lupin the haystack. Meter by meter, plant by plant, leaf by leaf, we sorted through the infinite in search of the infinitesimal, a tiny, itty bitty white donut the size of a small freckle. It is amazing to consider the uncertain future of this little bugger, to think about all the obstacles it will face…the long leaf, the tall stalk, birds, wind, the frigid, bone soaking winter. This thing has a long, but oh so short life ahead.

Never has a plot so small, 30X30m, seemed so big! And never have I become so familiar with an environment. I had all the birds in the area mapped out in my head, meadowlarks, grasshopper, savannah, and song sparrows, pheasants, common yellowthroats, and redwing- blackbirds. Their territorial battles waged on unendingly, singing songs that set my mind at ease. However, underneath the warm Zen blanket of prairie nature, the cold reality crept in…I was trapped in my own head. And the thoughts came. What am I doing? What does this all matter? So what if I miss an egg? Wait, did I just see one? Hold up, did I already search this plant? No Egg…no egg…no egg…Oh! Egg! …this egg looks like a donut caked in powdered sugar…mmm…I am hungry…no egg…no egg…what am I doing…no egg…no egg…no egg…what time is it? How long could I possibly do this for? Will my efforts actually help this endangered species? What does this all matter? Is this worth my time?

I started to realize that I would have to be crazy not to ask these questions. I think that everyone should ask themselves these questions. What does this all matter? How do I want to spend my time…my life? I believe these are the very moments that help give us guidance.

I now know that I don’t want to monitor plants for the rest of my life. It can get repetitive and boring. However, I think most jobs are repetitive and boring anyway, and it’s okay to be a little bored sometimes. But I am lucky I get to be outside in such a beautiful surrounding and I am stoked to learn as many plants as my brain bucket will allow. Most importantly though, I believe in what I am doing. While I don’t think that it is the most important step to saving our environment, I know that it is an important step.

Random thought/question… Is it worth it to use herbicides, a known toxin, as tool for restoration when we don’t understand all of its negative impacts?

Also check out The Community Environmental Defense Fund and Thomas Linzey! I saw him speak this past week in Eugene. It was very inspiring! He is an environmental lawyer who gave up on environmental law because he realized that it doesn’t work. Now, he is fighting corporations’ political rights head on by drafting a “community bill of rights” for municipalities who have suffered negative health and environmental impacts (from fracking, mining, factory farming, etc.). This “bill of rights” is drafted to give communities and the environment rights over corporations.

Hey all!

I have been continuing my work looking at animal activity in the Panoche Hills but I am now expanding that work to look at the ability for shrubs to act as a restoration tool to help mitigate the effects of climate change on the endangered blunt nosed leopard lizard. I have set up motion activated cameras in paired shrub-open areas to record animal activity at both sites. Some shrubs will later be removed, and shrub mimics will be built in order to compare animal activity with and without shrubs. Mimics will help separate any potential biotic effects of shrubs on leopard lizard activity.

Most of the time the cameras catch vegetation, flags or clouds moving in the wind and you see something like this…

…or this

but then we get exciting animal pictures like this

and most exciting of all…the blunt nosed leopard lizard!

Hi everyone,

Since my last blog post I have had the opportunity to get involved with yet another research project here at the USGS Las Vegas Field Office. I recently assisted with nighttime prey surveys that involve driving along designated transects late at night, shining a bright light out of the car, and noting the animals that are encountered throughout this process. During these surveys we saw kit foxes, poorwills, jackrabbits, kangaroo rats, and several other small rodents. I enjoyed having the opportunity to see how the desert comes alive after the sun goes down.

In addition to the prey surveys, my fellow interns and I also recently completed our third set of vegetation surveys at Coyote Springs this field season. Temperatures in the Mojave Desert are rising as we head into the late spring and summer months so we started work early each morning to avoid the heat of the late afternoon as much as possible. While we were out in Coyote Springs this past week my fellow intern Meaghan and I spotted a Burrowing Owl. This is a bird I had been wanting to see ever since I moved to the Southwest so it was a pleasant surprise for me.

It is hard to believe I only have about a month left in my internship but, when I reflect on how much I have learned and experienced since I arrived here, it almost feels like I have been here much longer than 4 months. I am excited to see what lies ahead in these finals weeks.

-Renee

On June 3, I returned from a week-long trip to San Miguel Island, where I assisted a botanist with a vegetation mapping project on the island.  San Miguel, a windy, treeless island, is the westernmost of the Channel Islands.  Dominant shrubs species on the island include coyote bush (Baccharis pilularis), prostrate coastal goldenbush (Isocoma menziesii var. vernonoides), and silver lupine (Lupinus albifrons var. douglasii, pictured, sand-covered).  Giant coreopsis (Leptosyne gigantea), San Miguel Island deerweed (Acmispon dendroideus var. veatchii) and golden yarrow (Eriophyllum confertiflorum) are abundant in areas on the eastern side of the island, but are largely absent from its western side. While common on the larger islands and on the mainland, toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), black sage (Salvia mellifera) and lemonade berry (Rhus integrifolia) are infrequent on San Miguel.  The rare Northern Island tree mallow (Lavatera assurgentiflora subsp. assurgentiflora, pictured) also occurs on the island.  Common herbs include San Miguel Island locoweed (Astragalus miguelensis), Greene’s dudleya (Dudleya greenei), Malacothrix species (pictured is the white-flowered M. saxatilis implicata) and the non-native sea-fig (Carprobrotus chilensis).

The seals were another fascinating part of the trip.  In some areas on the western side of the island, we were guided by one of the pinniped (seal) researchers.  We saw four species of seals over the course of the week:  northern fur seals, harbor seals, California sea lions, and elephant seals.  Elephant seals breed on the island from December through March.  We only saw a few northern fur seals; the males were on the island establishing their territory.  The trip was a great opportunity to learn the most common elements of the SMI flora (as well as many less-common species), and to talk to biologists and botanists about their work on the islands.

Mountaintop RD, San Bernardino National Forest, US Forest Service

Northern Island tree mallow

A view of Prince Island and eastern Cuyler Harbor.

Sand-covered silver lupine

Cliff-aster

For most of my time here in Dos Palmas, I’ve been working in the desert scrubland surrounding the oasis: lots of creosote, saltbush, mesquites, and a few small trees like the smoke trees I gushed over last month. But in the last week, we’ve been working on a new project, placing new transects for future vegetation surveys in the dense marsh near the area’s main outflow. I have to say, seeing grasses again is a big change, and wading into trackless stands of reeds, saw grass, and cattails, chasing after a point on a GPS unit – well, thats something I didn’t think I’d be doing in the desert. But as someone whose nature experiences begin with playing in cattails (if you hit your little brother with the ripe ones they’ll burst), getting back into a marsh is always good.

Of course, there have been other projects, some of them less fun. My boss (and his boss) are involved in a tense negotiation with the organization that owns the nearby canal: they are required by NEPA to feed water into the oasis for to preserve habitat for its endangered species, but parts of the oasis are drying up dramatically. My part in this process is mostly data management, making sure that our conclusions are based on the best possible research. Its great work, and it is exciting to know that your data work helps support local conservation policy, but its less fun than hiking through the marsh.

And in “sorry I don’t have pictures” news, this month I was lucky enough to see a ringtail cat (imagine a cross between a lemur and a raccoon), and more excitingly a yuma clapper rail: one of the very rare endangered species that make Dos Palmas home. The rest of my field team doesn’t believe me about that last one, or rather they don’t want to believe that the one day I was out on my own a clapper rail showed up.

See you all in Chicago next week,
Joe

Hello from Missoula,

I arrived in Missoula Montana just over two weeks ago, following a three day drive from Rochester New York. The driving portion of the trip took just over 34 hours in total and I passed through many states and saw many landscapes that were unfamiliar to me. Upon arrival I rushed to get set up before starting work just three days later at the Missoula BLM field office.

I met many of the permanent and seasonal employees of the office on my first day, and I was pleasantly surprised by the friendliness and youthfulness of everyone that I met. After a full day of training and preparatory paperwork, I was excited to begin field work. By 7:30 a.m. on my second day of work we were on the road to a field site near Garnet, MT to conduct a series of habitat typing surveys. Through analysis of information regarding tree species types, sizes, and prevalences, understory species types and prevalences, and several other factors, the habitat typing surveys frequently conducted by the Missoula BLM make it possible to predict the future conditions of a site as well as create plans for the proper management of such sites. For the next week and a half I participated in habitat typing surveys, rare plant searches, and preparation of a field site for prescribed burning.

I have found my first two weeks with the Missoula BLM field office to be more interesting and fun than I ever thought possible. I have met many great people, had the opportunity to explore the wilderness of the rocky mountains, and had time to explore the city of Missoula. I look forward to spending the next five months here in Missoula working with the BLM

– Vince Fasanello, BLM Missoula Montana

The View From Mount Sentinel (1)

The View From Mount Sentinel (2)

Lunch Spot in Garnet

Forest Near Garnet

The past few weeks have flown by here at the Lewistown BLM office. I am starting to get to know the Big Sky country out here in the center of Montana with its flat rangeland flanked by the welcoming contrast of island mountain ranges. The forever-stretching grasslands are a new concept to me coming from the east where everything is close together or at least densely forested. Distance is measured in relation to large landmarks (mountains) and time is mostly forgotten as I cruise along the gently rolling plains. Often I will be driving for miles before I pass another vehicle and we exchange a wave in remembrance of civilization.

The past few weeks have flown by here at the Lewistown BLM office. I am starting to get to know the Big Sky country out here in the center of Montana with its flat rangeland flanked by the welcoming contrast of island mountain ranges. The forever-stretching grasslands are a new concept to me coming from the east where everything is close together or at least densely forested. Distance is measured in relation to large landmarks (mountains) and time is mostly forgotten as I cruise along the gently rolling plains. Often I will be driving for miles before I pass another vehicle and we exchange a wave in remembrance of civilization.

So far I have done a little bit of everything. Not having an actual botanist in the office has put a little pressure on me to use what resources I can to get to know the plants here. I still am an amateur in the field of botany, but I hope to become a little less so after the 6 months of this internship. With the help from the range specialists who understand the grasses and forbs in relation to grazing, including invasives and noxious weeds that are the on the list to be controlled/eliminated, I am gaining an understanding of the vegetation here. I am using my excursions into the field to not only assist and learn from the wildlife biologists, but to become acquainted with as many plants as I can fit in my mind.

Working with the wildlife biologists has been wonderful. I am not only learning the names of the animals out here, but I have had a chance to learn some animal behavior and monitoring techniques. One of the wildlife biologists and I monitored known raptor nests to look for signs of activity. A dead raptor had been observed at one of the nests the previous year and looking through our binoculars, we thought we may have seen her, or what remained of her. We questioned whether the body would have been preserved for so long and as we got closer it appeared as though her eye was dipping lower into the nest. We realized she was alive, lying as flat as possible on her eggs so as not to be noticed. She was a ferruginous hawk, the largest of the hawks and I was overjoyed at witnessing my first raptor nest especially one of which we were not expecting to be active.

I am learning the importance of sagebrush here on the range. I have heard a lot of talk about it and now I get to see what the big deal is all about. The most common here, Wyoming Big Sagebrush, Artemisia tridentate ssp. wyomingensis, is scattered throughout the grassland; its sweet and spicy fragrance get stirred up lingers on my clothes whenever I walk through it. Several species of wildlife are sagebrush obligates, which means their survival depends on an abundance of sagebrush. These include greater sage-grouse, Gunnison sage-grouse, sage sparrow, Brewer’s sparrow, sage thrasher, pygmy rabbit, sagebrush vole, sagebrush lizard, and pronghorn. Knowing so many species depend on this one plant is a scary thought, but it also makes me feel good about the seed collecting that I’ll be doing.

Some silver sagebrush, Artemisia cana

I’ve also learned from a couple ranchers that sagebrush is not one of their favorites. Some talk about burning their fields (sagebrush) to make room for more palatable grasses for their cattle, which is understandable from their point of view, but not good in the long run. Silver sagebrush, Artemisia cana, luckily is a species that is capable of resprouting after a fire, which is great because fire, whether man made or not, is common around here. Speaking of which, another one of my projects is surveying Goshawks in an area that is prescribed to be burned next year.

Wildfire in the distance

I am realizing now that I have been learning a lot and one blog post is not enough to share it all; I will save some for later and besides I still have so much more to learn. So far I love that I am getting to know plants, not only to identify them, but their importance in relation to wildlife, ranchers, and fire, all of which are key components in making central Montana what it is.

Some pictures for your enjoyment:

Horned lizard!

Sparrow nest

Wild rose

The rugged landscape of the Musselshell river breaks

My departure date drew closer and closer, and I could hardly wait.  My heart has been pulling me west for some time, waiting for an opportunity for the rest to follow.  A long trek from Virginia went by quickly in just a few stops with old friends in some beautiful places.  My journey was coming to a close as I was passing through Colorado, and eventually I realized that the objects I was seeing weren’t clouds anymore, but white top mountains.  The first glimpse of the Rockies is something I won’t forget, and I knew I was in the right place.

Monday rolled around and it was time to get to work.  This first week has been a whirlwind of introductions, meetings, manuals, and papers.  I have been on acronym overload for the past four days.  Although it’s been such a short period of time, I have already gained a clarified view about the BLM’s purpose and function.  What was a cloud of complexities…is still a cloud of complexities, but I have begun to wrap my head around it, teasing apart the vastness of BLM’s tasks and obligations.

-David Drewett, Wyoming BLM State Office