August has been a pleasant surprise for us here at the Lakeview BLM office. With the continuing drought and our bad luck earlier in the season, we were worried that we wouldn’t be able to meet our collection goal for SOS this year. How wrong we were! Now we are just two collections away from meeting our collection goal and we haven’t even collected from any of the shrubs yet. And we even got some rain here in Lakeview. Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come, like actually having water in the lakes and not having as many fires. Other than that, I’m still doing my job and having a blast here in Oregon. Until next time!

Another month has passed here in beautiful Boise–it’s so hard to believe we only have a month and a half left! Time sure flies when you are out in the field having fun!

The temperatures have been steadily increasing and we have gotten used to working in above 100 degree weather (I commend all of you in the Mojave and Palm Springs!) From this I have rekindled my love for being up for the warm glow of sunrise and feeling like the only person awake for miles–a love that disappeared after many years of all-nighters studying and working. The earlier we go out, the cooler it is, and the more wildlife we see–Red-tailed hawks and antelope have been the most frequent. Although today Zander and I accidentally flushed around six Ruffed (potentially Dusky) Grouse out of some trees in a drainage and both nearly had a heart-attack!

Most of the work we have been doing as of late are Habitat Assessment Framework transects for Sage Grouse. There was a large fire last year that burnt several pastures that our mentor had done HAFs in that were potential preferred habitat (PPH) for the birds so we spent a few days going back to those transects and pastures and comparing the vegetation and regrowth. In a few sites they had seeded the area and I was extremely happy by the amount of recruits growing and the prevalence of native vegetation, both seeded and natural! We still plan on doing a few more collections, but at this point in the year most everything has dispersed its seed and dried up. We partner with Idaho Botanic Gardens and with some local collections our office has done in the past they are growing out native forbs and shrubs to do plantings for fire restoration this fall. Hopefully we will be around still for when those planting parties happen! Another area we are being exposed to is the fascinating riparian world. The Four Rivers Field Office is lucky to have Al Tarter– a 5th generation Idahoan, former rancher and farmer, and natural resource specialist–to work in the riparian and watershed management sector. He has spent many hours with us over the past few weeks sharing his wealth of knowledge on stream classification and potential functional condition for streams. It has been a wonderful experience hearing and learning from someone who understands the viewpoints of the many stakeholders that are affected by and affect stream health from personal experience and can read the land and water like a storybook.

This past month or so I have really gotten a feel for the office and the extent of the land we manage. It has been a great time doing these riparian workshops because Al is not only training us interns, but several permanent employees across the office. This has been great because I had somewhat been struggling with the fact although we work in an office with lots of people, we rarely get to interact with people because we are in the field or typing away at data sheets in our cubicle. Getting out with other people in our office has made me realize how much I value the human element in my career. Originally I thought it would be great to be out isolated in nature nearly every day, and granted, it is very peaceful and beautiful, but it is also incredibly refreshing to have interactions with other beings and it adds an additional element of fun to work. Noticing this has definitely made me reconsider what sort of career path I would like to go down!

Speaking of meeting people and traveling, I have made a few friends outside the office the past month and have been really getting to explore the city and surrounding areas. I also had the opportunity to explore both Eastern and Northern Idaho and had the most experience of getting to camp on a beach on the Salmon River under a full moon and beautiful starry skies. The fact rivers with beaches existed blew my mind. I had no idea there were such pleasant rivers to play in! Coming from Colorado I’ve been used to canyon rivers or cold rivers with really rocky banks and bottoms. Not the Salmon! (And apparently several other Idaho Rivers). It was so wonderful to take a midnight swim to cool off and then to wake up to sunrise and a beachy plunge! Its amazing how different North and South Idaho are, and it was great fun exploring Cour D’Alene and the Targee National Forest.

Zander found an awesome campsite for us near a creek after doing HAFs all day in above 100 degree weather–such a nice treat after a long day!

Camping on a beach of the Salmon River in Riggins, ID.

Al Tarter teaching us “youngins” about riparian health and potential functioning condition of streams.

Found this not so little Wolf spider on the way down to a canyon. Later on I found one in my house . . . hint: It wasn’t cool and exciting and was more on the side of terrifying.

Vestal and Arrow Peak catching first light in Colorado’s San Juan Mtns.

My CLM adventure began 17 months ago. At the time I was unsure whether or not I should accept the offer and move to California. I had a couple other things in the mix and having a background more inclined to the non-profit conservation world I suppose I was somewhat skeptical about a variety of things, and most certainly somewhat skeptical of the BLM. Since then, my time as a CLM intern has had two distinctly contrasting chapters, and I feel lucky that my experiences encapsulated much of the reality of what it means to work within federal land management in this day in age.

My time with CLM started out in the Alturas Field Office in northeastern California. I was hired to work with the ubiquitous upland game bird the greater sage grouse – which, as many of you likely know, has become the poster child for species conservation in the intermountain west. I had worked with the bird previously as a telemetry technician in northeastern Utah. I spent the previous summer batting around the brush of the Wyoming Basin for up to a hundred and twenty hours in a ten day work week searching out birds, following them from their winter capture near leks, through nesting and brood rearing seasons. Through the field season I got to know the birds I was following and the landscape they inhabit intimately, but through that experience I also developed a distain for the bird and the political quagmire that surrounds the species.

Working for the BLM in Alturas only accentuated the details of the quagmire. The Alturas Resource Area covers an area on the periphery of the bird’s historic range. The Modoc Plateau contains slivers of suitable sagebrush steppe habitat bracketed by the juniper and fir uplands of the Warner Mountains and the Southern Cascades. Alturas only has three active leks (leks which have had birds present during the past the three years). During my lek count surveys I counted a total of five birds on one lek within the Alturas Resource Area. I found it difficult to believe that the Nevada Dept. of Wildlife (NDOW) and the BLM were operating under a “no net loss” premise regarding the future of the bird. I struggle with this fact since our best understanding of the biology and ecology of the species warranted federal protection some 15 years ago, but that due to other vested interests it is doubtful that the species will ever be listed.

To be quite candid, my first internship was a bumpy ride. I struggled communicating effectively with my mentor and struggled with the lack of acceptance of forward thinking in the office. These challenges were only magnified by the blatant incongruences within much of the data that I was being asked to collect. I say this not to nock the agency, many of the challenges faced by field personnel and field offices are very real and stem from one of the great fallacies of federal land management – which is that its possible to responsibly manage a quarter billion surface acres with one agency comprised of a limited staff – a problem which has only gotten worse due to the sequester and the lack of congressional leadership.

Having the opportunity to work in a remote field office allowed me to realize many of these challenges and experience them first hand. I began to wonder how it’s possible to have long term goals with a short-term budget – or even worse, no budget at all. I left Alturas with a feeling that the system has inherent inefficiencies in the way it operates. I also left at a loss of what to do about it. On my way to Colorado I took three weeks to explore the northwest coast and clear my head with Cascade vistas and chilly ocean breezes. I lucked out though; back in Colorado I was offered a position to resume my status as a CLMer at the State Office working with the botanist. After some back and forth during the government shutdown and frozen funding I started work mid-winter.

I grew up in Colorado, and have spent the majority of my life in the southern Rocky Mountain region. I have studied there and identified with it as my home. Though, my work has always taken me elsewhere – so I was excited by the prospect of working for the state botanist, and to get to work in places that I have grown up with as my back yard.

My experience at the state office was something I couldn’t have predicted. A lot of the pieces fell into place and things started making sense. Being at the State Office allowed me to interact with a wide variety of specialist filling different roles within the agency around the state. Working with the procurement office was an experience that every aspiring land manager or conservationist should have. If you don’t understand how funding works, or the vast sums of money that change hands between federal, private, and academic institutions it is really difficult to understand why or how the BLM operates that way it does. Additionally, working at the state level allowed us to travel around and interact at a variety of field offices.

Since my work began in the winter I spent the vast majority of my time conducting analysis on demographic data from previous years of trend monitoring. I had always been the field technician, collecting data that left my hands for analysis (if it made it that far). Having the opportunity to practice statistical analysis most certainly allowed me to connect the dots to see how data collection affects real land management decisions as well as how to design meaningful research. Most of all though, my co-CLMer Nathan, and our mentor Carol, and myself had a very functional dynamic and were able to work successfully as a team. Having the opportunity to step up to the plate and design my own projects that contributed to the goals of the program was a big step for me, and I owe it to Carol for giving us that freedom.

All in all, working at the state office enabled me to see how to develop, implement, and nurture a program that is based on employing established and accepted methodologies to collect meaningful data that can be used to assess management practices with the goal of conservation in the face of an uncertain future (a mouthful). Working within the federal system certainly has its challenges and it’s most certainly not all peaches-and-cream, but ultimately that is the goal. I suppose in retrospect, my CLM experience gave me a complete and comprehensive picture of the struggles and the solutions to these struggles. The tides are changing in land management (albeit slowly at times) and we are in need, now more than ever, of having effective individuals doing the work of the future within these agencies – a lot depends on it.

As for my future, next week I’ll be beginning an MS program at Colorado State University pursuing a degree in Conservation Leadership. Our research and conservation project will be conducted in the Toledo District of southern Belize.

Until next time, best of luck and best regards!

Phil Krening
Colorado State Office – BLM
pkrening@gmail.com

Hi Everyone,

I hope your CLM internships are going well and you are enjoying your time! I got to take time to away and go the the Botany conference in Boise, Idaho and it was a great experience. I got to present my MS thesis (which is finally done!) and have some time exploring the city. Please enjoy some pictures below form the Idaho Botanical Gardens and the Boise

 River.

Alicia

Fire season has been ramping up down here (or up here depending on where you are) in Southern Oregon.  Not only did the largest fire in Oregon, The Oregon Gulch fire maxing out at ~36,500+ acres, just get contained roughly 20 miles south of us, but 7,000 recorded lighting strikes on Monday has lead to 12 new fires that are getting bigger as I type.  The socked in smokey valley, mixed with 100 degree days, has made going out and collecting not so enjoyable.  But being the diligent seed heads that we are, we have still been keeping up with collections and as of last week we met our target collection number of 60 and have since then surpassed it by a lot.  With the vast diversity in eco-regions and elevation in our district, our number of seed collections don’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.  It has been nice to think that maybe the seeds I collect today, will be used to rehab these burned sites tomorrow.

Oregon Gulch Fire

Oregon Gulch Fire

The top of Grizzly Peak

Since my first post, Cara (intern), Joe (mentor), and I have done a total of 11 SOS collections and somewhere around 50 habitat assessment transects. Many of our transects have been done at locations that have been assessed in the past, specifically at allotments that have been burned in the last year or so. Hearing our mentor, Joe, talk about how allotments used to look even within the last year, gives me a good idea of how superficially destructive fire can be. It’s always a welcome site to see the return of good forb diversity as well as little sagebrush recruits. On our travels we’ve come across some “friends in the foothills.” I’ve attached a few pictures below.

In addition to transects and SOS collections, we’ve also started to help with riparian assessments of “PFC” (proper functioning condition). This has been a nice change of pace as we get to work with more employees within our field office and gain more perspective into the other types of work that go on.

I’m looking forward to continuing to be involved in other projects as the collection season comes to a close and we finish up our habitat assessments. We’ve heard rumor of working with butterflies, raptors, some fish-shocking, and maybe even a river-ranger trip to monitor cow/grazing presence along the Payette River. Fingers crossed for all of those things!!

Hope everyone is learning a lot and still finding time to get goofy!

Best,

Zander

Intern at Four Rivers Field Office, Boise, ID.

Mourning dove eggs under an Arrowleaf Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata).

Only about one more month left here in Vale, OR. Our days have mostly been spent monitoring plant populations for seed, collecting seed, and even still scouting for new sites. Most recently we found a few good rush and sedge populations. Surprise, surprise, eastern Oregon does have some riparian areas! Over half of our collections this year are from south eastern Oregon, near McDermitt NV, in the Oregon Canyon Mountains. Given how dry Malheur County has been, heading up in elevation was our best strategy. That has been a bulk of our duties right now, although I am looking forward to taking an online ArcGIS geoproccessing course tomorrow. I’m so glad we’re able to take advantage of such courses.

On a personal note, I just got back from 3 and a half days back home in Chicago. Much needed, and much enjoyed! The hunt for my next job is in full swing as well, although I do plan on applying for another round as a CLM intern too. That’s all for now, I’ll make my next and final post longer, and more interesting!

Colleen

Vale, OR BLM

Seeds of Success has taken up most of my time this month. Although this season has been extremely dry, Matt and I have been able to collect 13 species so far. Most of our species have come from riparian areas where there is ample moisture for plants to produce an abundance of healthy seeds. Our favorite collection site is called Steven’s Camp and it has an adorable little cabin. This site is also swarming with American kestrels and other birds of prey.

Besides seed collecting we have been conducting rare plant surveys on project areas proposed for juniper reduction/habitat restoration. We have not found any but have come across suitable habitat for a few different species of concern. We are currently working on writing an Environmental Assessment for one of these juniper reduction projects. It has been a great opportunity to get familiar with the NEPA process and writing environmental documents, which is a crucial skill to have.

Another huge project in action is working on an Emergency Rehabilitation and Stabilization (ESR) plan for a fire that happened on our resource area. It was a 14,000 acre fire that we plan to rehab starting in October as long as we get the funding. I have been involved in developing seeding mixtures and looking at pricing. It has made me realize how important seeds of success is and having seeds available that are adapted to the area, especially because native seed prices are so expensive. It has given me an extra push to collect over 10,000 seeds whenever possible.

Highlights from July:

-The bear caught on the wildlife camera at one of our guzzlers. It’s quite rare for our project area.

-Visiting the Lutz farm. The Lutz’s are a couple that has been working with Seeds of Success collectors from our field office. They grow our seeds and do research projects. They will be providing us with 750 sagebrush seedlings to use for the ESR on the fire.

-Hiking in the Warner mountains.

-Chilling with the horses at Bitner Ranch.

Lost Bear looking for water.

My new friends.

Hawk on top of Steven’s Camp cabin.

Hike to Patterson Lake in the Warner Mountains

Back-roads on BLM land are the worst roads I have ever driven. Riddled with rocks (nay, boulders), slashed by streambeds, and marred by mud, they are an obstacle and an adventure everyday. 5 months of driving on these roads has taught me to be cautious, careful and to drive slowly. Really slowly. But, until last week, these Nevadan roads had not yet taught me how to unstick a truck from a muddy ditch.

The lesson began after a long day of fire monitoring. We were headed toward our second site (and the promise of dinnertime), up a mountain, around tight bends, over stones, when the front truck met her match. Sue, as we’ve taken to calling her, was stuck. A steep hill, a muddy road, and a deep ditch had proven too much for our trusty steed. After a bit of head-scratching, we hatched a plan. Before long we were grabbing supplies from the emergency kits, hauling rocks, digging out the tires, and building a ramp for Sue to climb out on. Then came the moment of truth. Two hands on the wheel and 14 on the tailgate, we shoved and steered Sue to safety.

An experience that could have been stressful or scary was edifying and enriching. We learned how to unstick a truck. And, more importantly, we learned that we could.

Whooping, my team got back to work.

Rebecca

Carson City, NV

Hello,

I haven’t written here for a while, really sorry for the late post, but the more time you spend as a CLM Intern the more experience and original data you gather as a source for your stories. Hence, of course now I definitely have lots of information to share.

I can’t believe it’s already August here in Carson City. On one side there are lower temperatures, a little bit of rain, much more pleasant weather, however we realize that this amazing time is slowly moving towards its end. A few weeks ago I hit my midpoint with CLM when I tried to rethink and sum up a little what I’ve done/learned so far and what still needs to be improved and accomplished. I probably must say that this sort of thinking is very useful because it takes you outside your daily work and routine, reveals things which could be easily forgotten or not noticed at all, but are crucial at the same time.

Outside of that, even though we’ve familiarized ourselves with our duties and responsibilities pretty well, a nice thing is – weekend trips and new explorations never end. Thankfully to our “always hungry for adventures” team we always share with each other about our nature observations, but not only of course, from around places wherever we are. Last weekend we went for a delightful walk started on Carson Pass in the Sierras. Being in subalpine zone, where snow is still or already present, is very unusual and interesting for those who spend most of their time in sagebrush steppe. Of course botanists never tire especially being in such a beautiful place. We kept collecting unknown for Great Basin species of grasses and sedges till the very end of the trip. Just yesterday I checked out how well they have gotten preserved under a homemade plant press – not bad at all! And I think starting from the next week an identification process should be launched. Speaking about sedges, wetlands here in western Nevada are just amazing. Of course with a portion of weeds – no ways to get rid of them there so far, but those places are true oases within the typical arid vegetation. Moreover, collecting seeds at such places is a pure pleasure. Tons of seed everywhere, plus dedicated group of people bring a very good result in Seeds of Success program. We continue work here in a regular, pretty good pace having as a gift from the weather nice temperatures and way nicer work conditions. Will share with more experience as usual later…

Until next time,

Andrii

BLM, Carson City

ps: maybe someone knows the name of that guy on Epilobium flower?