Daily Archives: 2 October, 2014

Sage Advice and Expanding Horizons

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Last month has, once again, flown by.  Our goal for the season is 20 collections and today we sent 20 full collections off to Bend, which I am personally proud of!  When I started the seemingly daunting task of being the lone SOS intern for the Lander Field Office, I had some serious doubts about reaching my goal.  But with two months left and an entire field office of shrubs to collect, I am positive I will be able to exceed my goal.

I spent a good part of the past month trying to get my sages straight and going a little sage crazy trying to field ID mountain big sage and Wyoming big sage.  My sage advice about identifying sagebrush is have confidence in your initial ID, then get a black light and hope for the best.

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The fruits of my labor.  Eriogonum umbellatum.

 

As most of my forbs have seeded out and have already been collected and shipped off to Bend and my shrubs are still reveling in the in the fall colors of the mountains, I have come to a lull in my usual all-encompassing seed collecting work day.  This seeding downtime has given me the opportunity to expand my horizons and get more diverse field work experience.  I have been able to go to an elk and moose refuge and measure utilization (much to my chagrin zero elk or moose were spotted), visit a few allotments and help get sage grouse coverage transects done, and have even pulled out my crayons and gotten some utilization mapping under my belt.  With every new task I am able to explore more nooks and crannies of the enormous Lander Field Office and to gain new perspectives and a more holistic view of what the BLM does and how it operates with the public.

I have been in Lander for 4 months and have 2 months left.  I am still getting a lot of work done, have a lot more to do, and am still gaining new and valuable experiences almost every day.  As my end looms in the horizon I find myself trying to plan for the long winter and keeping my fingers crossed for a big girl job.  There is no doubt in my mind that the experience I have gained from my CLM internship at the Lander BLM will give me a competitive edge.

Untill Next Time,

Emily Usher, Lander Field Office

San Juan Island Final Blogpost

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I have had an amazing experience working at the San Juan Islands National Monument (SJI NM) for the last six months.  During this project, I’ve been lucky enough to   work with incredibly passionate competent people in a breathtaking location.  I have been given the freedom to by and large design and implement a monitoring project (with heaps of guidance of course) and the help, guidance and support to make that project possible.

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Cattle Point on San Juan Island. Land surrounding lighthouse is part of the San Juan Islands National Monument

 

Over the last six months, I have been working in the small office of the San Juan Islands National Monument, located on Lopez Island, WA and consisting of two full time employees and two seasonals.  Working in such a close environment with the recreation planner and monument manager gave me a better understanding of land management.  Though I had less access to botany staff and wildlife biologists, each day at the office I marveled at the communication skills, level headedness, perseverance and adaptability of the monument team as well as the incredible care, understanding, and enthusiasm each of them used when working with the community and partners.

Because we were such a small team, I was able to help out with public engagement on a few instances.  Though presenting and public speaking has never been a strong suit of mine, I am incredibly happy I have gotten to practice and increase my confidence.

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Tomcat clover on Kellet Bluff, Henry Island

This position has taught me about working with others and has given me the confidence to work by myself.  It also allowed me to make valuable connections with people part of the San Juan Islands conservation community and the BLM.

I am working the SJI NM next year starting a Seeds of Success program on the islands.  I have been sugesting this program to the office for the past few months and our monument manager made it happen.  I am very excited for a new project but to be working with the same brilliant people.

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Spotted Coralroot on Lopez Island