Greetings from New England! It has been a truly lovely summer up hear in the northeast. The New England Seeds of Success (SOS) team has been getting lots of sunshine while we travel to project sites. We’ve continued our focus on salt marsh habitats but have also added projects inland such as a dam removal site in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

Last week we attended a Survey of Grasses workshop at Garden in the Woods, New England Wild Flower Society’s headquarters in Framingham, Massachusetts. The workshop was led by Dennis Magee, author of Grasses of the Northeast (2014). We spent a good chunk of the day reviewing over 40 genera that Magee divides into 12 tribes (groups of genera with common characteristics). Using informational handouts, dried specimens, dissecting scopes and a 10x lens, our group dove into the taxonomy of one of the largest plant families. It was a fantastic opportunity to work with a plant family I personally struggle to identify in the field. With each genera we discussed a variety of field characters that will help us be able to feel more confident in our accurate identification of grasses.

This week we have finally collected seed! After what seemed like months of training, preparation, research, and communication with land and property managers, our first common native plant species of interest are producing seed. Our first collection was Triglochin maritima (seaside arrowgrass) in the Juncaginaceae family. We found a viable population in the Scarborough Marsh in Scarborough, Maine (about 15 minutes south of Portland, Maine). We’re still waiting on seed collection bags, so we used a large brown paper bag and my lunch bag to make the collection! As we surveyed the marsh and upland margins, I was happy to notice my improvement in recognizing plant species and being able to recall their latin name and whether they were native or invasive. Although our first few weeks were slow in field work, this time for me has been well spent with my head deep into Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide (1989), A Field Guide to Coastal Wetland Plants of the Northeastern United States (1987), Life in the Shifting Dunes (1960) and A Beachcomber’s Botany (1963).

The rest of the week the New England SOS team is heading to Charlestown, Rhode Island and then to the Cape. We’ll be camping at Nickerson State Park to get an early start to our collection in the Cape. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to camp during my work week – what luck! Until next time!

 

 

 

 

 

Greetings from Cedarville, CA!

I have just completed my first month working with the BLM Surprise Field Office and it has been a very exciting month. Much of my first month has been spent getting adjusted to a new environment. Coming from Michigan means that I have to learn a whole new set of plant species and adjust to the terrain, which is very different than what I am used to. I also have to get used to living in a different state. We did end up getting lost in our resource area one day, but it was a great chance to test out my gps and map reading skills. I am glad to say we did make it to our destination after a slight delay. It has been a great experience and I love being able to compare the two areas and have found great things about both.

Most of the work that me and my co-intern have been doing has been post fire vegetation monitoring. We have been collecting lots of data to see how the area has responded after a huge wildfire burned through last year. We look at the species found on different plots as well as how stable the soil is in an area. Eventually, after all the data is collected, the goal is to compare our data to data of similar plots not affected by the fire. Hopefully, this will give us a good idea of how the resource area is doing as a whole. This has been a great tool to help in learning many of the species found in our resource area.

We have also started collecting seeds for the Seeds of Success program. We have done 5 collections so far. It has been a struggle to get our timing down. If we have been off with our timing we have had to come up with a back up plan while in the field. We have to decide whether it is worth our time to collect or not. If it is not worth our time, we have to decide if we should go back to the office empty handed or if there is a different plant population that we could collect. Also, on our first couple collections we learned that we have been under prepared. We needed to do more research in the office before we head out to collect. Hopefully, that will make future collections go more smoothly.

Overall, my first month has been fantastic and I can not wait to see what is in store in the coming months!

AZ

Over the past month I have spent a great portion of my time out in the field trying to track down little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus). They are the only bat species thought to have a home range that extends as far as Central, AK. I am using several SMZC acoustic monitoring devices to determine the presence or absence of the species. The acoustic monitors are placed within a grid that has been created based on suitable habitats. A microphone is fastened atop a pole and the acoustic unit is strapped to a tree. The two are connected by a microphone cable.

Each unit is placed somewhere within the grid and is then left for a period of two to three weeks. The units automatically begin recording around dusk and stop recording in the early morning. During the recording time if a bat were to fly within range of the microphone an acoustic trigger would be tripped and the device would begin recording. The data cards are collected after the deployment period and the detectors are relocated. The data cards are brought back to the office and analyzed with an acoustic software.

RC

July in Carson City, NV generally means lots of sun and hot temperatures, and we have had our fair share during 10 hour days in 100+ degree heat. A variety of techniques have emerged amongst our crew to deal with such heat. My personal favorite is storing a handful of ice in my hat. Luckily, over the last two weeks, we have seen a fairly regular dose of afternoon thunderstorms that have helped mollify our heat stress. However, it does look like warmer and drier temperatures are on the horizon.

Generally speaking, this time of the year marks the end of seed collection for the early season bloomers. As these plants wither or go into dormancy in the hot sun, we will shift gears and spend a lot of time doing fire rehab monitoring. This task entails intensive data gathering at recently burned areas in the district that have been reseeded. Once this is finished, it will be time to pick up with the seed collecting once more. Until then, I will be coming up with new ways to beat the heat.

AR

Hey Everybody,

Here, at last, is the long overdue farewell blog for my CLM internship in Needles, CA. But don’t worry, this will not be my last CLM blog! I have taken and started a new internship in Bishop, CA along the eastern Sierra’s. In the business and chaos of travel, moving, and getting used to a new place and job, I have neglected to write this blog post. But now I’ve had some time to slow down and think about my time in the Mojave Desert, and it’s about time that I share some of those thoughts.

First of all, the landscape and ecology of the desert is amazing! I don’t think I ever would have sought out the Mojave on my own, but I am very thankful that I ended up there, and have been able to get to know the place. It is thoroughly unique. From my first day in the desert to my last, the landscape never ceased to demand my attention and amazement. The vastness of space in the open desert is incredible. It is interrupted by mountains and valleys, but still one’s gaze can extend for 70 or 80 miles in all directions. And often, that great expanse of space is permeated by stillness and silence. Some days bring the sound of insects and birds, or the frantic scurrying of lizards, but many times a gentle breeze would provide the only visible movement for miles. The place is stunningly beautiful, and sometimes intimidating. On days when I worked alone in isolated places, I was consistently reminded of my own smallness. It was a striking feeling that I won’t forget.

The life that endures and survives in the desert is also amazing. If you spend any time there, you begin to feel just how inhospitable the place can be. The heat of summer is staggering. The dryness is complete and inescapable. When rain finally does come, it often arrives violently with storms and floods that can devastate the land. Living things face challenges everywhere, but the difficulties and threats posed by this hot desert are always in your face. I’m just a weak little human myself, and I was constantly aware that I absolutely could not survive out there on my own. So it is amazing to me that so many plants, animals, and other living things can make it. Their margin for error is tiny, and the desert is a place where they simply cannot survive any mistakes. The adaptations that allow life to make it here are as varied and special as the species that possess them – unique organisms for a nearly impossible home. Learning about and working with the species that survive here has treated me to an incredible display of diversity.

Work with the Needles BLM was wonderful, and desert ecology was fascinating, but I must also say that Needles was a very difficult place to live. The vastness and openness of the desert is beautiful, but the accompanying isolation is a challenge. Needles lies right along the Colorado River and Interstate 40, both a source of life and connection for the people there, but the town is still small, and the isolation is real. Loneliness was often a burden for me. But the difficulties of life in Needles also produced growth and learning that may prove valuable to me for the rest of my life. The desert was a lonely place, but I worked really hard to develop relationships there, and I ended up with a small group of friends that kept me healthy and sane through the year. I could not have made it without them.

So here’s some advice for fellow CLM interns who end up living in isolated and difficult places: Invest in the community and the people there. Put in the effort to find and join the community. You will benefit from it. Some of these isolated, small towns are surprisingly full of life, others can be very sad places. Either way, take the time to learn about the people who live there. Practice empathy. Be positive, appreciative, and encouraging. It will be worth it for you, and the people around you. Look at that, in this blog you get plant stories AND free life advice!

Here’s another bit of short, practical advice for any future CLM interns that are offered the position in Needles. The work and opportunity provided to me by my mentor, Lara, was exceptional. The work of seed collecting and plant monitoring was fascinating. The flexibility I was given to plan my own projects and schedule was exceptional. I was given tremendous encouragement and freedom to make this internship what I wanted it to be, so that it benefited me as much as possible. And the skills, experience, and professional benefit I have gained from this job have been fantastic. I had to be very self-driven and self-reliant to learn well and to do good work here, but I was given great space and opportunity to develop that independence. And they kept me around for a whole year! So if those things are valuable to you, know that this office and this internship will not disappoint.

Here’s one last reflection about the Mojave. I was able to spend a full 12 months working for the BLM in Needles. Sticking with the desert for the cycle of a full year dramatically increased the richness and value of my experience there. I started my internship in May, and if I had only been able to stay through my original 5-month commitment, I would have left in October, and only been able to live through summer and early autumn in Needles. That is no way to see the desert. If you are ever able to spend time in a desert, even if it that means just the occasional visit, understand that the character of the desert changes dramatically with the seasons. Find a way to experience these changes. Summer may be intensely uncomfortable and challenging, but it is awe-inspiring in its brutality. The power of the monsoons in late summer and early fall is startling, and the resulting fall bloom of plants is a treat of color. The coolness and gentle, soaking rains of winter are wonderful, and deeply refreshing. And of course, the bloom of spring flowers in the desert can be magical and spectacular. All of those seasons are different, and all of them are memorable. I’m sure this can be said of most places, but it certainly holds true in the desert. It is a place worth getting to know, worth exploring, and worth seeing throughout the year.

That’s all from Needles! I’ll be back with a blog from the new job in Bishop soon!

Until Next Time,

Steve Tillman

Needles BLM Office

 

Wenatchee on Fire!? The Great Escape!

I was driving back to town on a Sunday afternoon. The temperature was over 100 °F and there was a constant, dry wind that was blowing across town. I noticed that there was a small fire that broke out northwest of town. It looked pretty small, so I did not take any interest in it. After relaxing and sleeping in the afternoon, I noticed that the sky looked darker than it should, but I assumed it was just clouds moving through the area. Around dusk, I heard a massive helicopter fly over the apartments I was staying in. I looked out from the balcony and noticed it was one of those water helicopters they used to put out the fires. I rushed to the other side of the apartment complex and noticed the massive black cloud moving over Wenatchee. The fire in the last few hours became massive and it was heading directly towards Wenatchee!!! D:

The air was very smoky and it was raining down ash and debris from the hillside that was on fire. I decided to drive down the highway to get a better vantage point, while maintaining my distance…safety first!!! There was a pull off by the bridge and you could see the hill side burning!!! It reminded me of lava traveling slowly along the landscape. The Sleepy Hollow housing development nearby was starting to catch on fire as well! Some houses were burning and you could see police officers frantically closing off roads and ordering evacuations. When I looked back to Wenatchee, I noticed another orange glow…near the apartments I was living. I quickly got into my car drove back to my apartment.

On my way, another massive fire broke out in the industrial district of Wenatchee! The fire was big and was spreading easily to the surrounding buildings due to the high winds. The fire was very intense as I drove past it. I decided to pack up all of my things in my apartment in case things got bad. The wind was blowing and the apartments were downwind from the fire. Smoke was everywhere and the skies were orange from the lights and fire. Tree borer beetles were now raining down with the ash. I made sure to pack everything useful to me. The industrial fire was eight blocks away and I could see all the firefighters and police officers down the street. The police were making their way towards the apartments. They were beginning evacuations.

I waited outside the apartments with my neighbors and their families watching the orange glow grow from the industrial fire. We were told to wait, because the roads in the area were crazy and the authorities did not want more chaos of people evacuating all at the same time near the fire. The hillside to the west of us was on fire and it was steadily moving in a southwest direction. We were hearing explosions from the propane tanks in the industrial area as the fire was claiming different buildings. They closed off the street right next to our apartments and I could see the police going into the parking lots to see if anyone was in any of the buildings. The BLM was located right next door and it was closed off. Only the BLM fire crew could be seen leaving and entering the building. A Bluebird company truck came by us and told some people that the ammonia tanks might catch on fire and that people should be prepared to evacuate. Instead of waiting around, I left for the Red Cross shelter in East Wenatchee, which was across the river. On my way, I parked by a Hobby Lobby that overlooked Wentachee Valley and saw three fires that were going on. The hillside fire was advancing southwards. I could see the firetrucks and crew members late at night trying to segregate and put out the line fire. The hillside fire looked like it was a fire snake slowly moving across the landscape. The Sleepy Hollow housing development was still on fire and the industrial fire was still blazing. I watched this until 2:00am before I went to the shelter.

I stayed at the shelter for a bit, but I could not sleep. In the early morning, I made sure to contact Krissa and Rebecca to tell them of the unfolding situation. The night before my bosses texted me and made sure that I was safe by providing useful phone numbers, evacuation routes, and areas to stay over the night. I also made sure to tell my family and friends that I was safe. Krissa and Rebecca did an amazing job and always kept in touch to see if all the interns were safe. Jenny and Reed lived further away from Wenatchee, so the fires were not that much of a threat to them.

I found out that five minutes after I left the apartments at night, they did an evacuation of our area. In the morning, they sent emails saying that it was safe to come back to the apartments. The hillside and Sleepy Hollow fires looked contained, but the industrial fire was still smoking. After I unpacked a lot of my things in the apartment, I took a shower and tried to sleep. Other people were returning to the apartments doing the same thing. The streets by the BLM were still closed and I assumed that there was no work today. After thirty minutes passed by, I heard a loud knock on the door and a woman on the other side was yelling about doing another evacuation. I answered the door to see a police officer and a woman telling me of an ammonia leak heading our way. I smelled the scent of chemicals in the air. I rushed and grabbed the main essentials and immediately left in my car. I found out a couple minutes later that the people who were left had to stay in their apartments, because the ammonia was so dense. They had to barricade themselves into the homes and block any openings. I went to the Red Cross for a bit before I headed over to Jenny’s place to collect my thoughts.

By the late afternoon, the ammonia left and it was safe to return to the apartments again. I updated Krissa, Rebecca, my bosses, and family about the entire situation and how it improved. It was quite a day and it was very exhausting! Haha!! The industrial fire burned another two days before it was finally contained. We returned to work the next day and helped the Great Basin Institute crew with plant monitoring. After the week was over, I went to the west portion of Washington where it was cooler and had a lot of green vegetation. I visited family and went rock hounding for the Fourth of July break!! By the way, no one in Wenatchee wanted to buy fireworks after the fires. Those T.N.T. tents probably did not make a profit due to the firework ban.

Watermelon Hill, Here We Come!

After the blazing fires and some time to rest for the 4^th of July, Jenny and I were given a special mission. We had two objectives on our plate. Our first objective was to help with rare plant monitoring of Spalding’s catchfly (Silene spaldingii). The second and most important objective was to record all of the invasive plant populations throughout Watermelon Hill. The NISIMS work here would be very difficult. The area near Fishtrap Lake underwent a severe fire the previous year. Many ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) were burnt to the ground leaving holes throughout the landscape. Invasive plants moved in with such vigor, that the landscape was dominated with the most common and frightening weeds of the West. The Watermelon Hill Fire created a Lost World and Jenny and I did not know what to expect. This was part of NISIMS and ESR work that was brought to us by BLM Legend Erik Ellis. I looked over the area and the number of transects we had to do. Jenny and I had to cover a lot of land within a three day period of time. With the temperatures being in the triple digits with an unknown assortment of weed populations, I classed this a Class 4.5 CLM Mission. It was going to be a long week…

Reed, Jenny, and I had to drive from Wenatchee, WA out to the Border Field Office district to Watermelon Hill, which was located near Spokane, WA. The first day we were split up into groups to do some rare plant monitoring of the Silene species and to get a better grasp of the land. Jenny and I went with BLM Legend Kim Frymire into Watermelon Hill. Walking along the roadsides to our Silene destinations I saw many grasshoppers, some vigorous native grasses, and a massive amount of invasive plants in the burned areas. The native plants did not recover much and the weeds took hold. Tumble mustard (Sisymbrium altissimum), cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), Japanese brome (Bromus japonicus), and North Africa grass (Ventenata dubia) dominated the biscuit hills in the area. Thistles (Cirsium spp.), rush skeleteonweed (Chondrilla juncea), St. Johnswort (Hypericum perforatum), and Dalmatian toadflax (Linaria dalmatica) were scattered in the understories of the scarred ponderosa pine. Houndstongue (Cynoglossum officinale), orchard grass (Dactylis  glomerata), and quackgrass (Elymus repens) filled into the ephemeral stream areas. The landscape looked foreign compared to what I have seen in all of my previous internships. This was a landscape that was already taken over. It was Jenny and I’s job to record the  invasive plant populations as best as we could and report our findings and GPS points to the proper authorities. We did find some Silene populations and learned how to monitor them, which was an interesting process that I will go into detail in the next section.

After a nice rest in Spokane, Jenny and I prepared for the upcoming day. We carried a huge amount of water, put on the best sunblock, had our lunches and snacks, and had a fully charged GPS with updated maps of the Watermelon Hill area we were in! The day was long and hard. We had to walk across miles of burnt forests and hilly mustard prairies. The burnt forests had some recovering ponderosa pine that were able to tolerate the fire, but some pines and aspens (Populus tremuloides) were burnt to the ground. Even the root systems did not make it!! We had to watch our step in the ashy forested areas, so we didn’t stink into a burnt out root tunnel. Rush skeletonweed and the Dalmatian toadflax were the most common invasive plants we encountered. There would be huge patches along basaltic hillsides and in the understories of trees. The St. Johnswort always made an expected appearance. It was interesting to see the nature of each of the invasive plants. They each had their own personality. The skeleteonweed was very nervous and anti-social. The toadflax was extraordinarily social and plentiful in unexpected areas. The St. Johnswort was like a very friendly person that overstayed their welcome.

One of the scarier sites to see were the tumbling mustard prairies. These landscapes had hills and were actually layered like a cake!! The ground around the biscuit hills were comprised of North Africa grass. The next layer up the hill were the brome species such as cheatgrass and Japanese brome. The candles on the cake were the tumbling mustards that were so dense you could not walk through them easily. One of my biggest fears was the North Africa grass. In my previous internships, they considered this grass worse than cheatgrass once it was established. I consider it the Deinonychus of the invasive plants!! Cheatgrass would probably be the Compsognathus of introduced grasses. One of the most frightening invasive grasses I did see was the medusahead grass (Taeniatherum caput-medusae)….D: This grass was like the Giganotosaurus of every invasive grass. Very mean, extraordinarily aggressive and took over everything and anything. Fortunately for Jenny and I, the medusahead remained in isolated populations.

Conversation with Medusahead after spending eight hours in the field under the intense sun in high temperatures.

(Walks up to medusahead grass with GPS)
Justin: Sir, do you know why I stopped over here to talk to you?
Medusahead: (Rustles slightly in the wind)
Justin: Well, I heard complaints in the area from other native plants and even invasive plants that you were trying to aggressively take over the area and making the area more prone to fires.
Medusahead: (Stands perfectly still)
Justin: I could see that you have spread into one of the biscuits and not even cheatgrass wants to grow near you.
Medusahead: (Stands perfectly still)
Justin: Hmm….that was not really nice of you to displace your neighbors… (sigh) I guess I have to write you up…
Medusahead: (Shakes aggressively in the wind)
Justin: Let me see…your population is over 0.1-0.5 acres in length… you are scattered throughout the landscape… I estimate that there are over six medusahead grasses in a square meter….using ocular estimate of course…
Medusahead: (Shakes aggressively in the wind and some seeds cling onto my shoe)
Justin: Sir….SIR! Excuse me. There is no need for that. I am also writing you up for seed setting. (Pulls out a single medusahead plant) Let that be a lesson to all of you. No more trying to pretend like you are Squirrel tail grass, I know what you are…
Medusahead: (Shivers in the wind)
Justin: Hey. Not my problem, I am only doing my job. If you need clarification, speak to one of the Range Cons or weed people, I am sure they will tend to you. Have a nice day.

Where art thou, Silene spaldingii!?

After a few days of recording invasive plants for NISIMS, Jenny and I finally completed transects for Watermelon Hill. Our next mission was to find Reed and Lorna and help them monitor Silene spaldingii!! This catchfly could be found on north aspects of a hill within or near various sagebrush. They were considered a threatened plant species and evaluation of their populations were needed at the time. Jenny and I did a lot of driving and hiking to the north of Ritzville. After forty-five minutes we met up with Reed and Lorna!! They set up a specific perimeter around the catchfly population and put orange flags next to each plant. We measured size, phenology, damage, and how many stems were on each plant. Site pictures were taken and notes were being written down. After a few sites, we were done!! After an exhausting week, we were finally done with NISIMS. Helping the S.O.S. botany CLM interns at the end of our work week was the icing on the cake!!

And now….

Your Moment of Zen…

 

The many hours I’ve spent over the last month have been well worth my endurance. I’m finally off the road–so to speak, at least in the sense of my travels coming to a temporary end in the result of my arrival to Carlsbad, NM. I’m here to stay for a while and learn and experience as much as I can for the duration of my internship with the Carlsbad BLM office… I’m not going to lie to you and say I didn’t do one of the tourist-y things I could do in Carlsbad by visiting the Carlsbad Caverns National Park as soon as I got settled! I’m not going to dwell on how amazing that place is, and how I’m going to be visiting that place more than a few times in my off time, and even possibly working there during the day down the road!

Besides that, my internship has been going strong for a little more than 3 weeks now. After getting most of my paperwork and training out of the way I was finally able to venture outside and experience the southeast New Mexico landscape. For my first excursion my mentor took me out into the field to shadow him on how the BLM wildlife biologist handle dealing with the oil & gas industry in proposing pipelines, drilling wells/islands and such. It was not so much biologically entertaining as I saw a good glimpse into what Southeast NM industry was really all about. OK, not all about, but probably the most “socially” relevant. I wish I could provide an accurate picture of what this landscape looks like for those that are as unaware as I was before coming here, but I’ve yet to find [produce] a satisfying photo for our pleasure. It was definitely an eye opening experience.

Outside those instances where the BLM staff met industry, I have started my wildlife work out in the field and my first project/task is to survey areas of the Carlsbad managed public lands for the presence of Sceloporus arenicolus (Dunes Sagebrush Lizard) – a New Mexico designated sensitive status species. This species is also listed as “vulnerable” under the IUCN red list. So far we’ve only used pit traps in three locations for five trapping days. Unfortunately, that has yielded us with no detection of S. arenicolus in those areas thus far, but I have been fortunate to at least get some first hand experience in handle some local lizards, one of comparable size.

One of the species we have found is Uta stansburiana (Common side-blotched lizard), a small dune-dwelling lizard in comparable size to S. arenicolus. A lot of the males of this species are showing off some pretty brilliant colors as it is mating season. Uta stansburiana has actually been shown to have an inverse relationship with our target species S. arenicolus; it is thought that U. stansburiana acts as a competitor for the resources within dune habitats that our target species prefers.

Another of the species we’ve encountered have been members of a whiptail species found in this region – genus: Cnemidophorus. I’ve yet to identify the exact species, but it’s most likely C. dixoni, C. tigiris, or C. tesselataus. It’s pretty cool I got to handle a few of these creatures, as a lot of whiptails in genus Cnemidophorus are parthenogenetic. This means they produce offspring by asexual reproduction, and coming from one vertebrate [myself] to another, I think that’s really awesome. I’ve learned about this type of reproduction as a kid specifically from the example of whiptail lizards, and for me to now handle one of those species that uses this strategy of reproduction really means a lot to me. It makes me excited, and it cements the fact that I’m definitely in the right field! Oh, nostalgia!

I’ve also been fortunate enough to be accompanied by two other interns Jeanette and Jodie from the Great Basin Institute. Trained in the magic arts of plant taxonomy and ecology they know significantly more about the flora in this region (and outside) than I do. Slowly they are helping me refresh and fortify my plant identification skills. Soon we’ll be off to collect our first batch of seeds for the SOS program and, although it was not in my job description, I’m really happy to be partaking in such an endeavor outside of my wildlife focus. The CBG training workshop has left me with a germinating seed of botanical curiosity that I was not expecting! My knowledge is blossoming. I CANNOT wait!

Oh, and I’ll keep up those bad puns, you just sit there and watch… or read.

Armand Cann

Carlsbad Field Office, Bureau of Land Management

Greetings from Taos, New Mexico.

It has been almost 2 months since I landed in this small, unique town tucked beneath the mysterious and grandiose Sangre de Cristo mountains. The summer is already flying by before my very eyes, but I am savoring every second of it. I remember my first moments of arrival here, being immediately awestruck by the massive dark blue mountains contrasting the sprawling silver-green sage brush land beneath it. The words of friends who have visited Taos echoed in my mind, and I finally understood what they meant of the magic feeling of this place. The land of enchantment is quite an apt description of New Mexico. Taos is an eclectic town with a wide variety of people that live here. The food here is tasty, and I have been thoroughly enjoying New Mexican food, i.e. smothering everything in green chile. There seems to be a lot to do here, whether it be seeing live music, going to the farmer’s market, getting a drink at the Mesa Brewery, attending a festival, floating down the Rio Grande. And you can’t forget the fantastic access to the gorgeous mountains and forests surrounding the town.

Working in the Taos BLM office has been an interesting and educational experience. The SoS Interns, myself and three others, have made 6 seed collections so far. I’ve  grown to thoroughly enjoy the process of collecting seeds; it can be a very relaxing and meditative activity. As someone who has only worked field jobs in the Northwest, I am learning a lot about Southwestern flora. The plants here are quite beautiful and interesting. I love seeing all the different kinds of cactus and their striking flowers, as well as the numerous species of the pretty Penstemon here.

Two weeks ago, our seed collection duties were put on hold for an emergency rare plant survey. Astragalus ripleyii, a BLM sensitive species, was found on a plot of land that was due to be treated. The treatment involves disking, a disruptive method which uses a large disk to tear up the sage brush in order to allow more grass to grow. However, because this rare species of Astragalus was found, a plant survey was needed in order to map out its populations to include buffer areas around them. Thus, the SoS team, and the occasional special guest, went out for 8 days, scanning 300 + acres of land for Astragalus ripleyii. In the end, we found around 6 populations. I am glad I got the chance to conduct my first rare plant survey, as well as learn about this particular type of land management and the politics behind it.

Finally, this past week I had the opportunity to go out with the Taos AIM crew (Assessment Inventory and Monitoring) for a few days and collect data with them. It felt good to go out on a hitch, doing plots and camping afterwards. I recorded some data for them, as well as conducted some Point-Intercept lines. I also took part in identifying soils, which involves digging a soil pit 70 cm deep, classifying and analyzing the various layers within it. It was pretty interesting to see how the soil layers changed the deeper you went, and interpreting its role in the plant communities present. The next day, we got stuck in the mud on our way to a plot in the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. There have been unusual thunderstorms pretty consistently the past couple weeks, and as a result, the dirt roads many of us BLM workers have to take turn to pudding. We dug for a while without success, and called in on the truck radio to dispatch (which was exciting and kind of nerve-wrecking) to ask for a fire crew to help us. They eventually came to our rescue, and we learned some things about getting trucks unstuck (which involves gunning it and rapidly turning the wheel left and right to wiggle it out). Later that day at a plot off a solid, paved road, we got close and personal with a rattlesnake! Overall, it was an eventful and exciting hitch, and I hope to go out with them again in the future.

Hello again!

 

Since the last update, we have been working diligently on data organization and analysis. Note-worthy trends have revealed themselves, such as vegetation differences between the open and shrub covered quads, the plant communities at different sites, and presence of non-native plants, some of which, for example Bromus rubens, are not very beneficial to tortoises. However, we must leave the tortoise forage project on the table for a short time while we begin a new one!

I just returned from our first week sampling vegetation in abandoned oil drilling sites on the Colorado Plateau in eastern Utah. We are sampling in Coleogyne ramosissima (black brush) and Artemisia spp. plant communities in different climate zones and lengths of time since abandonment. The more recent sites tend to foster more Salsola (Russian thistle – typical tumbleweed) than the older sites, and the older sites foster different perennials than undisturbed sites. Restoration efforts employed more recently will definitely add an interesting component. Very fascinating findings so far!

In addition to vegetation sampling and learning a plethora of new plants, fieldwork in southeastern Utah consists of riding out brief but intense lightning storms and heavy rain, watching flash floods as they flow by, and camping among hoodoos (precariously eroded pillars of multiple different layers of sedimentary rock). Driving through Monument Valley (igneous intrusions – Alhambra formation) was definitely a highlight!

Amanda

USGS, Henderson, NV