Hi everyone,

The wildflowers continue to still bloom in mid-August, and with rains bringing more moisture, new buds are still forming. It’s been a fantastic year in terms of rain, the forage is amazing and the pronghorns, deer, and elk are fat and happy. One of our sites near Capitol Reef has gotten so much rain that our Helianthus petiolaris collection has been blooming for three straight months. I’ve been lucky to be here on such a good year.

We’ve made 42 voucher collections and 37 seed collections so far. While many of the grasses and forbs of lower elevations have come and gone, we’ve moved up in elevation to montane communities. And, Bouteloua gracilis has finally arrived after seeing only skeletons for the first few months. I’m learning new plants everyday and have enjoyed seeing new plants bloom and thrive as the seasons progressed.

Soil color testing (with our field Jeep) in western Utah

Mounting voucher specimens in lab

Earlier this year our team toured recent treatments done to several areas around Kanab, Panguitch, and Cedar City. Pinyon pine and juniper has been rapidly encroaching on sagebrush and grasslands. Not many plants survive under the canopy and sagebrush almost if not completely disappears. A few target areas were bullhogged and seeded, and we went to check them out. The amount of diversity from treated to non-treated is amazing; non-seeded natives have emerged and thrived so much that they comprise many of our collections. I’d agree that the treatments were very successful, as we saw eight sage grouse utilizing the area near Panguitch. We’ve also seen countless pronghorn, deer, and elk in addition to many passerines. It’s exciting to see such areas succeed, it is definitely one of the most memorable experiences thus far.

Seed collecting Penstemon pachyphyllus in the House Mountain Range in western Utah

Our Buckhorn Wash site is so beautiful, it’s also just around the corner from the Buckhorn Draw Pictograph Panel

We hiked up to Bullion Falls after eradicating some spotted knapweed

Outside of work I have done quite a bit of traveling. In July I went to Yellowstone, and this month I’ve camped on Boulder Mountain and explored Grand Staircase. Pictures below!

My family came to visit and we went to Coral Pink Sand Dunes, our dog loved it! (picture just outside of the State Park on BLM)

The start to the Spooky Slot in Grand Staircase

Bristlecone pine pinecones are bright purple! Such cool trees

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone – amazing

Until next time,

Ellie Becklund

Richfield, UT

The last 2 weeks of July I was working night shifts with a crew of 2 other people using radio telemetry to track flying western long-eared bats. This was the most intense experience of my internship so far. A typical nightshift lasted from 7pm – 4am, except for a few nights when I did not get home till 8am.

It was amazingly difficult and sometimes frustrating work, especially when it was impossible to locate the bats. However, we successfully got enough locations to analyze 4 bats.

Luckily, there was almost a full moon for the last week of work! Coyotes, owls, poorwills, and cattle were frequently heard/seen every night.

After taking one day off to shift back to day time work,  I’ve spent the last 2 weeks in lodgepole pine forests measuring elk and mule deer hiding cover….. It’s been a pretty drastic change of scenery but I love the variety of projects I’ve been able to work on.

Cheers!

-Kathleen

My future boy-band album cover