I had a variety of tasks for this month and really enjoyed working at the preserve. I’m currently stationed at the Cosumnes River Preserve located south of Sacramento, CA working in conjunction with the Bureau of Land Management. A large part of the preserve’s mission is to manage the wetlands for resident and migratory bird species. The management is focused a lot on removing invasive species such as Italian thistle and also to promote vegetation that birds like to feed on. Lately, I’ve been collecting a lot of data on the wetlands so we can start looking at their volumes. This is important because it gives information of how to move soil within the wetlands in ways to promote the presence of certain plants. I’ve been working on some trail maintenance also. On some days, I was assigned to treat weedy species with herbicide and also to manage them with the weed eater. Overall, there’s plenty of work for me to do at the preserve and the tasks come in many varieties so that I’m never bored at work. 🙂

One Saguaro for you, Glen Coco! You go, Glen Coco!

That’s why the Nolina parryi is so big—it’s full of secrets!

Greetings from Needles, Ca—The Heart of the Mojave! (At least, that’s what all the signs say.)

Needles is also the home of Snoopy’s brother Spike, but we don’t talk about that.

My main project for the next five months is monitoring rare and sensitive plant species throughout the 3.2 million acres of desert within the NFO. The idea is to identify areas where endangered species (or species that are rare in California but common elsewhere) are present so they can be protected.  This mainly involves identifying favorable habitats, scouting for current populations, adding GIS plot points when a positive ID is made, and some pretty epic views.

Horse Thief Camp in the Kingston mountains

Whipple Wash

Amboy Crater

The view from the top of Amboy Crater!

A few of the rare California species we’ve found so far include hairy blazingstar (Mentzelia hirsutissima), Coves’s cassia (Senna cassia), and saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea).

Hairy blazingstar (Mentzelia hirsutissima)

Hairy blazingstar (Mentzelia hirsutissima)

Sometimes we get the opportunity to assist others with their projects. Earlier this week, we met up with some Northwestern University/Chicago Botanical Gardens graduate students near Prim, NV where they were searching for Walker’s sun cup (Chylismia walkeri tortilis), a member of the Onagraceae family and…

We found it!

Walker’s sun cup (Chylismia walkeri tortilis)

Walker’s sun cup (Chylismia walkeri tortilis)

It was a lot of fun to meet up with other members of the Chicago Botanic Garden clan! I’m looking forward to more collections and collaborations in the coming field season.

Jessica Samuelson

Needles BLM Field Office

When I told friends and family about this position I would be starting in the small, but not too small, town of Wenatchee, WA, the first statement was always “I’ve never heard of it”. My guess about it was as good as theirs. Some town just east of The Cascades with a population of thirty something thousand. Large enough to attract visitors from other parts of the start but small enough to stay off the grid with the rest of the nation. Little did I know that it’s a hidden gem. I drove from Denver with the help of my mother who was equally anxious to see the “quality” of this town neither of us had ever heard of. As we entered the southern part of Washington, we were greeted with agriculture and grasslands with rolling hills as far as the eye could see. After several hours, with 40 miles to go until our destination, we were all but certain this place would be in the middle of nowhere with surrounding cattle fields. Only when the route turned west did we realize that wouldn’t be the case. We turned onto a two lane road that began to descend into a valley. It was completely dark at this point, so as we endlessly curved around corners we only had our imaginations to tell us what the surrounding landscape was like. Finally, after 25 miles of us holding our breath around each corner in preparation of seeing the city did we finally turn to see a valley full of lights flickering. We could see the lights reflecting off the remarkably huge Columbia River that runs right by Wenatchee. After checking into our hotel, we headed to a pub to grab a beer and a bite to eat in celebration of completing our 2 day drive. I was still feeling skeptical about how this place would look in daylight and thinking about what I had potentially gotten myself into by taking this position. Sensing my uneasiness, our server came over and with the biggest smile told me to just wait until morning, I will love it here. She wasn’t wrong.

Three weeks later, I wake up each morning to surrounding hills and snow capped mountains. Wenatchee’s logo is “The Apple Capitol of the World” for a reason. The whole valley within and outside the city is covered with apple orchards as well as pears, cherries, apricots, and wine vineyards. The people of Wenatchee are just as sweet as their fruits. Everyone is so friendly and happy, always giving me advice on where I need eat, hike, camp, etc. I’ve always lived in huge cities (Denver, Houston) with so many different places, lifestyles, hobbies, focuses but Wenatchee gives off a real sense of a community that has one thing in common, love for the outdoors.

I began working at the Wenatchee BLM office almost two weeks ago now. There is one other intern from CBG in the same position as me. We’re actually living together to make things easier and we have the same name to make things easier. So far we have been in training mostly. Completing courses required by the DOI and reading up on the local flora and fauna. For our position we will mostly be working in areas burned in wildfires the last few years. Being on the east side of the Cascades the atmosphere is very dry after dropping all its moisture on the west side while heading over the mountains. Because of this, the area is particularly susceptible to wildfires. Restoration efforts are made on BLM after these occurrences and our job is to monitor them and collect data. On our second day we took a drive to a burned area up the river we’ll be working in. It was pretty barren with some scattered blackened woody debris. However, a closer look reveals life. Vegetation has begun to sprout, some from seeds put there by the BLM others from surrounding vegetation. Next, we drove up and out of the valley a ways to Greater Sage Grouse habitat, another species we’ll be working on. It was unbelievable, once you’re out of the valley it’s completely flat agricultural lands with intermittent sage brush habitat for many miles. The Cascades can be seen in the background but you would never know that there’s a huge valley when looking with the naked eye from the flat lands above. It was a really neat experience. Head 20 miles in any direction from Wenatchee and the terrain completely changes.

My other half….for this position

Examining the riparian vegetation

The McCartney Creek canyon

This past week we have mostly stayed in the office learning about the surrounding area as well as the basics on ArcPad. We went out into the field again this past Tuesday to a place called McCartney Creek that’s located in another valley you wouldn’t know was there to shadow a coworker looking at the stream behavior. It became quite an ordeal after we couldn’t find a way into the canyon without putting ourselves in danger so the walk became an extensive hike around the canyon to find a way in. We learned a valuable lesson, perhaps know more about the area you’re trying to get to in the future. The next month includes three weeks of training in Prineville, Oregon and Reno, Nevada. Hopefully after that we’ll be set up to be on our own in the field every week!

Headed to McCartney Creek

Katherine

Bureau of Land Management

Wenatchee, WA

Although I arrived in Wenatchee, Washington for my CLM internship two weeks ago today, I still look around as I step outside every morning with a sense of wonder and excitement. The city is in a valley–to the east, across the glittering Columbia, are foothills and orchards quickly giving way to a rolling expanse of sagebrush steppe, while to the west looms the magnificent Cascade mountain range. Having lived in the Midwest my entire life, I’m overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the landscapes that surround me, and I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to it. It’s a different world here, and I love it already.

Despite the fact that we’ve been living in a motel for the past two weeks waiting for our apartment to become available, my fellow CLM intern and I have been settling in here effortlessly. Although larger than most places I’ve lived, the city has a small-town feel that makes it seem very homey to me. Most everyone we’ve met here has been friendly, and they all seem to have a suggestion of a trail we need to hike, a restaurant we need to try, or a town we need to explore. I don’t think we’ll ever run out of recreational opportunities!

Since both of us are new to the area, Katherine (my fellow intern) and I have been working hard to learn the flora and fauna of the sagebrush steppe. So far, most of our work days have been spent in the local BLM office, completing various training requirements, studying field guides, reading up on fire ecology, and learning to use ArcMap and ArcPad, which will be vital to our upcoming fieldwork. We’ve had three days in the field so far, shadowing our supervisors and learning to navigate to various study sites on some of the roughest roads I’ve ever driven! We’ve had some exciting wildlife sightings so far–on our first day out, we saw a sage grouse AND two golden eagles! We also learned how long it can take simply to arrive at a site. Earlier this week, we traveled to a place called McCartney Creek to help collect data on the riparian system. The creek was located in a canyon, and simply finding a safe route down took almost an hour! I never imagined that there would be so much topography to navigate in the sagebrush steppe, but I’m learning quickly that this place is full of surprises.

April is already shaping up to be a busy month. Today, Katherine and I are finally moving into our apartment! Hooray! I’m not sure what I’m more excited for–having a kitchen or having my own bedroom! However, we won’t have long to enjoy it. Next week, we’re traveling to Prineville, Oregon for a GeoBOB (Geographic Biotic Observation) training course. The week after we’ll be in Wenatchee, but then we’ll be back on the road, first to an AIM (Assessment, Inventory and Monitoring) training in Prineville and then to a Rangeland Health course in Reno, Nevada. Hotels are really starting to feel like home!

We hiked up to Saddle Rock our first weekend here. Gorgeous!

View of McCartney Creek from the top of the canyon

Katherine takes a GPS point

We found this cow skull in the creek–so cool!

Home sweet home these past 2 weeks!

Katherine Schneider. Bureau of Land Management, Wenatchee, WA.

Greetings, readers, from the Mojave of California!

Palo verde blooming in Whipple Wash

Hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus engelmanii)

How cute is Coryphantha chlorantha?!

Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia)

Our mentor, Lara Kobelt, pointing out the trail to Sierra Club members.