Wow, I cannot believe how quickly these five months have passed! But then again, when reflecting on the range of projects to which I was given the opportunity to contribute, and the amount that I have learned, it’s hard to believe that all of it occurred in just five months…

Throughout this internship, I have gained not only the concrete/technical skills—such as high desert plant identification, GIS capabilities, and vegetation monitoring methods, but also an appreciation for the diverse responsibilities and sustained efforts of land management.

I would describe myself as a “results-oriented” individual, that is, I find fulfillment in seeing the direct impacts of my work; therefore at times I found the array of simultaneous projects frustrating because I didn’t feel like I was focusing my efforts in a productive way. However, to future interns I would impart the following advice: Do not be intimidated, frustrated, or concerned if you feel that you are not able to see projects start to finish. If you are asked to work on several long term projects (as is the tendency of most land management initiatives…), it is important to understand why/to what end you are working on a particular project, but don’t necessarily expect “results.” Not only will you get the most out of your internship by staying open to and aware of new developments and projects, (even if you have four other tasks in the works) but these seemingly small contributions add up to the sustained, diverse efforts required of land management; that is, based on my very limited experience in the arena.

Thanks to CBG and the BLM in Carson City for this opportunity!

-Margaret

Well, last time I had written a post it was still snowy over here. There was just not a lot of field work going around. Now, it’s busier than ever! I have started to go out with others from the office to find my niche in the biological world on my free time.

First, I had the chance to work with the forester here in the Rawlins Field Office. We searched for a sensitive tree species that doesn’t normally grow around the area. We may have succeeded.

possible white bark pine

We tagged the trees for further examination later. Then the forester took us to a potential commercial site and we did plot surveys. I had never had the opportunity to use a laser to measure tree height in school, but glad I got to here. Makes it so much easier!

Second, I saw how reclamation is evaluated on oil and gas pads. We did dot surveys to see what plants were around the area, made sure there was bird cones on vents, and also made sure there were no critters in reservoirs.

Third, I went out with another CBG intern here in the field office. She’s working in the biology department doing Seeds of Success. I was glad to get out and learn some plants that are in the area. The wildflowers are in full bloom. I got some pics of the action.

penstemon?

milkvetch

Evening Primrose

Buckwheat

Lastly, I can put professional toad catcher on my resume. The field office volunteers with the Fish and Wildlife service to inventory the endangered Wyoming toad to see how the population is doing. A total of around 111 toads were found. Woot woot!

Medium size toad

Ready for release I’m sure

Adult female toad

I forgot to mention what I’ve actually been doing as a recreation intern, which encompasses replacing old BLM road signs with new ones, painting picnic tables, and monitoring. Here’s a few pics from the monitoring today

We get to replace these if they’re shot or broken

View of one of our campsites we monitor

Ladder over barbed wire fencing

Bridge to a trail on the Encampment River near another one of our campsites

That is all for now,

Rebecca (Rawlins Field Office)

Oh no… I’ve been too busy for an illustrated version of my adventures this time around. 🙁

In a nutshell, everything is drying up as we move into weeks with high temps in the 100s everyday. We’re collecting as much and as fast as we can, and spotting some later-blooming shrubs as well.

We’ve moved into the second half of our internship now. I’ve been getting to know our new office geologist and wildlife biologist, who have been able to teach me some interesting things about their duties and lines of work for the BLM. I’ve also busied myself with data entry battles while my fellow interns are at the CLM workshop in Chicago. My own training workshop is in a couple weeks in Montana and will be focused on AIM rangeland health methods.

And finally, I’ve been busy trying to figure out what I’ll be doing after this position ends in August. Luckily, I’ve been successful and now have a new job in place to look forward to!

Needles Field Office