July hit us with a collection frenzy.

Within a couple weeks, the unusually cool, wet spring I enjoyed my first month here evaporated into a blazing hot summer, and with it, our collection timetable. We had expected many species to set seed later; instead, they ripened on double-time. Just another reminder that Mama Nature isn’t interested in sticking to our silly human schedule.

For five weeks, we worked around the clock, trying desperately to keep up. Hot spells, dry winds, and a general lack of predictability kept me on our toes, continually visiting sites, always with a paper bag in hand in case today was the day. Fortunately for me, I now had help. On July 1, my new partner, Justyna, rode into town. With twice as many hands at work, our original goal of 25 collections seemed manageable again.

Time passes quickly when you have a lot on your plate, and as quickly as it began, our main project is now wrapping up. We are now turning our attention to other things, some botany-focused, some not. I’m looking forward to gaining new experiences as the summer wraps up!

It’s getting to be fire season in northern California! This past week I saw the first big fire plume I’ve ever seen burning in the field office. The rhythmic patterns of four work days and three day weekends seem as cyclical as the morning to evening cycles between cool, hot and cool again. Over the past month and a half since I last wrote I have been bounced along more BLM dirt “roads,” collected seed from native plants, visited a fair number of stock ponds, measured a bunch of juniper trees, picked a lot of cheat seeds from my boot laces, lost some rubber on my boot soles to the basaltic rock, learned a handful of monitoring codes for plants, and done a fair amount of zooming in, out and panning on the Trimble Juno SB. I’ve almost used my first bottle of sunscreen I started the summer with. My tan lines have deepened, as has my dislike for juniper. We have also visited a few fire lookouts (my favorite of which was on a weekend trip to Mt. Harkness in Lassen national forest), determined our 14 in DBH arm grip, and marked a fair number of cut trees on BLM stands. We still do not have door access or our own computers to work on in the office, but I am hopeful that this might happen before we leave. Who knows though, it might not.

Going out with Clif, the forester, in the trees is one of our favorite work activities. Being in the cooler air with the shade is a relief from the blazing heat and sun, but there are also a lot of beautiful pinecones. Marking trees is in fact, as Clif says, more of an art form than a science. We mark for cut trees over 14 inches DBH based on spacing, tree form (no ramiform branches!), and ladder fuels. Most of the lots we are marking will probably be cut in 2017. We won’t be around to see the job get done, but it is satisfying knowing that the forest will be healthier and safer after it is thinned. We all enjoyed the first time we went out with Clif so much that we joked about all applying to forestry school together at the University of Nevada Reno.

We have started trying to think about some projects that we might like to start individually. I am particularly interested in the issue with juniper trees because of their importance in the ecological narrative of most of the ELFO land. As I mentioned before, juniper trees have expanded their range in the past 100 years as forest fire was limited. Once juniper trees grow older and become more artichoke shaped, they shade out all plants underneath them, leading to bare ground so no sage brush or native bunch grasses can grow. They also use a lot of water, which stresses other plants. There is really nothing that great about them, and they will definitely be part of the picture moving forward for this field office. I am interested to know how the aerial/ spectral mapping of junipers can help the BLM deal with their presence. We are interested in trying to help with some hand removal of small trees, since this is really the only reasonable method for controlling juniper at this point. It would be a pretty satisfying feeling to remove some of those little trees before they grow into monsters.

We have also been working on sage grouse forb inventorying, though at this point everything is dead so most of our plant ID work could be aptly described as “forensic botany.” The sage grouse forb inventory line point intercept counts were supposed to be done in May to June, but we are just getting started on them now and I see a fair number more in our future. We do these plots mostly for the range technicians at spring locations. We visited a spring off of Horse Lake road that has to have been one of the most upsetting things I have seen on the land while I have been here. Some springs are fenced off while water is piped to troughs on the other side of the fence, which protects the spring from destruction by cows. Unfortunately, this spring had not been fenced and the whole spring and green way, where riparian forbs should be growing, had been completely demolished by cow traffic. There was just a gurgle of murky, slimy water and a few tufts of green grass where the cows hadn’t trampled it too much.

It is in these instance that I am reminded of the scale and differences in the western landscapes, as well as the limitations on what we as people, and of course smaller organizations like the BLM, can do. It’s a lot of work first of all (I still don’t understand how they get big machinery out here to bulldoze reservoirs and move large troughs) but there is just so much land. It’s not possible to ensure that everything is taken care of and preserved. I do wonder how many springs on BLM land are in this condition, which unfortunately is likely beyond restoration. It is so surprising to come around the corner on a two track and see something so unnatural. It is sad.

We have successfully collected from Elymus elimoides (squirreltail), Poa secunda (sandberg bluegrass), Leymus cinerus (great basin wild rye), and Cercocarpus ledifolius (mountain mahogany). Squirrel tail has to be one of my favorite grasses to collect. It’s easy to pull the bottle brush seeds off of the plant and feel satisfied with a large bag of fluff. We originally thought it would be really fun to collect mountain mahogany, but then we discovered how painstaking it is to collect. The trees themselves are beautiful when the seed is ready to collect, the awns on the seeds are 2 to 3 inches long and curly. The awns also have a million small minute hairs that fly off and stick on everything when you pick up the seeds or shake the branches. The awns look fun and fuzzy, but the hairs make your skin itch like crazy, and if you have any respiratory issues like Jocelyn, I think they make it so that you can’t breath. We probably have to collect mountain mahogany again, so that will be less exciting than it was the first time.

A few weeks ago the state botanist of California and a man from the state office in Nevada came to tour around some sites of our field office. We toured with them, visiting a site off of Smoke Creek road where sagebrush seedlings had been planted. Unfortunately most of them had died, probably due to the fact that they really only spread by seed, and that the contraction and expansion of the soil in this area, as the man from the Nevada office noted, would have probably broken their roots. It is easier to dig in this soil though. They are interested in creating green belts with plants that stay greener longer along barriers to fire like the road. This is an area where the Rush fire burned in 2012. One of the questions is which plants should be used. Solely natives or non-natives if they stay green longer? The second site we visited was at Ramhorn. The BLM has a 14 day campground here off of 395. This is a successful site that has been seeded. Native plants and shrubs have re-grown here post-Rush fire. Seeing this sight brightened their moods a bit and we enjoyed lunch at a look out towards Observation peak at the top of the road.

I finally saw a rattlesnake out on Horse Lake road the other week. It was sunning itself on the road in the morning and thankfully Julie saw it in time so we didn’t run it over. We hopped out of the truck and grabbed a few pictures, but the snake wasn’t interested in rattling so it slithered away without giving us any entertainment. While we were out driving near Fredonyer with Clif, the forester, we saw a really fluffy baby owl. Dalton, a seasonal range technician, and I saw a huge thistle while visiting a stock pond the other week. It is hard to get excited to see thistles, but this thistle was at least five feet tall, probably taller, and about 5 or more feet wide so it honestly looked like a cactus. Unfortunately the Susanville fair had just ended, otherwise we probably could have won a prize or something. I have yet to see a mountain lion (Jillian saw one!) or a marijuana garden. The most magical and exciting wildlife sighting was when Jesslie, Christian (wildlife biologist), and I saw 19 sage grouse while we were leaving a water right (that we had seen a not so pleasant, but nonetheless quite interesting and relatively fresh, but eaten and dead cow at). The sage grouse were a complete surprise as they flew out of the sagebrush in groups of 3 to 4 as we kept walking along the path.

It’s hard to give a complete update about how things have been going without talking about the other 3 days of the week. Susanville is not a destination of any kind, but it has its benefits in that there are some pretty amazing places within a 5 hour radius. Thus far, every weekend has consisted of some great exploring and adventuring to Mammoth Lakes, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, Truckee, Echo Lake, Juniper Lake, Lassen National Park, Greenville, Fort Bragg, Mendocino, and Reno. There is so much to see here in the western United States and we are all really happy to be making the most of it with our trips so far and the ones we have planned.

Unfortunately I had taken the time to write a pretty thorough and detailed blog post earlier that was probably two to three times as long as this, but it was accidentally deleted. I don’t think I will be able to re-create the same type of entry again, but I hope this gives you an idea of what life in Susanville has been like since my initial post. We’re excited to go out with an archaeology mapping crew from Chico this week on the Skedaddle mountains. Hopefully the interns from Alturas will have a chance to come visit the ELFO office later in August. We are nocking down the number of juniper and water right points that are done. I’m not sure how many more acres of trees need to be marked. As exciting as the summer has been, I think we are also really looking forward to those cooler, clear autumn days.

Alia

BLM Eagle Lake Field Office

Susanville, CA

Since the majority of what we’ve been doing is office work that is not terribly exciting to write (or read) about, I am devoting this blog post to our field day today. I am also devoting this blog to my fellow intern/life friend Lillie, and the title is in reference to her favorite song/catchphrase.

The sweet sounds of Drake’s “Views” played in our ears for the millionth time (Pennington, 2016). We drove out to the site that would be our last FRGE site revisit. Our mission: to determine the tree and shrub cover and plant association at said site. Today was supposed to be cooler, in the 80s, unlike most of the ninety-something degree days we’ve been having. We parked off the site of the road, slathered on sunscreen, and set off. The route we were taking put us close to private land at times, and at one point early on, some folks nearby were absolutely blasting Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart”. Somewhat bizarre, but very appreciated.

As we bushwhacked through buckbrush and manzanita, we stopped to smell the spicy celery aroma of Lomatium triternatum seeds.

The ground has turned mostly brown, the madrone bark is peeling to reveal its true colors, and the poison oak is starting to turn shades of red, yellow, or pink.

The hike to the site feels familiar (we have indeed done it not too long ago), but not so familiar that we aren’t constantly checking our GPSs. Midway through the hike, we came across a very visible deer blind that any deer would surely notice. Further on we found some scattered lawn chairs.

Even further on, what looked like an abandoned truck on BLM land that had the registration on the front seat.

Sometimes we find weird stuff. Sometimes we do weird stuff with the normal stuff we find. Like what Lillie did to this poor bunch of Ponderosa pine needles.

At the site itself we found the skeletons of FRGE past, with seeds inside that likely would not create more FRGE (since it’s more of an asexual reproducer).

Going back to an old FRGE site gave us nostalgia for hiking around in an area we have only come to know in the past few months. Every field day is looked back upon with sentimentality. Even the most challenging days hold treasured memories.

After hiking back to the truck, two sheepish doggies greeted us and let us give them pets. We drove back to the office with the realization that days like today would not happen again this field season. But at least we’ll be in Fort Lauderdale for the ESA Conference next week (!!!).

Kiki, Grants Pass Interagency Office

I am falling more in love with this part of the country each day, and believe that anyone who enjoys the outdoors would. My appreciation for BLM/public lands continues to evolve as I discover the hidden gems of the vast landscapes. I felt this gratitude especially on our trip to Canyonlands National Park, UT (see other post). Just outside of a state park lies a chunk of BLM land. The views were breathtaking, we were the only two people within miles, and it was free. I hope that those kinds of places will continue to be untouched by development for posterity to enjoy.

We are just about finished with our amphibian habitat project and will soon be assigned to a new one — Pygmy Rabbit and Lynx Surveys are in our imminent future. I also have had the chance to work with the rangeland management team, completing utilization forms and meeting with the ranchers that are permitted cattle grazing on BLM land. These utilization forms are a way for the range specialists to see whether or not an area is being overgrazed or, over utilized. This process is coordinated with the ranchers or their contractors, and is a cooperative effort to manage the grazed land in a more sustainable way. Our rangeland technician was calling out a dozen species of grasses with ease, and I felt fortunate to have learned a few of them. Slowly but surely, the flora of the West is becoming familiar.

We have also had the opportunity to join a project that is working to identify and eradicate cheatgrass populations, an abundant invasive grass.

I am currently reading Edward Wilson’s Consilience, and want to share a few of my favorite quotes thus far, as I found them to be both insightful and relevant to the work that we do.

“The economics of sustainable yield is still a primitive art, and the psychological benefits of natural ecosystems are almost wholly unexplored”

 

“We must understand nature, both around us and within ourselves, in order to set humanity on the course of self-improvement.”

 

“A balanced perspective cannot be acquired by studying disciplines in pieces but through pursuit of the consilience among them.”

 

“Every college student should be able to answer the following question: What is the relation between science and the humanities, and how is it important for human welfare?”

E.O. Wilson

Val Stacey

Pinedale, WY

Well, I think one thing that all the BLM internships out West here probably have in common is cows. Many cows. Every day. Everywhere. They stand in the middle of the road. They stare at us. They run away from us. They moo. They break through fences. They eat. And that’s where potentially the problem may arise. Could cows completely destroy a piece of land by over-grazing?

Thankfully, the BLM has measures in place to prevent this. And I was fortunate enough to be able to tag along to see what this entails. The protocol I got to witness is called utilization. Basically, in each allotment, there are six or seven points that are to be surveyed. At each point, we do an initial plant survey and compile a species list. We are especially interested in the grasses because that of course is what the cows eat. There is a list of the different grasses and which ones are of more concern/priority. Whichever one seems to be common and is also on the list is what we chose! Next, we measure the height of the designated grass. To do this, we take two paces and find the closest grass of our species of interest. Then two more paces, then measure the nearest grass. The person measuring must determine if the grass is grazed or un-grazed. Measurements cease when we have measured 20 un-grazed plants. Pictures are taken of course! We need pictures of the different species of plants that occur in the area, but more importantly, we need picture documentation of all the grasses that can be found in the allotment, both grazed and un-grazed. At the office, the numbers are crunched and the percent utilization of the land is determined.

Here are a couple pictures of some cool plants I saw!

Astragulus jejunus….weird seed pods!

Orobonche spp. Produces no chlorophyll-parasitic!

Utilization was very educational and enjoyable! It was wonderful to see another side of the BLM. As a primarily wildlife intern, I was also thrilled to be able to learn more of the plants that make up this unique landscape!

I caught this little chipmunk in my Frito’s chip bag, cheeks full

Congratulations to my co-worker and friend, Lara, for finishing her SECOND UltraMarathon, 33.3 miles, placing 3rd and beating her previous time by nearly an hour! You Rock, Lara.

This hike in Canyonlands was stunning and you should definitely do it if in the area. Make sure to bring at least a gallon of water for yourself, especially if you go in the summer!

rock scrambles into the canyon

an epic camping spot on BLM land near Dead Horse Point State Park

Life is Good

Val Stacey

Pinedale, WY

July has been a busy month in Lander, WY, on a personal and professional level. Starting off with an awesome Fourth of July weekend (think rodeos, parades, live music, friends, grilling, fireworks beyond belief), and ending with hikes through Sinks Canyon – an awesome geologic and recreational spot right outside of Lander city limits – with a dog I was dog sitting named Bean, July has been great. The 23^rd International Rock Climbers Festival happened in Lander, which provided many opportunities to win free goodies and dance to some awesome bands –The Whiskey Shivers were a crowd favorite! Though I’m barely a beginner boulder-er, I still had a lot of fun watching the bouldering competitions and being around incredibly buff and tan men and women. I’ve had many nice times with friends in town, playing pool, swimming in a local swimming hole, helping garden, and listening to live music. I’ve also been reading a lot of books from the library, playing Frisbee and tennis, and writing to friends.

Working as a rangeland monitoring technician at the Lander Field Office (BLM) continues to be fulfilling and satisfying. My work partner and I have fallen into a routine with the original monitoring work we learned; we’ve gotten much faster running transects and spying on cows.  These past two weeks we helped out a different rangeland specialist with long-term monitoring efforts. We learned new types of monitoring and saw new country. New grasses to learn, rocks to find and nuances to appreciate.

Left to right: replaced stromatolite mounds, replaced ooids and mossy agate.

A lovely outhouse and coyote skull found exploring new BLM land.

Since we’ve gotten faster at most of our daily work, we have a bit more time in the office in the afternoon. We’ve picked up some office projects – filing things, calling companies that need to renew permits etc. – to help out those around us. While being in the office pales next to working in the field, everyone is extremely friendly and makes the work enjoyable.

Can’t wait to see what August brings!

Abby

Lander Field Office, Wyoming, Bureau of Land Management

I am close to completing my second month working for the BLM here in Casper, WY. This second month has proven to be much busier than the first, with some exciting new projects and responsibilities.  Although we began to do some cheatgrass monitoring during my first month here, the other intern and I have largely taken over all the monitoring duties associated with that project.  This includes selecting sites to establish new permanent monitoring transects, with the intention of treating that area to remove the cheatgrass at a later date.  Once the monitoring is complete, I will analyze the data and make recommendations for a treatment plan based on the location and density of the cheatgrass.

The importance of removing this dangerous invasive has become more and more apparent as we have entered the main fire season here in Wyoming. The fire danger, posted daily in the office and on many highways, is consistently classified as “Very High” or “Extremely High”.  New fires are seen and reported daily, some of them burning areas greater than 20,000 acres!   The BLM firefighters at this office have been hard at work to control the situation, and have been in cooperation with many nearby fire agencies.  I recently heard that one of the larger fires had 12 large firefighting engines assigned to it, a very large number considering all of the smaller fires that also require attention.  Cheatgrass, being incredibly flammable, may have been a factor in starting these fires, and we are therefore hopeful that removing it will lower the fire danger in the future.

In addition to addressing the cheatgrass problem, I have been helping the wildlife biologists here wrap up the raptor and nest monitoring for the year. Although it may seem early, most raptors will only remain around their nests until their offspring have fledged.  The typical fledging season has ended, and we have observed that most raptors have now left their nests.  I am currently working on an end-of-the-year report to summarize our findings at one monitoring site encompassing 19 nests.  I will indicate which nests remain active and which will require monitoring next year.  The distinction between active and inactive is important because buffer zones are established around every active nest that prohibits any development in that area.  If no raptor activity is recorded over a certain length of time, the buffer restriction is removed and companies (typically oil and gas) are free to develop in that area.

I have also become involved in a number of other exciting projects. We have begun monitoring of Ute Ladies’ Tresses, a listed species of orchid that is endemic to the western United States.  I have observed one population begin to flower, allowing the wildlife biologists here to alert other biologists and contractors to begin searching a variety of areas across the state for more flowering individuals.  The consolidated data should give us an idea of the health of the species, and could potentially be compared to climate data to look for any correlations or trends.

Going forward, I have been talking with one of the wildlife biologists about beginning a project to establish substrate to encourage the nesting of wood ducks in suitable Wyoming habitat. This project would entail identifying areas of habitat that appear appropriate for sustaining populations of wood duck, building the artificial nesting structures, and developing a protocol for monitoring their efficacy going forward.  One of the challenges of this project is that many areas of appropriate habitat may lack corridors to provide feasible immigration by wood ducks.  Therefore, more research may be needed before beginning this project.

Outside of work, I have continued to explore the area and engage in various outdoor activities. I travelled down to Lander, WY to briefly check out a rock climbing festival before embarking on an overnight hike in the Wind River mountain range.  I spent the night at “Island Lake”, likely the most beautiful place I have had the good fortune to camp in the United States.  When not camping or traveling, I have spent a few weekend days floating down the North Platte River here in Casper, which makes for a very fun and relaxing time.  Overall, my second month in Casper has been fantastic both personally and professionally, and I look forward to continuing my work!