For my second CBG stint, I have been sent to the Salt Lake Field Office in Salt Lake City, Utah. Instead of focusing all my energy on AIM, I now join the vast league of interns who have and who currently are participating in the Seeds of Success program. I have been here with the other SOS intern, Theresa, for about a month now. In that time, we’ve tried to educate ourselves on our focus species, other species that our office has a particular interest in, and some opportunistic species that we may have the ability to collect.

In addition to learning about these grass and forb species, we have been fiddling around on GIS trying to make adequate maps for where we can potentially find some populations. Theresa and I have the unique experience in being the first official SOS interns this field office has ever had. While that is exciting, it’s also kind of difficult at times. Compared to the last BLM office I was in, this office lacks a lot in materials available to us. Luckily, we have a substantial budget that gives us the ability to order all the supplies we think we’ll need this season. The most valuable thing to us so far has been a copy of Utah Flora and a small grasses booklet.

The best key we have to use

I can’t help but compare where I was last year in Buffalo, Wyoming to where I am now. For being neighboring states, there is already a whole bunch of new vegetation and landscapes to get to know. Luckily, there’s some old favorites that I can recognize as they start to pop up in the warming weather. Technically I am in the West Desert district now, so it’s going to get super dry before I know it!

When I’m not attempting to be a botanist and also not on the hunt for housing (SLC is notorious for a large housing demand it can’t keep up with I have learned), I’m trying to explore the area as much as possible. SLC feels more like a big town than a city, and it’s not a bad thing. There’s plenty of cool hiking trails in the Wasatch Range in the city’s backyard that I’m eager to check out and there’s plenty of museums and other things to occupy my time. I’ve never lived in a place so dominated by one religious sect, so that’s been a new and interesting experience for me as well.

Overall, I’m looking forward to this field season and contributing to the SOS network of native seeds!

-Corinne Schroeder
SLFO

Freedom, though not necessarily ease, of movement over expanses of land allows for a far more visceral understanding of the lives of wild animals and plants than could any amount of reading. The two ways of knowing are, of course, deeply and necessarily complimentary, but not until a student of nature has moved for a time across a landscape wide enough to allow them to experience and negotiate a variety of environments and conditions will they have more that an abstract understanding of the lives and histories of the place’s inhabitants.

(The Clan Alpine Mountains, Churchill co., NV, from the floor of Dixie Valley)

A student of biogeography, one interested in the peculiar distribution of a montane species in the the basin and range province offers a useful illustration of this complimentarity. A review of the literature concerning this hypothetical species shows that it hasn’t been recorded beneath about 7000 feet in elevation. Strangely, though, not all areas above 7000 feet in the region harbor this species. Why? Clearly the hot, alkaline basins surrounding montane areas in this region are insurmountable barriers to migration.

(Equisetum sp., in Ash Canyon, Carson City, Nevada)

A long hike or drive on dirt roads from ridge to ridge via an intervening basin, taken with plenty of water but with no books, lays the foundation for this abstract answer to become a visceral understanding of what is, of how things operate. The mountain air where the species is found cools the sweat on the brow while the basin’s hot wind leaves skin dry and with an accumulation of gritty salt and dust. The distances involved, easily laid out on a map, are more comprehensible from the point of view of a wild thing after half an hour of bouncing across a dirt road brings only a small change to one’s view of a distant ridge.

(A violet in a a sunny ponderosa pine woodland)

This week marks the first paid position I have had as a scientist.  In my confusing middle twenties I tried a lot of different jobs and walked a winding path towards where I am now.  I have always been curious and appreciative of the outdoors, but it wasn’t until I stumbled into a job as a summer school teacher, which eventually led to an “outdoor fun” position where I got to take kids hiking everyday, did I consider doing it as a job and career.  I kept this job for the next 4 summers, while I eventually went on to get a Master’s in Environmental Education.

While studying I bumbled towards another realization that as much I loved and still do love sharing and experiencing nature with students I became interested in other aspects of our interaction with the environment.  Along the way farming and agriculture took ahold of me, and I spent a year helping to manage a mixed organic farm.  Farming likewise will keep a part of my heart, but my favorite part of it was the idea of land restoration and conservation and understanding the native plants in the area, and again felt drawn towards another opportunity.

Now I feel like I have arrived at a new window and opportunity in my life.  Taking on changing career paths from a Business undergrad towards a Biology based career took an intense amount of time, effort, and self-discipline to take extra classes and go a bit above and beyond to feel confident and competent in my abilities to change.

I have often felt worried and self-conscious about my wandering jobs and interests, and watched as friends pass me in their development of their jobs and lives as I felt I was moving sideways.  However, the joy of starting a job I know I am going to love, and of finding a milestone through a string of big and confusing decisions, really brings me a sense of contentment. Plus it also brought me to some flowers.

Cat’s Ear Lily, a common flower that is in the same genus as a lot of endangered lilies in the area

One of the federally listed endangered plants in the Rogue Valley of Oregon

The past month has been been filled many new experiences and opportunities. I have had the opportunity to survey for potential SOS vouchers in places like Desert Lily Preserve that had an abundance of  Hesperocallis undulata (desert lily), Abronia villosa (sand verbena), Oenothera (evening primrose) and Plantago ovata (woolly plantain).

Insane blooms at Desert Lily Preserve

Evening primrose

I have also had the opportunity to learn tissue and seed collection protocol from the SOS team at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Claremont, CA. We collected Chylisma sp. for tissue collection for DNA analysis and collected seed from Chylisma claviformis (Brown-eyed primrose) and Chaenactis fremontii (desert pincushion) for SOS in the Mojave.

I helped with environmental education with high school students at San Jacinto Mountain. The mountain is about 8000ft in elevation and actually still had snow! Did not think I would be seeing snow so far south and in the desert.

San Jacinto

This week we also began seed collecting. Many of the blooms that we had even a week ago have now turned brown and produced their fruit. The challenge will be to get the right sites at the right time to make sure we do not miss any collections. We have started collections for Eremalche rotundifolia (desert five spot), a pretty little mallow with pink petals that each have a red spot on them, Geraea canescens (desert sunflower), Malacothrix glabrata (desert dandelion), a yellow aster that sometimes has a purple dot in the center and Salvia columbarie (chia), a mint with small purple flowers in spiny clusters.

Desert five-spot

A BLM Haiku

Last month spent training

 On how to drive, GIS* and spray.

Now fieldwork begins.

Starting with a Short-eared Owl survey in Dixe Valley! Photo courtesy of Britney Zell.

*GIS pronounced here as “jiss.”

Many things have changed since my last blog post about a month ago. Our group of four interns turned into five when we welcomed our newest member to the team a few weeks ago. I am now a certified pesticide applicator, I learned how to key out the tricky Poaceae family and I finally got my first night of field experience in the Great Basin.

The introductory phase of this internship is coming to a close and the field season is about to begin. I had more trainings this March than I have over the last couple of years. Now, I get to take what I’ve learned and put it to use.

We have been in the office more than I would have liked to be, but with the Sierra snow pack melting and the ground still being saturated with moisture, it has been difficult to get out into the field. That is rapidly changing, however, as it warms up and dries out. Just two days ago, we participated in a Short-eared Owl survey in Dixie Valley, which is part of the 5,000,000 acres that the Carson City BLM oversees. Unfortunately, we did not spot any owls, but we saw several birds of prey including Northern Harriers, Red-tailed Hawks, and potentially Golden Eagles (unconfirmed). After the survey, we had the opportunity to camp beneath the crystal clear, star soaked sky.

The following morning, we were introduced to the flora that we will be working with for a majority of the internship. The Great Basin ecosystem is surprisingly diverse. Superficially, Artemesia, Atriplex and a few other genera dominate the landscape, but upon closer inspection it is evident that hundreds of species contribute to a complex network that make up the desert community.

Sphaeralcia spp. in Dixie Valley

Astragalus spp. in Dixie Valley

On a side note, much of our free time is spent in Ash Canyon or the Sierra Nevada/Lake Tahoe area. Already, we have hiked to incredible viewpoints, skied across state parks and birded for countless hours in beautiful valleys.

Lake Tahoe Sunset

Ash Canyon Valley

So far, I am thoroughly enjoying my time here in Carson City and I cannot wait to see what the future holds.

Jason Fibel

Carson City District Office-BLM

Week one in Grants Pass, Oregon. Compared to my fellow crew who traveled from New York and Texas I drove a mere 6 hours from Truckee, CA to get here so I cannot quite say my travels were great, but they were beautiful.

A few things I have learned this week:

1. Highway 5 is very fast. People are crazy fast drivers and truckers pass each other in the emergency lane. When you are driving the federal vehicles, you really have to pay attention to your speed because the flow of traffic is ridiculous!
2. You can find a little piece of home everywhere you go. My first day here I decided to venture to Mount Ashland and find the snow! Unfortunately I cannot share pictures because I do not have service/wifi where I am staying (Smullin Visitor Center).
3. You do not need service/wifi if you are living on the Rogue River. Too beautiful.
4. All the answers are in the CLM guidelines.
5. Friends make anything enjoyable. The week has been full of trainings, but we intermix story telling and getting to know each other and its been a jolly ol’ time.
6. Fred Meyer is an awesome grocery store.
7. Still not used to not pumping my own gas.
8. REI and Trader Joes are right next to each other. Dangerous.

Well,  I will continue to learn the area and meet people. In the mean time I am stoked on my crew and excited to get out in the field!

Things are finally starting to bloom at our field office and accordingly the field season is starting to get extremely busy. This week we put up some trail cameras to monitor what wildlife is visiting some ephemeral ponds that we built last year. Tomorrow I will help build a fence that will protect Verbena californica from being grazed or trampled by cattle. We are also starting to collect herbarium vouchers for our presumptive seed collections for Seed of Success such as this Erythonium species pictured below. Tons of stuff is starting to bloom! One of our rare plants Ceanothus roderickii is starting to bloom and was getting pollinated by Bombus vosnesenskii and Bombus melanopygus which I had never seen before.

Better get going because there is plenty of work to do!

-Landon from the BLM Mother Lode Field Office in El Dorado Hills, CA.

Bombus melanopygus on Cenothus roderickii

While Sierra precipitation continues to blanket mountain ranges in snow and swell Carson City with rain into April, bouts of nice weather provide us the opportunity to conduct habitat and species surveys in remote field sites.  Since my last post, my team and I have searched for a rare cactus species on proposed mining sites, collected data for a Short-Eared Owl population study, pressed plant specimens from the field, and cataloged species associations of the coniferous forests in eastern California.

Our mentor, Dean Tonenna, received Mining Notices for operations on BLM lands at nine locations near the Singatse Mountain Range and Mason Valley in Lyon County, NV.  We were tasked with surveying the mining sites for a rare cactus on the BLM Sensitive Species List. We encountered one occurrence of the species, Sagebrush Cholla (Grusonia pulchella), on our last proposed drill site to survey.  We recorded the GPS coordinate of the cactus and mapped the location with the proposed mining sites on ArcGIS.  Dean included the finding in his report and made specific recommendations for site modification.

Mason Valley, Singatse Range, Lyon County, NV.

Our next adventure required finding a remote study plot within Dixie Valley nestled between the Stillwater and Clan Alpine Ranges in Churchill County, NV.  We collected occurrence data along transects as a part of the Western Asio Flammeus (Short-Eared Owl) Landscape Study with the Intermountain Bird Observatory.  We observed Northern Harrier, Horned Lark, Killdeer, Common Raven, and Red-Tailed Hawk.  Unfortunately, we did not record a single occurrence of Asio flammeus over the eleven transects.  We camped within the study plot following the survey and prepared to collect plant specimen vouchers for the area in the morning.  After a brilliant sunrise, our mentor walked us through the dominant species of the Salt Desert Shrub plant community and species specific to Dixie Valley.  We pressed a variety of species, a few of which included Phacelia crenulata, Astragulus iodanthus and Lepidium flavum.

Sunrise over the Clan Alpine Range, Dixie Valley, Churchill County, NV

This week my intern team took the opportunity to attend a Cooperative Weed Management Area meeting in Quincy, CA for the Plumas area of the western Sierras.  The meeting included many stakeholders, scientists, and herbicide applicators for updates on noxious weed projects during the 2017 field season.  Following the meeting, our mentor had us pull off the highway onto an old logging road up into a Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) and Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forest.  Similar to the Dixie Valley plant community survey, we rapidly assessed the dominant vegetation and learned about the differences between the western and eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada ranges.  Hiking up and down fresh mountain streams, we encountered a variety of early-blooming wildflowers.  The fresh rain and scents of the Pines, Firs, and Cedars reaffirmed my love for temperate conifer forests.

Temperate Conifer Forest of the Western Sierras

On the weekends, we fill our time with exploring new hiking trails, skiing at Lake Tahoe and playing soccer.  Ash Canyon and Clear Creek Trail are just 10 minutes from our house in Carson City and offer miles of maintained trails into the canyons of the eastern Sierras.  When it is snowing or raining (like yesterday), we plan out future backpacking trips and prepare for fieldwork during the next week.  We have plans for Monday to visit the Pine Nut Mountains to survey for noxious weeds and other invasive plant species. Can’t wait!

Clear Creek Trail

Carson City District Office – BLM

Connor Kotte

As I settle into Ridgecrest, I finally feel as if I am starting my job. Over the last few weeks, myself and the other SOS intern have started collecting seed and tissue samples. There has been a lot of difficultly in trying to figure out what protocol should be followed for each sample. Last week we filled out the wrong data sheets for the samples we mailed off. This mistake was mostly due to the fact that we still lack computer access at work, making it difficult to find the proper instructions for each species. Next week myself and the other SOS intern are going to meet up with an employee of the Santa Ana Botanic Garden, which will be extremely helpful in figuring how to properly follow their instructions.

Besides all of the mistakes, going out and scouting has been a lot of fun. It’s really amazing to get to hike/drive around see all the different ecosystems in the Ridgecrest field office.This environment could not be more different that the high humidity and total green of the southeast US. I feel that every canyon we walk into looks so different than the one we were in the previous day. The variability in plant diversity throughout the area is really surprising to me. Diversity here is not only controlled by soil type and moisture but by ability to be dispersed to that area.

Last week we went out to collect for a wildflower show that the Ridgecrest community is currently putting on. This exhibit showcases the high level of biodiversity in the desert. I never thought I would see riparian areas with amphibians and cottonwoods out in the middle of the desert but you can hike just a few miles and go from Joshua trees to willow trees. I feel really grateful to have the opportunity to come out here and have an experience unlike anything I could have had on the East coast.