Rare find among the sagebrush

This week things started to heat up, literally and figuratively speaking. Spokane and surrounding areas got their first taste of the 80’s, and away from low overnight temperatures. With the increase in temperatures comes the increase in flowers! The most eventful part of the week was most definitely Wednesday and Thursday! While much of the office was attending a training on the newest GIS update, Kim had me go out to check on a rare plant, Cryptantha spiculifera (CRSP4), a plant that is federally classified as sensitive, and is rare in Washington. Kim had given me 2 UTMs to go check out in Odessa and forms to go along with them in case I did locate CRSP4.

The day started out pretty well, as I managed to make it to the first UTM without much trouble (I think I’m finally getting the internal compass all sorted out), but didn’t strike any gold. After checking, double checking, triple checking (ok, maybe too much checking, but I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss this plant that I’d never seen before), I decided to head to the second location – off trail. Man, was I testing my internal compass and Garmin skills that day! So, onward I trekked through the sagebrush, heading west with the sun closely following my trail. Unfortunately for me, my off-trail adventure would soon come to an end, I’d hit the section line and could not cross into private lands to continue to head west. Off I went to reach the trail to head to my second UTM. It was a good thing that fence was in my way and our land ended, because as I headed to the trail, I stumbled upon a new site of CRSP4! I did a happy dance!!! Unlike my first trip to spot CRSP4 in Juniper Dunes, I’d struck (botanic) gold! I took down my GeoBOB data, made sure I recorded the site on my Garmin and continued on.

Crypantha spiculifera

 

As I reached the trail, my jaw just dropped. I kept stumbling onto CRSP4 every hundred feet or so. I was hopping from one side of the trail to the other, recording CRSP4, and beaming with pride. Time was escaping me, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to make it to the second site that day, but that was just a good reason to come back on Thursday. SDO bound I went to tell Kim about all the gold I had struck. I’d sent her a brief message previewing the surprise I had for her. When I got back to the office, Kim had already told just about everyone in the training about my discovery, and was as happy as I was about the new sites I had discovered.

Fast forward to noon on Thursday, I was nearly to site 2 when I ran into another fence! Lucky for me, I could hop right over it without worry of leaving public lands! Unlucky for me, I didn’t hop high enough and got hooked by the barbed wire! After maneuvering myself free, I was soon faced with an unexpectedly steep slope and a huge population of CRSP4! It was jaw dropping to see so many of them! I took my data and walked a quarter of a mile more to site 2. I had a strong feeling that there wasn’t any CRSP4 given the landscape, but wanted to double check –  my gut feeling was right. It was way past lunch time and my stomach was beginning to rumble; I took that as a sign to head back to the rig to enjoy by masterfully prepped PB&J before heading back to the office to fill out my data forms. It looks like the next few days will be stormy in Spokane, so I guess it’ll be a good time to catch up on that training I was talking about…

Until next time,

V

Springtime in Spokane

My first few weeks working with the Spokane District Office (SDO) has been nothing short of amazing. My first day I was filled with your typical first day nerves, but that quickly washed away as the week continued on. That first week, I was flying mostly solo, as my mentor had been scheduled to attend botany meetings! Unfortunately (or fortunately, only time will tell), due to technical difficulties, I had yet to gain computer access, so I got to really dive into non-computer related work. I spent my first couple of days getting acquainted with my cubicle, office mates, and plants I would be focusing on collecting. That Wednesday the office was having a work day at Douglas Creek with the Wenatchee Field office, where I got to meet the botanist there, Molly, and CBG’s interns from last year. I spent the work day with Molly and last year’s interns creating cages around desert globe mallows, which are rare plants in Washington. While it was a long drive out there, and a very early start to the day, it was a lot of fun for my first day in the field. My second day in the field was that Friday, where I got to go out with Jason, one of SDO’s wildlife biologists. We were meeting up with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to conduct surveys on Washington Ground Squirrels. When we got to the survey site, I was lucky enough to see and hear what these little guys look and sound like. I wish I had snapped a few pictures! These little guys might have been some on the cutest creatures I’ve stumbled upon in the wild, and they make a high pitched squeak as a warning call. I was also lucky to have heard them because I was going to working with SDO’s wildlife biologist, Jason, that has never been able to hear their high pitched calls. We walked twenty 100 meter transects, but we did not find any that day. We did, however, come across plenty of vole holes and 2 mule deer enjoying the sunshine.

Out surveying for Washington Ground Squirrels in Odessa, Washington.

Week 2 at the office wasn’t really spent at the office. My mentor, Kim, was back and since the weather was cooperating (it’s been an unusually wet spring for Spokane), Kim and I spent every day in the field. I got to explore many of eastern Washington’s public lands and was quickly learning to identify native plants! Not only that, but I’ve been getting decently good at using a Garmin to navigate and take data points, too! Tuesday, Kim and I went to Juniper Dunes in search of a rare plant, Cryptantha leucophaea (Payson Gray cyptantha). Juniper Dunes are a known site for these plants, however, due to the differences in weather from last year to this year, the plant hasn’t started blooming. It also has been having a difficult time growing as the plant prefers unstabilized dunes, and many of the previously known sites have become stabilized in the recent years. However, we weren’t disappointed, because we found a lot of western wallflower growing, and decided to collect tissue samples! Friday of that week, I was able to go out with Jamie, one of our archeologists, to Huckleberry Mountain. Don’t be fooled, as I was warned, Huckleberry Mountain does not have any huckleberries. We went out so that Jamie could survey some abandoned mine adits before Jason and his team built cages around the openings in hopes of protecting bats from white nose (a terrible fungus that is responsible for the rapid decline of many bat species). While out hiking in the mountains, I came across many avalanche lilies, their brilliant yellows sparkling in the green mountainsides. As we hiked through the mountain to the adits and other sites of historical importance, I was learning a lot about the history of eastern and central Washington from Jamie.

Adit entrance in Huckleberry Mountain

Erythronium glandiflorum (Avalanche Lily) at Huckleberry Mountain

Huckleberry Mountain

While it’s only been 3 weeks, I am growing stronger in my skills at identifying native flora, which so greatly differs from what I was used to in the midwest, and growing increasingly fond of the Pacific Northwest, which isn’t hard to do. This week the office was helping organize Root Day at the Twin Lakes Rec Site with the Spokane Tribe. Root day is where children ranging from elementary to high school spend the day helping dig up biscuitroots to give to the elders of the tribe. The day was gorgeous and it was great attending the ritual, watching/helping the kids identify biscuitruits, and dig them up. Since I still don’t have access to computers I wasn’t able to access the awesome picture of a biscuitroot that I dug up and presented to the elders, but I am told I am now famous at the office as it’s featured on our website! Thursday, I went back out with Jamie, so she could screen for artifacts. While she screened, I was on the hunt for Lomatium bicolor var. leptocarpum – another biscuitroot. While searching for it, I stumbled upon more native plants (Happy belated Native Plant Appreciation Week!!)

Lomatium bicolor var. leptocarpum

Balsamorhiza hookerii (Hooker’s Balsamroot) and a pollinator

Phlox hoodii (Cushion Phlox)

It finally seems to be springtime over in Eastern Washington and we got our first taste of 80 degree temperatures. I am more than slightly ok with the IT issues that have caused me to spend the past 3 weeks in the field, rather than at my cubicle completing trainings. I’m hoping a rainy day will come when I have access, so I don’t miss out on too much! I’m fully prepared to be swamped in blooming flowers in the coming weeks as temperatures continue to warm up; I couldn’t be more excited.

Until next time,

V

An Unexpected Delight

While traveling to Lander, WY from Iowa, I pondered the changes I would have to make. Would there be places I can eat out at being vegan? Would there be supplies such as tofu and soy sauce? What outside activities does the area offer? I honestly was terrified moving to an unfamiliar area. After crossing the Wyoming-Nebraska, this fear slowly faded. The scenery was beyond gorgeous. The mountains and pine-filled ridges drew my attention and filled my with awe. The adventure ahead was suddenly super exciting.

Arriving a few days before my internship started allowed me to explore Lander. I quickly went to the store to assess their products. Being vegan was possible! I stocked up on any supplies I’d need to make lunches and dinners for the week. Afterwards I took a stroll down the main street. Much to my surprise, Lander had quite a lot to offer for being a small city. One of the most exciting finds was a coffee shop containing a bouldering wall! The last exploring I did was walking a trail along the Popo Agie River (I still do have no idea how to say it even after asking my mentor and my roommate asking locals). The scenery was beautiful and I even found a few Mallards wading within the rapidly flowing water.

Mountain ridge beyond the Popo Agie River

Mallards in the Popo Agie River

Well, enough with my first impressions of Lander. Let’s move on to my first week!

My first week has not come without many challenges. From getting my background check done, doing required training without having access to the government computers, and weather preventing days in the field (Snow is falling outside as I write). I did have the pleasure of seeing where I will be doing my rangeland monitoring work for a few hours before the roads we were on became too bad to continue driving on (It had rained the day before). The allotment was beautiful, though I have a feeling it will take some time to get acquainted with the unmarked two-track roads. I had the pleasure of bringing a plant back to the office to key out. Turned out it was Astragalus pectinatus (Narrowleaf milkvetch) which another mentor had not found before. Otherwise, I have spent time getting to know the other employees in the office, filing away bills and correspondence, watching videos on vegetation sampling, and completing CPR and first aid training. The next week should entail structural repairs within allotments. I’m excited to be in the field more often and to spend some time on other projects.

– James Noyama
Bureau of Land Management – Lander Field Office                                                 Lander, Wyoming

Animals Move, Plants Don’t!

Photo of Dinosaur National Monument: which is located in the Northwest section of The White River Field Office

The past year of my life I have called many places home: (Chicago IL, San Jose Costa Rica, Portland OR). But now I am happy to call Meeker, Colorado my new home for the next five months. The rolling hills and mountains of Western Colorado are a spectacle. As well as the flora and fauna that call this place home.

After 3 weeks of working for the White River Field Office I have seen a plethora of wildlife. Although my internship will shift towards plant identification in the future, these past weeks I assisted wildlife biologists in monitoring rare animal populations. The three species monitored were: ferruginous hawks, midget faded rattlesnakes, and most notably sage grouse. My professional background is primarily in botany, so it has been beneficial for me to learn how to monitor animals. I have also discovered how difficult it can be to find the specific species you are looking for. Animals move, and plants don’t! We have gone out into the field many days and found a variety of animals, but not the animal population we were looking for. For example, when our crew went looking midget faded rattlesnakes we found bull and garter snakes instead…

 

Baby Bull Snake Slithering to Safety in Rangely Rock Crawling Park

 

A new set of skills I am learning is how to navigate and travel in remote locations. By means of driving on ill-maintained dirt roads, and hiking for miles on the steppe slopes. The materials used to navigate are: paper maps, GPS units, and compasses. A little bit of old school and new technology.

This following work week I will attend AIM (Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring) training in Grand Junction CO with my co-workers to grasp how to work as a team to collect AIM data on BLM lands. I am excited for hands on learning, and to see what our data collection means as a whole to the Bureau of Land Management.

-Isaac Pederson

White River Field Office

 

A Second Round of CLM Commences

When I waited for my time to start my internship with the Lakewood, CO State BLM Office over a month ago, time practically stood still. Now that I have already worked nearly a month, the beginning of my internship has been a blur!

This is the second year I have been in the Conservation and Land Management Internship Program. For those of you that don’t know me well, I started my first year as a CLM intern in Carlsbad, NM, collecting seeds for the Seeds of Success Program. Long story short, it was an incredible journey and crazy experience, yet, must have been good enough to try the internship a second time around in a different location this year! Although I would suggest young adults to travel around and try living/working in new places, I am happy to say that I got placed this year close to home, close to my husband and two dogs. I am a Colorado Native working in the BLM Colorado State Office, only 15 minutes from home! As I was last year, my main focus will be working with the Seeds of Success (SOS) Program yet again, collecting common native seeds from BLM lands of Colorado. Although, I am excited to also be a small part in helping with Colorado rare and sensitive plant monitoring.

My first week started a little slow, as I am sure was the case for other CLM interns across the country. I toured the office, met employees, found a cubicle to take refuge in for the duration of my internship. I anxiously waited for a government ID and computer access to come through. To help the time pass by, I researched Colorado natives and began to hone in my plant ID skills, as these qualities will be crucial this field season. I also was the lucky duck of assembling plant tags (metal numbered tags attached to long, large, galvanized nails) for use in the long-term rare, sensitive, and endangered plant monitoring projects going on.

A single plant ID tag, to be placed near whatever plant will be monitored in the future. The tag is attached to thin wire, then wrapped around a nail…and meant for many years of use once put in the ground! Photo by B. Palmer

However, I was off and running by the second week of work – already in the field! My SOS work has not lifted off the ground quite yet, so I tagged along with the rare and sensitive plant monitoring group (CLM intern Taryn, Phil, and my mentor Carol Dawson) to check out Astragalus debequaeus, near Silt, Colorado.

Near Rifle, Colorado in Garfield County. Not a bad site to see on the first day of field work in Colorado, hiking to an Astragalus debequaeus macro-plot. Photo by B. Palmer

Astragalus debequaeus, commonly known as De Beque Milkvetch, is a Colorado endemic, and one of many subjects of long term rare plant research. Monitoring this plant was a valuable experience for me, as this was my first time doing this type of fieldwork, setting up plots to record data on a species of interest. I learned the process quickly: we traveled to long-term macro-plots, set up the measuring tapes, and checked the number of seedlings, vegetative, and reproductive A. debequaeus found at random transects within the marcoplot. New seedlings were tagged, and old ones hopefully were still tagged from years past. The idea is to get a sense of the mean plant density, and see if we can detect a change in the population’s density over time. I love the fact that research can be done outside of academia…a possible reason to stay in this type of work in the future.

The group of us set up a plot at an area we called North Webster Mesa, in Rifle, CO. The macro-plot is 36m x 20m, and plants in random transects along the 20m side were counted. Photo by B. Palmer

A tagged A. debequaeus plant within one of the transects. Data is collected from this and other plots, and later analyzed back at the office, using a paired t-test. Photo by B. Palmer

For that first trip of ours, it was nearly all Astragalus all the time! However, while scouting for different populations to setup another macroplot, we stumbled upon some other pretty neat plants that one would only see on the Colorado Western Slope!

While scouting for A. debequaeus populations, I stumbled across this beautiful common bloom – Echinocereus triglochidiatus. Photo by B. Palmer

We also stumbled across a not-so-common bloom: Sclerocactus glaucus (Colorado Hookless Cactus), a rare, endemic Colorado gem, and one we were schedule to monitor the following week. Photo by B. Palmer

Of course, we saw a few more things than Astragalus and Cactus. Here is the little common plant Townsendia incana, Hoary Easter Daisy. Photo by B. Palmer

The next week was just as busy as we rolled into another 5 days of field work. The same group of us took a trip out to Delta, Colorado in search for Sclerocactus glaucus, the endemic Colorado Hookless Cactus. We had stumbled onto some healthy populations the week before, so I was in high hopes that we would have positive results in the coming plots. I had come to realize this area was incredibly dry from a mild winter of little snow and precipitation, and not many flowers were out to be enjoyed.

The Star Nelson Sclerocactus glaucus macroplot/allotment in Delta, Colorado. This was one of the bigger plots we surveyed over the week, the macro-plot encompassing 30m x 70m area. The weather was cold and windy, the area was dry, and vegetation sparse.  Photo by B. Palmer

Not only was the vegetation we saw dried up and crispy, a lot of it was chewed up and stomped on by cattle! Even the saltbushes (Atriplex app.), sagebrush (Artemesia app.), and Galleta grass (Hilaria jamesii) were demolished and munched on (and these are the kinds of plants that are a last-resort food source to cattle. We found it especially true for one of our macro-plot areas placed in the Escalante Canyon and National Conservation Area. Although the soaring sandstone cliffs of the canyon are quite beautiful, it was hard to enjoy among the decimated vegetation below, impacted by cattle of the Escalante Ranch sharing the land nearby.

Escalante Canyon and National Conservation Area, in Delta, Colorado. Cattle from Escalante Ranch frolic through an area we JUST finished surveying for Sclerocactus glaucus. We had just taken the measuring tapes down from the macro plot, when it became blatantly obvious that the cattle were impatiently waiting for us to leave so they could enjoy the area, and stomp all over our little rare cacti looking for food. Photo by B. Palmer

Looking for Sclerocactus glaucus proved to be more difficult than I realized, and it became something of an Easter egg hunt, or what I thought to be a thrilling, tedious game of I Spy. This was especially true during a day we decided to conduct a Point-in-Time Survey of S. glaucus. The idea behind using a point-in-time is to help calculate a population density within a given area. Once the average plant density is found within a reasonable confidence interval, these data are compared to the set long-term plots to see how the species is doing on a landscape level. So we went to an area were there was a previous record (EOR – Element Occurrence Record) of the species being seen here, we branched out, and we searched. We searched for the little cacti, and flagged every one we could find before setting up a plot and counting just about every single Sclerocactus we could find!

One of the few Sclerocactus glaucus I found and flagged while putting together a Point-in-time plot. Notice the drab appearance of the cactus, blending in to the dry, beaten down habitat around it. Hardly any were flowering, making it even more difficult to find the individual plants. Photo by B. Palmer

I am not only a month into the second go-around of this internship, and I have learned oh so much. Until Seeds of Success kicks into gear, I am happy to be working around BLM sensitive, rare, and endangered plants in the meantime playing games of I Spy and Easter egg hunting. I get to travel around Colorado, work outdoors, enjoy the little things. I am also working with great, fun people full of positive vibes, and you can’t ask for more than that. I am excited for what the future brings me!

To all the other new and returning CLM interns out there: wishing you all safe travels and exciting adventures at the beginning of this field season. This is Brooke Palmer from the Lakewood, Colorado, BLM State Office. Until next time!

Fun times making transects, looking for plants with awesome coworkers, not to mention little Collared Lizards! Looking forward to another field season as a CLM intern, closer to home! Photo by B. Palmer

New Friends

When I arrived in Southern Oregon, from Upstate New York, I immediately knew this could be my second home. After traveling across the country I passed through beautiful areas including the Badlands in South Dakota, Yellowstone and the Oregon coast but none compared to how at home I felt in the forests of Oregon. The combination of topography, abundant rivers, friendly people and of course rich plant diversity made me excited to explore the area and learn a whole new set of plants.

Rogue River Trail, Galice OR. About 4 miles from the house I’m living at! Plectritis congesta (Sea blush) in foreground.

My dear friend and fellow botanist in New York would introduce herself to new species, just as you greet a new friend. When I got to Oregon I was excited to see familiar plant friends and I just needed to know their last name or “species”.

There are many relatives of the east coast; native species such as Trillium, Trientalis (starflower), Cornus (flowering dogwood), Oxalis (wood sorrel) and members of Sarraceniaceae (pitcher plant family) and was unpleased to see familiar invasive species such as Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese knotweed) and Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven).

Left: Trientalis boreali ssp. borealis (starflower) in Cranberry Lake, NY                                        Right: Trientalis borealis ssp.latifolia (broadleaf starflower) in Grants Pass, OR

Left: Sarracenia purpurea (northern pitcher plant) at Labrador Hollow, NY                                Right: Darlingtonia californica (California pitcher plant) at Eight Dollar Mountain, OR

The internship is going great, I’m learning a lot and I’m happy to work with other people that are intrigued with botany as much as I am! I’m excited to learn more and meet new friends – humans and plants.

Till next time,

Sienna McDonald

BLM Grants Pass, OR

 

Diversity in the Desert

Looking North at the Sawtooth Range from Laidlaw Park

May in South-Central Idaho is bursting with beautiful wildflowers, covered with blankets of lush grasses, and offering an unexpectedly wide range of daily temperatures. I did not realize how desert-like this part the state is! So far, my time working with Danelle has been absolutely wonderful as we have mostly spent our days exploring the complexity of the Shoshone field office and the “tiny super bloom” that is currently in progress. The majority of our field work has been west of the Craters of the Moon National Park on several “kipukas”, large patches of land surrounded by volcanic lava flows, each with a unique plant community.

When I first arrived, I was unaware of how abundant the wildflowers were, and quickly learned to squint in order to see the astonishing diversity of spring time inflorescences. I am thrilled to be familiar with much of the common herbs and grasses after only a few field trips and remain eager to learn more about seed collection, sagebrush, and general range ecology. Moreover, Danelle and the other interns have been delightful to work with as we have had the pleasure of experiencing some magical country and encountering unexpected blooms.

Crater Butte

In sum, I’ve been awestricken by the snowcapped Sawtooth skyline, expansiveness of the landscape, and the overall diversity of the Shoshone vegetation. Til next time, you can find me whispering scientific names to myself as I roam blissfully through the vast Idaho country.

The mystery Ranunc! (Ranunculus andersonii)

One of my favorites (Viola beckwithii)

Shoshone Falls

 

Sierras and Great Basin, III.

The Nevada BLM Carson City District Office CLM Intern Team discovers population of threatened species Ivesia webberi. An amazing find!

A mixed sagebrush-juniper community covers a large semi-remote area of rangeland only 30 minutes north of Reno, Nevada.  Much like most of the state, the area is managed primarily by the BLM with allotments of private land interspersed throughout the region.  As new opportunities arise, private land owners look to alternative ways to achieve a wide array of management goals.  This area in particular has been slotted for land use change pertaining to the large population of Utah Juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) and potential Sage Grouse habitat.

Sagebrush Steppe, Dry Valley, Washoe County, NV

Before significant change on BLM land can happen, a variety of environmental assessments and rare species surveys must be completed to evaluate the impact of the specific project.  This is where our responsibilities for botanical surveys come into play.  Webber’s Ivesia (Ivesia webberi) is an ESA Threatened species, BLM Special Status species, and a Critically Endangered species in the State of Nevada.  The area of interest was designated as potential habitat for Ivesia webberi by our mentor and other BLM Staff.  Our team was tasked with navigating polygons of likely Ivesia habitat and conducting surveys for the rare species across hundreds of acres.  We spent the better part of the work week performing surveys for Ivesia webberi throughout the region while camping in the field.  On the last polygon of the last hour on the last day of our surveys, a fellow intern called the group over as we walked our lines.  “I’ve got it!”  Nestled in a dry ephemeral drainage line, free of Bromus tectorum and other competitors, thrives a newly recorded population of Ivesia webberi!  We recorded the GPS information, created Polygon and Line features, and pin flagged the area for a future return trip.  The discovery of this satellite population is the first in the area and a land management determination is currently in the works.  We are scheduled to return next week for further surveys!

Webber’s Ivesia (Ivesia webberi)

Lake Tahoe calls on the weekends.  In the past few weeks, we have explored Emerald Bay, Eagle Lake at the trailheads of Desolation Wilderness, and Marlette Lake high on the slopes of Tahoe’s eastern border.  Whether we are botanizing, birding, skiing, backpacking, swimming or biking, the seemingly endless activities draw us back over the Sierras to our weekend getaway every time.

Lake Tahoe from Marlette Lake

Eagle Lake, Desolation Wilderness

Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe

Oregoings

Finished my first month at the Grants Pass BLM. Finally got computer access this week! It only took lots of meetings and running in circles trying to find the right person to talk to, but finally got my USAccess card to finally work. Also finally got poison oak for the first time in my life! The heat has picked up just as our field work has too, but I cannot complain. Most of our days are spent hiking (up very steep hills) searching for the endangered Fritillaria gentneri. We have been very lucky to find a lot of good views and a lot of blooming Frittilaria. However, there have also been some difficulties when it comes to access issues -because of the checkerboard pattern with private land ownership we sometimes struggle to get to the sites we need to, however when we do it’s well worth it.  Other days are focused in invasive management, which usually involves hacking at Dyers Wode on gravel bars by the Rogue River and occasionally spraying herbicide.

Some of the amazing views we get: 

Suckers and Pelicans and Frogs… Oh My!!

Is it even possible to cram this last months activities into one blog post? Not likely, but I will do my best.

I left Kansas at the beginning of April with my 5th-wheel trailer and two kitty cats in tow. With my internship starting in a couple of weeks, I decided to have myself a little adventure getting out to Oregon. I followed two strangers into the wilderness of New Mexico to a community of hippies (you could call this reckless behavior), I was humbled by the enormity of the Grand Canyon, I wore the soles of my shoes thin hiking around Zion National Park, and I nearly lost my home in Death Valley. All in all, the adventure was off to a pretty good start.

Bringing the ol’ home out to Oregon!

The Subway at Zion National Park

The adventure continued upon my arrival to Klamath Falls, Oregon and my first day at the field office! Introductions were made and I thanked my lucky stars for getting such an awesome mentor and group of coworkers. I established myself at a local RV park and took a tour of the town and surrounding areas. Wow, is this a pretty area! I can hardly even believe that I get to spend 6 months here!

Upper Klamath Lake- home to thousands of endangered suckers!

Rogue River National Forest is a large forest outside of Klamath Falls!

One of the first projects my fellow CLM compadre, Jeff, and I were given was assisting with the juvenile, endangered Lost River Suckers and Shortnose Suckers at the local fish hatchery. We started out by preparing the juveniles for release. Several days were spent going through each juvenile (over 1,000) and measuring, weighing, and checking for PIT tags on the fish. Once every fish had its data recorded and tags were ensured, the fish were taken to two separate locations and released. It was pretty incredible getting to be a part of the final release. You get to stand back and take in all of the work that went into that particular batch. Quite rewarding, if I do say so myself.

Me, neckless, on the right, measuring a juvenile sucker. Jeff, on the left, is checking the Ranger for PIT tags.

Jeff measuring one of the babies! So cute! (They are very squirmy.)

The transportation tank used to move the juveniles from the hatchery to the release site.

Releasing some juvenile suckers into Klamath Lake

Another project that we were fortunate enough to help out on about once a week was with the Bureau of Reclamation netting adult Lost River suckers and Shortnose suckers from Lake Ewauna for transportation to the Williamson River where better spawning habitat is offered. The nets were laid very early in the morning and pulled out of the water several hours later. This entails someone driving the boat while two people pull each side of the net out of the water and into the boat. Data is recorded for what species of fish are captured and any suckers are kept in a holding tank on the boat. We always have a good time when we are out with the Bureau of Reclamation guys. From ridiculous jokes to a group of American White Pelicans that follow us around, we are never short on laughter.

This group of American White Pelicans always follows us around in hopes of getting a fishy snack from us

Jeff and Brock pulling in one of the nets

Jeff and I have also been helping out with Oregon Spotted Frog surveys! Seven mile creek is located in beautiful Winema National Forest about an hour outside of town. The first time we went out we didn’t have any luck in finding egg sacks or adult frogs (unless you call it lucky that we still got to hike several miles in the wilderness, uh heck yea). BUT upon returning to the site a couple of weeks later when it was warmer, we came across several egg sacks and adult frogs! Data sheets were filled out with site locations, stages of the embryos (these were all hatching!), specific measurements, etc, pictures were captured, and GPS points were taken. It was a beautiful, sunny day in good company and not much more could be asked for.

Seven Mile Creek. More like seven miles of the most beautiful forest I’ve ever seen!!!

Adult Oregon Spotted Frog and bottom right is an egg sack full of hatching larvae!

What else are you supposed to do when you come across bear scat?!

The most recent project that Jeff and I have been helping out on is with larval sucker collections. This involves us getting to the office at 3AM, driving out to the site, throwing some plankton nets into the water and catching little tiny larval suckers! They are then transported to the local fish hatchery to be treated and raised into larger juveniles for later release. You have to be extremely careful when handling the larvae or moving them from one tank to the other because they are very sensitive to changes in water temperature (kind of like me with the cold lol). The perks to being in the field at 3 in the morning is that you have some seriously beautiful sunrises. It’s hard to not be completely content in moments like those.

Dip netting later in the morning for larval suckers

My experience so far with this internship is nothing short of amazing! I am so thankful for this opportunity to acquire knowledge, meet wonderful people, and immerse myself in some new adventures. I am looking forward to what is to come and getting to share my experiences with those who will listen. 🙂

Marissa- Klamath Falls Field Office- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service