So far these past 8 weeks of my internship have been great! The majority of my work has been effectiveness monitoring, which I described in detail in my first post, but today I got to actually join our SCA (Student Conservation Association) crews and participate in a large restoration project in our office’s management area. It was very easy to catch on to the process as I’ve been evaluating the techniques used from years past.  I have also had the chance to design and implement some landscaping revegetation for the opening of the newly redone Jawbone visitor center. It’s an amazing set of new buildings that will really provide excellent outreach and information for the visitors to this area of BLM land.

Planting native desert species

I’ve spent more time exploring the Ridgecrest area both on and off the job, and have become much more familiar with the geography and biology of this region. I’ve seen burrowing owls while driving out to work areas and participated in a long-term monitoring project for the Mojave Ground Squirrel, getting to handle and assist in the assessment of their populations in the area (no desert tortoises in the wild yet though!)

Paper Bag Bush (Salazaria mexicana)

Fossil Falls

Beavertail Cactus (Opuntia basilaris)

I have also attended a Seeds of Success (SOS) training in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was a great experience to meet some of the fellow CLM/BLM interns in the area! A few of us even got to go out with a Vegas crew and help make a collection for the SOS program. We spent part of a rare cloudy, semi-rainy day in Las Vegas exploring Red Rock Canyon, a part of the Vegas BLM land, to identify species and practice assessing possible collections to be made from the local vegetation.

Red Rock Canyon, Las Vegas BLM

It’s been a busy couple of months, I can’t believe I’m already nearly halfway finished! After getting to visit Las Vegas as a BLM intern, I’m even more excited to begin grad school in the Biology department at UNLV in the fall and possibly be working with the local BLM and USGS!