Hello, everyone! I am a recent graduate with a degree in English and have just began my internship at BLM’s West Eugene Wetlands (WEW) field office in Eugene, Oregon—known as the Red House by its inhabitants (aptly named, as it is a bright red, converted farm house). The Red House is a bit unusual in that BLM shares the Red House with two other organizations—the Long Tom Watershed Council and the Willamette Resources & Educational Network (WREN)—that, along with BLM, form a partnership focused on conserving the West Eugene Wetlands.

Now, you’re probably wondering how an English degree fits in with conservation and land management. My goal, in addition to grant writing, is to develop a public outreach program, creating literature aimed to educate the public and increase the overall awareness of the wetlands; after all, the West Eugene Wetlands are actually situated in and around Eugene city limits. Needless to say, I have learned more about the wetlands in the last week than the entire twenty-two years of my life—and I grew up in this area. Right now I’m gearing up for WREN’s Walkin’ and Rollin’ Through the Wetlands event, which is an opportunity for the public to take a stroll through the wetlands and learn about them. BLM is going to have a booth, and we’re hoping to teach people about Fender’s Blue Butterfly, WEW’s single federally listed endangered animal species, and its host plant Kincaid’s Lupine, a federally listed threatened plant species.

I’ve also gotten out in the field a bit, and last week I travelled up to the Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge to attend a workshop on long distance sampling of Fender’s Blue Butterfly populations. With typical Willamette Valley weather, we had a rain and wind storm, and the power went out halfway through the presentation; even so, we all slogged outside and practiced our long distance sampling skills on paper butterflies (which were a bit soggy, considering the rain, but still a very effective tool). Overall, I learned a lot and had fun, and am hoping to return to the second portion of the workshop next week!

Mackenzie Cowan

BLM West Eugene Wetlands Field Office