Phlox stansburyi

At 4798 feet, Lakeview, OR, calls itself the “tallest town in Oregon”, a claim that may or may not be true.  Either way, Lakeview is on the northern end of Goose Lake, in South Central Oregon, and is surrounded by plenty of high mountains and lots of sagebrush.  Since arriving here three weeks ago, I have had a chance to meet some great people, and experience some of the beautiful outdoors working with the BLM.

Bald Eagle and its Nest

We are currently working on a project up near Silver Lake, doing botany clearances before a juniper cut and burn.  We scour the ground for rare plants and invasive species, and make a list of all the plant species we see.  On our first day, my fellow CLMer Liz Thorley and I found a bald eagle and its nest in a big Ponderosa Pine.  We can’t see the chicks but we can hear them peeping!

We have seen some cool plants and gorgeous flowers, including sand lilies (Leucocrinum montanum), eyelash pappus (Blepharipappus scaber), cold desert phlox (Phlox stansburyi), golden currant (Ribes aureum) and death camas (Zigadenus venenosus).  Many more are on the verge of flowering, so I think it will be a great spring!

Emily