Hello,

This is my first blog ever- how exciting! I’ve been working for the BLM in Lakeview, Oregon for a few weeks now doing rangeland monitoring. Everything is new and exciting. New town, new friends, new environment, new job and new plants. I drive a sweet truck on rocky roads looking for a post in the middle of know where. We use four different maps and a picture to help us get there (not a GPS). Sometimes the stakes are fallen, buried or do not exist anymore. I find this to be a really fun scavenger hunt. At the sites we collect data and photos to continue monitoring the site. It has been a really neat experience and a unique way to get to know a new part of the country. I would say that it has strengthen my navigation skills and my grass identification skills the most so far.

I am currently in Chicago for the CLM workshop. It has been great fun meeting other folks who are enthusiastic about botany and field work. The BLM speakers have been very encouraging and interesting. I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity and am happy to be living in my element. Yay plants!