I cannot believe fall is already rapidly approaching the Modoc. Already the redbud has ripened and some leaves are beginning to turn colors. My field season experiences continue to be interesting and varied. My partner Joe and I scoped out a habitat corridor to post a game camera for Arlene, the wildlife biologist at our field office. The sight for the camera is under a bridge which is over the South Pit river across from the Modoc Wildlife Refuge. Arlene is hoping to capture any wildlife crossing under highway 395. Besides helping out other departments in our office, seed collection is still the main project we have been working on. Joe and I have made over 20 seed collections and have plans on making even more. We often drive out into the field looking for more plants populations to collect from while exploring new areas. Last week we collected coffee plant and elderberry.

When I first arrived here I was rather uncertain how I would like working here for the entire summer…but the truth is I have really grown to love this area. A few weeks ago I went to the county fair in nearby Cedarville. The fair was quite the adventure complete with demolition derby and line dancing. (: So something really exciting is the fact that Joe and I both got extended to work into the fall. I am looking forward to gaining more work and life experiences on the Modoc. One of the projects we will be working on is mapping Wyoming sagebrush with GPS using ATVs.

In other news, there was a large fire that started near Likely, CA, a mere 22 miles from Alturas. Joe and I were out checking out some potential seed collection sights and saw smoke quickly grow from a small few acres to hundreds in a matter of minutes. The fire started from a RV on 395. Over the next week the fire grew to over 10,000 acres and is still not declared contained.

Looking forward to watching the rest of the leaves turn across Northeast California…