I am currently as far west as I have ever been in my life; a few weeks ago I left Chicago to come to a town of 200 and the sagebrush steppe. Out here, people wave as I drive past them and the owner of the supermarket chatted with me for 15 minutes because he noticed I was new. In other words, I am a long way from home!  So far, I love Northern California.  If the cultural differences weren’t enough to make me smile, the different ecosystem is!  It is wild to see mule deer, pronghorn antelope, northern harriers, and sandhill cranes each day on my way to work.  Viewing sagebrush and juniper against the backdrop of the Warner Mountains is something truly special.

I am in the midst of my second week working with the BLM at the Alturas Field Office.  Last week I spent a lot of time getting accustomed to the office, visiting the project sites, and learning about the different positions within the Field Office.  I am very excited to be working with my mentor, the wildlife biologist here. We get along great and I feel very welcome!  I appreciate all of the training that I have been going through: office orientation, safety days, ATV training, and Aspen training, and am feeling more and more prepared to go into the field and participate in various projects.

Generally, my responsibilities here will include flagging some land parcels so that contractors can do juniper cuts – to restore Sage Grouse habitat.  I will also be monitoring raptor nests and Sandhill Cranes.  Vegetation surveys and seed collecting for SOS are also on the agenda.  These projects sound really exciting, and I look forward to the work! Another current Alturas BLM project I’ll be involved with is Aspen delineation and monitoring (in conjunction with Matt, a CLM intern in Cedarville).  I’m excited about the variety of experiences to come!

Being in new places thrills me. And what is even more thrilling is that I am priveleged to be working in this totally different ecosystem, experiencing a unique wildlife. It’s a dream job, really. Me + working + California + wildlife = what looks to be a fulfilling 5 months.