Six months have come and gone. I am wondering how time could have possibly flown by so quickly. Did time seem to speed up because of all of the friends I have made? Was it because I enjoyed my job every day? Was it because of all of the new and exciting places? All I know is that time HAS flown, and I have all of those reasons plus so much more to look back on and be happy about. All of the people I will never forget and the experiences I will treasure have made being a CLM intern one of the greatest experiences ever.

Awwwwww Lakeview interns

I began the summer with some professional qualities that helped me get a great start in the field. I ended the summer with a stronger sense of those qualities and an entire grab-bag of different ones. I was able to work in Lakeview with a great group of interns and supervisors where I explored a new ecosystem while identifying plants that were unfamiliar to me. I learned a great deal about range management and several other departments including wildlife, botany, and fisheries. I completed stream and riparian vegetation surveys as well as grazing utilization studies and Range Health Assessments. I also developed several new survey techniques that are used widely across the BLM. I took field trips to the Bend Seed Extractory and the US Fish and Wildlife Service forensics lab. The week of training at the Chicago Botanic Garden was also one of the coolest parts about the summer, and I strongly suggest attending.

I honestly cannot believe what a great program the CLM turned out to be. The people involved seriously care about us as interns and young professionals, and they want to help us to make connections for our future. Everyone should take advantage of this opportunity and APPLY NOW! I know I cannot wait for my next opportunity with CLM. Thanks for a great summer and great experience!