My internship was a botany internship with the BLM WY in Lander. The goal was to conduct Seeds of Success collections and to create an herbarium collection for the office so they would have reference material. In addition to completing those tasks, I was also able to provide a huge amount of map data work for the office. This office had not ever had a botanist, and their data was unmaintained and challenging to use. I was able to not only collect a large amount of data last summer, but I was also able to organize the offices current data, and then some. With the help of the GIS specialist, I created two geodatabases that are easily usable and can incorporate all future data collection, both in-house and 3rd party. The big concern was that there were surveys that resulted in negative data that were never incorporated, and as a result, many areas were being surveyed multiple times. So they needed a way to show all areas of known locations AND any areas that resulted in negative data so that resources were not being wasted in duplicate surveys. I was able to provide this for them, and I believe that they are very grateful.

The field work that I did last season was also very rewarding. Being a native of the northest megalopolis, it was refreshing to see the vast open spaces that WY has to offer. And the serenity fed my soul.

I will miss WY and the people that I have come to know in the office here. This experience has not only allowed me to see beautiful country and make new friends, but it has also assisted me in making decisions about my future and career goals. My life and my person are better for it, and I encourage anyone to participate in this program.