In the past three weeks, we have been in the office only three times. Instead, the majority of our time has been spent in the great outdoors. On our first camping trip we spent the night at Pyramid Lake on the Paiute Tribes’ Reservation; we spent our days with other BLM staff performing range assessments of public lands. We had the opportunity to observe BLM staff in assessing grazing impacts and disturbances on native wildlife for future land management goals. We assisted in this effort by creating species lists of flora at each site, especially noting noxious weeds and other disturbances. Additionally, we also scouted for flowering and seeding native plants for future seed collections. For these trips, we were able to both assist in range assessments and scout for future collections in remote mountainous areas.
Two weeks ago, we were able to visit Anaho Island in Pyramid Lake, thanks to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Anaho Island is a place of dwarf rattlesnakes, giant bull snakes and a nesting place for many of the birds that call Pyramid Lake home, including pelicans and gulls. The isolation of Anaho Island has sparked recent research on its unique snake and rodent populations. We were able to make three seed collections there and hope to return for more!
As the plant life in Nevada is finally starting to produce seed in quantity, our team has been hard at work in the field over the last several weeks. Although our winter lasted longer than usual, the moisture associated with the cooler temperatures has been a great boon to the vegetation here in the sagebrush. Our collections are getting bigger and we’re able to camp out more often. It feels good to be outside and accomplish so much. The field work, while focused on seed collection, allows us to see so much wildlife. We regularly see several species of lizards in addition to quail and a variety of songbirds. Our team members are beginning to recognize a few of Nevada’s birds by both call and sight.
All but one of our CLM team members are from east of the Mississippi and getting acquainted with the foreign landscape certainly took some time. However, with each passing day in the field, our knowledge of the region grows, and with it, a surprising love for the wildness of the landscape. A terrain ‘unfit’ for agriculture, it has been largely left undeveloped. It is truly amazing to go out into the field see so much open space.
We are looking forward to further exploration of the untenable Nevada wilderness.
Brian Josey
Maggie Chan
Sasha Broadstone