5/23/2013
It is hard for me not to reminisce about my CLM summer last year in Lakeview, Oregon. I met so many great people and accomplished so many things that the experience almost seemed too good to be true. As I conclude my first month as a second year CLM’er in Dillon, Montana, I am constantly reminded how life is always changing. This will be my fifth summer as a seasonal employee and it is safe to say that not one summer will be comparable to the last. My first few weeks here have been different and challenging in a positive way. I am the only CLM intern this year, as opposed to the 9 interns in Lakeview, and the seasonal employees that are here are very established within the community. After having lived in Oregon for 3 years, the shift in culture is exciting and much different than expected. All of the people in the office have been really nice and helpful, and they are all encouraging me to be involved in as many projects as possible.
With the last signs of winter still lingering in the mountains, our vegetation monitoring has not yet begun, but once the plants start to grow we will be in full trend monitoring mode. I have been able to get the lay of the land and complete some spring exclosure checks: the Dillon field office manages over 900,000 acres of public land and includes some of the most major watersheds east of the continental divide. From what I understand, the majority of our monitoring will be stream related. We have also been able to assist in a district wide weed spraying day along the Madison River. That was a fun and beautiful experience. Considering my background as a two person weeds crew, it was nice to see how involved all of the district employees, and some off district employees, are with invasive plant management. The areas that we have been working in so far, are beautiful, and I understand the need to protect these open spaces. Aside from spring checks and weed spraying, we have been able to help with a fence removal project and also attend a rangeland drought workshop. A lot of jokes were made about the drought talk probably due to the amount of rain we have had lately. All jokes aside, the rain has been helpful but not enough to ease the minds of the land managers and range permitees. Not much else has happened, but I am excited for the true start of the field season! I have to mention that I saw my first moose the other day. My field partner was not impressed as I was screaming like a small child, but he still appreciated my lack of knowledge nonetheless. Until next time, here is to new adventures in beautiful places!
Grace Ray~Dillon, MT
Another great view while fixing some fence!
View of Lima Peaks while completing spring checks