It seems so much has happened in the last month that it’s hard to know where to even start. My colleague and I concluded our Bradshaw’s lomatium monitoring just in time to attend the Willamette Resources & Educational Network’s (WREN) annual Walkin’ and Rollin’ Through the Wetlands event. WREN is  a partner organization of BLM’s in the Rivers to Ridges Partnership, which works to protect and enhance the land and water resources in the upper Willamette Valley. WREN, as its name implies, is dedicated to providing environmental education to the public.

My colleague and I both helped man BLM’s West Eugene Wetlands booth, there to educate the community on BLM’s involvement in restoring the wetlands. Unfortunately, not many community members attended the event this year (last year we had upwards of 90 people and this year maybe 20); Eugene was still in the middle of its unusually hot and sunny weather at the time, which could have kept people indoors. Luckily, our booth was right next to the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife’s booth, which meant that I was fortunate enough to see various pelts of animals found in the West Eugene Wetlands area, from beaver to mountain lion and bobcat pelts. I also learned a few things. For example, did anyone know that gray foxes–the red fox’s smaller, less seen cousin–can climb trees? I sure didn’t.

This year field season is moving impossibly fast. We’ve just finished both the Fender’s Blue Butterfly and Kincaid’s lupine monitoring. Before starting the lupine monitoring, it was important that the burtterfly monitoring be finished; the Kincaid’s lupine is the host plant for the Fender’s Blue Butterfly, and so any premature handling of the plants would stir up and disturb the butterflies.

Up next on the agenda is Willamette Daisy (Erigeron decumbens var. decumbens) monitoring, which is my favorite of the plant species we monitor!

‘Til next time!