August has been another busy month of trying to grasp everything that the BLM is managing and what they are responsible for. The other intern and I started our month off with heading to the Northeastern area of Oregon in Baker City. For the second time this internship, we were given the opportunity to work with an independent contractor and another BLM botanist to set up climate change monitoring plots. The plots were set up on a mountain side, and hiking up to these sites was definitely a test of endurance and strength. Why set them up on a mountain side? Well, the location is in a “transitional” habitat, and over a span of time they will be used to see if there is a shift in vegetation and if climate change is impacting this specific ecosystem. We did a whole lot of dbh, marking, and identification of the trees in the plot area; along with identifying the wide variety of forbs and shrubs. It was a great week to see a new project and full of learning.
The most exciting part of this month, and probably the whole internship so far, was having the chance to work with the E.S.I crew for a week! E.S.I. is Ecosystem Site Inventory.
They were hired to perform the initial soil survey for BLM land in Malheur County. Malheur County is one of the last areas in the United States to not have any soil surveys or ecosystem site inventories on its land. So, BLM hired the NRCS to complete the initial soil surveys and E.S.I. by 2020. A long process indeed. Anyway, one of the soil scientists let me follow her throughout the week to see what they do. For this project, they are paired with a botanist/ecologist to get thorough data on both the vegetation and soil. A very important aspect of the Ecosystem site inventories is to get the full view of the landscape. Seeing them at work and talking about the relationships of plants and soil really clicked a light bulb in my head! Landscape ecology and understanding all of the different relationships is exactly what it is I want pursue. Which is a very wide category, I know, but it has helped me find a focus, yipee! Learning about the soil and plant relationships made sense to me and I cant wait to follow through and see what comes next!