June 2010
Hello Current and Future Interns!
After growing up in New Jersey and going to college in Maine, I decided that I wanted to see some of the western United States. Having double majored in biology and government, I thought that the CLM internship would be an ideal combination of both my interests. Throughout my internship I will primarily be monitoring rare plants and collecting seeds for Seeds of Success Program with my co-workers at the Lakewood Office of the Bureau of Land Management.
From the moment I arrived at the office, I knew I was in for an interesting 5 months! On my first day on the job we went to Lair ‘O the Bear Park in the Jefferson County Open Space to collect Pulsatilla patens seeds. When the seeds are ripe for picking, the delicate wisps of this wind-dispersed plant easily fall off into your hand. We were able to make a substantial, but incomplete collection since many of the seeds were still green and needed more time to mature.
The very next day we drove to Dolores on the western slope where we collected Gilia ophthalmoides in Negro Canyon inside of Canyon of the Ancients National Monument. The landscape was unlike anything I had ever seen before! In addition to exposing me to many new plants, this trip also led me to encounter some ancient pottery and nasty gnats in the field. Luckily we were prepared with net jackets! After work, my co-workers and I had the opportunity to venture to Mesa Verde to further explore the natural history of the area.
During my second week we returned to Lair ‘O the Bear to finish our Pulsatilla patens collection. We were worried that the seed might have been lost in a violent storm the night before, but after scouring the hillsides we were able to successfully complete our collection. The next day we went to Green Mountain to scout for other potential seed collections. We found upwards of 5 species abundant enough to make collections, but they were still in flower. We will return later once the seeds are ready to be harvested. We spent Wednesday through Friday on Raven Ridge in Meeker monitoring the rare Penstemon grahamii. We used transect surveys of the total number of rosettes to assess the health of the population. Once we have performed our data analysis we will be able to see any changes that have occurred since last year. Past monitoring revealed no change and hopefully the population is still going strong! While monitoring the penstemon, we chanced upon a population of Astragalus chamaeleuce with collection-ready seed and made the collection.
So far I have really enjoyed learning about new flora and am excited about our upcoming training in the Grand Canyon!
Cheers,
Diana DelleChiaie
Conservation and Land Management Intern
Colorado State Office of the Bureau of Land Management