Well I never pictured myself being in Wyoming… ever. Here I am though and wow what a good decision I made! I moved to Pinedale in the beginning of May. I was shocked to find a place with a harsher winter/spring climate than where I live in New York but those times did not last long. I spent the first few weeks taking a lot of training courses and exploring the outskirts of town (the few that weren’t buried under snow) and just trying to ready myself to explore an environment about as foreign to me as the moon. Species like robins and red winged blackbirds along with cottonwoods and aspen are familiar sites but they are only a minute sample of the flora and fauna that make up Wyoming’s high desert and mountain habitats. Once I was all trained and the weather started looking up it was time to start scouting plant populations. Our goal here in Pinedale is to collect seed from various regions of Sublette County in order to obtain a varied genetic sample of the plants that will be useful in restoration. I am pleased to see that our field office is working hard to make sure we collect from specific regions of the county where oil and gas drilling are taking place. Once the oil and gas companies are done, the state mandates that they restore the land back to previous use which, in this case, is viable wildlife habitat. It is rewarding to know that our efforts are going above and beyond seed banking and that what we do here will help restore habitat for such species like sage grouse and pronghorn. My weekends are spent with newly made friends in and around Pinedale, hiking, camping, fishing, etc.. It has been an interesting experience so far especially coming from a job in the private sector. I am excited to see what the rest of the summer holds and soon they tell me the mountains will finally unthaw and some serious hiking can begin!