I recently moved to Montana from Las Vegas and began my internship at the Dillon Field Office. Lots of land, cattle and ranches were some of the first things at task to deal with. Working with Range Technicians, I have been driving two different expansive creeks to check on the status of cattle allotments, springs, fences, cattle troughs, cattle guards and survey the plants in the cattle ranges. All of these factors can tell us things about the health of the range. For example certain plants, like Broom snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae), can be indicators for over-grazing or disturbance. All of this is new to me as I have never lived in “Cow Country”.
Typical example of a cattle-guard.
Before arriving in Dillon, I worked with the BLM in the Mojave Desert – not the most ideal conditions for raising cattle. Because of that, I had no idea just how invested the BLM is with cattle and range management. It is sort of a whole new world I’m being exposed to here, and I am finding it very interesting. I’m learning so much from the other range technicians as they are all very knowledgable. From how to fix a fence, to the flora, to the fauna, they have taught me so much. Another plus are all the other animals we see while out on the range. Since being here I have seen several elk herds, antelope herds, moose, badger, and coyotes.
View from the range near Kidd, MT
A very funny thing happened the first day in the field. One of the range technicians was explaining how every year she goes out and shoots a cow, and how everyone in Montana can shoot one cow. I was very confused and probably even said “You shoot a cow?!” After a couple of hours of bewilderment and confusion, I asked how ranchers feel about them shooting cows. She laughed and explained that a female elk is called a cow and that they call cattle ‘moo cows’.
View of the burned area we sprayed for weeds
Besides assessing range health, we spent a day spraying noxious weeds in a designated wilderness area. It was an inter-agency effort and we all wore backpacks of herbicide to hike to our target area along a beautiful river. The area we sprayed was burned over ten years ago and after the burn some nasty weeds took over. The BLM has been very persistent about managing the weeds and their efforts here are a big success.
The crew hiking along the river with back-packs of herbicide.
School bus driving by while checking cattleguard
Overall my experience here has been one to remember. Once more plants start popping up and we are done checking on cattle allotments we will start our surveys of the flora along streams and creeks. I will also start working with my mentor on sensitive plant surveys and Seeds of Success collections. I am excited for all to come and feel very fortunate to be here representing the Chicago Botanical Gardens.
Until next time,
Leah