Hello again fellow interns! Well it seems summer is in full swing. The temperature reached over 80 degrees this week in wonderful Kemmerer, Wyoming.  The temperature seems to be getting hot too quickly, but it’s nice not waking up to below freezing weather.  Work has been great; I have spent much of my time last week in an optional training.  The class was a week-long class located in Twin Falls, Idaho.  Class consisted of training on how to use the Seventeen Indicators of Range Health.  The training will be very valuable in my future career.  Much of the class was spent on soils, and how to identify specific ecological sites. Much of the information that was covered during training was review for me.  It was nice to have a refresher course. It amazes me how much a person can forget when they don’t use something that was learned in the past.

Being from Wyoming, I have not spent much time in Idaho.  The state goes from mountains in the east to a flatter grass/shrub community in the eastern part of the state.  The one thing that really surprised me was the huge amount of cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum).  I knew the invasive grass was a problem, but I didn’t realize it was a problem to this extent.  In fact, where I currently work, and have worked in the past, cheatgrass is a problem, but it is located in sporadic areas and does not cause a huge problem.  It was nice to learn how much the grass really creates a problem for native grass species. After leaving Idaho, and returning to Wyoming, I have a new profound appreciation of my work location.  I hope everyone has a great field season, and remember to stay safe!

Jeremy Sykes

Bureau of Land Management

Kemmerer, Wyoming