Coming from southern Ohio where there is water in the air and ferocious foliage, this wide open and dry country is quite the contrast!  Although the drive was long, I was able to see the landscape change from the foothills of appalachia to the flat midwestern plains, then morph into the high desert and finally the mountains!  It is a beautiful time of year to take a good long drive.

Upon my arrival, I was faced with an exotic landscape and friendly faces.  My first week in the Lander Field Office consisted of a lot of introductions and some planning for my next couple of months of work.  Using USGS topography maps of the 2.2 million acre field office and University of Wyoming’s Rocky Mountain Herbarium, I was able to map out known populations of target species, then the fun really began!  The rest of my time was spent exploring the field office and getting aquatinted with the local flora.  At first it was kind of overwhelming…I felt like a stranger in a foreign land, but as I got my hands dirty things started to click.  I was able to vaguely recognize the western relatives of the eastern flora and brushed up on my keying-out skills.  Can you believe I forgot what papilionaceous was?!

The Lander Field Office is huge, covers a multitude of ecosystems, and has some amazing wildlife.  Just this week a rattle snake rattled at me, I stared down a mustang, and saw a golden eagle soaring through a canyon.  I have high hopes to see a moose.  My first two weeks have been eye opening and I’ve already learned a ton!  I think these next few months will be full of new experiences and jam packed with information and fond memories!

Until next time,

Emily Usher, Lander, Wyoming BLM