My two arch nemesis: medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae) and cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum)
ground photo of Olympus fire plot
Landscape photo of the 2013 Olympus Fire burned Miller Homestead
Travis caught the bullsnake!
Bullsnake!
I LOVE COWS!! SO cute!
Hello everyone!
I am excited to finally be writing to you from the high desert of Eastern Oregon. Just over four weeks ago I traveled from Denver, CO to Hines, OR to begin my conservation and land management internship (Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation monitoring) with the Bureau of Land Management. It felt so good to have just graduated from college a week before and already be starting an amazing internship with a federal agency I have learned so much about over the years as a Rangeland Ecology student at Colorado State University.
The first day of work my supervisor Caryn was very welcoming and introduced Marta (other intern) and I to a number of different specialists and managers in the office that we would be working with during our time here. I couldn’t get over how freakin cool it was to be walking around in a BLM office and seeing so many different natural resource specialists (rangeland management, geologists, GIS, wildlife biologists, land/realty management, fire ecologists, etc) hard at work in order to support people’s livelihoods and sustain ecosystem services!
Our field season officially began the morning of June 1st when Travis (Rangeland Management Specialist) took us out to the Miller homestead site (he manages) where the lightning-ignited Olympus fire burned 3,000 acres last summer. The high-intensity fire spread quickly due to the occupation of that area by many shrubs, native perennial grasses and medusahead (an especially invasive non-native grass which reduces grazing capacity and wildlife habitat, negatively affects biodiversity and creates a wildfire hazard). The site was aerial seeded with alfalfa (very good forage species that is well-adapted to the dry environment of Oregon’s high desert rangelands).
Our job was to carry out the Pace 180 (nearest plant) method to monitor vegetation trend by estimating ground cover, basal cover of perennial herbaceous plants and foliar cover of woody species in addition to perennial plant composition. We also were tasked with carrying out the Line-Point Intercept method to quantify soil cover, vegetation cover, litter cover, rock cover and biological soil crust cover. Additionally, we set out a quad every 5 meters along our 50 meter transects to estimate the density of perennial forbs and shrubs in the burned area. The purpose of ESR monitoring is to determine whether the implemented treatment (seeding in this case) was effective in establishing desirable species that reduce soil erosion (by providing good cover) and positively impact the ecological integrity of the burned site by occupying areas that otherwise would be overtaken by ecosystem-altering invasive non-native species such as medusahead grass and cheatgrass (an invasive non-native annual grass that outcompetes native species especially after a disturbance, reduces agricultural production and alters an ecosystem’s fire regime).
This first day out in the field was quite rewarding! Not only did Travis familiarize us with ESR monitoring protocol and happily tell us (and answer our many questions) about the ecological history of the site, he also had a great discussion with us about the many (environmental and political) threats that plague the rangelands of Eastern Oregon.
On the days we are not monitoring ESR sites, we are either traveling to different Research Natural Areas (RNAs) in search of rare plants or traveling to different Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs) to conduct plant inventories. These days are particularly exciting because we often find ourselves botanizing in some of the most beautiful biologically diverse ecosystems Eastern Oregon has to offer!
In other news, ever since I stumbled upon pieces of obsidian, rough quartz and white crystalized rock the first week in the field, I have definitely become a bit of a rock-hound! Caryn (my wonderful supervisor) fell in love with rock hunting the minute she explored Harney county as well and the other day showed me her very impressive rock collection of obsidian, quartz, calcite, agate, jasper and PETRIFIED WOOD!!! I am pretty stoked because tomorrow morning I will be spending my time hunting for obsidian, agate and sunstones (to add to my first ever rock collection) since I am now the proud owner of 3 rock hunting site maps provided to me (and made by) Caryn!! Below is a sneak peak of my growing collection.
This is my first time ever blogging, but I actually really enjoy it and feel it’s a wonderful way to reflect on the many experiences I will have as a BLM intern here in OREGON!!
I look forward to blogging at least every other week, so stay tuned 🙂
Ariana Gloria-Martinez
Hines, Oregon
This is so awesome!!! ^_^
I am glad you are having a great time out in Burns/ Hines, Oregon! I was the CLM intern last year for the BLM. (You probably found the pictures of Dan and I in the ES&R folders.) I love rock hounding in Harney County! There are so many different kinds of treasures you can find in the area. Every week I would look for a new location to go rock hounding! If you want to know of any rock hounding sites I went to, let me know, I can give you a map or directions. You can find sunstones, picture jasper, fire opal, agates, thunder eggs and other rare minerals in the area.
Good luck and have a great time! The Burns/Hines BLM and their employees were awesome and very helpful!
Hey Justin!
Yes, Hahaha we did come across your selfies. Oh, and I would absolutely love to get some awesome rock hounding sites from you! I am especially interested in fire opal, jasper, thundereggs, green obsidian and oh heck, I want to see it all haha. Last weekend I finally took the Steens Mountain Loop Road to the summit! I made stops all the way to scope out some places to return for future weekend explorations, reading spots, and spots where I can watch the social behavior of cows in peace. What were your favorite hikes and or areas to explore around here on the weekends??
And how is Buffalo? Have any new hobbies taken hold of you in Wyoming?
Ahhhh, I did not do Steens Mountain any justice in that last reply. It was absolutely stunning (going from shrubland steppe to juniper to alpine!) It was especially wonderful to be near the top of the mountain with pleasant warm weather and then hear a small stream trickling nearby and then look over to see snow patches :)) Also, the canyons/gorges left me speechless! Next Thursday my brother is visiting from Colorado and I am super excited to take him to Steens so we can hike to Wildhorse Lake!