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