Wow. This is it. My CLM internship is over. I can definitely say that this has been my favorite internship so far, for many reasons. Coming out here I didn’t know exactly what to expect. I knew that I would be working as a range tech for the BLM in a small town in the middle of nowhere in Oregon. I grew up in Salt Lake so I wasn’t worried about living out west or being in high desert, but all of the plants I knew how to identify were eastern plants. I knew nothing about sage brush or grasses, things I would be working with here. However, I knew this would be a good challenge. In the past four months I’ve learned how to identify at least 10 species of grass, about six species of shrubs, and countless wildflowers. I really impressed myself and I’m excited to head to a new area of the US and learn even more new plants.

For the first month here I spent a lot of time being trained out in the field with one of the range specialists or sitting at my desk studying a book on grasses. After a few weeks I was ready and raring to get out of my own. Finally I was given some tasks to do on my own. I became really good at looking at maps and the GPS and figuring where I needed to be. I also started paying attention to different landmarks, like Hart Mountain or Abert Rim, which helped me orient myself and know which way was north, etc. While out in the field alone I also ran into some struggles, such as opening difficult fences, flat tires, and getting stuck in the mud. Until I had a partner I had to get out of those tricky situations on my own, and that just gave me even more confidence in my abilities.

In the beginning of May another range tech started work. I was not happy about that because I had to train him, and I was so used to being out in the field by myself and doing my own thing. For a while I struggled with working with someone who needed a lot of direction and didn’t do things my way (even though he was doing them just fine. I’m just particular in that way). I soon realized that we would be stuck together for the rest of the summer because we were running out of utilization to do and were starting in on trend plots, which are easier to do with two people. Eventually I got a better attitude about everything and started having fun with my partner. He was a big help, especially when it came to tricky gates and taking out the UTV.

But enough blabbering on here. The point is, I learned so much this summer, made some really good friends (in and out of the office), and gained a lot of confidence. I’m so glad I got to work in Oregon because it is such a beautiful state, and I really enjoyed exploring it on the weekends. Some advice to future interns would be don’t get worked up over small things, learn as much as you can, make friends, and explore the area that you are living in. Because who knows when you’ll be there again.

Allyson
BLM, Lakeview, Oregon