Full Swing in NW NM!

Hello there! The monsoons seem to be finally kicking in here in the Four Corners region, a bit behind schedule. My fellow intern Sarah and I had been scrapping and scrounging for SOS collections up until about a week ago because of the drought. Now we are knee deep in species to collect from and part of the job is to keep everything straight – what IS ready, what COULD be ready, what we need to check on, arranging priorities and organizing our weeks to squeeze it all in. Because of the scarcity of good collection material prior to rainfall in our immediate area, we began looking further afield (far out, man!) and this has resulted in potential collections for the coming weeks in some really amazing landscapes. We’ve been able to explore San Juan and Carson National Forests and lots of new BLM land. I’ve seen many blog entries about the deteriorating road conditions in the field and (fingers crossed) we’ve been ok so far, but the roads are getting slick as the plants are making seed!

I’m thrilled to be so busy and we’ve had many learning opportunities beyond our SOS collecting lately as well. We joined other members of our office on a noxious weeds field trip to learn more about the identification and management of these nasty plants and as a bonus took part in the delicious barbeque afterwards! Another day we went out with our threatened and endangered species specialist to assist him with the transplanting of the adorable and state endangered Brack’s Cactus, Sclerocactus cloverae var.brackii. This was a lot of fun and there is always some special ambience felt in the presence of such a thing, but part of it was also saddening. I was dismayed that we had to transplant the little cactus to begin with, because its survival rates may prove to be poor and I wish it could stay where it happily grew originally. This brings me to a topic which I have avoided touching on so far, which is the oil and gas industry and its death grip on the Farmington area, the reason we had to transplant the cactus and make way for the things our society deems more important. However, I will save the in depth discussion for another blog entry.

On a lighter note, Sarah, Sheila, and I will keep working hard to make as many wonderful seed collections as we possibly can and learning from our coworkers and filling our heads with images of the beauty of the southwest. Last weekend I hiked 8 miles and camped out in Colorado’s gorgeous Echo Basin, didn’t see another soul besides my dog and a mule deer the whole time, and I relished the solitude. I also was lucky to have a friend visit from back east and we got out to Utah to check out Canyonlands and Natural Bridges and Manti-La-Sal National Forest, (all of which I highly recommend). The outdoor experiences here are supreme and I’m loving it! I hope all of you throughout the west are finding the CLM program as fulfilling and amazing as we are!