As the other interns have returned back to school I am the only remaining one in the office. I welcome any days out in the field, which are few and far between since our hydrologist just left as well. I have had some exciting opportunities recently, such as going on a 3 day rafting trip with FWS down the Colorado River looking for the endangered Spiranthes diluvialis. Unfortunately, we didn’t find any but I had a great time learning how to raft. Eight river otters began swimming up to us but then a train went by and scared them away! It was pretty annoying that trains continuously rode alongside the river day and night blaring its horn. I wonder what the impacts are on the riparian ecosystem…

I also was able to do another macroinvertebrate survey on West Creek where an oil tanker flipped a few years ago, spilling around 6,000 gallons, I think. At ground zero the stream was filled with algae but appeared to be recovering better downstream. Unfortunately this stream was an important trout hatchery so there are many people, such as Trout Unlimited, invested in its recovery. With fewer field days ahead I’m spending most of time turning NEPA documents into pdfs so they can be published online for the public to see. Pretty boring, but gives me an idea of what working in an office is like. Bring back the outdoors!

Lindsey B.

BLM Grand Junction, CO