Goodbye Lakeview, Hello Death Valley!

Our 36 collections are at Bend and our work is done! We drove the whole lot up to the seed extractory and took a tour. We even got to see our fleshy fruit collections cleaned and dried. They use really neat equipment to shake, rattle and roll the seeds into a nice, clean lot. In a warehouse, there are sacks full of conifer cones that need to be turned everyday to dry properly before they heat them to pop the seeds out. What a cool job! It was amazing to see where our months of hard work ended up and the excellent care the people at the extractory give to our seed collections.

There were many disappointments in our efforts this season, but this had mainly to do with the incredible drought that has oppressed the area. We only had two grass seed collections but had better luck with sedges.

Working with the BLM has been challenging. I’ve learned how hard it is to be a leader, and that being a good leader is important to me but I often struggle with how to do it. Doing the right thing well is often difficult. I’ve also learned that I can do botany 24/7 without getting sick of plants. I can ID the deadest, driest plant with confidence. I will take everything I’ve learned with me and become a stronger scientist and better field crew member where the next chapter begins.

I’ve had a great season but I am ready to move on and be with my adventure partner. For the next 6 months, I will be volunteering with Death Valley National Park doing botany and wilderness restoration projects. I’ll be living out of a 10-foot pop-up in the hottest, driest and lowest place in North America. 50 species of endemic plants and great hiking await!
I have to thank my partner Anna, mentor Ian and Megan Haidet and Krissa Skogen for the opportunity to work in this amazing place. Farewell!

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Old volcanoes

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Lucy Landis
Lakeview BLM

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