Here’s a pictoral journal of my time in Anchorage, AK! I definitely didn’t post as much as I meant to (this is my first one) but I had to have a record of my amazing time in this internship and this place! So here it is.

Over the course of this Summer and Fall, I’ve learned and traveled all over the state, from the Mighty Yukon River (yes, “the Mighty” is warranted, it looks as big as a lake) to the little isolated Rohn Cabin on the Iditarod trail next to the South fork of the Kuskokwim.  I’ve been in the Alaskan, White, Chugach, and the Kuskokwim Mountain Ranges, ID-ing plants, digging holes through permafrost, determining successional seres and keeping an eye out for rare and invasive plants alike.

I’ve learned so much in my time here, especially in the UAA Herbarium, about collection management and databasing, and then how to use that information to prep for the field, compare similar species, and use voucher information for plant range reports. And working in such an expansive, unpopulated state gives you the feeling that you’re really making a difference. There’s so much more to do here! So if you’re an intern lucky enough to have been placed with Alaska BLM, and even if you’re not a fan of the cold, I would highly encourage you to consider getting up in the 49th state! You won’t regret it, and who knows, you might get a bite from the “Alaska Bug” and end up staying here, as I hope to do!

The time has come to apply for other jobs, federal and otherwise, and I can’t be thankful enough that I have the experience I need to give me an edge in that hunt. Thanks to all my CLM mentors and friends that have made my time here formative, fruitful, and fun.

Driving down the Richarson Highway, looking at the Alaska Mtn Range, surveying for SOS species.

In the White Mts near the little village of Central, doing NRCS Soil Survey Work.

Sunshine Mtn in  Kuskokwim Mts near McGrath, collecting SOS species.

Rohn Cabin, on the Iditarod trail, invasive plant monitoring and removal.

At the Rohn Cabin airstrip, removing invasives.

In a burnt spruce forest overlooking the soft, rolling White Mts during NRCS soil surveys.

In a wet meadow in the White Mts, having found a moose jaw. Hoping to collect some discount from the Moosejaw outfitters for our excellent advertising shots.

My fellow intern Bonnie, taking a sweet shot of the Alaskan Range, just south of Denali on the George Parks Hwy.

The South Fork of the Kuskokwim River

The BLM Anchorage pair, going where no interns have gone before. I think Alaska has left a mark on us, don’t you?