Hello!

It is spring in the Mojave Desert, and we have begun our field season in full force! As interns with USGS Henderson, NV, it’s our job to characterize the annual (and, to some extent, perennial) vegetation available to juvenile Desert Tortoises. We’re talking quite small tortoises – imagine a four-inch long tortoise!


Despite the widespread drought in the west, the Mojave actually received above-average winter precipitation this water year, and, as a result, we are seeing incredible annual growth! Many of the spring wildflowers are in full bloom, and we’ve been learning loads of new species each day. It seems as though there are another five species flowering each time we visit our field sites! We’ve been kept busy keying out new species, especially Cyrptantha sp. (the CLM guide to Cryptanthas has been a fantastic resource).

Besides amazing new plants, we’ve also seen a number of resident and translocated Desert Tortoises, snakes, and birds!
I am looking forward to adding more species to the list, and learning more about the Mojave as the season goes on! What an amazing opportunity to learn about plant and wildlife ecology!!

‘Til next time,
Daniel Boyes