Wild horses within the Lander BLM Field Office
Just two weeks ago we were arriving in Chicago for our week of training at the CBG. The training, as well as the symposium that was held at the end of the week, served as a great opportunity to grab hold of the cause that we are working for during this internship. It’s always helpful to widen your perspective to a bigger picture of the conservation goals at stake and to identify your role in making those become reality. It’s great to continue on into the season with this vision – knowing that some of our days may be long, hot and tiring, but also knowing that we’re making a contribution toward the progress of largescale native plant restoration and to the science that will keep these western ecosystems healthy.
Despite the fun we had exploring the city and the botanical gardens during our week of training, I was relieved to arrive back in Lander, WY and breathe in the fresh air of the wide open spaces! The season seems to be progressing quickly already too, augmented by the fact that each time we go out in the field, the grasses have lifted a few feet (it’s been a heavy year for rain), and are a constant kaleidoscope of color as they change from green to gold and red with the sun and heat.
Collecting the height of key species to monitor rangeland health
Now armed with our matching muck boots, we’ve begun collecting rangeland monitoring data, measuring the stubble height of key species in riparian areas to determine if grazing has been too heavy in an area. Eventually Erin and I will be on a monitoring rotation, visiting the same sites every couple of weeks. The riparian sites we’re collecting data from are where cattle particularly love to spend their time mowing the grass to the ground, but which are also some of the most important sites ecologically. Other than grazing the grass down too short, the cattle also have the potential to cause something called hummocking, which is severe small-scale mounding of the ground (see photo). Since the soil in riparian areas is so wet, the cattle’s hooves cause depressions where they walk, leaving mounds around the areas where they have not stepped. Over time these will worsen and water loss can become a problem. Less water is held in the soil and protected from evaporation or simply flowing down stream, which changes the function of the ecosystem on an essential level.
Monitoring rare Astragalus sp. in Dubois , WY
This past week we went out in the field for the first time with Tanya, the botanist in our office. She took us to Dubois, WY in the northern part of our field office to monitor a rare Astragalus sp. which is endemic to the area. Finding this particular species requires walking out on the crumbling red and gray slopes of the badland hills, overlooking a mess stripes and color and mountains beyond. I had so many questions for Tanya because it was exciting to be involved in this new and unfamiliar process, let alone get to explore such a beautiful piece of country. We found our species surprisingly quickly, took our samples and data and tried to get a good estimate of the population size. All in all it made for a pretty successful day.