July in the Lander Field Office has been the busiest month so far, but also the most fun. Our time has been split between two very time consuming projects, production clipping and seed collection. Production clipping involves us going out to an ex-closure (a fenced off area that cows can’t get into) in the field and clipping plants from both inside and outside the ex-closure to compare them. This helps us see the effect that grazing has on the production levels of different plants. At each site we set up two transects, one inside and one outside the ex-closure. We then throw hoops to randomly select 20 plots along the transect. Whatever is inside the hoop becomes our sampling plot, we cut down everything inside the plot and bag them by species. We weigh each bag at the site to get a green weight, then at the office we put the bags in plant dryers and get a dry weight in 24 hours. This process takes a couple days for each ex-closure and we have 10 sites to visit.

One of the production ex-closures we did production clipping at. This ex-closure was covered in tumbleweeds!

Here is an example of the hoops we use. Whatever is inside the hoop after we throw it gets clipped and weighed.

While not doing production clipping, we have been working on seed collections. We have four collections that we’ve done in July. We have collected Antelope Bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata), Basin Daisy (Platyschkurhia integrifolia), Desert Yellow Fleabane (Erigeron linearis), and Tansyleaf Tansyaster (Macaeranthera tanacetifolia). The seed collection has been a little challenging, sometimes seeds that we’ve scouted have disappeared before we could get to them. It seems like many of the seeds were ready at the same time and we couldn’t get to all of them at once.

Two days this month we had a Montana Conservation Corps crew come out and help us with seed collection. There were 12 kids (ages 14-22) on the crew and it was very helpful to have all of the extra hands. It was a little difficult to keep their attention at times, but they helped us collect 14,000 seeds of antelope bitterbrush and 15,000 seeds of desert yellow fleabane.  It was also nice to be able to teach others about seed collection and why it is important. I liked being able to be in charge and have my own crew.

Some of the antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata) seed that the Montana Conservation Corps crew helped us collect.

Antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata) seeds

One of the most tedious things about seed collecting is doing the seed count. We have a formula we use that uses the weight of the collection to figure out how many seeds we have. However, it requires us to take a handful of seeds as a sample and sort through and count how many viable seeds there are. This process can take about an hour. Although seed collecting can sometimes be monotonous, it is also very rewarding and is definitely my favorite part of my job.

In my free time I have been exploring the history of this area more in depth. One weekend I drove out to visit independence rock, which was much more interesting than I expected it to be! I learned that independence rock was considered the halfway point on the Oregon trail. Travelers were supposed to reach the rock by July 4th in order to ensure safe passage over the mountains before winter. Many people who stopped here carved their names into the rock, creating a sort of registry of travelers on the Oregon trail.

Signatures on top of Independence Rock

The view from standing on top of Independence Rock

The month of July started out very hot, we have been going up the road into the mountains more often to jump in the cold mountain lakes. There also has been no rain! Everyday is hot and sunny, which has caused many wildfires in the last couple of weeks. I’m starting to hope for a few rainy days.

I have also been out hiking in Sinks Canyon State Park a few times this month. Sinks Canyon is by far my favorite place in Wyoming.

A suspension bridge on one of the hikes in Sinks Canyon State Park.

Month three working with the BLM has gone well, I have really been enjoying my time here. However, I have to say that I am looking forward to the fall and cooler temperatures. Until next time!

Erin, Lander Field Office, BLM- Wyoming