Lilium canadense at Catoctin Mountain Park

My time as a CLM intern at the C&O Canal and Catoctin Mountain Park is sadly coming to an end.  I have been in Maryland since early April and have had a great time getting to know the area on a couple different levels.

I fount RTE Oenothera argillicola (shale-barren primrose) at the Paw Paw Tunnel outside of Cumberland, MD

I’ve had the opportunity to travel up and down the Potomac River and was able to experience first hand how it has shaped its landscape socially and physically.  The Canal runs from very rural and mountainous Cumberland, Maryland to the unquestionably urban coastal plain of Washington DC.  These two sides of the park are as different as night and day socially and biologically.  I was very impressed by the collaborative management efforts the C&O maintained to help address all of the needs of this diverse park.

Just a few buddies hanging out by the C&O Canal!

As far as the things I’ve gained from this experience the list is long.  On a professional level I was able to gain experience creating a fieldwork schedule and managing people, tasks and time.  I attended a week long plant ID class, two GIS workshops and was able to work with GPS hardware and ArcMap on a daily basis, enabling me to expand my knowledge and use my skills.  I had the overarching project of updating the locations of rare, threatened and endangered plants but also had opportunity to create my own tasks and was able to focus on visitor outreach, volunteer coordination and environmental education in addition to surveying for RTEs.  Most importantly I was able to network and interact with professionals in the National Park Service. The skills I gained from this CLM internship and the CLM internship I had last year with the BLM in Lander, Wyoming gave me the skills I needed to move along on my career path.  I’ll be attending University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in September to begin a MS in Natural Resources program and have my experience as a CLM intern to thank for the experience!

Working hard or hardly working?!?

Working in this area was amazing, but so was living in it!  Living at Catoctin Mountain Park in Thurmont, MD offers little in terms of socializing but I was relatively close to many exciting places and I was lucky enough to have 4 great roommates!  I was able to visit a few  National Historic Battlefields (Gettysburg, Monocacy, Antietam) and learned about the history of the area,  visit a number of charming little towns (Frederick, MD, Shepherdstown WV, Berkely Springs, WV) and fall in love with small town America but was just a short drive from a few major cities (Washington DC, Baltimore, MD, Pittsburgh, PA) if I needed an urban fix.  I was lived about 3 miles from the Appalachian Trail, so I got a good amount of hiking and camping in too!

Fringe benefits

Great Falls, MD. Just 10 miles from Washington DC!

I’d like to thank everyone at Catoctin Mountain Park, the C&O Canal National Historical Park and the Chicago Botanic Garden for making this experience great for me!

#IFOUNDMYPARK

The Paw Paw Bends, outside of Cumberland, MD