A population of Baileya multiradiata “desert marigold” of which we made two collections.
We have had a rather exciting month of plant collections. Down here at the extreme southern end of that which constitutes BLM land, our ability to make collections probably tends to come much later in the year than for many of y’all folks in the northern lands. This, coupled with the general weirdness of precipitation patterns down here in the deep Chihuahuan Desert, has resulted in unusual and often belated phonologies of our target species and sites. It has also required of us that we be somewhat spontaneous in that we collect seeds of those species that are collectible, rather than what is necessarily on the collection target list submitted by our crew leader. For example, we were able to collect Sanvitalia abertii, Verbesina encelioides, Machaeranthera bipinnatifida, and Panicum obtusum (syn. Hopia obtusa); most of which were on our original target list, but that are excellent candidate species for the stated goals of the Seeds of Success Program. Sadly, we have been unable to collect some species from the target list that, for whatever reason, did not produce viable seed this year such as Bouteloua gracilis, Bouteloua eriopoda, and Enneapogon desvauxii. However, this morning we were able to complete a collection of Setaria leucopila, a hot target species that until last week we had practically given up on as a lost cause. But then we checked one final population for it and found that it was setting seed. It was doing so at a low rate, but nonetheless, a collection was achieved.
Although a few species on our target list weren’t collected, we did make a lot of collections and we were able to make more collections than our goal of 35 for the duration of the internship. As October is our final month and our collections are winding down, Jeanne and I will be presenting our work with the Seeds of Success Program to the office around October 20th. Aside from the presentation we will be doing some Peniocereus greggii var. greggii monitoring and vegetation monitoring at the Jornada Test Range. One cool thing we’ve discovered about P. greggii is that this species seems to have a tendency to die back completely to the tuberous root, only to resurrect later on. This implies that it may be less rare than previously thought.
We went out for two days on a trip up the lower Gila River Box to get some time lapse photo points. In the early 90’s, the area was excluded from grazing because the riparian habitat had been so heavily denuded. It turns out that cows really like to eat baby cottonwoods, an apparently short lived tree species, so young plants weren’t ever given the chance to mature to replace the older dead or dying trees. Now, almost 20 years after exclusion the cottonwoods and willows have returned full force. It is beautiful to witness the resilience of nature. Furthermore, we got to see some very cool Indian ruins and petroglyphs.
In addition to our other duties and endeavors we will be getting some much welcome training in ArcGIS and NEPA. We have had some really great experiences to be sure. We have seen so many rattlesnakes that I have long since lost count. One time we even found a pair in the throes of coitus. We stared for a minute and left them to their business. Coyote song has often accompanied our field work. Yeah, the desert does have its charm, if you can take the heat. Until next time fellow naturalists. I hope your adventures have been as fun and satisfying as ours.
Best wishes,
Dave Morin, Las Cruces District Office of the BLM
Petroglyphs from Lowe Gila Box
a granary from Lower Gila Box
An annoyed Western Diamondbac
Pectis papposa, a collection we made that smell and tastes quite lemony