Still had an inch of standing water the next day after a night of flooding

Remember the survival guide I provided in last year’s post? Remember the point I made about being flexible? June 3rd my flexibility was put to the test. The Buffalo BLM office experienced record rains that left 3/4 of the office flooded. The worst section to be flooded was Resources, which is where the CLM Interns have their cubes. Everyone in the office that was effected by the flood had to relocate to other parts of the office, sharing cubicles with others. For the remaining individuals, like Resources, a relocation to the “Annex” was required. The “Annex” is basically a working trailer down the street from the main BLM building.

Standing water in my cube.

Everything in the Resources area had to be removed. At this point the drywall had been replaced but that was about it.

Now here we are, over 4 months later. Resources is still trapped in the “Annex” building, but most of the other sections of the office have returned to their previous stations.

4 months of progress. Still not finished.

So what is a CLM Intern suppose to do with all this craziness? FIELD WORK!!!!!!!

Jade Metzler and I spent a lot of time out of the office. With the addition of grass clippings to this year’s normal responsibilities for Range Interns, Jade and I had our hands full (no pun intended). Field work was a blessing and a curse this year. After this massive flood, we found that many roads to access our range sites had been washed away. The only evidence left was the road right before a massive ravine and the preserved road on the other side. Many sites we were unable to get to, had to reroute, or move our monitoring point completely.  The good thing is that we were able to escape the “Annex,” where interns go to be forgotten. Although we were faced with many challenges this year, Jade and I were able to complete around 30 sites, which was the goal set for us by the Range specialists in the office.

Although the flood derailed our normal routine for the office and field work, it did not stop us from making great memories!

Jade and I met many members of the cast from “Longmire!”

Longmire Days takes place every year in Buffalo, WY. Members from the cast come to town for the event. This event is easily one of the most exciting times for Buffalo. If you have not seen the show, all 4 seasons are on Netflix.

With the Range Monitoring field season over, Range Improvement Inspections/Projects (RIPS) are coming up soon. I have also been asked to help a few other departments of the office. CLM Intern to the rescue!!

Until my next post, keep it easy CBGers!

~~~Sara Burns- Buffalo, WY Range Intern