Well the day has finally come! All my duties are complete: the last data points for my LPC (lesser prairie chicken) and DSL (dunes sagebrush lizard) surveys have been entered into GIS; the last wildlife camera has been collected and viewed; and all the field data sheets have been scanned and filed accordingly. My last week at the Carlsbad Field Office has been actually really amazing. I expected myself and the other interns to be stressed with all these last minute responsibilities, but perhaps we overestimated how much we had to do, or maybe we are just that efficient! Also, it helps that we all had a bit of last minute fun.

On Thursday, two of the office’s cave specialists took the last of the interns caving in Dry cave, a BLM managed site. Actually, probably the two most distinguished cavers in the region. They took us on a 5 hour journey about 100 (plus) ft subsurface, through a maze of low lying tunnels, passing by mounds of century old bat guano, down 40 ft deeps cracks in the earth, and through the teeniest hole I’ve ever squeezed myself through in my life.

Dry Cave

We went into the cave with a grin on our faces, and we came out, albeit a bit more bruised, grinning even more and laughing on the windy slopes where the cave is nested into the mountain.

Dirty crew

Prior to the caving extravaganza, I was coming off an epic backpacking trip in the country’s world’s first designated wilderness area, the Gila Wilderness, Northwest of Silver City, NM. I transversed the Gila river a few times and up several canyons, exploring yet another one of New Mexico’s beautiful scenery.

Gila Wilderness

Throughout the last 5 months, I was fortunate enough to have an internship with a diverse spread of experiences. From wildlife to botanical work, my internship has been riddled with long hours in the summer heat of the Chihuahuan desert, to the chill, informational environment provided in the office. So many experts to learn from and talk with about their job priorities and life experiences. The advice they’ve shared with me will travel with me to my next endeavor, whatever that is. Being near all these hard working persons has given me a deep sense of what the passion of others entails, and it has strengthened my own.

I wanted to give a big thank you to the CFO wildlife staff that have been a constant source of information in regards to the management and conservation of resources in a highly controversial environment, as well as a stable and unique source of entertainment. I have never worked with such a friendly group of professionals that have made me laugh as much as I have this field season. Of course, I also want to thank my dedicated mentor for being the most helpful resource of them all. He has been the keystone to all the interns’ success. He helped us get started, provided the right tools, and let us do our own thing whilst in conjunction providing the best experiences as possible, all while working his own difficult job on top of that. He has been an inspiration, and I would be extremely happy to reach his level of work ethic in the future!

I’m not sure of my future plans as of the moment, but I’m looking at graduate programs very intensely, and I hope to be able to start school again next fall. However, whether I go back to school again or not, I have the CLM internship to thank for all the experiences and opportunities that have been provided and presented to me.

Krissa, thank you for organizing this amazing internship, I hope that the next generation of interns have just as an amazing time as I know I did and several members of my cohorts. Conservation Land Management rules!!

Good luck to all those finishing up!

Thanks again,

Armand Cann