Hello Readers!

I have just started my CLM internship in Rawlins, WY. My internship is different from most other CLM internships as mine is Recreation focused, instead of botany focused. This is my second CLM internship, so I am excited to see how the work differs as my previous internship was botany based. Most of the projects that we will be working on this summer are related to general maintenance/upgrades of recreation sites as well as Wilderness Study Area (WSA) monitoring. Our office is about 3.5 millions acres, so there is lots of space for recreating. There also are 5 WSAs in the field office that we will be working in.

I have been working for about 2.5 weeks now and most of the time has been spend in training. I have been getting myself familiar with the BLM’s recreation management procedures as well as a few other required trainings. Unfortunately, due to the fact that it could snow here until June, I have not been able to do much field work. I did make it out to a few of the recreation sites and see some of the projects that are being planned for the summer.

Coming up in the next few weeks I do have the opportunity to attend a Recreation Workshop that is a week long. I feel like this would be a great learning experience as well as an unofficial kick off to field season in my mind.

Having done a CLM internship before I was aware of how the environment would different from the environment I am used to back home in Michigan. However, I did not anticipate that we could get snow until June! When I left Michigan to travel here spring had arrived. All of our snow had melted and the temperatures were warming up. That was not the case here and it took me a bit to get back into the “winter” mentality. Another thing that I did not anticipate is the wind…..it is always blowing here. However, the town and area does have many promising features that I look forward to exploring this summer. The area is a lot wetter than my previous internship location so I hoping to get to do a little aquatic recreating in my off time. More water also equals a different plant ecosystem and I look forward to seeing how those compare to my previous internship location. The town is also a bigger than the town my previous internship was in and I look forward to exploring it.

Overall, I am looking forward to the exciting new opportunities that my CLM is offering me this summer!

AZ

BLM Rawlins Field Office