I’m very happy to have started my internship last week with Fish and Wildlife Service in Klamath Falls. Having never visited Oregon, it’s been really special to have the opportunity to learn more about a new area. Klamath has a rich cultural history that has included some problematic land use. As a result, some of the animals here have been listed as endangered or threatened. Our office develops recovery plans for these species and my internship will be involved with these plans.

We are waiting for two fish species, Lost River Sucker and Shortnose Sucker, to begin spawning so that we can collect sperm and egg samples to help create a reservoir supply of fish to be raised in ponds on our refuge. I met my first suckers this week and they were incredible but not quite ripe. Next week we will be going out on a boat with staff from Bureau of Reclamation to net more suckers for relocation and will hopefully be able to start collecting samples.

Another animal I’ll be working with is the Oregon Spotted Frog. Another intern and I performed egg mass surveys this week in which we waded through wetland habitat to count the egg masses we saw. It was overwhelming at first but we were able to spot prime habitat easier after some guidance and practice.

I’m excited to learn more and get out into the field more throughout the internship. The staff we’ve worked with has been very friendly and helpful and I feel positive about joining the team.

Oregon Spotted Frog Egg Mass