Hi, from Vernal, Utah atop the Colorado plateau! To my east coast eyes, this place looks like Mars. These first two weeks of my internship have have been a little rocky (pun intended). Bumping along unpaved roads over plateaus and down rocky washes towards our field sites has provided a good chunk of time to get to know the botanists at the Vernal BLM field office and familiarize myself with this majestic, foreign landscape.

Already, I’ve had the opportunity to see some new wildlife, prairie dogs, burrowing owls, pronghorn, osprey, and a golden eagle. Here the relationship between geology, soil, and plant species is very clear. Proof of this area’s history is all around, from formidable geological formations to dinosaur bones to petroglyphs, this landscape is the product of millions of years of gradual change punctuated by rapid development and harsh disturbance.

Chamaechaenactis scaposa

We’ve been fortunate to get quite a bit of rain this May, so the desert wild flowers are aplenty, flying their vivid colors. Some of my favorites so far are Sphaeralcea coccinea (scarlett globemallow), Lupinus pusillus (dwarf lupine), Chamaechaenactis scaposa, and Sophora stenophylla (silky sophora). I had not expected the desert to be so full of life, variation, and color.

Sophora stenophylla

But the botanic variation that so pleased and surprised me, is seriously threatened.  Because of human development, mostly due to the oil and gas industry and heavy grazing, introduced species have been proliferating. Cheat grass (Bromus tectorum) covers a great deal of the landscape, filling spaces that were once occupied by biological crust and outcompeting other grasses and forbs. Tamarisk and Russian Olive trees are taking over riparian zones stealing huge amounts of the precious groundwater from Cottonwoods and their herbaceous neighbors.

So, there is a lot of work to be done. Already I feel the rush of coming upon a promising population of one of our Seeds of Success priority species or one of our BLM sensitive plants like Sclerocactus wetlandicus. There is definitely a steep learning curve. It’s very satisfying to recognize common species that only a few weeks ago were completely unknown to me.  This is a landscape that should not be underestimated or looked over. These plants are champions of adaptation. They may be small, but they’re mighty and I look forward to getting to know them better.

Hannah Heyman

Vernal, UT BLM