Delicious morrell mushrooms

Spring has sprung here in Baker City, OR. Mountain flowers are blooming, snow melt is flowing, and I saw my first fawn of the year while surveying Sawmill Creek in Harney County yesterday. Not to mention theses forest treasures.

I have been collecting morels nonstop for weeks and using my food dehydrator to prep them for storage. Something about mushroom hunting taps into my inner hunter-gatherer and it is one of my favorite after work activities. However summer is right around the corner and as cool and rainy conditions yield to hot arid summers, the morel season will end.

Loading up the car for some backcountry fly fishing in the Wallowa-Whitman Nation Forest.

My stream surveys at the BLM have been changing with the season as well. In addition to water quality analyses I have begun conducting riparian vegetation surveys focusing on desirable grasses and woody plants. A “desirable” species is one that can both anchor the stream bank as well as provide palatable forage for grazing livestock. I also measure the disturbance cattle has made to the stream bed. Often riparian areas are trampled and reduced to muddy sinkholes ready to suck off my boot. Next week is short due to the holiday and I have some awesome backcountry fishing to do over this long weekend. Looking forward to seeing all the interns in two weeks.