As a Kentucky native, I have primarily remained on the eastern side of the US, and have never gone past the 90th meridian west, basically Chicago, IL. Before embarking on my journey to Oregon, I read up on the west, but nothing I read truly prepared me for the breath taking topography and abundant flora I have encountered. The most aberrant changes for me have been the lack of trees within the sagebrush habitat, the aridity, and high elevation.

Working with the BLM here in Vale, OR has been amazing so far and am already very familiar with the local flora. My first week on the job we did some range and riparian assessments to get a feel for the area in which I’ll be working for the next 5 months. Now, the other interns and I are going to be focusing on sagebrush habitat that has burned in the last 5 years and assess it for whether or not there needs to be an intervention with sagebrush plantings or if they should allow it to recover on its own. We also are looking at lek sites in the area that Sage-Grouse have used in the past to see whether or not they are suitable for the bird.

I have really enjoyed my time here in Oregon. I cannot wait to continue moving forward with this internship and experience all of the wonderful opportunities it has in store.

BLM Vale, OR