Well, last time I had written a post it was still snowy over here. There was just not a lot of field work going around. Now, it’s busier than ever! I have started to go out with others from the office to find my niche in the biological world on my free time.
First, I had the chance to work with the forester here in the Rawlins Field Office. We searched for a sensitive tree species that doesn’t normally grow around the area. We may have succeeded.
possible white bark pine
We tagged the trees for further examination later. Then the forester took us to a potential commercial site and we did plot surveys. I had never had the opportunity to use a laser to measure tree height in school, but glad I got to here. Makes it so much easier!
Second, I saw how reclamation is evaluated on oil and gas pads. We did dot surveys to see what plants were around the area, made sure there was bird cones on vents, and also made sure there were no critters in reservoirs.
Third, I went out with another CBG intern here in the field office. She’s working in the biology department doing Seeds of Success. I was glad to get out and learn some plants that are in the area. The wildflowers are in full bloom. I got some pics of the action.
penstemon?
milkvetch
Evening Primrose
Buckwheat
Lastly, I can put professional toad catcher on my resume. The field office volunteers with the Fish and Wildlife service to inventory the endangered Wyoming toad to see how the population is doing. A total of around 111 toads were found. Woot woot!
Medium size toad
Ready for release I’m sure
Adult female toad
I forgot to mention what I’ve actually been doing as a recreation intern, which encompasses replacing old BLM road signs with new ones, painting picnic tables, and monitoring. Here’s a few pics from the monitoring today
We get to replace these if they’re shot or broken
View of one of our campsites we monitor
Ladder over barbed wire fencing
Bridge to a trail on the Encampment River near another one of our campsites
That is all for now,
Rebecca (Rawlins Field Office)