Well, I think one thing that all the BLM internships out West here probably have in common is cows. Many cows. Every day. Everywhere. They stand in the middle of the road. They stare at us. They run away from us. They moo. They break through fences. They eat. And that’s where potentially the problem may arise. Could cows completely destroy a piece of land by over-grazing?

Thankfully, the BLM has measures in place to prevent this. And I was fortunate enough to be able to tag along to see what this entails. The protocol I got to witness is called utilization. Basically, in each allotment, there are six or seven points that are to be surveyed. At each point, we do an initial plant survey and compile a species list. We are especially interested in the grasses because that of course is what the cows eat. There is a list of the different grasses and which ones are of more concern/priority. Whichever one seems to be common and is also on the list is what we chose! Next, we measure the height of the designated grass. To do this, we take two paces and find the closest grass of our species of interest. Then two more paces, then measure the nearest grass. The person measuring must determine if the grass is grazed or un-grazed. Measurements cease when we have measured 20 un-grazed plants. Pictures are taken of course! We need pictures of the different species of plants that occur in the area, but more importantly, we need picture documentation of all the grasses that can be found in the allotment, both grazed and un-grazed. At the office, the numbers are crunched and the percent utilization of the land is determined.

Here are a couple pictures of some cool plants I saw!

Astragulus jejunus….weird seed pods!

Orobonche spp. Produces no chlorophyll-parasitic!

Utilization was very educational and enjoyable! It was wonderful to see another side of the BLM. As a primarily wildlife intern, I was also thrilled to be able to learn more of the plants that make up this unique landscape!