First week working with the BLM/CLM accomplished! So I have been in Ridgecrest for 2 weeks now but this was my first week of work. Ridgecrest is a very tiny town kind of in the middle of nowhere, but it definitely has its charms. I live in S.C. originally so having the opportunity to drive cross country and see so many sites I have always heard about was truly amazing! I went to the Petrified Forest and the Grand Canyon, which were both so breath-taking.

At work this week we did a lot of administrative paperwork. I had to do a driving course, FISSA, and fill out a bunch of paperwork for getting my I.D. card.  We did go out into the field twice. One time we went out to do some work on a Common Gardens project with the USGS. The common gardens is in the Ridgecrest BLM area, so myself and the other Seeds of Success intern are going to have to go water it every few weeks. The project seems to be providing a lot of information on different restoration efforts in the Mojave Desert.

We also went out and did some vegetation surveys for forage species for having sheep graze on BLM land. Then we went out to some other areas to examine California Towhee habitat. It was a beautiful hike and we had the opportunity to see some mining communities. All in all it was a really great first week!