For my second CBG stint, I have been sent to the Salt Lake Field Office in Salt Lake City, Utah. Instead of focusing all my energy on AIM, I now join the vast league of interns who have and who currently are participating in the Seeds of Success program. I have been here with the other SOS intern, Theresa, for about a month now. In that time, we’ve tried to educate ourselves on our focus species, other species that our office has a particular interest in, and some opportunistic species that we may have the ability to collect.
In addition to learning about these grass and forb species, we have been fiddling around on GIS trying to make adequate maps for where we can potentially find some populations. Theresa and I have the unique experience in being the first official SOS interns this field office has ever had. While that is exciting, it’s also kind of difficult at times. Compared to the last BLM office I was in, this office lacks a lot in materials available to us. Luckily, we have a substantial budget that gives us the ability to order all the supplies we think we’ll need this season. The most valuable thing to us so far has been a copy of Utah Flora and a small grasses booklet.
The best key we have to use
I can’t help but compare where I was last year in Buffalo, Wyoming to where I am now. For being neighboring states, there is already a whole bunch of new vegetation and landscapes to get to know. Luckily, there’s some old favorites that I can recognize as they start to pop up in the warming weather. Technically I am in the West Desert district now, so it’s going to get super dry before I know it!
When I’m not attempting to be a botanist and also not on the hunt for housing (SLC is notorious for a large housing demand it can’t keep up with I have learned), I’m trying to explore the area as much as possible. SLC feels more like a big town than a city, and it’s not a bad thing. There’s plenty of cool hiking trails in the Wasatch Range in the city’s backyard that I’m eager to check out and there’s plenty of museums and other things to occupy my time. I’ve never lived in a place so dominated by one religious sect, so that’s been a new and interesting experience for me as well.
Overall, I’m looking forward to this field season and contributing to the SOS network of native seeds!
-Corinne Schroeder
SLFO