It’s Monday morning and we are getting ready for a full week in the field. We will spend this week, like the past two, searching slopes for Ivesia webberi, which has a threatened status under the ESA. Each morning, we will unfold the various GIS maps we made designating the survey area and determine where we will search that day. Using the GPS, maps, and compasses, we spend the day walking transects, trying to cover every square foot of the possible habitat for the species.

Surveying for rare plants is definitely a high-effort, low-reward field activity, and some might find it boring to walk for hours in a straight line, spaced with fellow surveyors at 15 foot intervals. I admit, it can be a bit discouraging to survey for days with no sign of our target species. Mostly, though, I am just thankful that my job allows me to hike all day. I may be staring at the ground most of the time, but that means I see every plant (and insect, and reptile) I pass. There is nothing like the wide open skies in sagebrush country, so I can’t complain about hiking under those.

A perfect mid-survey lunch spot.

Last week, persistent rain forced us to return to the office after just two days of surveys, and a few skids on the muddy roads on the way out of the field made us glad we hadn’t left any later than we did. This week, with temperatures of 90 degrees to look forward to, I don’t think we’ll have that problem. Hopefully, by the time we troop back into the office, dusty from a week of walking, we’ll have found some more Ivesia webberi to report to the Fish and Wildlife Service!