Alyssa and I are officially half way through our time here in Sparks, NV. We have FINALLY found Erigeron speciosus. We have plenty of populations to collect from and will hopefully finish that task this week. It is such a relief to be able to move on and complete that goal! We are incredibly familiar with the upper east side district of Mountain City and Jarbidge and are completely spoiled by the camping accommodations there. Wild Horse State Recreation Area is beautiful at sunset.
Our mentor, Dirk, keeps us involved in the daily tasks of a Forest Botanist. Last week, he let us sit in on a meeting between the Nature Conservancy, USFS, Bureau of Land Management and Fish and Wildlife. Witnessing great minds from all these different institutions work towards a common goal is really inspiring. We are also involved in the discussion of protocols. We will also be preparing a presentation for our USFS office in Sparks as well as traveling to Utah in September to present to the National Botanist. As intimidating as this is, it will be a great opportunity to spread the word about SOS as well as work on my presentation skills.
We are not having great luck with our work trucks, though. Our first was taken away for a different project (intern problems) and unfortunately, as we were heading out into the field, our second truck was hit. So, third truck is a charm, right?
Last week, we traveled to Bridgeport in California and helped the wildlife biologist in our office search for tadpoles and baby toads and frogs in known breeding areas. Mostly, we were searching for the Yosemite toad. Apparently I have an eye for toads and frogs, who knew? I really enjoyed getting a break from plants (just a small one). Bridgeport and the Tahoe meadows are my two favorite places to go. Near the beginning of our internship, the meadows were still covered and snow, and now we can walk all of the paths and explore so many areas!
Beautiful waterfall views around 9500 ft
That is it for now, hope everyone is enjoying their summer!
-Payton Kraus
Sparks, NV