It’s nearing the end of August, which means I’m over halfway through my time here at the Roseburg BLM (this realization has of course hit me like a ton of bricks… I really do like working here). It also means that seed collection season is nearing its end. By now, most of the native grass seed we want has dropped; we still collect seed from shrubs and forbs every so often (actually, my desk is currently covered in rapidly-rotting snowberries), but for now our focus has shifted to invasive plants.
Rotting snowberries…. yum
Pacific ninebark seed pods
Here’s one bit of knowledge that I’d been taught in college classes but never really fully processed until now: invasive species don’t just magically appear in an area, they are brought in through various (human related) means. I know, I know, it seems like common sense, but I hadn’t ever really seen this in action until I worked for the BLM. Interestingly enough, the ways in which we’ve been tracking invasive species have allowed me to sleuth out how an invasive species moves from one area to another.
For example:
One pretty awesome project that one of our bosses has us working on right now is a survey of some of the tributaries flowing into the Umpqua river. The goal is to determine where false-brome (Brachypodium sylvaticum), an invasive grass, was introduced on the watershed. Knowing how far up the watershed it exists/what tributaries it exists in and mapping the extent of this infestation will be useful in obtaining funding to hire contractors to eliminate the grass. We began with the knowledge that false-brome exists on a large portion of the Umpqua, as well as a couple of data points from a previous contractor who had reported that the devious little stinker was living very high up on the watershed in Canton Creek.
Brachypodium sylvaticum (false-brome)
Trusty river wading boots
After checking these points and coming to the conclusion that it wasn’t false-brome (it was actually a very similar looking species, Bromus vulgaris–an understandable mistake because the two are nearly indistinguishable at certain points in their life cycle), we proceeded to conduct spot checks along Canton to determine if and where it exists on that tributary. We ended up finding false brome along the creek but, thankfully, much further down than previously thought. Since then we’ve been working on mapping the grass along other tributaries in the area. Combined with road surveys, we’ve been able to see that the species is usually carried in through motor vehicles and, after invading the road, establishes itself in nearby riparian areas. The whole project is a daunting task, but we’ve been making lots of progress, and it’s nice to be able to wade in the river on hot days.
Canton Creek
Other invasive species related projects we’ve been working on is conducting road surveys for Himalayan blackberry and scotch broom. The purpose is to map the extent so future contractors know where to spray the roads. For this task, we’ve been visiting a lot of roads shared by BLM employees and logging trucks. It’s been pretty amazing to get a look at the logging activity that goes on out there. The towering green Doug-fir trees from uncut bits of forest contrasts dramatically with recently clear-cut logging lots… It’s kind of impressive and unsettling and sad all at once. Generally, blackberry and scotch broom seem to be brought into the immediate vicinity of the road by logging trucks. From there, they take over roadsides and spread out into the rest of the area.
The view of logging operations (looks very smoky ’cause it’s fire season)
Giant stacks of logs
Anyway, I hope everyone else is having a good time at their CLM positions. I’d like to round out this blog post with a few really awful botany jokes that I’ve pilfered from the internet:
Why couldn’t the botanist see very well?
She had a-stigma-tism
How do botanists send mail?
Through the compost office
What does a botanist do when she finds a new species of orchid?
Labellum
What did the stamen say to the stigma?
I like your style
(Sorry…..hahahahah)