I’ve wanted to move out west and work in the outdoors since I was 14, so when I got the offer for a position in Oregon, there was no thought process needed. Finally, here I am.

Having driven across the country from New York, I can say that there’s a lot of things I’m not really used to, and other things that seem pretty familiar. Back home you can’t see more then 200 yards from all the trees. Here, the trees are absent in the valleys. There’s also wildlife I’ve never seen (in person) before, like Bighorn Sheep, Mule deer, wolves and cougars. The town is about the same size as where I come from though, so it isn’t totally foreign. And it goes without saying, that I will never get tired of these views.

View from the field, the mountains in the distance are in Idaho

As I already mentioned I decided to make the 35 hour drive from upstate New York to Oregon, and I don’t regret it. The views were amazing, and getting to see what the rest of the county looks like was a great opportunity, which you certainly don’t get from flying. If you are able to drive, I say go for it! There aren’t many times in your life when you will have the time, and now I can say I’ve driven across the country.

My introduction to Idaho

So far the job itself hasn’t been too fast-paced. These first few weeks have mostly been training, meetings, and getting equipment ready for the season. I’d be lying if I said that staring at a computer screen while it tells me how to drive didn’t get boring occasionally, but the payoff was worth it when we got into the field. Since the new plants haven’t really started to come up yet, we’re mainly just surveying using last years weed remnants as our reference, mapping it out to spray later. (Did I mention I’m doing invasive weed control?) My mentor has been great, and I think I will really enjoy working with her for the next few months. She makes sure that I’m learning new things and that I’m kept busy. Everyone in the office has been very kind so far as well. I”m very excited for the season to start, and learn new things about this wonderful place. Much thanks to CBG for making this possible for me, this is an invaluable opportunity to get into this field.

I don’t really like talking about myself too much, so I think I’ll just leave it at that. Anything I say is my opinion, and may not reflect the views of the Bureau of Land Management.

Mike,

Bureau of Land Management, Baker City field office.