Well, it’s that time of year again. The end of summer where I finish up the majority of the exciting work for the year and begin to strategize about surviving another winter. As this field season comes to a close I’m left with nothing but positivity from this internship with the Vale, Oregon Bureau of Land Management. I was fortunate to have a helpful mentor who is passionate about conservation and botany, an intelligent and energetic co-worker, and all the diverse job experience I could ask for across the whole 5 million-acre district.

I figured that this final blog post would be a great opportunity to share some of my favorite pictures that I took during the internship so that you can see a little bit of what Eastern Oregon has to offer.

Our big blue pickup truck that we took into the field every day. It is pictured majestically hanging out in park at Leslie Gulch.

My favorite flower seen thus far in the high deserts of Eastern Oregon. Desert blazing star, Mentzelia laevicaulis.

One of our main SOS target species: Machaeranthera canescens.

A horned lizard found by the Owyhee River, looking sassy.

One of my favorite views of Leslie Gulch, taken from a bank of the Owyhee River. The truck is parked near the bottom of a boat ramp, which might give you an idea of how much water covers this area in the winter months.

One of the greatest moments of my life, pictured in a Gem Stop parking lot.

If I wrote about every great experience I had through my CLM internship I would have to make another blog post to fit it all. This summer has provided me with countless experiences to expand what I know about plants, animals, myself, the earth, and the many ways by which everything on it is connected. I am looking forward to taking everything that I learned here on to my next stop in life and continuing to let this knowledge grow. Best of luck to all my fellow interns that I got to meet in Chicago and to anyone else taking the time to read this. You are #1!

Eli