Showcasing and tempting to resist grazing the restoration materials during pickup at the nursery
Plant and seed development depend on sufficient rainfall, especially in the arid Southwest. So, what do you do as an SOS collection team when the rains don’t come? You get out of Las Cruces and drive to Roswell, New Mexico — site of the famed 1947 alien crash landing — to take in the alien kitsch! Or, you could work on a back-breaking sand bluestem (Andropogon hallii ) restoration project during the hottest part of the year. We worked on reclaiming a site near Roswell that has been disturbed by oil and gas exploration and development, as is the case with many restoration projects in our state. The main goal of this project was to restore habitat for prairie chickens and sand dune lizards, which are both candidates for federal listing as endangered species. A secondary benefit of this project was to collect data on methodology that will inform similar such projects in the region. This project opened our eyes to the demanding physical labor required to begin the process of healing the land. And we really don’t know whether or not the restoration efforts will bear fruit, as this is a pilot project that still has a lot of unknowns. Yet, we quickly realized the power of numbers, as our project accelerated to completion once we recruited the help of our fellow CLM interns, Mary and Carolyn in Roswell and Wes and Davia in Carlsbad.
Like the rare Scurfpea, the lack of rains this year has decreased our vigor at times
This was not our first endeavor on a restoration project. Early in our internship we assisted on a black grama grass (Bouteloua eriopoda) restoration project carried out by Jornada Research Station. Black grama is especially hard to start from seed and still has a poor survival rate when started with seedling plugs. This project aimed to better understand the roll of fungal endophytes, recently proven to enhance plant establishment in black grama. Unfortunately, this required the introduction of 1400 plants into an area with a natural layer of caliche – a hard, calcium-carbonate subsoil. This project introduced us to new, interesting researchers in the region. But more importantly, it introduced us to our new best friend, Pionjar, a jack-hammer clone with a flashy, yellow get-up and a loud, obnoxious and overbearing tone. A thick pair of gloves and a set of earplugs made our friendship more bearable.
A showy pink species of prickly-poppy
Throughout our internship we have also been monitoring rare plant species. Populations of the Chihuahua scurf pea (Pediomelum pentaphyllum) — a rare plant in the New Mexico boot heel — were identified by our mentor in order to exclude them from brush treatments in the region. We did surveys on a rare variety of prickly-poppy (Argemone pleiacantha ssp. pinnatisecta), which involved trekking through arroyos in search of this elusive plant. We also were delighted to witness our first pink prickly-poppy (Argemone sp.) that was a nice change from the usual white and yellow varieties.
Donning the snake chaps both as a precaution against rattlesnakes and to show off our fashion saavy
One of the most interesting species we worked on is a new species of flax (Linum) that is currently being described. It is only found on the gypsum rich Yeso Hills in southeastern New Mexico near Carlsbad.
The lack of rainfall in New Mexico this season has altered our seed collection to some extent. Yet, like the desert plants themselves, these CLM interns have evolved to adapt to a system full of stress and unpredictability. Dealing with the conditions presented, we have learned to work within the constraints of both natural (drought, plant survival) and man-made (technology, transportation) limitations. And as with alien crashes, being present during seed maturation is all about the timing. So next time…….be here.
Jeremy McClain and Margaret Noll, BLM Field Office, Las Cruces, New Mexico