I have been in Safford, AZ with the Bureau of Land Management since May. The past 5 months have been challenging, thought provoking, and educational. Being in the southwest has opened my eyes to a whole new world. This ecosystem is fragile and needs extreme care to remain functioning. Grazing has had an enormous impact on the ecosystem and I feel people need to work on how to manage this more efficiently. Being here has made me question the ways things have been done in the past and what can be done to try and heal the landscape and stop degrading more land. I have realized the importance of water and have never been so grateful for a thunderstorm in my life!

I have grown professionally and learned a great deal about working with the federal government. Working with people that may not have the same views or habits can make for a very challenging work environment. I have learned how to work with these people and how to make suggestions without getting into an argument. I would not suggest living and working with the same person if it can be avoided.

I have gained a lot of skills in plant identification and knowledge on things to make days in the field a little easier. Staying organized and taking good field notes is extremely important! I have sharpened my grass identification skills and have really started to enjoy grasses. They are so unique and interesting! I suggest everyone take a closer look at grasses (under and microscope) I wasn’t a big fan of using a microscope until I started this internship. To be honest I kind of avoided them like the plague if at all possible. I was so amazed when I really started looking at flowering grasses under a dissecting scope! I will be getting one of my own sometime in the near future.

Despite the lack of rain and the very hot climate I have seen some gorgeous scenery and some very cool plants! I suggest that everyone participating in this internship spend some time on the weekends exploring! I did a lot of roadside botany and birding on the weekends! This really helped me learn my flora and fauna!