September, for the most part, has marked the end of the field season for us here on the Bighorn National Forest. Scorching days in August dried up much of the vegetation, and the last of the grasses and forbs have reached their natural seed dispersal stage. Plants that mature late in the season were the main focus for us this month—Penstemon strictus, Chamaenerion angustifolium, Elymus trachycaulus, Erigeron speciosus, and Liatris punctata. All of these plants are on the “target species list” given to us by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program’s seed collecting team, but there’s another list… a secret menu, if you will: the “opportunistic collection list”. We’ve been busy with our target species for most of the time, but late this September, the opportunity arose, and we pounced. Driving through Ten Sleep Canyon, and with a few hours left in the day, we spotted some Asclepias speciosus, Showy Milkweed, and Kaitlyn remembered that this species was on the opportunistic collections list. We pulled over and it was just ready to collect! Some pods had already dispersed their seed, but many were just splitting open, and we could scoop the entire bundle of seed and fluff right out. It turned out to be one of my favorite collections of the season. Great opportunity taken.
The opportunistic collection list holds the last species that we’ll visit for our last field days in October—Artemisia tridentata, Big Sagebrush. I cherish every moment left on the forest as our season comes to a close, so I’m really looking forward to these collections!
September also brought several other unique opportunities, at work and otherwise, that I’m really glad I got to experience. Two summer bucket list items got knocked off the list in a single day: We went out with the Aquatics shop to Cookstove Basin wayyy in the Northwest corner of the forest to visit a long-term monitoring site at a huge beaver pond, and we rode the ATVs! Check. And lunch break, we took a little rod with a spinner lure to the pond and I caught a Cutthroat Trout! Check.
I also got to make a collection that wasn’t on any of our lists, Thalictrum occidentale. These seeds I collected (with permission from the forest) for my old boss at the University of Washington for research on pollination modes and sex determination. It felt great to continue contributing to these projects even after I’ve moved on!
I’ve also had my eye on Cloud Peak, the tallest peak on the forest, all summer. I finally pulled the trigger on it and made the climb on a beautiful weekend. I came back with two weeks of knee pain and heels completely raw, but also with lovely memories (and quads of steel).
And I didn’t go a moment too soon because the next week, we got our first snow! The seasons are changing, and it’s a gorgeous time to be on the Bighorn. The aspens are in full fall color, and the dusting of snow on the peaks of the Cloud Peak Wilderness is a magical sight. One more month here, but I already miss it!