Having just written our mid-season report, I find myself reflecting upon how the season has gone so far, and day-dreaming about what still lies ahead of us. I can hardly believe that summer is almost over. This summer has flown by for me- a testament to how wonderful this job has been. One of my favorite things about this position has to be seeing how the forest changes with each new season. I feel like a quiet observer, a fly on the wall, watching as the forest delicately lays down her colored coat each week, only to put on a new one.

Viewing these changes through my eyes, as a budding botanist, has been especially spectacular for me. In spring, the first yellow blooms of arrowleaf balsamroot break through the thawed ground, while lupines, a personal favorite of mine, add a touch of lavender among the new greenery. As the days warm, and summer progresses, wild geraniums and scarlet gilia bring subtle pinks and reds, their flowers attracting pollinators that flit between them.

Now that it is late summer, mountain mahogany seeds have begun to show, their fine, feathered strands catching the light before drifting off with the wind. Penstemon, with its deep blue and purple flowers, stands tall in open spaces. The seedheads of annual grasses, long since passed, turn gold in the sun.

I find myself waiting on the edge of my seat to see what the forest does as fall approaches. I can only guess that the colors of her coat will turn deeper, and richer as the aspens turn gold, and the reds of bigtooth maples and burr oaks spill across the hills. I am sure that fireweed, one of the last to bloom, will add a final burst of magenta before the first snowflakes settle and the forest shifts into the quiet of winter

Winter. Of all the seasons, it’s the most difficult for me to picture. Not because it isn’t beautiful, it might be the most breathtaking season of all. But because I know that once the forest puts on her white coat, contrasted only by the dark green of the conifers, that I will hardly be there to see it. Of course I know that after my time as a CLM intern is over I will still be able to go into the forest. But it won’t be like it is now, I can’t go everyday. Surely, I won’t be around to notice the subtle changes as early winter progresses into late winter, and as late winter thaws into spring. The forest will be quieter then, and very few will be around to see her.

Until then, I plan to enjoy my time with the forest, however fleeting it may be. She continues to change everyday, and with each change brings new plants to be discovered, and new seeds to be harvested.

This month has been filled to the brim with new plants and new places. Since the last blog post Sky and I have kinda settled into the position and have been getting into a groove. Most days we end up going to the Helena side of the forest so we can get plants in a large area which means we’ve been doing A LOT of driving, but hey I get to listen to my music more, so that’s a plus!

Our month started with us going to the Rocky Mountain Front to meet up with the head botanist in the Helena office to help look for a rare orchid that should be in the area. However, in order to get to the right spot we had to go off-trail and really get into the thicker parts of the forest. It was some of the most fun I had on the job! It felt like I was really exploring the forest that I’m stationed in and it made every plant that we found even more exciting than usual. In the end we were able to find the orchid we were looking for along with some other ones!

The week after our trip with Nate we spent some time helping out the trails crew and sprayed some weeds around some campgrounds. Wasn’t my favorite work to do (especially since we ended up spraying a lot of Ox-eyed Daisies, which I didn’t know were invasive until then), but we had a cookout for lunch so it wasn’t all too bad!

The rest of the month was spent doing our usual survey work and seed collections. It’s been interesting seeing how our populations change throughout the season and then seeing how these plants spread their seeds. This job has made me so much more conscious of the different stages of a plants life and how differences in climate can affect the timing of when it’s seeds are released. The higher temperatures in Helena along with the forest fires in the area has made it so many of the plants in that part of the forest are much farther along than the ones that we see closer to the ranger station. This has sometimes been a source of some frustrations since it narrows down the already short window for collecting from some species, but it has also allowed us to collect from some species sooner than we would be able to if we just stayed close to the ranger station.

Overall it has been another good month of my time in Montana, and I’m excited to see what this next month brings!

I’ve been working in the Umpqua National Forest for a month and a half now, and in that time, I’ve witnessed incredible changes in the landscape around me. I’ve made memories that I’ll cherish for a long time, and I’ve captured countless photos. Beyond the breathtaking scenery I’m fortunate to work in every day, the most fascinating transformation I’ve observed has been the plants’ progression from fruit development to seed dispersal. This shift in the natural world has also marked a change in my work, as I’ve transitioned from managing invasive species to the exciting task of seed collection. So far, we’ve gathered seeds from 14 different native species (to list a few: Oregon sunshine, yarrow, blue wild rye, red columbine, deer vetch, serviceberries, etc.)

In this short time, I’ve learned so much. Being part of a larger botany team—nine strong—composed of like-minded, hardworking individuals has been an incredible experience. Our shared enthusiasm turns each day’s work into a collective endeavor that feels both purposeful and rewarding. We’ve supported each other through challenging tasks, celebrated our successes, and learned from the forest and from each other.

However, the recent wildfires here in the Umpqua National Forest have posed a significant challenge. These fires have lead to forest closures that overlap with many populations of interest, which has forced us to adapt and develop new strategies. These have included scouting for new populations to collect from that are large enough and with viable seed, with no previous historic data. Another hardship has been waiting for waivers to come in to permit us to enter parts of the forest closed due to fire activity, which has delayed both scouting and collection efforts.

The work we do in managing invasive species and collecting seeds becomes even more crucial in this context, as these efforts help to ensure that the forest can recover and continue to thrive after a fire. In the end, my experience here has deepened my appreciation for the delicate balance of nature and the critical role we play in preserving it.

If you haven’t heard the news, fire season has hit Oregon hard this month, especially with the so-called “megafires”. And just our luck, Emma and I are stationed in a county surrounded on all sides by these megafires (multiple over 100,000 acres and spreading), with our town, John Day, right smack dab in the center.

For the most part, this means that we’re pretty safe in town, but the threat to the forest is great, and some nearby towns aren’t faring nearly as well. As such, we’ve had to keep a close eye on local conditions, avoiding certain areas of the forest, driving above the smoke line, and finding work to do indoors (there’s plenty).

My nightly social media doomscrolling has been replaced by excessively checking WatchDuty (10/10, highly recommend this wildfire app, by the way) for the latest hotspots, evacuation zones, AQI, and firefighting updates. Watching the 20,000 acre Courtrock Fire boundary slowly overtake the entirety of our vast (and only) Iris missouriensis population was heartbreaking.

Early on in the month, on a particularly smoky day, Emma and I set off to scout Dixie Butte. Of course, we had some target species in mind, and we did map a few populations, but I’d be lying if I said we didn’t have an ulterior motive: escape the wildfire smoke. At the top of the Butte, after a long, winding drive, we were met with a lovely subalpine meadow and perfectly clear air. We ate lunch, enjoyed the view/easy breathing, and grabbed some data points before heading off back down the mountain.

Unfortunately, we’ve also had to spend a lot of our days indoors. There’s a ton of work to do, organizing our data, keying out vouchers, weighing out samples, etc., and the days definitely drag on a bit more than when we’re out in the field.

A lot of the indoor work has come down to organization, and it took a while to really nail down our rhythm, especially since we have 3 seasonal Forest Service employees and occasionally 2 SCA interns helping us collect on a regular basis – maybe a few too many cooks in the kitchen, at times.

Right now, these are the steps we’ve been (mostly) following:

1. Freshly collected seeds are labelled and weighed to get wet-mass
2. Seeds are fumigated for 48 hours in sealed plastic bags with insecticide pest-strips
3. Seeds are set out to dry, usually in the same paper bag for convenience sake, but sometimes in makeshift boxes, which are easier to stack and allow more airflow
4. Cut tests are performed, as soon as time allows
5. After a couple weeks of drying, seeds are re-weighed to get dry-mass, and the number of seeds per gram is counted

In between these steps, we’re also keying out vouchers, organizing data, double-checking labels, tinkering with our map, planning field days, and fluffing the drying seed. It’s a lot of little tasks adding up to huge piles of work. Honestly, its probably a good thing that the smoke has forced us inside to deal with it all.

In other news, if you read my previous post on Delphinium sp., my mystery Delphinium turned out to be D. Depauperatum, as the little black seeds showed obvious, pale wings…

… Unfortunately, I managed to promptly dump them out onto the floor, where they couldn’t be recovered without risk of invasive contamination. We picked them up with tape, threw all of that into a new bag, and back onto the shelf it went …

… we’ll deal with it later...

The first time I met with my mentor and the ranger at my office was over zoom and I asked if there were many opportunities to camp. They mentioned that around the 4th of July a rare orchid blooms in the eastern district of the Dakota Prairie Grasslands. Before I left for training people were curious about my job and not having a super specific answer for what I was doing I’d answer with native seed collection and mention the surveying of this mysterious rare orchid.

The orchids bloomed a little late this year, so we went to survey them 2 weeks after the 4th of July. The week before our excursion I spent my free time researching and reading up on them so I would be prepared. The western fringed orchid (Platanthera praeclara) grows in the Sheyenne district (which is much wetter than our district) and is declining due to multiple threats. The documents I read discussed the conservation efforts and goals from the project. It took a bit before finding one of the orchids, but once we found the first one it was very easy to notice them. The areas that were most abundant with the western fringed orchids were the sides of the roads. It was really neat and special to see such a beautiful flower for the first (and possibly only) time.

On the same trip we brought along our gear and completed a few bumblebee surveys. We got to teach the public affairs specialist, who came to see the orchid as well, how we conduct our bumble bee surveys and he ended up writing an article about it!

July was a great month full of amazing experiences and I am excited to see what August brings!

Wildfires are part of life out west. As a midwesterner this has definitely been a culture shock. The smoke that hangs in the valleys brings this ominous feeling I can’t quite shake. Meanwhile the locals do not seem fazed. As time passes I too have gotten more comfortable living surrounded by fires. Maybe it’s the constant reassurance from my crew lead or the other USFS employees sharing their experiences from years past, but slowly it’s becoming more normal. 

In all honesty, the biggest adjustment has been working while large portions of the forest are closed. Many of our historic seed collection spots are out of reach or even burned. Initially it felt like the rug was ripped from under my feet. Time to start over. Going back out and looking for our target species, but this time without any historic data to rely on. 

Long days of driving down new roads were upon me and my co-intern. Some days were busts. We seemed to find more invasives than natives. Not the best feeling, to be honest. Soon our luck would change. We would come upon patches of meadows, they key to our success. Quickly we found forest scurf pea, western columbine, and blue wild rye. It felt like such a victory! 

As time has passed waivers to enter the closure have been approved. Finally we can hit some of those historic sites! The sheer difference in population size was astounding. I could see why the forest relies on these sites so much. Now as July comes to a close, paper bags of seeds cover the floor and the fridge is full of berries. Despite it all the work is really starting up. Hoping as summer moves along more of the forest opens up, and more seed can be safely collected. 

Emma Landenberger 

Umpqua National Forest, Oregon

Now that I’ve been in Neihart for around a month and a half I am really starting to get in the swing of things! I’ve been really enjoying collecting seeds, it is such a peaceful task. That said, some plants I enjoy collecting from much more than others. Here is my official ranking of all the species I have collected from so far: 

Geum triflorum (Prairie Smoke) 10/10 

I enjoy collecting from this one for a couple of reasons. The seeds of Prairie Smoke are super easy to pull right off. This makes the process both simple and satisfying. There is no stickiness or plants parts that are easy to cut yourself on (foreshadowing for my later complaints).  

Penstemon eriantherus (Fuzzytongue Penstemon) 10/10 

Penstemon have dry easy to pull off seed pods. Each pod has a bunch of seeds, which makes it easy to collect large amounts of seed. I also found collecting from this species to be satisfying. We collected this species in a part of the forest I had never been to before, which was a dry, shrubby ecosystem that was cool to see. 

Festuca campestris (Rough Fescue) 8/10 

Let me start off by saying I was such a grass hater before I started this job. Now the more I have learned about grasses I have started to appreciate their beauty. This species is particularly important to restoration in the area where I am located and seeds early in the season, so we were excited to collect from this. Rough Fescue is also the first species I collected from so it will always hold a special place in my heart. Taking the seeds off this plant was very satisfying because they just pop off as you run your hands up the stem. The only reason Rough Fescue loses points is because as the name implies it is rough. Collecting from this plant really cut up my hands so for that it loses points. 

Mertensia paniculata (Tall Bluebells) 8/10 

Bluebells are one of my favorite wildflowers, so I was thrilled to be able to collect seeds from this species. My forest has not been able to collect these in previous years, so it was quite exciting to find a population with seeds before the moose got to it. Tall Bluebells are one of few shade tolerant species on our collection list, which is a bonus. My only issue with collecting from this species is that it grows in riparian environments, meaning I was being swarmed by bugs the entire time. The seeds are also very tiny and easy to drop.  

Lupinus sericeus (Silky Lupine) 6/10 

Silky lupine is one of the most satisfying plants to collect from because you can just pull the pods off. Unfortunately, there are a lot of other downsides for this one. For one they are sticky which is quite unpleasant. They are also loved by aphids which gross me out. Flies also like to lay their maggots inside of the seed pods, which is not something I like to find when I am collecting seeds.  

Geranium viscosissimum (Sticky Geranium) 4/10 

As the name implies this plant is very sticky. It also grows everywhere, so collecting from it can be exhausting; it is the only plant I get tired of collecting seeds from. The only thing that makes collecting from Sticky Geranium a little better is how pretty it is.  

July introduced me to depths of our forest more beautiful than I could have imagined. At the beginning of the month, my co-intern, Emma, and I embarked on an exclusively seed-collecting trip around Huntington Lake. Before we left, we went to the library to do some research. Using many different sources, we scoped out some of the plants that we have been keen to collect this season, compiling information regarding their identifications, confirmed and probable growing locations, and phenology. Based on our research, we knew that we would utilize this trip to preliminarily assess populations, getting vouchers and initial estimates of population sizes to inform potential future trips for collections and for our records. Our priority populations included Mountain coyote mint, (Monardella odartissima var lechtinii), Western wallflower (Erysimum capitatum), Stickseed (Hackelia mundula), Anderson’s thistle (Cirsium andersonii). We also kept an eye out for some rare plants we knew were in the area (just for fun!) including Hulsea brevifolia, an aster that is abundant around Huntington Lake.

The next week was a departure from our normal activities: chainsaw training. We underwent this training in order to be better prepared to evacuate an area under immediate threat of wildfires. This same week, we were informed of the urgent need to survey an area for Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) in the John Muir Wilderness in our forest. This is a threatened species under the endangered species act is a white pine, containing needle bunches of five, that grows at subalpine and timberline elevations. We were enlisted to help, so we worked a great deal to get some last-minute trip planning done.

We began this following week on Sunday, packing and collecting the materials we needed–cleaning bear canisters, stocking up on batteries/chargers, readying tablets and radios, prepping the field press. We drove over Kaiser Pass to Florence Lake where we camped before taking the ferry across the lake in the morning to begin our trek. We stayed this first night in the backcountry at the Muir Trail Ranch, then completed our hike to the study area the next morning. We surveyed that day and much of the next prior to our hike out. We found a much larger population than anticipated, but we were bummed to see that most of the individuals had been infected with the blister rust, which poses a mortal threat to white pines.

Although we were overjoyed to help out on this survey for this endangered species, Emma and I were, of course, relentlessly occupied with seed collection. We had little time for it, but we still jotted down some population locations and estimated specifications, as well as collected some vouchers in hopes that we will be able to return and collect seeds from those plants. Here, we noted a population of Anderson’s thistle even stronger than that we had seen at Huntington Lake, and got excited about a native Elymus species (yet to be indubitably verified)!

Something that has become beautifully apparent and that I consider rather beautiful about my time working this field job is the intimacy of learning the plants and the opportunity to get to know them on a deeper level. Previously, I would memorize morphological characteristics and ecological for classes or for jobs—often without actually seeing them in real life—and would not form any sort of personal connection with them. Now, I can touch the plants, hold their seeds in my hands, smell them (big shoutout to Jefferey Pine!), better understand their ecological niches… and better understand them overall!

Until next month… hugs from SNF! XOXO

Elanor