I found out about the CLM Internship through my university’s email. I remember reading the email and thinking, “This sounds like exactly what I’m looking for right now.” I graduated with my bachelors a year ago, with a degree in Fisheries and Wildlife and a passion for conservation without a clear idea of where to go with that. This internship would give me the opportunity to work outside in a beautiful part of the country (all I cared about was moving west towards the mountains) and learn more about conservation projects in the federal government. I sent in my application minutes before I left for a rock climbing and camping trip in Red Rocks Conservation Area outside of Las Vegas. I remember standing in a Starbucks in the suburbs of Vegas with dirt on my face trying to connect to their WiFi to check if CLM had mailed me yet about the internship. The sound that came out of my mouth when I read that I was accepted was somewhere between a screech and a cheer, and I can imagine it gave the patrons in that Starbucks more of a jolt awake than whatever was in their cup. A few weeks later, I had been offered a position in Lander, Wyoming to collect native wildflower seeds for the Seeds of Success Program, and I was overjoyed to accept.

I’ve been in Lander for not even a week, and it has not disappointed so far. The people I work with are friendly and knowledgeable, the town has a great culture, and I have already learned so much about the region. I spent most of the week getting acquainted around the office and helping to digitalize the herbarium (essentially taking pictures of all of the pressed plant specimens). We even had the opportunity to travel to a BLM field office a couple hours away to assist with digitalizing the herbarium there as well. This was my first work-sanctioned road trip, and it went really well. The drive from Lander to Rock Springs was gorgeous (the drive back towards the mountains was even prettier), and though we had our work cut out for us, we were able to document over 2200 plant specimens collected from around the Rocky Mountain region to be added to the online database. The work itself was pretty monotonous; it consisted of numbering the plant specimens to keep them in order, shuffling the plants into the photo box one by one, and monitoring the pictures to make sure the camera picked up the details in the plants. However, the company I was with made the hours go by quickly and enjoyably. Larry, the librarian who was in charge of the herbarium project, was knowledgeable about the region and gave me great ideas about where to explore in my free time. He was also a rock climber, and he mentioned some hidden gems near Lander that I am so excited to check out. My coworker and I also get along great, which makes me feel so lucky because I know we will be spending a lot of time together this summer.

My coworker and I working with the herbarium specimens.

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to live and work near the mountains. I didn’t have a clear idea of what exactly I wanted to be doing, which I think ended up working in my favor because I had an open mind about the opportunities that presented themselves. Though I never originally imagined myself working with plants, I think it’s a great fit. The work lets me spend time in beautiful places while helping contribute to an important cause, which I believe is the best of both worlds. I am so excited to learn more about rare plants found around Wyoming, the ecology of the different regions here, and the mechanics of conducting field work with the federal government. I think this summer will prove to be invaluable, and I am eternally grateful to the CBG for granting me this experience.

Views from the drive back to Lander

Danielle from the Bureau of Land Management, Lander field office