{"id":1012,"date":"2009-10-20T20:26:01","date_gmt":"2009-10-21T03:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/?p=1012"},"modified":"2009-10-20T20:26:01","modified_gmt":"2009-10-21T03:26:01","slug":"from-the-colorado-rocky-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/?p=1012","title":{"rendered":"From the Colorado Rocky Mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>CLM Internship May-October 2009.<\/strong>\u00a0 After a long arduous journey in graduate school I was somewhat nervous and anxious to begin to apply my knowledge and skills at the Bureau of Land Management.\u00a0 My mentors, Carol Dawson (the Colorado State Botanist with the BLM), and Peter Gordon (Carol\u2019s co-worker for nearly 5 years and newly hired botanist) made me feel at ease right away. \u00a0I began in late May, 2009 during a spring in Colorado that was breaking precipitation records.\u00a0 It just kept raining and raining and raining.\u00a0 Big snow storms in late March and early April shifted to massive thunder storms in May and June.\u00a0 And oh how I loved that weather.\u00a0 By the final days of spring, Jefferson County, Colorado had accumulated 10 inches of precipitation.\u00a0 In comparison, the spring of 2008 barely spit out half this amount with about 5 inches of rain.\u00a0 It was a great time to begin this internship.\u00a0 I knew a big part of my job was to collect native seeds, and tons of water meant tons of seeds (well in most cases)!\u00a0\u00a0 I also knew we would be monitoring some very rare plants in Colorado, and I wondered what kind of an effect an extremely rainy spring would have on both the vegetative growth and fruit production for some of these rare plant species we would collect data for.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1013\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1013\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1013\" src=\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/IMG_0157-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Some mycological results of a rainy rainy summer....they just were popping up everywhere.\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/IMG_0157-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/IMG_0157-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/IMG_0157-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/IMG_0157-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1013\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Some mycological results of a rainy rainy summer....they just were popping up everywhere.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Astragalus shortianus <\/em><\/strong><strong>a Kew collection from Green Mountain.\u00a0 <\/strong>One of our first journeys out into the field was to locate and evaluate <em>Astragalus shortianus<\/em> for a possible seed collection with the Seeds of Success program.\u00a0 The neat thing about this species was the fact that it would be a collection for Kew at the Royal Botanic Gardens.\u00a0 This means that the seeds of this plant had not been collected previously\u2026we would be the first collectors.\u00a0 As a new intern this notion intrigued me.\u00a0 Folks had been collecting seeds all across the western United States for some nine years, and no-one had ever collected <em>A. shortianus.\u00a0 <\/em>Amazing.\u00a0 I knew this plant well, and I had always admired it as one of my spring favorites.\u00a0 The really great thing about collecting seeds is that you get to know the plants up close and personal from the time they begin to bloom to the time they set seed.\u00a0 You keep a close eye on each prospective seed collection species as if it was kin.\u00a0 [Maybe I am strange, but these plants often feel like family to me].\u00a0 And you keep watch until it looks as if fruit dehiscence and seed dispersal is imminent.\u00a0 And then we pounce with collecting bags in hand, clippers, a Munsell soil color chart, lunch, water sun screen, boots for potential rattle snake encounters, etc, etc.\u00a0 An attitude was also necessary to assist us in accomplishing the daunting task of collecting 20,000 seeds for Kew.\u00a0 All in all it took Carol, Peter and I two and possibly three journeys to Green Mountain to obtain enough seeds to send out.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1014\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1014\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1014\" src=\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3253-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"Green Mountain, Colorado is in the distance.  We collected seeds from at least four different plant species from here.\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3253-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3253-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3253-451x300.jpg 451w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3253-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3253.jpg 1936w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1014\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Green Mountain, Colorado is in the distance. We collected seeds from at least four different plant species from here.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>It is can be hard work searching for plants and tediously bending down to find and collect the seeds, although\u00a0it is the kind of work that gets rather addicting.\u00a0 You get addictied to finding that next plant that will possibly hold a treasure of beautiful plump fruit full of healthy seeds.\u00a0 And each plant is one more addition that adds to a final tally of 20,000 seeds.\u00a0 You not only find the plants you are looking for, but since you are wondering around like a lost hiker off trail zigzagging here and there, you come across other really great treasures of nature.\u00a0 We came upon and pondered a small population of <em>Physeria bellii, <\/em>a lovely little endemic mustard plant that is restricted to shale formations in Colorado\u2019s Front Range.\u00a0 So not only is seed collecting quite zenful in and of itself, it also inevitably forces you to stumble upon additional natural history treasures.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Canyons of the Ancients National Monument.\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong>I think it was early June when I first heard we would be heading off to Dolores, Colorado in the south west part of the state for a couple of days.\u00a0 Our mission was to train a Forest Service ecologist the specifics on Seeds of Success procedures.\u00a0 Since I was just learning these procedures, it was a great way to practice my recently acquired skills.\u00a0 The best part about this adventure was meeting some great folks at the BLM\/USFS office in Dolores.\u00a0 This included the local archeologist who shared all kinds of amazing stories regarding archeological digs, and some of the crazy scary encounters with people attempting to steal artifacts in Canyon of the Ancients National Monument.\u00a0 These thieves dig tunnels underground like rats to search for ancient artifacts.\u00a0 The amount of open space in this area is so massive; they often easily get away with these horrible acts.\u00a0 This kind of robbery is so difficult and sad to imagine.\u00a0 We headed out early in the morning to look for <em>Plantago patagonica<\/em>, a small little plantain they were hoping to collect.\u00a0 This is a species that blooms early (March) in the southwest, and sadly the rain did not begin until late March so the seed set was low.\u00a0 After much time examining the seeds in numerous individual plants, we decided we needed to save this for a possible 2010 collection.\u00a0 We headed out to have lunch in Canyons of The Ancients National Monument<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1016\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1016\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1016\" src=\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3133_4_5_tonemapped1-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in South West Colorado.\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3133_4_5_tonemapped1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3133_4_5_tonemapped1-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3133_4_5_tonemapped1-449x300.jpg 449w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3133_4_5_tonemapped1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3133_4_5_tonemapped1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1016\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in South West Colorado.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>near some ruins these local scientists knew about.\u00a0 It was amazingly beautiful, and I got to learn a lot of new plants growing locally in that extreme desert environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1017\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1017\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1017\" src=\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3148_49_50_tonemapped-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"Another great shot of Canyons of the Ancients National Monument.\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3148_49_50_tonemapped-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3148_49_50_tonemapped-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3148_49_50_tonemapped-451x300.jpg 451w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3148_49_50_tonemapped-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3148_49_50_tonemapped.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1017\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Another great shot of Canyons of the Ancients National Monument.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Driving home was great fun as we ventured through Moab, Utah (lunch stop), and <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1018\" src=\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3188_89_90_tonemapped-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"_MG_3188_89_90_tonemapped\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3188_89_90_tonemapped-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3188_89_90_tonemapped-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3188_89_90_tonemapped-451x300.jpg 451w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3188_89_90_tonemapped-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3188_89_90_tonemapped.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1019\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1019\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1019\" src=\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3206_7_8_tonemapped-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"Moab, Utah.  Close to our lunch stop on the way home.\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3206_7_8_tonemapped-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3206_7_8_tonemapped-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3206_7_8_tonemapped-451x300.jpg 451w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3206_7_8_tonemapped-1024x680.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3206_7_8_tonemapped.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1019\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Moab, Utah. Close to our lunch stop on the way home.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>stopped in Rabbit Valley (I-70 on the boarder of Utah and Colorado) to collect <em>Calochortus nuttalli.\u00a0 <\/em>This is a lovely mariposa lily that blooms only on the west slope of Colorado in a deep shade of purple pink, not the color I was used to with <em>Calochortus.\u00a0 <\/em>On the eastern slope of Colorado, another species called <em>Calochortus gunnisonii <\/em>blooms in shades of creamy white, and we collected two populations of this species later in the season.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Grand Canyon National Park.\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong>How could I possibly be getting paid to do this?\u00a0 I flew into Phoenix and a very nice lady (Marian Hofherr) picked us all up in a van and we arrived at the National Park late that night.\u00a0 The lodging, the people, the training, the food, and the hiking were all fantastic.\u00a0 Over the 7 full days we were there, one of the most astounding sights I witnessed was seeing the rare and endangered California Condors soaring tirelessly in the mouth of the great Grand Canyon.\u00a0 These moments viewing an endangered species back from the brink of extinction were spiritual moments for me.\u00a0 And I just kept asking myself, I am actually getting paid to be here?!\u00a0 I think the greatest part of the training for me was participating in the presentations that Dean Tonenna and John Willouby gave.\u00a0 Dean is a botanist with the BLM in Carson City, Nevada.\u00a0 (I just paused for a moment to send Dean an e-mail to tell him I would love to work with him next spring).\u00a0 Dean was brought up in the traditions of the Kootzatudadu people who live in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California.\u00a0 He has in depth ethno-botanical knowledge, and he integrates this knowledge with his work at the BLM in California.\u00a0 He gave an ah-inspiring talk on the ethno-botany of the Sierra Nevada area.\u00a0 The amazing thing was that the talk he gave was from 7-10pm after a long day of lectures.\u00a0 Everyone in the audience was completely enthralled and interested in the topic.\u00a0 I think folks would have stayed until midnight asking questions if the National Park Service would have allowed it!\u00a0 Dean also gave a talk on the power of using GIS when studying the impacts of rare plants in a dune ecosystem.\u00a0 It was all about the Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly that is known to occur only at Sand Mountain (a dune system located in Nevada).\u00a0 This tiny bluish butterfly depends entirely on the Kerany Buckwheat which is a long lived perennial shrub.\u00a0 The larvae feed on the leaves and adults feed on the nectar of the flowers.\u00a0 By using his superb GIS skills, Dean was able to show over a few years time, the actual impact that was occurring to both the shrub and the butterfly due to Off Road Vehicle use in the area. GIS maps revealed and emphasized layers of abuse the shrubs were attempting to withstand as ORVs literally drove over the shrubs.\u00a0 Therefore Dean was able to secure a large sum of money in the form of a grant (I think 1 million dollars) and put in place (via actual enclosures and signs) strict management measures to protect the plants and the butterflies. This presentation was inspiring.\u00a0 I was impressed by Dean\u2019s commitment and ability to use his knowledge and skills to make a difference and enforce needed protection for these precious species.\u00a0 I also learned a great deal from John Willouby\u2019s presentation on monitoring plant populations.\u00a0 Not only were John\u2019s presentations dynamic and alive we also went into the field to apply our classroom skills first hand.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Monotoring Colorado\u2019s rarest of the rare.\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong>In order to manage rare, threatened and endangered plants they need to be closely monitored.\u00a0 This process involves collecting quantitative data over a number of years and constructing statistical calculations.\u00a0 After years of data collection and number crunching, particular trends may appear regarding population stability or instability and real recommendations based on real facts can then be made.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<em>Penstemon<\/em> <\/strong><em><strong>grahamii<\/strong>.\u00a0 <\/em>We set out to monitor <em>Penstemon<\/em> <em>grahamii <\/em><em>sometime in June.\u00a0 This is a little wonder of a plant.\u00a0 Tiny and tenacious as it is endemic growing only on certain types of oil shale formations in both western Colorado and eastern Utah.\u00a0 For years efforts to list this species as threatened have been unsuccessful.\u00a0 Sadly, the struggle to get these little jewels listed seems to be related to our (<\/em><em>Homo sapiens<\/em><em>) constant push and need for oil.\u00a0 <\/em><em>Penstemon grahamii <\/em><em>habitat is desolate, dry and downright rugged.\u00a0 I think Vince Tepedino sums it up well.\u00a0 This exert is taken from a 2008 article Vince wrote for the Salt Lake Tribune: \u201c<\/em>Developing the oil shale lands of eastern Utah would require overcoming staggering obstacles\u2026But even if we resolve these difficult issues, what of that glorious native wildflower, Graham&#8217;s penstemon, in all the world, known only from the oil and gas lands of eastern Utah and western Colorado?\u00a0 Are we content knowing we&#8217;ve converted all its known populations to car exhaust for a few idle moments&#8217; diversion? Is this the best we can do with the gifts we&#8217;ve been granted?\u201d\u00a0 What a notion.\u00a0 How down right stupid are we?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1039\" style=\"width: 274px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1039\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1039\" src=\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/grahamii_sue-mayer_cropped1-264x3001.jpg\" alt=\"Penstemon grahamii.  Photo by Sue Mayer.\" width=\"264\" height=\"300\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1039\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Penstemon grahamii. Photo by Sue Mayer.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>I must admit monitoring the rare plants were some of my favorite experiences during this internship.\u00a0\u00a0I stand in awe as I gaze at the little plants.\u00a0 These rare beauties with the seemingly extra large (proportionately) flowers that are happily growing in some of the\u00a0extreme environments the west has to offer.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And so we got started counting each and every plant in predetermined micro-plots within a well designed larger macro-plot.\u00a0 This was early June, and as the day and the work of counting, documenting and searching for new little baby plants proceeded, the temperature continued to rise.\u00a0 All I could think of was how hot it must get in this spot in the middle of August!\u00a0 I asked Peter Gordon what sort of results we obtained from the data this year compared to all other years.\u00a0 As of moments ago (2:19 pm, 15 October 2009), it appears this Colorado population remains stable.\u00a0 This includes vegetation density, #fruiting stems and # of rosettes.\u00a0 These results include quantitative data back to 1986.\u00a0 So I suppose we can sigh a breath of relief and continue to be in awe of this hardy little Penstemon growing so persistently in the face of such harsh conditions.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Astragalus osterhoutii<\/strong>.\u00a0 <\/em>This is one of those Latin bi-nominal\u2019s that is just plain fun to pronounce.\u00a0 <em>Oster-hooo-tee-i<\/em> (with an emphasis on the hooo)!\u00a0 And the plant itself is one that only a botanist could love.\u00a0 Anyone else would wonder why the heck we even care.\u00a0 It has the appearance of a gangly weed sort of homely plant.\u00a0 Carol Dawson spent years and years studying every detail of this species for her PhD research.\u00a0 It was fun to constantly ask her questions about the plants as we carefully counted every single individual within the micro-plot.\u00a0 This plant is listed as federally endangered (that is why we counted each and every individual rather than individuals from just a few pre-chosen micro-plots). I like to think you are truly in the presence of nobility when you are with the plant.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1021\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1021\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1021\" src=\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/P101012911-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"Astragalus osterhoutii and Colorado endemic federally listed as endangered.\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/P101012911-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/P101012911-768x575.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/P101012911-401x300.jpg 401w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/P101012911-1024x766.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1021\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Astragalus osterhoutii and Colorado endemic federally listed as endangered.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>I doubt the off road vehicle riders feel that way as they zoom around close to and sometimes even over these rarities.\u00a0 The plant happens to be growing in what the BLM signifies as a \u201cPlay Area\u201d which is basically a place people and their beloved dirt bikes etc. can go to rough up the land a bit (too much sometimes in my opinion).\u00a0 The other cool thing about this plant is that it is one of a few in the genus that signifies the presence of selenium in the soil.\u00a0 Quite simply the plants stink with a metallic sort of stench (some say garlic, but I would not give the smell that much credit.), and if eaten can poison ungulates, especially cattle.\u00a0 The selenium incorporated in the tissues of this species come from the Niobrara, (another fun word to say), Shale in Grand County, Colorado.\u00a0 They say it is so narrowly endemic that it only occupies about 800 acres of land in north central Colorado.\u00a0 We monitored two entire populations of the plant over two days.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1022\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1022\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1022\" src=\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/P10101321-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"Astargalus osterhoutii's habitat.\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/P10101321-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/P10101321-768x575.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/P10101321-401x300.jpg 401w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/P10101321-1024x766.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1022\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Astargalus osterhoutii&#39;s habitat.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Peter Gordon informed me that the population numbers at Wolford Mountain Dam were slightly increasing up until 2005.\u00a0 In 2005 hungry blister beetles attacked and thus the number of flowering plants went way down.\u00a0 These numbers have been recovering since the feast.<br \/>\n<em><strong>Heading to southern Colorado to help monitor Eriogonum brandegeei.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/em>Mid-summer was upon us as we ventured south toward Canon City, Colorado to find Brandegee\u2019s Buckwheat.\u00a0 Townshend Stith Brandegee, an excellent botanist, was the first collector of this species and lived in the early 1900\u2019s.\u00a0 Ahhh, south central Colorado has a sweet place in my heart.\u00a0 I spent many summers attending to the pollination biology of the rare and endemic <em>Penstemon degeneri.\u00a0 <\/em>But this time instead of heading south from prison town USA, we headed north toward a couple of small populations occupied by <em>E. brandegeei.\u00a0 <\/em>On the way up the dirt road, we were blocked Colorado style by a group of local horseback riders.\u00a0 So we moved along at a horse walk pace for about a mile, (ok maybe \u00bc miles) and the riders seemed to think nothing of the inconvenience.\u00a0 You got to love it.\u00a0 As we hiked toward the first population to meet folks from the Denver Botanic Gardens, we stumbled upon the decayed head of a horse with the red wiry forehead hair still intact against the bone white skull.\u00a0 Another sign we were in the heart of Colorado.\u00a0 Of course I had to stand there for a few minutes and wonder how this horse got here and then subsequently died.\u00a0 As the three of us stood there gazing at the poor animal, Carol suggested some rancher may have driven out here and dumped the carcass for the dining pleasures of vultures.\u00a0 I had not thought of that nasty possibility.\u00a0 Meanwhile Denver Botanic Garden folks were waving from a rather steep slope in the distance greeting our arrival to \u201cBrandegee country\u201d.\u00a0 Once again my botanical heart kind of skipped a beat just knowing we were now in the presence of not only a dead horse, but some very rare plants.\u00a0 This day of work went by surprisingly quick with a total of 7 people counting plants.\u00a0 Sadly on our way out of town the Ford Escape had a melt down.\u00a0 We hung out in a Mexican restaurant eating chips and salsa, while the American mobile was checked out (luckily Canon City is home to many car dealerships).\u00a0 The day in the life of a CLM intern can be amazingly diverse.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><strong>Seed Collections for Success.\u00a0 <\/strong>With a goal to collect 20,000 seeds from each species, Carol Dawson, Peter Gordon and myself collected over \u00bd million seeds!\u00a0 That is just nuts.\u00a0 Actually we did not collect any nuts.\u00a0 Although nutlets <strong>were<\/strong> collected from <em>Ligusticum porteri<\/em>, sumaras from <em>Acer glabrum <\/em>and <em>Acer negundo, <\/em>capsules from <em>Penstemon gracilis <\/em>and <em>Penstemon virens, <\/em>and legumes from <em>Astragalus shortianus, A. bisulcatus, <\/em>and <em>A.laxmannii.\u00a0 <\/em>The seeds came from vines, shrubs, trees, forbs and grasses.\u00a0 Sometimes a handful contained literally thousands of the gene packed little jewels, and other times you struggled to obtain 20 in one grab.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"mceTemp\">\n<div id=\"attachment_1034\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1034\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1034\" src=\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/IMG_01651-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Calochortus gunisonnii, the Chalochortus that grows east of the Continental divide.  The west slope species is rose colored.\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/IMG_01651-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/IMG_01651-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/IMG_01651-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/IMG_01651-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1034\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Calochortus gunisonnii, the Chalochortus that grows east of the Continental divide. The west slope species is rose colored.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Seed collection can be a zenful process with every seed collecting adventure is different.\u00a0 Many days I was out all on my own wandering around the woods with a purpose, and yes, constantly amazed I was getting paid for this!\u00a0 I even was able to collect <em>Delphinium geyeri <\/em>right from my house.\u00a0 I live adjacent to Jefferson County Open Space, and I had my eye on those lovely Delphiniums for many weeks.\u00a0 With all the rain the plants produced a huge amount of seeds.\u00a0 It took me a full 8 hours to collect 20,000 seeds, but how wonderful to wonder out your back door for a collection!\u00a0 And you run into the most interesting things.<em>\u00a0 <\/em>While grabbing handfuls of Nine Bark seeds, I saw the biggest puff ball ever.\u00a0 At first I thought it was some strange blob of mud, but<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1035\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1035\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1035\" src=\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_32551-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"The fruit of Calochortus half full of seeds.  We obtained 3 collections from two species within this genus.\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_32551-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_32551-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_32551-451x300.jpg 451w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_32551-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_32551.jpg 1936w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1035\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The fruit of Calochortus half full of seeds. We obtained 3 collections from two species within this genus.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>than I realized that is a huge pile of spores (2\u2019x2\u2019) just patiently waiting for a strong gust to carry them hither.\u00a0 And the ant hills were gorgeous, big, and intricate and obviously well organized mounds of detailed work.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1037\" style=\"width: 209px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1037\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1037\" src=\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3258-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"The ever lovely Frasera speciosa.  I came upon 1000's of these plants while searching on west Mount Falcon.  Each plant contained 1000s of seeds making it an enjoyable collection.\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3258-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3258-768x1154.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3258-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3258-681x1024.jpg 681w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_3258.jpg 1288w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1037\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The ever lovely Frasera speciosa. I came upon 1000&#39;s of these plants while searching on west Mount Falcon. Each plant contained 1000s of seeds making it an enjoyable collection.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Once I watched a goshawk drop straight down out of a Douglas fir tree onto the ground most likely in pursue of a small mammal. It did not know I was there, and I had know idea what this animal was until I could see its birdly shape standing somewhat awkwardly on the ground.\u00a0 I just stood there and eyeballed the raptor for many quiet and delicious woodsy moments.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1036\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1036\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1036\" src=\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/juvenile-dipper1-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"Watched this baby American Dipper at Lair o'the Bear park while scouting for seeds to collect.\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/juvenile-dipper1-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/juvenile-dipper1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/juvenile-dipper1-451x300.jpg 451w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1036\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Watched this baby American Dipper at Lair o&#39;the Bear park while scouting for seeds to collect.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Also I had the pleasure of coming upon a young American dipper at Lair o&#8217;the Bear park while Another time while collecting <em>Liatrus punctata, <\/em>I came upon a harem of deer. \u00a0There was one big beautiful buck enjoying the company of at least a dozen females.\u00a0 His head moved slowly as it was top-heavy with a giant antler rack that apparently was working well for him.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1025\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1025\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1025\" src=\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_0155-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"A special population of spurless Columbine known only from one location in Colorado.  Some of the flowers had no spurs at all, while others like this one had little nublets for spurs.\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_0155-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_0155-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_0155-451x300.jpg 451w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_0155-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_0155.JPG 1936w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1025\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A special population of spurless Columbine known only from one location in Colorado. Some of the flowers had no spurs at all, while others like this one had little nublets for spurs.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>While searching for a population of Carex to collect just North West of Boulder, Colorado, we randomly ran into another botanist.\u00a0 He showed us a population of Botrychium (moonworts) close to where we had parked our vehicle.\u00a0 What are the chances of running into another botanist, especially a moonwort specialist?\u00a0 He said he figured we were botanists because he noticed the field press in the back of our vehicle.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1030\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1030\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1030\" src=\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_02491-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"Gaillardia aristata getting pollinating 6 weeks before we collected!\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_02491-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_02491-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_02491-451x300.jpg 451w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_02491-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/MG_02491.JPG 1936w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1030\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gaillardia aristata getting pollinating 6 weeks before we collected!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Other strange things happen as well.\u00a0 As I was hiking down from the top of Green Mountain, I noticed a woman approaching me.\u00a0 As I got closer she asked if I was alone, and she told me she was confident she saw someone else with me.\u00a0 I assured her I was alone, and just out here searching for <em>Astragalus <\/em>plants!\u00a0 And then I noticed she held tight in each hand a large stone ready to launch if I suddenly posed a threat.\u00a0 I also had a Rottweiler dog want to eat me for lunch.\u00a0 It could have been my large sunhat that provoked the canine, but I waited while the owner struggled to get the dog past me on the trail.\u00a0 The lessons learned (although I had learned these lessons before) include keeping your wits about you, and following your instincts as you move through out the woods collecting seeds.\u00a0 This is especially true if you are on your own.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Possible new discoveries while collecting.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/em><em>Penstemon gracilis var. gracilis <\/em>is a somewhat rare Penstemon in Colorado, but because of all the rain one particular population was blooming like crazy.\u00a0 I heard about the plants in early June and went to check them out up at Reynolds Park, Colorado.\u00a0 There were 1000\u2019s of plants blooming, more than I had ever seen in this location.\u00a0 I checked to see if the species had been collected before, and that particular variety had not been collected.\u00a0 I was excited because that meant it would be a Kew collection and the seeds would go to the Royal Botanic Gardens!\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"mceTemp mceIEcenter\">\n<div id=\"attachment_1032\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1032\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1032\" src=\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/IMG_01041-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Penstemon gracilis at Reynolds Park, Colorado.  I think you can see an Osmia bee in the center flower.  These little Penstemon pollinators were everywhere on these plants.\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/IMG_01041-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/IMG_01041-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/IMG_01041-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/IMG_01041-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1032\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Penstemon gracilis at Reynolds Park, Colorado. I think you can see an Osmia bee in the center flower. These little Penstemon pollinators were everywhere on these plants.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>I returned to obtain voucher specimens and as I was carefully digging up the plants, Formica ants began to attack.\u00a0 Crawling all over me and biting viciously anywhere skin was showing.\u00a0 I was able to obtain the vouchers, but I was glad to be leaving those lovely lilac Penstemons alone to the ants and the bees.\u00a0 I kept a watchful eye for the next 6 weeks or so, and finally I returned to collect the seeds.\u00a0 As I began to collect I was struck by a familiar very strong smell.\u00a0 It was the smell of a squished Formica ant.\u00a0 I used to rock climb a lot, and every once and a while as climbers we would situate a belay near an ant nest (Formica ants), and I would smell that smell of formic acid.\u00a0 The smell is distinct and rather nasty in large doses.\u00a0 Every part of these plants smelled of formic acid including the stems, the leaves, the fruit, and the seeds!\u00a0 I began to wonder what was going on.\u00a0 Is there a connection between the ants and the plants?\u00a0 From the early season attacks when the flowers were blooming and now to the strong smell.\u00a0 I just happen to tell the story to a botanist and an animal behaviorist who studies ants at University of Colorado Denver.\u00a0 Their eyes lit up and suggested the seeds may contain elaiosomes.\u00a0 Elaiosomes are oil droplets that contain lipids and sometimes proteins.\u00a0 These droplets are attached to the seeds and are meant to attract the ants.\u00a0 Apparently fats and proteins are limiting substances for ants, and they go WILD for them.\u00a0 We looked at the seeds under a microscope and sure enough we could see what looked like tiny little white bulb-lets on the ends of the seeds.\u00a0 This made me wonder if other populations of this <em>Penstemon gracilis <\/em>smelled like formic acid as well.\u00a0 I searched the Boulder Herbarium records for other populations and after a lot of searching and assistance with a ranger botanist person I know in Boulder, I was able to locate a few more plants.\u00a0 Sure enough, the plants 50 miles away in Boulder, County smell like formic acid and the seeds also look to have possible elaiosomes.\u00a0 Now I find myself with a dissecting scope, tiny little <em>P. gracilis <\/em>seeds (smaller than pepper grains), sharp forceps and a razor blade painstakingly attempting to remove the \u201celaisomoes\u201d so that we can analyze what they are made of.\u00a0 I think this was one of the most fun consequences\/observances that happened during the CLM internship while collecting seeds.\u00a0 I suppose the lesson here is keep your wits about you, observe what you see and what you smell, and you might just make a new discovery!<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CLM Internship May-October 2009.\u00a0 After a long arduous journey in graduate school I was somewhat nervous and anxious to begin to apply my knowledge and skills at the Bureau of Land Management.\u00a0 My mentors, Carol Dawson (the Colorado State Botanist &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/?p=1012\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1012"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1012"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1041,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1012\/revisions\/1041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}