{"id":1525,"date":"2010-05-16T10:56:22","date_gmt":"2010-05-16T17:56:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/?p=1525"},"modified":"2010-05-16T10:56:22","modified_gmt":"2010-05-16T17:56:22","slug":"spring-greetings-from-carson-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/?p=1525","title":{"rendered":"Spring Greetings from Carson City"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greetings from Nevada! One of the most surprising aspects of the landscape in Nevada is the diversity of ecosystem types and topography one finds here.\u00a0 While driving to our field sites, I\u2019ve been pleasantly surprised by the diversity of vegetation one finds within short distances.\u00a0 With only slight changes of elevation, one can move from fields of sagebrush to pinyon-juniper woodlands or from salt deserts and playas to montane coniferous forests.\u00a0 Within only a short drive from Carson City, one can be in the Sierra forests of Ponderosa and Jeffrey pines, complete with rushing mountain streams, manzanita, and incredible views.\u00a0 With so many ecosystem types and such a diverse topography in Nevada, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll soon tire of the landscape in my seed collection activities.<\/p>\n

\"Jeffrey

Jeffrey pines in the Mount Rose wilderness area of the Sierra<\/p><\/div>\n

Learning the plant species of Nevada for our seed collection has come surprisingly easy.\u00a0 Being from the eastern states, I had little knowledge of the native vegetation of Nevada.\u00a0 Arriving here in the spring has allowed me the opportunity to observe many of the plants in flower.\u00a0 The hillsides are currently covered with the brilliant purples and pinks of the Gilias and Phacelias and the large yellow flowers of balsam root.\u00a0 The desert peach, covered in bright pink flowers, really stands out as one looks across the land.\u00a0 I remain very excited that this show of wildflowers will soon evolve into an abundance of seeds for team to collect.<\/p>\n

Overall, the work I have done so far for the Seeds of Success program has been rewarding and often very enjoyable.\u00a0 Having an interest in botany and ecology, this internship has been a great opportunity to learn a tremendous amount of new useful knowledge.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure that a large percentage of what I\u2019m learning will help me in future in my future career and graduate studies.\u00a0 There\u2019s a lot more in the desert than most outsiders would guess.\u00a0 There\u2019s truly an amazing ecosystem in the Great Basin and I feel very fortunate to assist in preserving the genetic diversity of its plant life.<\/p>\n

Working for the BLM has been a very interesting experience and a great introduction to the welcomed challenges of trying to conserve native plant communities in an agency whose mission statement is focused on the multiple use of our country\u2019s vast wealth of public lands. The Carson City district office manages 5.5 million acres of land for multiple-use purposes, and trying to conserve all of the native plant communities and species on such a huge, discontinuous swath of land publically-used land seems to be an overwhelming challenge at times. But because it is such a monumental and important task, I think it drives myself, my fellow interns, and certainly my mentor to work even harder at the imperative job. If you care about native plant conservation and are looking for a challenge, the Carson City office of the BLM is definitely a great place to work.<\/p>\n

Aside from work, the recreational opportunities in Carson City are fabulous. The Sierra Nevada is directly to our West, and there are dozens of hiking and biking trails within an hour\u2019s drive or less of Carson City. \u00a0Lake Tahoe is also about a 30-minute drive from Carson City and is truly an awe-inspiring place for nature-lovers. \u00a0I have spent many of my weekends hiking in the Sierra or visiting Lake Tahoe, and that is just something that you can\u2019t get back East or in many other parts of the country. So far, Carson City has been a great place to live and work, and I feel like I haven\u2019t even scratched the surface in my work with the BLM or my life outside of work. I am really looking forward to what the coming months will bring.<\/p>\n

– Brian Josey and John Krapek, Seeds of Success Interns<\/p>\n

\"From

From the Northeastern shore of Lake Tahoe, looking West towards California.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Hiking

Hiking in the Sierra, about 30 miles north of Carson City<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Arctostaphylos

Arctostaphylos patula in the Sierra<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Artemisia

Artemisia tridentata, one of the most characteristic species of our area<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Greetings from Nevada! One of the most surprising aspects of the landscape in Nevada is the diversity of ecosystem types and topography one finds here.\u00a0 While driving to our field sites, I\u2019ve been pleasantly surprised by the diversity of vegetation … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":141,"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\/1525"}],"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\/141"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1525"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1571,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1525\/revisions\/1571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}