Despite the government shutdown, the past four weeks have been filled with some interest. During a full week, the entire computer system was down due to the Colorado flooding. No email, no shared drive, no files (a lot less than what a\u00a0number of people experienced).\u00a0It\u00a0was time for the office to\u00a0get creative.\u00a0As a group, the four of us interns received some fuels duties from the office fire ecologist which involved split team\u00a0mapping of\u00a0soon-to-be-burnt slash piles and assessing previously burnt\u00a0ones. The assessment of burnt piles\u00a0was basically supplying photo points and native\/invasive regeneration documentation. The soon-to-be-burnt pile mapping was quite literally that… mapping piles of slash. While it may not seem that important, this practice actually helps the fire crews find and burn every pile\u00a0during the heavy snows in winter\u00a0so their resources are spent more accurately and wisely. This was somewhat monotonous, but what a wonderful break from the office. I’ll take a paid high elevation woodland hike any day!<\/p>\n
Around the same area, we had a small amount of trail\u00a0maintenance going on. Three of us on that day kicked that trail’s butt. Albeit short for a trail, it held some gorgeous views and perfect weather. Lunch on a shaded rock with some cool people and more high elevation hiking… yes please!<\/p>\n
Having the chance to receive saw training (“chainsaw” if you’re a newb like me), I jumped on that as fast as I could. The classroom part of training held at a nearby field office supplied the chance to meet some other BLMers and get some absolutely incredible Mexican fast food for lunch. Did you say, “what the what!?” Me too. Authentic Mexican as fast food? Unbelievable. That stuff was awesome! One plate being enough to feed two, it kept my appetite at bay for quite some time afterwards. My eyes are open to a new world of possibility. It’s probably for the best that this place is a long drive from Buffalo. I’d be broke,\u00a0heavy,\u00a0and\u00a0happy.\u00a0Then again, maybe that’s the purpose of life.\u00a0Later on in the week, us trainees went out with our awesome\u00a0office fire crew for the field part of training. I felt great on how my cuts and felling (dropping)\u00a0went. The trees landed right where I predicted they would. Limbing (bucking) was a fun chore, but my gosh do those saws get heavy. Assessing rangeland all summer can make one’s arms soft. As a side note for the hyper-concerned about cutting trees, they were near a major road,\u00a0close to\u00a0town, and adjoined a larger stretch of forest. The cutting of smaller trees serves as a fire break so the larger trees don’t catch, destroying the whole forest and local buildings causing more harm.<\/p>\n
While on furlough, I’ve been looking for other jobs for when this awesome one ends –\u00a0Harder than it seems. I’ve also been hanging out with my fellow interns – Always a blast. And I’ve been exposing myself\u00a0to educational\u00a0documentaries of every kind – The more you know.<\/p>\n
Any-who, it’s been an interesting ride lately. What else does the world have to offer?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Despite the government shutdown, the past four weeks have been filled with some interest. During a full week, the entire computer system was down due to the Colorado flooding. No email, no shared drive, no files (a lot less than … Continue reading