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<\/a>The sun rises as I enter the field office<\/p><\/div>\n
Soon after entering the field office, I turned onto a gravel road, and then again onto a two-track road where I was met by rocks, barbed wire fences, and loitering cattle.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s stop again.\u00a0 I was not expecting to learn so much about livestock during this internship.\u00a0 However, they are a major player in rangeland dynamics, and I am grateful to have seen where our Nation\u2019s beef comes from.<\/p>\n
<\/a>I\u2019m going to miss these gals.<\/p><\/div>\n
I pulled over by the stretch of land where I would walk approximately 10 miles of slickspot peppergrass transects.\u00a0 Some may find this task monotonous, but there is nothing else I would rather do.<\/p>\n
Allow me to explain.\u00a0 The internship began with sage-grouse habitat assessments, which required identifying an abundance of new plants, and mastering new monitoring techniques.\u00a0 The focus shifted to locating remotely-sensed wetlands, and describing their vegetation composition and water source.\u00a0 This task allowed us to explore some amazing country, where we often wondered if anyone else had ever been.\u00a0 Next we downloaded thermographs for water temperature data collection in streams, which were quite welcome in the heat of the summer.\u00a0 These priority projects were broken up with various trainings and other opportunities such as mineral pit compliance inspections, frog searches, and rain gauge measuring.<\/p>\n
After working hard to internalize all of this new knowledge and skill, it was nice to just soak it all in while walking around looking for slickspot peppergrass \u2013 to just be out there.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Happy to be out there, and start walking<\/p><\/div>\n
I listened to the coyotes howl as I began my walk.\u00a0 Their howling was lost in the wind, which was sometimes interrupted by chirping birds.\u00a0 I flushed sage-grouse every once in a while, and smiled at the thought that these birds are what brought me out here.\u00a0 While walking, I proudly distinguished between about 10 different species of dead grass, and marveled at the recently snow-covered mountains.<\/p>\n
So while it is time to go home, I leave not just with new botanical skills and land management experience, but also with a strong relationship with a landscape that I could have never imagined.\u00a0 I am proud to have helped sustainably manage and conserve our Nation\u2019s land, and am surer than ever that I want to keep doing this for the duration of my career.<\/p>\n
Thank you,<\/p>\n
Jonathan Kleinman<\/p>\n
Jarbidge Field Office<\/p>\n
Bureau of Land Management<\/p>\n
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Hello stranger, In an attempt to reflect on the past 6 months, I will recount the events of just one day \u2013 Thursday, November 6, 2014 \u2013 and elaborate on the thoughts this provokes. I woke up at 5 AM, … Continue reading