{"id":67024,"date":"2015-10-29T09:44:24","date_gmt":"2015-10-29T16:44:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/?p=67024"},"modified":"2015-10-29T09:44:24","modified_gmt":"2015-10-29T16:44:24","slug":"final-reflections-from-southern-new-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/?p=67024","title":{"rendered":"Final Reflections from Southern New Mexico…"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alas, it seems that Jeanne and I\u2019s tenure as CLM interns is finally coming to an end.\u00a0 Overall, it has been a wonderful experience.\u00a0 We have had the chance to see places in our expansive district that very few have set eyes upon.\u00a0 Our fearless leader, Patrick, has proven himself a reluctant but well suited mentor.\u00a0 We got to see petroglyphs, ruins, and a wide variety of plants.\u00a0 In botany, my experience has been that there is no end to the learning.\u00a0 There are always more plants to know, love, identify, and dissect.\u00a0 Sometimes we\u2019d stumble upon a rare or locally rare plant that I\u2019d never encountered before to which I would react with glee, which I would then enthusiastically photograph.\u00a0 And of course, since Patrick is among the best botanists west of the Mississippi, there were always opportunities to learn and identify unknown species.\u00a0 A few new species (well, new to me) included Wright\u2019s Dutchman\u2019s Pipe, Echinomastus intertextus<\/em>, Erioneuron spp<\/em>.,\u00a0 Thymophylla aurea,<\/em> Haplophyton crooksii, Evolvulus alsinioides,<\/em> and many others.\u00a0 We got to see an abundance of wildlife; coyotes, two species of rattlesnakes, tarantulas, kangaroo rats, packrats, coyotes, pronghorn sheep, roadrunners, sandhill cranes, oryx, a plethora of insects, arachnids, and cows, and cows, and more cows.<\/p>\n

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~Co-intern Jeanne and I standing at the edge of Kilbourned Hole….<\/p>\n

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~Evolvulus alsinioides<\/em>, just a cute plant I hadn’t seen before in the Florida Mts….\"DSCF4539\"<\/a><\/p>\n

~Haplophyton crooksii<\/em>, a rare plant in New Mexico. \u00a0Also hadn’t seen it before. \u00a0Also Floridas….<\/p>\n

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~Aristolochia wrightii<\/em>, Wright’s Dutchmans Pipe. A cool rare plant in its own right being feasted upon by some exotic caterpillary things….<\/p>\n

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We spent many hours hunting down the elusive and rare Nightblooming Cereus. \u00a0We were able to form a conclusion based on our observations and past observations that the cactus behaves a lot like many other desert species (although it\u2019s a bit unusual for cacti) in that it periodically dies back to the tuberous root, and then periodically resurrects.\u00a0 As such, even though it continues to be a rare species, it doesn\u2019t seem to be quite as rare in our district as previously thought. \u00a0It’s also just plain hard to spot. \u00a0It grows inside nurse shrubs and spends most of the time just looking like a dead stick. \u00a0Although the flowers are spectacular I hear. \u00a0You would be lucky to see them as they only flower for one or two nights a year. \u00a0I haven’t. \u00a0Yet.<\/p>\n

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~Peniocereus greggii var. greggii<\/em>. \u00a0Night Blooming cereus. \u00a0A big concern for the BLM in our district….<\/p>\n

One highlight of the internship was two trips we took out to Lower Gila Box.\u00a0 Trust me when I say that a visit to a riparian area on BLM land in Southern New Mexico is a thing to be cherished!\u00a0 Aside from the very cool Native American archaeology we encountered, there is a hopeful reclamation story as well. Since riparian species of trees and shrubs tend to be short lived (cottonwoods and willows) the establishment of seedlings is important to maintain the overstory.\u00a0 Until the early 90\u2019s, cattle were allowed to graze along the Gila River in this area. \u00a0The cows ate the sapplings so the overstory was decimated.\u00a0 But then the Lower Gila Box was excluded from grazing and the cottonwoods, willows, and sycamores have come back happy and healthy.\u00a0 The LCDO office has been taking periodic photo points since the exclusion and it is quite a thing to see the resilience of Mother Nature.<\/p>\n

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~Lower Gila Box, lush, recovered, and happy…<\/p>\n

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~Some petroglyphs from Lower Gila Box..<\/p>\n

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~A granary from Lower Gila Box. \u00a0It’s in a cliff face looking down into a steep crevice. \u00a0Could be a thousand years old, but I wouldn’t know….<\/p>\n

We spent a lot of time and brainpower locating, monitoring, and assessing phenology of target collection species.\u00a0 We were forced to think differently.\u00a0 In other natural sciences such as geology, phenology doesn\u2019t matter so much.\u00a0 A rock is the same rock whether it\u2019s January or June.\u00a0 Not so with plants.\u00a0 We had to keep regular tabs on a variety of potential collection sites to catch them at just the right moment when they had produced adequate mature seed but before a gust or a storm dispersed them into oblivion.\u00a0 Sometimes it\u2019s a delicate gambit.\u00a0 Furthermore, we found that among grasses, just because a species produces inflorescences, there is no guarantee that actual viable seed was set.\u00a0 We found multiple populations of Setaria leucopila<\/em> (plains bristle grass) but only at the last site did we find that it had actually producing viable see.\u00a0 Even then, it was only producing seed at a rate of about 1 per 8 florets.\u00a0 Nonetheless, our population was dense enough to complete a collection.\u00a0 We were wanting to make collections of blue grama and black grama, but neither of them seemed to want to produce viable fruit at all this year in our district.\u00a0 Down here in the deep Chihuahuan desert, we are very much at the mercy of precipitation patterns.\u00a0 It was a strange year in that regard.\u00a0 We had a lot of rain early in the summer but not a lot of great rain when we normally have monsoon season in early August.\u00a0 And of course, our district is large enough where some regions got way above average rain while others remained deep in drought.<\/p>\n

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~Emory globemallow. \u00a0One of our collections…<\/p>\n

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~Baielya multiradiata<\/em>; A happy field of Desert Marigold. \u00a0We made multiple collections of it.<\/p>\n

As you might expect, we had the most success in regions of our district that had been blessed by good precipitation this year.\u00a0 We tried to stick to our initial target list, but we had to adjust according to what we were finding, and what we simply happened to stumble upon.\u00a0 We made a lot of good collections that weren\u2019t on the initial target list but that still make good candidates given the stated goals of the SOS program.\u00a0 There was one site in particular that turned out to be an exceptionally good collection site.\u00a0 At Goat Mountain Allotment we collected Machaeranthera tanacetifolia, Panicum obtusum, Verbesina encelioides, Chloris virgata, Bahia dissecta, Bahia absinthifolia, Baileya multiradiata,<\/em> and Sanvitalia abertii.<\/em>\u00a0 Not bad for a single location!\u00a0 In any case, we were able to surpass our goal of 35 collections with 38 collections for the season.\u00a0 And, there is a decent chance we will make one final collection on our last day.<\/p>\n

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~One of many cute and irritable rattlers we stumbled upon….<\/p>\n

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Furthermore, we were lucky to get the opportunity to improve our GIS skills.\u00a0 For my Masters project I got to be somewhat familiar with QGIS but at the BLM office we got some good experience with ArcGIS.\u00a0 We also got a taste of relevant policy commonly used around the office.\u00a0 The work culture at the office was a pleasant surprise.\u00a0 I immediately noticed a distinct lack of tension or drama in the office.\u00a0 This was a sharp contrast to my experiences in graduate school, where there is a universal and palpable sense of quiet panic and pressure.\u00a0 Academia is for workaholics.\u00a0 I loved the feeling that I was actually done when I left work without some guilty pang somewhere in my psyche telling me I should be grading papers or working on a manuscript until 2 am.\u00a0 And my God, comp time is such a wonderful, wonderful thing.\u00a0 We would often put in very long days but we were also able to take a fair number of 3 day weekends.<\/p>\n

We got to sit in on a number of NEPA meetings, a process that is both complicated and necessary for any biologist interested in a job that interacts with the government or in contracting with entities that need to comply with government environmental and reclamation policy.\u00a0 Although my cublicle at the office didn\u2019t have windows, I had the best views in the house most days because we spent a majority of our time outside anyway.<\/p>\n

Jeanne and I gave a presentation to our office about the Seeds of Success program and why it is important.\u00a0 I think it was well received overall because we got compliments from people in the office that I know can be harsh critics. \u00a0This is good because we worked very hard at putting it together. \u00a0After it was over, I was sad to realize that our time at the office is coming to an end very quickly.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, I don\u2019t know exactly what the future holds for me but there are, at least, opportunities out there.\u00a0 It makes me anxious sometimes to not know what is next, but I\u2019m getting used to uncertainty and I realize that sooner or later some sort of stability will happen if I can just keep my head down and do a job as well as I can wherever I find myself.\u00a0 But working as a CLM intern has been an unforgettable and priceless learning experience. \u00a0Much thanks to Krissa, I hope for nothing but the best for my CLM compatriots out there and I hope you never lose the passion that got you into this game from the beginning.\u00a0 Nature is awesome.<\/p>\n

Best wishes to you all,<\/p>\n

David Morin<\/p>\n

Las Cruces District Office of the BLM<\/p>\n

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~Pectis papposa<\/em>, Lemoncillo. \u00a0We made a collection of this plant. \u00a0Perhaps the most lovely smelling of any plant I know. \u00a0Definitely top 5. \u00a0It smells like a mixture of lemon, anise, and bubble gum. \u00a0It sounds weird, but it’s actually quite pleasant….<\/p>\n

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Alas, it seems that Jeanne and I\u2019s tenure as CLM interns is finally coming to an end.\u00a0 Overall, it has been a wonderful experience.\u00a0 We have had the chance to see places in our expansive district that very few have … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7235,"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\/67024"}],"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\/7235"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=67024"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67024\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67045,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67024\/revisions\/67045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=67024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=67024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=67024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}