Pine Nut Mountains (Williams Combleaf surveying)

Williams Combleaf (Polyctenium williamsiae)

The purpose of our first visit to the Pine Nut Mountains was to do an intensive survey of the endangered species Polyctenium williamsiae commonly known as Williams Combleaf. Williams Combleaf is only found in two counties of California and a few counties of Nevada. It has been reported in Oregon but it is unknown if these populations still exist. In Nevada, Williams Combleaf is fully protected meaning it may not be collected or destroyed without the permission of the state forester fire-warden. Being fully protected also protects the destruction of the said species habitat. The main objective of our survey was to get the total number of individuals at two locations and GPS their total area. The information gained is going to be used for fencing in its habitat to allow ranching to continue to occur on the BLM land. Other objectives for our survey were updating other species in the habitat, invasive species survey, photo plots (helps to determine the habitat change and/or the change in species abundance) and plant collection. 

What to say about the Pine Nut Mts? Well they are beautiful but getting around in a truck is horrible. For now, it is the bumpiest road I have ever been on. Apparently, there are worse we will travel and the Pine Nuts are considered a medium rocky road. O man, I wish I would've taken a video of us driving. Next time I will. The first day was the worst. In total, we spent 7hrs driving to the first site and then to our campsite. It was brutal day of driving, but the work was worth it. When we got to our campsite we were greeted by cattle. Some of us spent the night in a trench to block the wind, in truck bed, or on the ground next to the truck. As for me, I slept in the truck cab. I guess during the night one of the interns (Bonnie) almost got run over by a cow.  That would have been a bad wake up call. 

After we woke, we traveled to our next site which was only a 30-45min drive away. We then hiked about 1.5miles from the road to site 2. There we set up the boarder for a fence-line so the archeologist who would be joining us could determine if it would impede on any cultural sites. Most of the interns, including I, got done rather fast with our work so we headed off to the "3rd" site which was nearby. I have the site in quotations because the BLM has never found any Williams Combleaf there but it is suitable habitat so each survey we have to look. Scott M. was also on a mission to find an arrowhead. Of course, we did not find any Williams Combleaf but Scott B. found a spearhead! We also got stared down by a wild horse which was kind of intimidating since they have tendency to charge.

Overall, the surveys were a success and we gained excellent experience on plant surveys, cultural artifacts, GPSing, plant collection, and the area itself.  

Site 1

Overview of Site 3

So pretty.

The spearhead that Scott B. found.

Doing the photo plot.

Random cool looking flower. I have no idea what it is.

Pinus monophylla

Donald Duck showing off some baby sagebrushes. 

Sand Mountain

Sand Mountain from the back.

The days of April 11th and 12th we spent at Sand Mountain, Nevada. Sand Mountain is roughly 2hrs northeast from Carson City and is located 15miles outside Fallon, NV. Sand Mountain is a sand dune nestled between rolling hills and just off the coast of a large salt lake. The dune itself is two miles long and 600 feet high. Sand Mountain was formed by sediment of neighboring (by neighboring i mean 2hrs south) Walker Lake. The winds carried the particles over the Stillwater Mountains and deposited them in front of the rolling hills that lay behind Sand Mountain. Sand Mountain is also considered a "singing" dune. On high wind days you can hear the particles moving across the dune. Today, it is very hard to hear the awesome singing because of all the Off-highway vehicle use. However, if you climb to the top and push down hard enough you can generate some of the singing.

Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly

Sand Mountain has a very delicate ecosystem. The delicate ecosystem occurs from the harsh environment and ever-changing sand patterns. At the moment, the main ecological concern at Sand Mountain is the endangered Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly (Euphilotes pallescens arenamontana). Sand Mountain is the only place in the world where the Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly occurs and its habitat is being slowly destroyed. The main factor for habitat destruction is the increasing popularity of the use of OHVs (Off-highway vehicles) at Sand Mountain. OHV use at Sand Mountain generates a lot of revenue for the local area and the BLM so it is very difficult to manage. The BLM Stillwater Field Office manages Sand Mountain. They have to figure out the best way to manage the ecosystem and still please the OHV users, environment groups, and themselves. They have developed certain trails for the OHV vehicles that do not cause too much habitat fragmentation. For now, these designated trails or voluntary but both the OHV and environmental groups know if they are not followed the trails will become enforced and tickets will be issued. The voluntary system started slow but has now picked up. However, it still is not at the point where the BLM would like. 

Kearney Buckwheat at bud break.

So where does our team of Botany interns come in? For the most part, we are responsible for habitat restoration and monitoring during events. On April 11th us, the recreation interns, and the UNR greenhouse director planted an area with Kearney Buckwheat (Eriogonum nummulare). Kearney Buckwheat is the only plant that the Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly eats as a larvae and as an adult. Its existence is solely dependent on Kearney Buckwheat. We planted roughly 250 plants. After the planting we had ATV training and camped out.

Us planting the Kearney Buckwheat seedlings.

ATV training is awesome. The purpose of our training was to get comfortable with driving on sand and get a lay of the land. We were going to be without our supervisor the next day so we had to do the training the night before, which I was not mad about. On April 12th we did surveying and GPS mapping of the plant Common Sandlilly. We are curious to see what dune peaks they were on and how low in elevation they would go. We counted each individual and GPS their location. The pictures below are from Scott Massed, my roommate and co-worker. You can follow him at scottmassed.blogspot.com

Other than Dean, Scott was the only one to get his ATV up the hill. We were relieved to not have to push it up.

Us on top of the main sand dune.

A nighttime shot by S. Massed 

On the ridge of the main sand dune. 

Sand Mountain (600ft).

Panorama of Sand Mountain's backside.

Talking about Kearney Buckwheat.

Donald Duck showing off his Common Sandlily

Winter's Ranch

Winter's Ranch is located next to Washoe Lake outside Washoe City. Winter's Ranch is a 1,000 acre area owned by the BLM. One of the goals this year is too establish an area for reforestation. To do this we will be focusing on controlling the invasive weeds Perennial Pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium) and Musk Thistle (Carduus nutans), as well as, Russian Olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) removal.

Overview of Washoe Lake. 

Washoe Lake is a very shallow lake that has a max depth of 12ft and is managed by the Nevada State Park Division, BLM, and a Washoe Lake volunteer committee. It is important to manage Washoe Lake because Washoe Lake is an important bird habitat and tourism area.

A small area of Winter's Ranch

Right now, we are preparing for the field work at Winter's Ranch. We have gone out and mapped the current Perennial Pepperweed and Russian Olive areas on the north side. Moreover, we have done some cutting of dead dense stands of Perennial Pepperweed. We are cutting dead areas to see if it has any effect on the amount of herbicide that will come in contact with the new growth. That is all we have done so far at Winter's Ranch, but we will defiantly be there this summer so updates will be coming.

All Photos (except of Washoe Lake) thanks to my roommate and co-worker Scott Massed. Follow him at scottmassed.blogspot.com

Winding up for a big cut!

Jared cutting away.

The dead Perennial Pepperweed.

Red Rock Fire

For the first day of the job, the Bureau of Land Management botany crew went out to a place called Red Rock. Before I go any further about what we are doing there I will give a brief history of Red Rock and what our intentions are. At the BLM we call it the Red Rock Fire. Why? Pretty self-explanatory, there was a friggen fire there! Anyways, like I said, there was a fire at Red Rock in 2009. Red Rock is located 20 minutes or so north of Reno, but once you are there it takes 20minutes of off road driving to get to the closest working site. Off road driving is the tits so I do not mind. Red Rock is a mountainous area that is typically leased out by the BLM for grazing. However, when there is a fire, grazing can not continue on the land and the land is given 3 years to "recover". Three years is not enough time for a land to recover from a fire and then be grazed on but it is better than nothing. This is year 2 since the fire and we have 1 more year to establish desired plants, do some fire prevention, weed control, and other botany stuff.

Cheatgrass. The enemy.

Back to the first day.

Our first day dealt with hand seeding of the perennial grass Poa secunda (Sandberg bluegrass) to out compete the introduced grazing grass Bromus tectorum (Cheatgrass). Cheatgrass has been introduced because it has high grazing value than most natives, survives very well in this environment, and low maintenance (if any) for ranchers. Cheatgrass is a continuing problem in Nevada because is has and continues to change the fire cycle. Specifically, Cheatgrass decreases the time between fires. For those reasons, we take the time to hand seed. Hand seeding is not the only seeding being done at Red Rock. The BLM Fire Crew has done aerial and drill-seeding. The Fire Crew's efforts are more effective than hand seeding, but hand seeding is necessary for the steep and rocky areas where the drill can not get to. To date, the Botany crew has hand seeded roughly 15 sites which vary in size. In total, I believe we have put down well over 1,500lbs of seed. 


Seeding is not the only fire restoration and prevention work we are doing at Red Rock. In the coming two weeks the Botany crew will be planting 20,000 Bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata)! Yes, I that is not a typo, 20,000 plants. I will post an update about that project after it is over. Our other project going on right now at Red Rock is planting of Willow cuttings alongside riparian areas. That is pretty self-explanatory and not the the extent of the Bitterbrush. In fall, we will be spraying the noxious weed, Scotch Thistle. 

Red Rock Fire.

Another Red Rock Fire Photo.

Observing the landscape.

Doing some seeding

Taking some lunch. 

Carson City, Nevada.

There is not much to say about Carson City, Nevada. The locals describe Carson City as growing city with a small town feel and I completely agree with them. For the most part, people are friendly, polite, and trustworthy (good story about a run in with a local). You can easily start chatting with someone and feel like you have known them for years. That's what I dig about this place. It's a care-free life and that life is good. Moreover, Lake Tahoe is only 30min away which makes for a wonderful day trip. I can't wait to go there on hot summer days. Also some wonderful hiking there.

So far I have found a couple of places I like to go out to. I live 10min walk from downtown so it makes going out easier and more convenient. I think my favorite place to grab a drink after work is the Firkin Fox. The Firkin Fox is home to my very own 1L stein with the perfect etching of "party". It only cost me between 5-8 dollars to fill the stein with delicious beer. Their beer selection is as follows: Guinness, Bass, High Sierra OMG IPA and Stout (the local brewery), Smithwicks, New Belgium brews, Shocktop, and a few others I can't remember. You can get Bud Light but who wants that in a bad ass stein? Not this guy. Firkin Fox also has the best wings in town. It's sad because the wings are really not that good and Carson City sucks for wings, but that's a whole different rant. Another popular watering hole is the Feisty Goat. Feisty Goat has a good beer selection and is the only bar I have been to that has PBR on tap. We typically go to the Feisty Goat to play darts and cards. For clubbing we go to the Cigar Bar. Ya, you read it right a Cigar Bar. It's crazy. When it's hoppin you have older people smoking their cigars and then college age people dancing to a DJ. It makes for interesting conversations and a good mix of people. My favorite place to get coffee is Comma Coffee. In fact, that is where I am right now. The atmosphere is chill and they have awesome coffee, better than Alterra. Comma Coffee also has events such as salsa dancing, live music, drum circle, etc. Other places I got out to are High Sierra Brewery (good beer and live music), Golden Nugget Casino, and the hookah lounge.

I have a feeling I am going to enjoy Carson City in summer. They have started the wine walk circuit already. Essentially, on the first weekend of the month you get a wine glass for $10 at the Golden Nugget and walk around the local business and get wine. I have not been yet, but I will be there when they do it in May. Starting in June, Carson City will be having live music on the side streets of downtown on the weekends. I'm pretty excited to go out to each bar, get a beer, and listen to some live, local, music.

Now I will give you a visual tour of Carson City. These pictures are courtesy of Scott Massed, my co-worker and roommate. You can follow him at scottmassed.blogspot.com

View from outside our apartment 

The Golden Nugget

A view of Carson City at night. Photo was taken on Prison Hill just outside Carson City.

Panorama of Lake Tahoe

The view from our village

The Blue Bull. Another Bar we usually wonder into late at night. Not the classiest establishment. 

Inside the Firkin Fox.