Hitch Lead: Magdaline Salinas
I went into this hitch with no idea of how the Forest Service monitors wildlife and am coming out of it amazed with the amount of time that goes into project decision making out here. I learned about the 4 management indicator species of the forest, and even had the opportunity to catch one (Columbia Spotted Frog.)
My task for the first hitch was to help work on the sage grouse
inventory. The sage grouse is the management indicator species for the sagebrush habitat of the forest. It involved lots of hiking with some amazing views, identifying lots of new plants, and as an added bonus seeing some neat wildlife.
I had a really great time, learned a lot, got the opportunity to see
some rare plants, and was lucky enough to get to stay in forest
service housing for the whole hitch. A bed and hot water!? I shouldn’t get used to being so spoiled.
