Hitch 4 Wildlife, Hitch Lead: Jenna Member: Jason

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Hitch 4 Wildlife in the Lost Range We started out Monday not knowing much of where we were going to be. Once we met with Mike, our Agency contact with the Forest Service, we thought we had a better understanding but apparently it’s called the Lost Range for a reason. The roads and the map did not match the best. We were told to work Arco Pass and north. When we made our way out to the pass we discovered it’s a very dry place; not a good area for aspen. We roamed the area for three days in search of aspen. The beginning attempts did not go so well but by the last day we found a good area. It was back in the mountains around the Pass Creek. Our inventory came out to be 16 aspen stands, about 6 canyons explored, and hundreds of miles driven. Camping in the Lost Range was another task after trying to decide on a decent place we still ended up sleeping the night in a windstorm. The second night and third night were better but, many bugs to deal with. Thankfully Jason and I were all about being positive no matter what. I think it also helped that we had good hot meals to end the long days. When it came to wild life viewing; Jason and I sadly did not have much luck! In the Lost Range we saw birds and cows. Our drive out from Moyer was much more exciting. We got to see elk, deer, rabbits, and of course birds and livestock. This journey was fun and exciting from an exploring perspective but not a good area for aspen. We are happy with what we did find though because this area has not been surveyed. It’s exciting to know we’ve done the first research.