May: field season kick-off

We have successfully finished our first month of field work! While we always experience new challenges at the beginning of the season, this year looked a little different. Actually a lot different. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic we have had to implement new safety protocols that we never had to consider before. At first it seemed like working outside should make it quite easy to abide by the CDC’s safety protocol, but once we sat down and thought it through, it was actually more complicated. Each of our outstanding crew members now has their own set of gear, including their own bottle of hand sanitizer. We are practicing maintaining our 6 feet distance and our crew wears face masks whenever it is not possible to stay 6 feet apart. And the most upsetting part is not sharing rides in the field truck. We really miss the bonding between crew members that happens on the long rides in the truck, including jamming out to the local radio stations. Although it is nice being able to listen to country music with no complaints!

Every crew member has their own set of gear so we don’t have to share and risk spreading COVID-19.

The views from our basecamp are pretty spectacular!

Despite the COVID-19 complications, the first month of field work has been an absolute success! We usually anticipate a slow start as everybody starts to learn the plants and the protocol, but this crew picked it up so quickly that we ended up ahead of schedule! We are so proud of them and the work they have accomplished so far- we can’t wait to see how the rest of the summer goes.

While we experienced snow for our first week of field work last year, this year’s crew experienced hurricane winds and blistering heat. That’s Utah weather for ya! After training day, a massive wind storm came through Rich County. While this normally wouldn’t be an issue for our crew, we are having to camp this year and setting up tents in hurricane winds is not so easy. It made for some restless nights, but this is a crew of champions and nobody seemed bothered! The next week the crew experienced heat that we usually don’t see until July. Utah broke record high temperatures across the state and we could definitely feel it. But it just meant that we got an early start on our field season tans!

In addition to the freak weather, our crew had some interesting finds this month! While out doing some pre-season field prep, a very curious badger stumbled out in front of the truck. In all of our time spent in this area, we have never seen a badger, only the many holes they’ve left across the landscape. It was so fun to actually see a badger! The crew then found some signs of beaver in an area that beavers are not known to be in yet. We also found a birds nest right in the middle of our transect! How cool will it be to watch those eggs hatch soon? Hanna also found some old massive cow bones. For some people, this isn’t too interesting, but she was so excited she almost took them home with her!