Subtle beauty

When I first arrived in Utah six years ago I had never spent time in sagebrush country. I was used to redwood trees with their dark green dramatic beauty. It has taken a minute to adjust my eyes to the subtle beauty of the Intermountain West.

A view of the Uintas from our field sites in Northern Utah.

Colors are more muted than along the Pacific Coast, and vegetation is shorter, but there isn’t anything that quite compares to the wide open landscapes we work in at WLC.

Our field sites are located where Utah, Wyoming and Idaho meet. These open rangeland landscapes are sparsely populated by people. Sitting in the range monitoring plants you can feel that vast space around you.

Range etiquette rule #1: Always leave the fence the way you found it.

One of the earliest blooming flowers in the landscapes where we work: sagebrush bluebell (Mertensia oblongifolia).

As we have formed partnerships with ranchers, agency managers, and other researchers it has also become clear how much all of these different groups care about the landscape - whether they make a living from the land, manage it for multi-use, study the plants and animals that live in its habitat, or recreate on it with family and friends. I am inspired by the willingness of these groups - despite any differences we have as individuals - to focus on that common thread of caring about the landscape. Yet another subtle beauty found in sagebrush country.