Farewell Field 2017

By Nadav Mouallem with contributions from fellow NPSO/CR interns Abbie Harold and Lucy Keehn

When the entire season feels like a never-ending highlight reel, you know it has been a good one. Whether it be sighting owls at dusk atop of Table Rock, whales at sunrise overlooking Coos Bay, or a bobcat in the Tillamook Forest, our season has been filled with adventure, new experiences, and most of all, new friends. As a crew we circumnavigated Oregon, from its north-western corner to its southern border, from the shores of the Pacific Ocean to the desert of eastern OR, and everywhere in between. We camped, we trekked, we learned, and we laughed. We were able to take in the immense beauty that Oregon holds while monitoring and protecting some of its rarest plant species. We are all so grateful for the experience of working as IAE/NPSO Conservation Research Interns! Here are some of our favorites of the season:

Nadav: Monitoring Cook’s desert parsley and staying at the Siskiyou Field Station.

Abbie: Monitoring dwarf wooly meadowfoam at Table Rocks.

Lucy: Studying experimental restoration methods at Willapa Bay/Clatsop Plains.

Nadav: Calypso orchid (Calypso bulbosa), found when monitoring Kincaid's lupine outside of Roseburg, OR (pictured below).

Abbie: Hairy star tulip (Calochortus tolmiei), found across southern Oregon (pictured below).

Lucy: Scarlet fritillary (Fritillaria recurva), found at Table Rocks (pictured below).

• Week 1: April 10-14 -- Outplanting Kincaid’s lupine near Canyonville, OR
• Week 2: April 17-21 -- Bradshaw’s lomatium near the West Eugene Wetlands
• Week 3: April 24-28 -- Dwarf wooly meadowfoam at Table Rocks
• Week 4-5: May 1-12 -- Cook’s desert parsley near Cave Junction, OR
• Week 6-7: May 15-26 -- Restoration techniques near Willapa Bay
• Week 8: May 29-June 2 -- Kincaid’s lupine near Roseburg, OR
• Week 9: June 5-9 -- Mulford’s milkvetch near Vale, OR
• Week 10: June 12-16 --Kincaid's lupine near Eugene, OR
• Week 11: June 19-23 -- Nelson’s checker-mallow in Tillamook State Forest
• Week 12-13: June 26-July 7 -- Kincaid's lupine and Hitchcock's blue-eyed grass near Eugene, OR
• Week 14: July 10-14 -- Arrow-leaf thelypody near Prineville, OR and prairie restoration at Nestucca Bay NWR
• Week 15: July 17-21 -- Habitat mapping at Hunter Creek ACEC near Gold Beach, OR
• Week 17: July 31-August 4 -- Point Reyes bird’s beak at North Spit of Coos Bay, OR