#dwilson

I recently returned home from a 25-day fire detail on an Interagency Type II Initial Attack handcrew from Virginia.  As the only female member of the crew and the fact it was my first fire, I had a lot of barriers to overcome and lots of information to learn!

Our first assignment sent us to the Joint Lake Fire, about 47 miles north of the Arctic Circle, in the Upper Yukon region of Alaska.  Flying on small planes, helicopters, eating MREs, keeping an eye out for grizzlies, digging our own latrine, and camp housekeeping were all part of our job in addition to long days working on the fire line.

Probably one of the most meaningful experiences our crew had was to get to work with a local Native Alaskan Crew from the Village of Venetie. The crew not only had an incredible dedication to fire fighting, shared with us tips for setting up camp in the Alaskan tundra, and asked us to all sign their American flag, but shared fresh fish they had caught, a sign of gratitude and respect in their culture.

Our crew spent seven days spiked out on the Joint Lake Fire before we were reassigned to Montana.  Stay tuned for a future post on our next assignment!

I was excited to hear that the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area turned 33 this year. What a great example of the diversity of our public lands. I had the opportunity to visit the lighthouse on a drive along the Oregon Coast.  It's an amazing and beautiful place!

Meet Patty from the BLM-OR Eugene District. When Patty started working on forestry crews in 1982, she was one of the few women in the field at the time. She quickly earned a reputation for her hard work, good sense of humor and quick “woods legs” and has become one of the most respected people on the district. Patty uses her expertise to implement the layout of a timber sale based on GIS-mapped boundaries put together by an interdisciplinary team of specialists. Her role in the process ensures that riparian areas, wildlife trees and property boundaries are properly marked, helping protect important resources when the area is logged.

Shotgun Creek The Shotgun OHV Trail System and Cascade View OHV Complex is a world-class destination for off-road vehicle recreation, drawing visitors internationally.  The 24-mile system is managed by the BLM-Oregon Eugene District through a partnership with the State of Oregon.  I had the opportunity to tour some of the trails with the district's OHV Specialist, and get a little muddy during the process!

Latourell Falls is a waterfall along the Columbia River Gorge in the Guy W. Talbot State Park in Northern Oregon.  This waterfall is particularly unique because it plunges 224 feet straight down over a massive wall of columnar basalt--some of the best formations in the Pacific Northwest--before cascading towards the Columbia River. Along the basalt columns framing the falls are a unique species of lichen known to exist in a very limited area of the Gorge, for only a few miles.

The BLM-Oregon Eugene District plays an important role in protecting critical stream habitat for coho salmon. This habitat plays a vital role in the annual migration of over 600,000 coho in Oregon alone.  Coho salmon adults migrate from the ocean into freshwater streams and rivers where they originated to spawn and then die. In this photo, a BLM fish biologist teaches middle school students about fish biology, water quality, macroinvertebrates and the importance of riparian areas. For more information about coho salmon check this out: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/fish/cohosalmon.htm

The King Range National Conservation Area in California is the longest roadless coastal area in the lower 48 states.