Field Program

This week, Montana really let us feel the change in season through a bone-chilling mixture of rain, sleet, hail, snow, and wind, with unpredictable and fleeting splashes of sun every few days. Feeling like our work was undervalued and unappreciated, our morale and energy levels rapidly tanked alongside the dropping temperatures. A mid-week mental and physical health day became absolutely necessary to allow the hitch to continue. Our self care coupled with the support of the office gave us a second wind to get through the remainder of the hitch in Libby. We pivoted from netting white pines and doing reforestation surveys to embarking on a series of PCT surveys throughout the gentle slopes of the Cabinets' lower ranges. A diversity of fungi, bald eagles, and many understory plants helped create some sort of break to the monotony of the work. We were able to finish the week on a high note with lots of praise and gratitude for our ability to persevere despite the mountains (pun intended) of adversity that stood in our path. Cheers to a better hitch next spin around the block.