Hi all! My name is Leander Swan, I am a rising senior majoring in Sociology – Environmental Studies. This summer, as I did last summer, I am interning with the Blue Mountain Land Trust (BMLT) as a conservation stewardship intern. The land trust presides over an area the size of West Virginia from eastern Washington to eastern Oregon in collaboration with landowners and conservation partners to protect natural scenic values, historical farmland, upland wildlife habitat, fish habitat, and more.
Beyond unique access to beautiful spaces, a favorite aspect of my position as a conservation steward is speaking with BMLT’s partners made-up of a diverse base of landowners coming from all walks of life—whether they post Biden or Trump signs, were previously working as a Fed in DFWL, or even live as a rancher.
When I am out in the field monitoring on easements, I will try to meet with landowners to see how management of the easement has gone for them over the last year. This can manifest via comments which at times range from the landowner wishing to change a land use—all the way to concerns of trespassing hunters, expanding invasive species, flooding, and wildfires. However, I often also hear positive news from landowners—such as interest or progress on forming partnerships with ecosystem restoration organizations—or even that the landowner hopes to purchase additional property and form an easement with the land trust to protect even more vital riparian areas along a key creek’s headwaters. My work also consists of identifying invasives and taking photos of the conservation values and drawn building areas at consistent locations and directional degrees across the easement, so that later, I can go back and create reports for BMLT’s conservation team to analyze trends when comparing photos from previous years. Between writing reports, I organize BMLT’s various databases and geographic information systems to facilitate better depiction of easement maps and stewardship plans, which in turn, can foster more in-depth analysis of conservation assets as well as determine resource allocation.
Beyond physical land conservation, however, I have been pleased to witness the BMLT strive to continue to host communal environmental education events for children and adults alike despite the onslaught of smoky wildfire seasons and the closing of national forests. In tandem with my environmental justice courses at Whitman, I have also recognized the land trusts steps toward combing strength with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in an effort to conserve, restore access to ancestral lands, and make space for traditional land management practices.
What has also made this internship become more than just work, however, is the stewardship experience. Upon revisiting the Brewer Farm Wetland easement, I was reminded of the stewardship feeling and experience of last summer. As I peered through the waving air from the baking asphalt of a nearby road, the conservation easement appeared as a tiny green oasis perched among sloping golden hills. As I gradually waded through the encircling wheat fields, the chattering slowly increased. I suddenly came across 40 to 60 red-winged blackbirds, ducks, and elk—all of which thrashing through the tall wet grasses, and again, all quite invisible and inaudible from the 55-mph road I had started at just a couple hundred feet away. Once there, engulfed by sudden sounds and humidity, I felt a world away from the encompassing agricultural fields I knew as Walla Walla.
Upon reflection, it has been a real treat–as a busy college student—but also in general, to have the opportunity to gain experience as a conservation steward monitoring easements like Brewer Wetland. Brewer Wetland is one of only a few wetlands in the Walla Walla valley that are ideally free and protected from hunting, heavy industry, and other forms of disruptive pollution. Also given my own personal achievements and experiences as well as taking part in broader conservation and communal gains, I look forward to continuing my work with the BMLT. I genuinely feel that my office work and annual visits combined through engagement with landowners and conservation partners contributes to the bettering of our community’s conservation and is evident in Brewer Wetland.
Experiences like Leander’s are made possible by the Whitman Internship Grant, which provides funding for students to participate in unpaid internships at nonprofit, some for-profit, and government organizations. We are happy to be sharing blog posts from students who were supported by either a summer, fall, spring, or year-long grants at organizations, businesses, and research labs all around the world. To learn how you could secure a Whitman Internship Grant or host a Whitman intern at your organization, contact us at ccec_info@whitman.edu.