Seed Collection Stories 2023:

BLM Carlsbad Field Office Seed Crew 

by Tino Mendietta

The 2023 Seeds of Success (SOS) crew stationed at the Bureau of Land Management’s Carlsbad Field Office (CFO) consisted of four members: Tino Mendietta (Crew Lead), Bronwyn Taylor (FWS Lead), Steven Lester (Technician), and Charlene Trippeda (Technician). We worked in partnership with the regional Southwest Seed Partnership (SWSP), River for Monarchs (R4M), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Special Project (USFWSP) from May 28th to December 15th. During our season we created 93 scouting points and made 83 collections. These collections included 31 different species and 24 different genera.

The area we worked in, Carlsbad, is home to a high concentration of oil and gas activity. Large sections of land are routinely cleared and graded for oil extraction, making seeds collected from vulnerable  populations that much more valuable. Our crew covered 19,000 square miles of public land in the southern New Mexico region. A majority of our time was spent in the High Plains ecoregion north-east of Carlsbad. Due to lack of monsoon rains in July and the beginning of August, collections outside of the High Plains, in the Chihuahuan Deserts, were almost exclusive to dry ponds and river banks until the September rains started a late bloom around late October.

Our first few collections were made during one the hottest summers on record. Our first collection, Thymophylla pentachaeta, took place over 3 days where the highs were around 102-105 degrees fahrenheit. These temperatures called for multiple breaks throughout the day just to sit in the truck with some air conditioner to cool off. We created our own lemonade concoctions for electrolytes to get us through most of the summer,  but we didn’t see any real relief from the heat until around mid October. 

Around mid-August we started to see the first few rain storms in our region. Just as promised they were quick to build and unpredictable, causing flash flooding throughout the area.  The biggest storm of the season built up and poured rain in less than an hour. Over the following few days we found ourselves unable to reach certain populations due to flooded dirt roads. When the roads finally cleared up we tried to return for collecting but found our populations were either underwater or had already dispersed. 

Overgrazing and trampling seemed to be a recurring issue with many of the plots we visited.  On multiple occasions we came across populations that would have been large collections had the cattle not helped themselves to it. Ratibida tagetes, Baileya multiradiata, and Sporobolus flexuosus must have been especially tasty forage. Large appetite aside, the constant trampling from sizable herds in confined pastures gave little room for young forbs and grasses to grow into collectable populations. 

Learning to work alongside the snakes and admire them from a distance was an occasional treat throughout the season. While they could very well be a threat if they wanted, they often chose to curl up or slither into the nearest hole in the ground. Only once did a crew member find themselves in the midst of a rattlesnake den, however calmly backing out of the area made both parties feel better.

The biggest obstacle throughout the season was created by the smallest culprit. Ergot (Claviceps purpurea) had a hold on every grass population we tried to collect from. This fungus can be a huge problem for grow out operations if any infected seed gets planted. We encountered it in various stages from every population as far south as the Texas border to northern Roswell and even the western edge of Las Cruces. 

Overall, the challenges and adversity we faced as a crew were nothing compared to the amazing time we had here in Carlsbad. The scenery, wildlife, and ecological diversity in southern New Mexico never ceased to impress us. As a crew lead I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to explore this region with and I’m incredibly proud of how this season turned out.