I recently attended the 2024 Plant Association Training in Arizona on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and on White Mountain Apache tribal land.
The class was incredibly informative, and I learned to identify a ton of plants! The basis of the training is to learn to identify plant associations or plant groupings on the landscape and to learn the implications of different treatments or prescriptions on the vegetation present in each association. The course was geared to silviculturists and other land managers that frequently write these prescriptions, but I found it very fun and helpful, nonetheless. My group at the regional office deals with the datasets and spatial data that comes from all the prescriptions being implemented on the ground in our region, so getting a behind the scenes look at why prescriptions are written and implemented as well as what the effects of these treatments can look like was very beneficial. My co-worker Tricia went with me to the class since we are both new and are doing very similar work at the RO. It was nice to meet new people in the class but to also have someone there that I was quite familiar with. Instead of staying in a hotel I camped out near the class meeting locations which was a really great experience. It was wonderful to be able to go to sleep and wake up in the forest while I was out in Arizona. The weather was perfect for camping and it was much cooler than Albuquerque temperatures. I had a great time overall and I saw some pretty neat wildlife (elk, deer, chipmunks, and two bears!).