As I come to my final weeks as a Directorate Fellows Program intern at Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, I find myself reflecting on the many dichotomies of this place and my last 11 weeks here.

The summer rains have come in force this year, and with them have Arizona poppy, pigweed, and calliandra. The hills are deep green now, “like Vermont,” my coworker said today. A far cry from the rust brown they were when I arrived. The refuge is far busier now as well, as we gear up for more releases of our captive bred endangered Masked Bobwhite Quail, and welcome new volunteers and technicians to our campgrounds and bunkhouses. Birdwatchers have made fast to the visitor center to catch glimpses of indigo bunting and hooded orioles. Vastly different, again, from the solitude that defined the refuge when I arrived.

It has been a summer of hard, but gratifying work. Long hot days and many office hours. But I have learned much about myself, about this once foreign landscape only hours from my home, and about the service that is working hard to keep it, and its vast biological diversity, here for our community.

It is an exciting time on refuge as our captive chicks come from the breeding center, restoration crews work long hours to produce new habitat, and new faces join from abroad. It feels fitting that I should wrap up my summer here now, as both the refuge and I move onto our next stage. I look with optimism to the future for us both, and I am grateful to the refuge for the hospitality it has showed me.

Agency: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Program: US Fish & Wildlife Service - DFP

Location: Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge