I can’t believe it’s 2024 already. 2023 flew by, but at the same time felt like forever. It was the hottest year on record and going into this year, I try to be a bit hopeful that something will change, and we will learn the world’s past mistakes and implement more sustainable practices in our cultures and governments. So, I’m proud to be part of a project as Civilian Climate Corps Fellow working to enact small, but meaningful progress in reducing greenhouse gases on federal lands.

Now in terms of my project, I am working on an ArcGIS StoryMap to illustrate our project development and methods for a wider general audience. ArcGIS StoryMaps is a presentation format like PowerPoint but with more chances for photo, video, and map integration. It has been interesting, but a bit difficult to try to explain our very technical processes to a wider audience. I didn’t even understand many of the concepts that we use regularly now at the beginning of my fellowship. If you asked me how to validate a model or train a neural network, I couldn’t have told you to save my life! There has been a bit of trial and error, and it is still in progress, but I hope that the final product will educate people on the problem of orphan gas and oil wells on our national wildlife refuges and beyond. It is a shame that the lands that were created to be solely for the conservation of natural resources are ridden with unknown, potential sources of pollution. We are almost ready to move on to other states outside the Southwest Region and analyze refuges for potential orphan oil and gas wells. I am excited to expand my coding and geospatial analysis skills and have more opportunities for collaboration with different professionals in the Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies.

Winter in Albuquerque has been pretty mild, all things considered. We missed the super freeze that hit the Midwest and have only had a few instances of snowy rain, at least in downtown ABQ. Up on the Sandias, there has been more snow, and the white-capped peaks are breathtaking and gorgeous to gaze up at. This year, I am looking forward to exploring more of New Mexico and visiting more historical and natural sites.