By Nadav Mouallem, Crew Leader December 2020 It was eight o’clock in the morning in early April, 2017, and Boris, our affectionately-named blue Subaru Outback, was packed to the brim: tapes, plot frames, pin flags, groceries, camping gear, and personal luggage. We were heading south to Roseburg, Oregon, to outplant Kincaid’s lupine (Lupinus oreganus). After […]
Estuary Technical Group reports on tidal wetland restoration in Tillamook
By Laura Brophy December 2020 The Southern Flow Corridor project in Tillamook County is one of Oregon’s largest tidal wetland restoration projects, with 443 acres of tidal marsh and swamp restored in 2016. Since 2013, the Estuary Technical Group has teamed with Oregon State University, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, the University of Oregon, […]
Changing the fabric of our landscape – from behind bars
By Stacy Moore December 2020 “There was a time most people would associate ‘2020’ with having perfect vision. But lately it just symbolizes a trying year. It is difficult to find much hope at times like these. Now more than ever, people everywhere need a temporary escape – to have a few un-chaotic moments to […]
What’s leaf got to do with it? Leaf tissue sampling for restoration genetic research
By Ashlee Wolf October 2020 New Mexico is home to a wide diversity of landscapes—from creosote and cactus flats of the Chihuahuan Desert to rolling hills and incised arroyos of pinyon-juniper forests to alpine peaks of the southern Rocky Mountains. The variety of climates and topography found across the state supports a parallel diversity in […]
Restoration to the rescue: Providing plants for an iconic butterfly at Oregon’s Henry Hagg Lake
From Fender’s Blue Butterfly Habitat Restoration at Henry Hagg Lake Annual Report, January 2020 by Andy Neill and Andrew Esterson, blog by Michel Wiman Nestled in the hills near the city of Forest Grove, Oregon’s Henry Hagg Lake is a reservoir prized for summer swimming, fishing, recreating and boating pursuits. The reservoir was completed in […]
Protecting Prairie Pollinators: Study recommends insect conservation in the Great Plains
By Michel Wiman Photos by Phillip Hanberry October 2020 A team seeks to shed light on Great Plains pollinator declines in a new review article published in the journal Rangeland Ecology & Management, providing land managers and conservationists with practical recommendations to benefit pollinators. Insect and other animal pollination is required for 85% of flowering […]
Osmia Out of Nowhere, and Other Pollinator Tales
By David Cappaert, IAE Pollinator Crew September 2020 We often think of pollination as a discrete event, e.g., the interaction between a sunflower and a bumblebee. But the bee might visit a dozen other pollen sources, and the sunflower might benefit from dozens of pollinator species. If you look at this broader picture, for all […]
A Student’s Summer of Conservation in the Southwest
By Jessica Zhong October 2020 As August drew to a close, so did one of the most memorable endeavors I have undertaken in my life. I recently spent ten weeks in Santa Fe, New Mexico with the Institute for Applied Ecology’s Southwest Office, with the goals of assisting with plant conservation efforts. Personally, I hoped […]
Black Futures Farm: Growing Food Sovereignty & Community
By Stacy Moore September 2020 On a hot mid-August day, the Ecological Education team and Tom Kaye traveled north to Black Futures Farm located at the Learning Gardens Lab in southeast Portland, Oregon. Our aim was to lend a hand to Black Futures Farm, which grows food, builds local stewardship, and promotes Black food sovereignty. […]
Beyond The Vale: The Ongoing Chronicles of Mulford’s Milkvetch
By IAE Conservation Research seasonal intern Justin Ford and Intern Crew Lead Nadav Mouallem August 2020 With all three of us in separate trucks because of COVID-19 protocols, we packed and left Corvallis at 7 am for four nights of camping with stars in our eyes. The stay-at-home order for the state had started to roll […]
Collaboration and Creativity During COVID-19 Leads to Novel Programming and Meaningful Outcomes for Forest Bound in 2020
by Lia Griesser and Melanie Gisler Despite the pandemic, our Southwest office in Santa Fe, New Mexico, was fortunate to offer two sessions of our outdoor ecological education program ‘Forest Bound.’ Forest Bound is a free week-long course with lessons geared toward addressing plant blindness, and awareness of career options in conservation and ecological restoration. […]
Hope for oak and prairie, just out of sight – but within reach
By Anna Freitas, Kait Wright, and Zade Clark-Henry August 2020 It was our first day in the field as members of Institute for Applied Ecology’s Prairie and Oak Inventory crew, and we were admittedly disappointed not to see either of our namesakes. After several hours of walking in the rain through Douglas-fir forest and dripping […]
Bring them to the table: What you can do to fight non-native plant invasions
By Michel Wiman July 2020 It’s late summer and I’m clearing an infestation of Himalayan blackberry (Rubus armeniacus) that reaches over my five-and-a-half-foot frame, with its thorny spikes easily piercing through my double-layer pants. As my hands get scratched through my gloves, all I can think is that no animal would want to be anywhere […]
The Estuary Technical Group’s mapping methods go national
By Laura Brophy August 2020 Estuaries provide rich sustenance for salmon, other fish and wildlife — and for people. Over the past 6 years, Estuary Technical Group (ETG) Director Laura Brophy, pictured above, has led the development of innovative, accurate methods for mapping these vital estuary habitats in Oregon and across the U.S. West Coast. […]
Black Lives Matter: Institute for Applied Ecology Stands Against Racism
June 2020 The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, and the ongoing violence and oppression endured by communities of color have caused terrible hurt and triggered ever louder, rightful demands for change. Racism, prejudice, and mistreatment of people of color have no place in a peaceful society and yet are still woven […]