It takes a full day of driving from western Oregon to reach the closest populations of Mulford’s milkvetch (Astragalus mulfordiae) in the Owyhee Uplands of Malheur County. This rare species occurs in scattered populations in rangelands of Oregon and southwestern Idaho, mostly on sandy soils on rolling hills, flats and near the Owyhee and Snake […]
National Native Seed Conference 2017
Native plants drive habitat restoration and seed industries nationally and globally. Designed to bring together restoration practitioners, seed producers, academics, and agencies, the National Native Seed conference is a bi-annual chance to network across disciplines and areas of interest. The 2017 National Native Seed Conference was the largest and most successful yet. Over 330 people […]
Living the Dream: Collecting Seed at Crater Lake
In 2016, IAE was thrilled to begin working on a new seed collection project at one of the most beautiful places in the Pacific Northwest: Crater Lake National Park in southeasternOregon. Established in 1902 by President Theodore Roosevelt, it is the fifth oldest National Park in the U.S. Preservation is a top priority here, and […]
IAE Volunteer Expedition to Oregon’s Illinois Valley
Join us for a multi-day service and learning trip to southern Oregon’s serpentine country to monitor populations of the endangered Cook‘s desert-parsley Location: Southern Oregon’s Illinois Valley, Oregon Date: May 1st-May 5th, 2017 (1-Week) Cost: $150 to cover the costs of lodging and meals Dates: 5/1-5/5/17 (Register by 4/3/17) Departure: from Corvallis 8:30 am on 5/1, return by 7:00 pm on 5/5 […]
Tree planting at Herbert Farm
On February 1st 2017 a crew from R. Franco Restoration planted 7,500 trees and shrubs at Herbert Farm and Natural Area, a City of Corvallis property in Benton County, Oregon. IAE is helping Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, who hold a conservation easement on the property through the Willamette Wildlife Mitigation Program, to restore […]
Islands of Prosperity
Recently IAE hosted the Gold 5 AmeriCorps team, a group of young volunteers who devote 9 months to community service. Among other projects they spent two days planting native species to enrich the plant community and enhance habitat for Fender’s blue butterfly at Fir Butte, a Bureau of Land Management site just west of Eugene. […]
Inmates honored for conservation actions
Inmates who dedicated over 100 hours managing a nursery that produces plants for habitat conservation in Oregon, such as early blue violet plants for feeding and restoring habitat for the Oregon silverspot butterfly, received Certificates of Achievement on March 18th, 2016. IAE’s Executive Director, Tom Kaye, spent the morning honoring a select group of women inmates […]
Al Kitzman receives 2016 Ecological Conservation Award
The 2016 Ecological Conservation Award was presented to Al Kitzman for his long-term contributions to habitat restoration in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Al retired in 2014 from the Benton County Natural Areas and Parks Department after 34 years of service. He managed several natural areas and parks for their habitat and recreational values, including […]
Silver Falls Day Hike with Oregon Youth Authority
What better way to spend a sunny day than to explore one of Oregon’s magnificent natural treasures! IAE’s education team spent the day at Silver Falls State Park with Cascadia Expeditions (CE) and a group of high school age ladies from Oregon Youth Authority’s (OYA) Young Women’s Transition Program. IAE’s Stacy Moore and Jessie Brothers partnered with Cascadia Expeditions’ Brett Gallagher on […]
Kincaid's Lupine and monitoring in Oak Basin
We are happy to welcome Nicholas Murray to the Conservation Research team. Nick joins us from Camas, Washington, where he will be going into his senior year of high school. This is the seventh year that IAE has sponsored a high school intern through the Apprenticeship in Science and Engineering Program (ASE). The ASE program […]
Lupine in the high desert
A couple of weeks ago the Conservation Research field crew traveled out to Unity, Oregon, to monitor Lupinus lepidus var. cusickii. Also known as Cusick’s lupine, this small, perennial plant is listed as endangered by the Oregon Department of Agriculture, “special status” by the Bureau of Land Management, and a Species of Concern by […]
Seed Collection in Oregon’s Remaining Coastal Prairies
Starting in 2015, IAE was awarded an opportunity to engage in collecting seed of a diversity of plant species from remnant prairies on the Central Oregon Coast. The project will support ongoing restoration efforts for the Oregon silverspot butterfly (OSB) at Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge near Pacific City, and will benefit other restoration sites […]
It’s wake-up time for Taylor's checkerspot caterpillars!
Taylor’s checkerspot caterpillars took a break in summer and fall but they are now active and feeding in winter. In Oregon, they are feeding mostly on English plantain. At this time of year they are small creatures about ½-inch long with dark hairs and red spots. The species was recently listed by the US Fish […]
Getting Things Done
The final sentence of the AmeriCorps pledge is, “I am an AmeriCorps member, and I will get things done.” That is exactly what the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps Gold 5 team has been doing at IAE for the past six weeks, November 7-December 20, 2016. The 12-member team has made incredible contributions to 15 […]
Bartonberry outplanting in Hells Canyon
Over the last two years, the Institute for Applied Ecology (IAE) has been developing propagation protocols to grow Bartonberry (Rubus bartonianus) from seed and cuttings, so that it may be reintroduced to the historic range, to maintain its historic global distribution. In addition to IAE staff, Matt Bahm, Erin Gray, Denise Giles-Johnson, and Meaghan Petix, […]