If you rode your horse or walked through western Oregon grasslands on a late May day 200 years ago, chances are you would have seen checker-mallows aplenty among the many wildflowers. Today these grasslands are few and far between, but in some habitat remnants checker-mallows still make a showy spring bloom. There are over 20 […]
High School leads recovery of Rare Plant Species
May 25, 2017 Twenty-eight juniors and seniors from College Hill High School conducted ecological surveys at Bald Hill Farm. Students assessed the health of a restoration site where they will plant the rare thin-leaved peavine (Lathyrus holochlorus) in 2018. During today’s field trip, students learned and applied plant conservation and land stewardship principles while working to prevent […]
Earth Day 2017 Accomplishments: OSU Volunteers vs. Scotch Broom
It can be difficult to wake up early on a Saturday morning, especially if it is cool and rainy, but on Earth Day, April 22nd, thirty-five volunteers from Oregon State University got up bright and early to pull Scotch broom at Beazell Memorial Forest. The volunteer event was coordinated with the help of the Diverse […]
Welcome 2017 Conservation Research Interns!
On April 9, Conservation Research welcomed our new crew of interns: Lucy Keehn, Abbie Harold, and Nadav Mouallem! We have already put them to work, and they have gained valuable experience planting Kincaid’s lupine in Douglas county and monitoring Bradshaw’s lomatium in the West Eugene Wetlands. Lucy graduated from Oberlin College with a B.A. in […]
Wolf Reintroduction Opposed By Pigs, Hoods
AVALON, CA. April 1, 2017. Bringing back predators can revive age old conflicts. Efforts to reintroduce wolves in Oregon, California, and Idaho have resulted in an injunction filed in federal court in Avalon, CA. Three porcine plaintiffs have brought suit against the US Fish and Wildlife Service to halt all reintroduction efforts. “This ‘huff, puff and […]
Mulford’s milkvetch research update
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 […]