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Podcast! Grasslands of the Okanogan S4:E1

…with Don Gayton, ecologist and writer

Welcome to Highland Wonders Podcast Season 4!!! We are excited to be back and kicking off the new season with Don Gayton: ecologist, writer, and native grass enthusiast. This episode is sure to push you into the next level of your natural history learning, and to inspire new questions about our native species and ecosystems. At the end, if you are thirsty for more to explore, here are some additional resources to tide you over until you can get back out into the shrub steppe or a highland meadow and see for yourself!

For more about Don Gayton, including his publications and blog, check out his website.

Zoom in and learn more about our native grasses and their distinctive plant parts in Don Gayton’s Grass Identification Primer.

Zoom out with information from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Shrub Steppe page, where you can find an overview, a virtual tour and a short film (by Conservation Northwest and WDFW) about Washington’s Shrub Steppe Habitat. 

Join a citizen science opportunity! Help to catalog the biodiversity of the Okanogan Highlands through iNaturalist, a great (and free) platform for learning that allows you to submit your photos or audio observations for identification and learning. It’s a really fun way to connect with a community of nature observers and learners of all levels, and has real value in building our understanding of the biodiversity of our area so that we can better steward our place. Once you have a username, please join our local projects to help build a repository of knowledge about the species that inhabit this special place. Here are a couple of projects that we recommend:

 Okanogan Highlands Biodiversity Project: Chesaw and Surroundings

Okanogan Highlands Biodiversity Project: Mt Bonaparte and Surroundings

This podcast is produced by Okanogan Highlands Alliance. For more information or to support OHA, visit our website: okanoganhighlands.org

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Podcast Art by Martina Graves

Podcast! All About Bears S3:E5

…with Bill Gaines, wildlife biologist and Executive Director of the Washington Conservation Science Institute.

Dr. Bill Gaines has been studying wildlife, including (and especially) bears – both black bears and inland grizzly bears – since the late 1980’s and, wow, has he had some adventures! In this episode, Dr. Gaines shares the experiences and understandings that have come about through his research studies on the ecology, habitat, and population of bears in the North Cascades over the last three decades. 

This episode comes at an opportune time, as this summer (2023), the National Park Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to release a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) that includes a response to initial public comments and a range of options for how to proceed with an effort to restore a grizzly bear population to the North Cascades Ecosystem. This DEIS comes with an opportunity for the public to provide input. As always, OHA encourages the public to build their own understanding, and to participate in the public process by providing input to the decision makers when the opportunity arises. Here are some sources to find more information about the process and timeline of the grizzly bear restoration proposal in the North Cascades.

Friends of the North Cascades Grizzly Bear: https://www.northcascadesgrizzly.org/

National Park Service: 2022 North Cascades Ecosystem Grizzly Bear Restoration Plan/Environmental Impact Statement: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=112008

US Fish & Wildlife Service: North Cascades Grizzly Bear Restoration EIS: https://www.fws.gov/project/north-cascades-grizzly-bear-restoration-eis

Dr. Bill Gaines is the Executive Director of Washington Conservation Science Institute. Learn more about him and his organization at: https://waconservationscience.com/

This podcast is produced by Okanogan Highlands Alliance. For more information or to support OHA, visit our website: okanoganhighlands.org

Find the Highland Wonders Podcast:

Podcast Art by Martina Graves

Lost Lake Moss Walk with Erica Heinlen

What a treat this field trip was! The Lost Lake Wetland and Wildlife Preserve has habitats that support great moss diversity. A full complement of moss enthusiasts joined OHA and Erica Heinlen, M.S., Zone Botanist for the Tonasket Ranger District, Colville National Forest, as we walked, talked, and learned together about moss structures and identifying features, ecological adaptations and functions. Erica manages the sensitive botanical species and native plant programs for the Tonasket and Republic Ranger Districts of the Colville National Forest. She is excited to share her love for plants and bryophytes with others. It was truly a fun day exploring these small jewels in the forest!

Where and When:

10 am: Moss Walk Begins from the Lost Lake Wetland and Wildlife Preserve Kiosk on the south end of Lost Lake. Find driving directions here.

What To Bring:

Sturdy walking shoes, clothing layers, water, lunch, hand lens (we will also have these available to borrow if needed)

2023-9 HW Field Trip Moss with Erica Heinlen

 

Get Lost Trail Race 2023

OHA’s 5th Annual Get Lost Trail Race took place on July 9, 2023. A record number of participants, their trusty supporters, a slate of business sponsors, and a whole cohort of enthusiastic volunteers kept the event running smoothly and safely!

The Get Lost Race represents an opportunity for our community to gather in the beautiful Okanogan Highlands, exercise, recreate and meet up with new and old friends and every year gets better and better! Camping at the Group Camp of the USFS Lost Lake Campground allows us to make a whole weekend out of it! We have such fun, and can’t wait for next year!

You can find race results here: https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=101525

 

OHA on the Radio!

In April, 2023, Sarah was interviewed for an episode of Attention Please! a radio program out of KPTZ Port Townsend. This 28 minute interview provides interesting insights to the 30 year history of OHA and the hows and whys of the work that we do in our community and beyond. Please listen, enjoy, and share!

https://kptz.org/2023/04/17/okanogon-highlands-alliance/

Podcast! Canada Lynx and Home Range Wildlife Research S3:E4

…with Anna Machowicz, Education Director

Join us for a refreshingly fun episode, full of natural history, scientific research, and the developing story of Home Range Wildlife Research, whose mission is “to advance wildlife conservation by conducting high-quality research, educating aspiring biologists, and engaging local communities.” Anna Machowicz, Home Range Education Director, shares exciting news about field training and volunteer opportunities, and explains how Home Range has begun implementation of a long-term study of Canada Lynx populations in the mountains between the Methow and Okanogan – an area that has been significantly altered by two decades of megafires. In all that they do, Home Range invites community volunteers, students, and academics to participate, leading collaborative investigations of wildlife and working to understand how communities and land managers can support wildlife populations and healthy ecosystems into the future. Check out their website: https://www.homerange.org/home for more information, and to sign up for training and volunteer opportunities! 

For additional information, check out this recent article about Home Range in the Seattle Times:

https://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/could-prescribed-fires-offer-the-best-protection-for-washingtons-lynx/

This podcast is produced by Okanogan Highlands Alliance. For more information or to support OHA, visit our website: okanoganhighlands.org

Find the Highland Wonders Podcast:

Podcast Art by Martina Graves
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