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)
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:
…with Naturalist, Author, Educator, Photographer David Lukas
To learn more about David’s work, check him out at www.lukasguides.com and www.methownaturenotes.com
UPDATE! As of Tuesday, May 16, the CCC dinner has been cancelled. We are sorry for any inconvenience but we hope, if you are looking for a tasty meal, you can find dinner at one of our local restaurants.
Dr John Marzluff, professor at the University of Washington’s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, shares a captivating review of the life history, the anatomy, the culture of corvids, including hilarious and surprising stories of the many ways that these ubiquitous birds both influence and are influenced by people. After listening, we think you might look at your local crows, ravens, magpies and jays with new eyes, and you might even change the way you behave around them! This episode is slightly modified from the original presentation, which took place through OHA’s Highland Wonders Speaker Series in 2016. To learn more about Dr John Marzluff, his work and his research about corvids and other wildlife, visit:
You can find Dr Marzluff’s books, including Gifts of the Crow: how perception, emotion, and thought allow smart birds to behave like humans (2013) on Amazon.com
To learn more about and support Okanogan Highlands Alliance, visit: okanoganhighlands.org
This fast-paced, information-packed, part-spoken musical tour of Washington’s diverse wildlife will inspire awe and excitement (and leave you tappin’ your toes) about the natural history of all of Washington, with special attention to the Okanogan Highlands. Ken Bevis works for the Washington Department of Natural Resources, helping landowners to manage their private forests for habitat and wildlife.
This podcast was originally presented in 2014 at the Community Cultural Center of Tonasket.
Kicking off the 3rd season of the Highland Wonders Podcast we are joined by Dr. Karl Lillquist, geography professor from Central Washington University. This summer (June, 2022) Karl led a group of geology enthusiasts on an ice age tour, visiting locations throughout the highlands, from road cuts where deep lake sediments are visible, to eskers and kames, which were formed by stagnant ice, to glacier-carved bedrock hills near Havillah. This podcast hits the highlights, but we expect that after listening you will be excited to learn more, and you are in luck! Dr Lillquist wrote a detailed field guide, complete with a map of our tour locations – if you are in the area, you can take yourself on a tour!
Join OHA and David Lukas on Friday, November 11th for a fascinating evening, taking a deep dive into the form and function of our feathered friends. The presentation will be in person, and also available virtually. A light dinner, benefitting the CCC, starts at 5:30. The presentation starts at 6:30! See the poster for more details or contact jen@okanoganhighlands.org if you have questions. Hope to see you next week!
On a beautiful Sunday in June, 2022, Dr Karl Lillquist led an enthusiastic group on a tour of the Okanogan Highlands, observing and discussing evidence of ice sheets and glaciers that are visible on our landscape today. From glacial sediments, to sinuous eskers, to unexpectedly flat areas where ancient glacial lakes and river deltas once covered the land, Dr Lillquist explained how scientists puzzle out the processes that contribute to the geology and geography of a place. As if leading a field trip isn’t enough, Dr Lillquist developed the attached field guide, which is available for all to enjoy!
Amelia Marchand, of the L.I.G.H.T. Foundation, joins OHA to share her experiences and perspectives on traditional knowledge, or teachings, and the role of ecological knowledge within the bigger framework of cultural understanding that has been amassed over a millenia by indigenous peoples. She shares stories of her life and the inspiration that has driven her and her husband, Joaquin, to create the L.I.G.H.T Foundation, whose mission is to cultivate, enrich and perpetuate native plants and the cultural traditions of Pacific Northwest tribes.
To learn more and donate to the L.I.G.H.T. Foundation, visit the website at: thepnwlf.org
Guidelines for Considering Traditional Knowledges in Climate Change Initiatives: a practical guide to developing collaborations that honor traditional knowledge and minimize risks to indigenous peoples who might be sharing traditional knowledge. Intended audience: agencies, researchers, tribes and traditional knowledge holders (and valuable information for everyone).
Citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers: How to cite oral traditions and ways of knowing in a way that honors and recognizes information shared by indigenous knowledge keepers on a level with written sources.
Find the full theme song, Blessed Unrest, by Tyler Graves on Spotify, Apple Music, or your favorite music platform.
For more information about Okanogan Highlands Alliance, or to become a member or volunteer, visit: okanoganhighlands.org or email us at info@okanoganhighlands.org
Season 2 of the Highland Wonders Podcast is supported by Humanities Washington and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Anna, Nature Detective and Her Beaver Friends, illustration by Diana Weddle
This special episode features many voices! The Tonasket Elementary School 5th Grade teamed up with OHA and Sarah Koenigsberg, who is an award-winning film-maker, educator, and, most importantly, beaver believer, to answer students’ questions about beavers and how they protect water quality, water quantity and healthy wetlands throughout the West. Before you listen, here is a story from Anna, Nature Detective!
Season 2 of the Highland Wonders Podcast is supported by Humanities Washington and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Anna, Nature Detective
Season 2, Episode 5: Beaver Believers, The Next Generation
Anna is a daring and precocious nature detective. She loves to sing and dance, and make up songs and dances about the things that she observes. Anna LOVES animals (especially the fuzzy ones), and she is the kid who can catch the cat that no one else can. When Anna explores she likes to look at things close up, touch them, peer at them through her Nature Detective hand lens. Sometimes, things that can’t run away suit Anna’s detective style best, but fortunately Anna is also very careful not to hurt anything, and to keep her distance when she comes across wildlife.
One spring day, Anna wakes up singing, “I like oceans and rivers, I like oceans and rivers, and everything that is wet. Even though, I been trying to go, on a mountain road, I can’t stand it. You’re. So. Cute.” Her dad laughs, “What are you singing about, Anna?” Anna looks at her dad sideways, and says “Beavers, dad! Of course.” It is very obvious to Anna. What else could she possibly be singing about?
Her dad nods his head seriously, remembering the beaver lodge they had seen last summer in the Okanogan Highlands. It’s a beautiful day, the sun is warm, the snow is nearly melted, so they decide to go pay the beavers a visit. Up they go, following that long mountain road to their favorite lake, where they set up a picnic, test the still- frigid water, and watch the birds busily flitting from tree to tree, some building nests. At the end of the day, as the light begins to fade, Anna and her family peer through their binoculars toward the rounded mass of tree branches along the distant side of the lake, and suddenly they see it! A little head, swiftly moving through the water toward the lodge!
Anna’s questions begin.
“Where is that beaver coming from?”
“Was that beaver swimming underwater?”
“Can beavers breathe under water?”
“How many beavers live in that beaver house?”
“How big are beaver babies?”
“What do beavers eat?”
“Are beavers nice?”
“Can I see a beaver close up?”
“How do beavers survive in the winter?”
“How do beavers build those dams?”
The questions go on and on, literally without stopping, for minutes. This beaver has sparked our Nature Detective’s curiosity! Luckily, she is not alone. Recently, the Tonasket Elementary School 5th Grade teamed up with Sarah Koenigsberg, beaver believer, educator and storyteller extraordinaire, to answer many of these same questions!
Join Sarah and the next generation of beaver believers to learn all about beavers, their important role in our highlands ecosystems, and more by listening to the most recent episode of Okanogan Highlands Alliance’s Highland Wonders Podcast. You can find additional episodes and more nature detective stories at okanoganhighlands.org/education/highland-wonders/ or on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts.
