Get Lost in the beautiful Okanogan Highlands! On Sunday, July 10, 2022, runners and walkers will take to the trails around Lost Lake in the Okanogan Highlands. Four courses are available: 14 mile, 7 mile, 3 mile, plus a 1k kids run ensures there is something for everyone! OHA has reserved the USFS Lost Lake Group Camp on Saturday night, so camping is available before the race.
Sign up at ultrasignup.com
Hope to see you there!
with Lynda Mapes of The Seattle Times
In this interview-style episode, Lynda Mapes of The Seattle Times joins OHA in discussing her newest book, Orcas: Shared Waters, Shared Home. From Tonasket to the Salish Sea, our ecosystems are connected by the water and the wildlife that travels through our region. Learn about salmon, orcas, and the people whose lives revolve around the aquatic habitats of Washington on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or wherever you normally listen!
Anna, Nature Detective, dreaming of the rivers that connect with the sea. Illustration by Diana Weddle
Anna surfaces briefly, then glides back underwater, swimming against the current. It is a fast current, and the cold, clear water feels just right against her red sides, her glinting scales. She is headed upstream, back to the place she was born.
As she makes her way upstream, away from the ocean, she is thinks back to the last time she was in fresh water. Anna barely remembers that trip downstream four years ago, she was so small! As she swam from the river to the sea, the waters gradually got saltier. She knew she had arrived in the sea because the water moved differently – in and out and in swirls, pushing every which-way. She had to get used to that salt, the currents, and the new animals and plants she swam past, and there was no time to dilly dally.
There was lots of food to eat in the sea, but there were also lots of creatures that wanted to eat Anna and her salmon friends! She found her way out to the deep water, where she could hide from the big barking sea lions and the huge bald eagles that pounced from above. Anna snacked on whatever came along – fish, water bugs, anything, really. Out in the deep water, Anna felt a little safer – she could swim fast and deep and she could swerve like a champ! Black and white orcas were everywhere. They were there in the deep water, they were there in the shallow water, they were close to land and out in the open sea. Always on the prowl, the orcas were fast and somehow knew right where the salmon were, even in the dark. As time passed, Anna got bigger and faster and smarter.
One day something told her it was time to head for home, back through the shallow sea to the river mouth, where that fresh water smelled so familiar…
Anna woke with a start. “Mom, I dreamed I was a fish! A salmon! And I was four years old, just like me, but I was really OLD. There were rivers in my dream, and the ocean, and other fish, and sea lions, and orcas! Can we go to the ocean?” Anna’s mom said, “wow, what an exciting dream! You know what we should do? We should go down to the river – I bet we can see salmon in the Okanogan River right now!” “Yeah, let’s do it!” Anna yells.
As Anna and her mom watched the big salmon holding their position in the river’s current, they thought about the lives of these big fish and the cycle of life for the salmon and all of the people and wildlife that depend on them, like the orcas in Anna’s dream. Soon, these surviving big fish would lay their eggs and then die, but even then they are a part of the system, their bodies nourishing the plants and animals that live in and around the rivers. How amazing is that? Anna announces, “I love salmon. I want to learn all about them and I want to be their friend.”
To learn more about salmon, orcas and the rivers that connect them, check out the new Highland Wonders Podcast episode: From the Okanogan to the Sea, featuring a discussion with Lynda Mapes about her new book, Orcas: Shared Waters, Shared Home, co-published with the Seattle Times.
Season 2 of the Highland Wonders Podcast is supported by Humanities Washington and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Additional Resources:
Learn More:
Read the Book! Orca: Shared Waters, Shared Home by Lynda Mapes
Find an Exhibit! Seattle Aquarium: seattleaquarium.org/exhibits/Orca-shared-waters-shared-home
Learn Even More:
Okanogan River Sockeye: https://animalbiotelemetry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40317-021-00262-y
Okanogan River Spring Chinook: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/endangered-species-conservation/upper-columbia-river-spring-run-chinook-salmon
Fish Water Management Tool: douglaspud.org/about-us/district-videos/
Colville Tribes: colvilletribes.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=ac4721130e424df786eb06dbbb4a5880
Take Action to Protect Land and Water:
Okanogan Highlands Alliance: okanoganhighlands.org
Okanogan Conservation District: okanogancd.org/
Note: There are many local organizations to help landowners protect and restore their land and water – Google Search is your friend!
Write to Your Senator:
Senator Patty Murray
154 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Senator Maria Cantwell
511 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Or find your senator’s contact information: https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm
with Helen Lau, botanist with the US Forest Service
Okanogan Highlands Alliance (OHA) is thrilled to announce the start of season 2 of the Highland Wonders Podcast: an opportunity to learn about the natural history of the Okanogan from the comfort of your home, car or skis! Over the course of this winter, monthly episodes will focus on the life that makes the Okanogan such a unique and beautiful place, starting with the Wild Mushrooms of the Okanogan! You can find episodes here, or wherever you normally get your podcasts.
Each episode will be accompanied by a nature detective story, where a younger audience can follow along as Anna, Nature Detective, uses her imagination and explores the podcast’s subject.
The stories and podcasts will be posted to the OHA website (okanoganhighlands.org) and on the following podcast apps: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Breaker, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts and RadioPublic. Please read, listen (rate the podcast on your favorite app) and enjoy!
Last year, Jack the Nature Detective took us along on his adventures in the Okanogan Highlands, as he explored with his family and learned all about local wildlife, from grouse to bats to owls to bighorn sheep to common loons. This year, Jack is off to kindergarten, and in a solemn ceremony that took place at the end of August, Jack presented his cousin, Anna, with her very own Nature Detective tools and an official badge. Let’s get to know Anna!
Anna is a different kind of Nature Detective than Jack. Where Jack is cautious and careful, Anna is daring and precocious, where Jack is quiet and observant, Anna spends half her time singing and the other half chatting. Where Jack is particular about calling things by their proper name, Anna makes up her own names for her discoveries. She LOVES animals, and she is the kid who can catch the cat that no one else can. She loves exploring things close up, touching them, peering at them through her Nature Detective hand lens. Sometimes, things that can’t run away suit Anna’s detective style best, and so, this month, Anna finds herself exploring the mushroom world!
“Hey mom, what are these slimy things?” Anna hollers from the back yard.
“Ohhhh noooo, not again!” her mom remembers back to the week before when Anna brought two heaping handfuls of deer droppings into the kitchen. She runs outside to find Anna poking at a perfect circle of mushrooms growing in the backyard. “Oh, how pretty!” Anna’s mom says “I think that’s called a fairy ring.”
Anna gasps, “a fairy ring? Made by fairies? Let’s check it out!” She pulls out her hand lens and looks at the top of one mushroom. It’s smooth, brown and slippery. She looks at the stem, tan and shaggy. Then she looks at the underside of the mushroom top. “Wow! What are those stripey things?” Anna and her mom look carefully at the mushroom, and then Anna draws what she sees in her notebook. Later on, they look in a book and find that the top of the mushroom is called the cap, the stem is called the stem, and the stripes underneath the cap are called gills.
“So… mushrooms have gills… like fish. And a cap, like an umbrella. And I don’t know why, but they grow in a circle like a fairy would make. I’ll call this a Fairy Gillyhat!” Anna says. Anna and her mom go and wash their hands, because, as their book told them, some mushrooms can be poisonous. From that day on, Anna finds mushrooms all over the place – growing on tree trunks, in the grass, on logs in the forest, everywhere! But why are they everywhere? And why are some poisonous, but some you can eat? What do mushrooms eat? Anna has lots of questions, and luckily for her, Helen Lau, of the US Forest Service has lots of answers in the latest episode of the Highland Wonders Podcast!
Learn all about Wild Mushrooms of the Okanogan (and catch any Season 1 episodes that you may have missed) at: okanoganhighlands.org/education/highland-wonders/ or on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts.
Season 2 of the Highland Wonders Podcast is supported by Humanities Washington and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
On Sunday, July 11th, 2021 fifty runners and walkers assembled at Lost Lake for the 3rd Get Lost! Trail Race, hosted by Okanogan Highlands Alliance (OHA). Supported by friends, family, and a host of volunteers stationed throughout the trails, participants navigated either a three-mile, a seven-mile, or a 14-mile race course, while the kids took on a fun run on OHA’s Lost Lake Preserve. There was something for everyone!
Bill Kresge, participating for his third time says, “it is a beautiful venue, the woods were shady and cool, the lake great for a dip after the run or walk. What could be better? You get to support a great organization, spend the day with wonderful people, all while challenging yourself on a 3, 7, or 14 mile run (or walk).”
The atmosphere on the race course was relaxed, supportive and friendly, with both experienced and first-time trail runners hitting the trail together. Runners broke course records, they set new personal records, and had fun doing it. Danika Smith of Tonasket reports, “It wasn’t even a question whether I was going to participate in the annual OHA event. As a family we look forward to it every year. Finishing the race feels like a victory, and it is really rewarding to support an organization that helps to preserve some of my most favorite places in our region.” Korbin Forsman (Republic) set a new men’s course record for the 5k (3 mile) race, with a time of 22:23, and Jody Evans (Oroville) set the women’s record at 28:09. The seven-mile women’s title was taken by Chelsea Shaefer (Oroville), who set a new course record of 1:07:13, while Rich Beukema (Wenatchee) held onto his title, winning the men’s division with a time of 58:02. Kirsten Casey (Poulsbo) blazed through the course, setting a new women’s in the 14-mile race with a time of 2:10:11, and Sibley Simon (Santa Cruz, CA) led the men’s division, finishing in 2:40:08. Special recognition goes out to the fleet of kids under 12 who challenged themselves on the 5k and in the kids race! Full race results can be found at: https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=83316.
Trail races have many moving pieces, and this event happens smoothly thanks to volunteers who donate their time, expertise and resources every step of the way. Volunteers took on: managing runner registration and designing unique race merchandise (Rick Massey), clearing and marking the trail in advance of the race (Rose and André Corso, Marija Welton, Owen, Andrew and Jordon Weddle and Indigo Tetrick), providing aid stations and runner support during the race (Rick Massey, Charles Walker, Sarah Kaiser, Marija Welton), preparing and serving a nutritious and delicious post-race meal (Hanna, Sarah and David Kliegman), and cleaning up after the event (too many people to count). The kids had an amazing day, thanks to Tyler Graves, Jordon Weddle, Alisa Weddle, John McReynolds, and Norm and Diana Weddle who guided kids through their race, made shaved ice, and helped with a piñata! Kate Miller and Kevin Lepley stepped into many roles throughout the day, from timing, to maintaining an aid station, to photographing the event.
Many thanks go out to the business sponsors who helped to support this year’s runners. Lee Frank’s Mercantile, the US Forest Service, and North40 Outfitters contributed to race prizes, and Big 5 Sporting Goods contributed to runner nutrition.
Jen Weddle, co-director of OHA says, “The Get Lost Race is a great representation of how we can be inspired by the natural world and by each other. The Okanogan Highlands are a beautiful place to meet up, spend time outside, and challenge one another to reach new heights. We want to thank everyone for their help and participation in supporting the event and OHA, and we hope to see you out on the course next year!”
Runners came from far and wide to enjoy Lost Lake, support outdoor recreation, and learn more about Okanogan Highlands Alliance. OHA is a non-profit organization that works to educate the public about watershed issues, including the environmental threats of large-scale mining. For more information go to okanoganhighlands.org
Moose: they live alongside us, from the valley floor to the highlands, and despite their enormous size, are only rarely seen. Join Carrie Lowe, wildlife biologist with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to learn about the life history, population trends and challenges facing moose in our area.
Carrie Lowe works with game and nongame species in Spokane, Lincoln, and Whitman Counties. Prior to coming to Washington in 2013, Carrie spent time teaching at an outdoor science school in North Carolina, and worked on a variety of research projects, including loggerhead sea turtles in Georgia, mesocarnivores in the Sierra Nevada, black bears in Louisiana, grizzly bears in Montana, and bighorn sheep in Hells Canyon. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Hope College in her hometown of Holland, MI and her M.S. in Wildlife & Fisheries Science from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Join OHA in a unique, free community event – enjoy Carrie’s engaging in-person talk from a blanket, a camp chair or your vehicle, listen through your FM radio!
Questions? jen@okanoganhighlands.org
COVID Precautions will be in place: social distancing, individually wrapped desserts available by donation
Join us via Zoom for OHA’s 2021 Annual Membership Meeting! Check in on recent and upcoming events and our work in mine monitoring, habitat restoration and education. Ask questions, share ideas, and visit with OHA’s board and staff.
We will also be conducting elections for three board positions – OHA’s seven board members are elected by the membership and serve for 2-year terms.
We hope to see you there!
For the meeting link, send an email request to: info@okanoganhighlands.org
Over this past year OHA has connected with a group of organizations and agencies who are all invested in caring for trails in northeast Washington. Kristin Ackerman (Pacific Northwest Trails Association) has been instrumental in making sure that Okanogan County is included in the trails coalition (thank you Kristin and the PNTA!) One outcome of this effort is a website, created by The Tri-County Economic Development District where you can look and find LOTS of opportunities to volunteer for trail work (including OHA’s trail work parties), both near and further afield in NE Washington.
Click here for the online calendar created and maintained by of trail work parties (including OHA’s trail days).
The snow has melted in the highlands, flowers abound, and we are excited to get out and help care for the lovely highlands trails again! In the next couple of months OHA will be out hiking, scouting trail needs, helping to clear the trails, getting some exercise, and enjoying nature and each others’ company. We will keep our groups small and respect physical distancing. We can’t wait! Below are some details about our upcoming trail stewardship events. We hope you will join us!
Trail Day Goals:
Trail Day Calendar:
Note: We may add some days depending on trail needs, but we wanted to give you something to put on your calendars. And now…let us present… OHA’s Tuesdays on the Trails!
Trail Day Details:
Complete the OHA Volunteer Survey for email reminders and more event details
Join OHA in learning about how trees (yes, trees) communicate, and leave with a whole new perspective on forests!
This event is free (thanks to our sponsors, George Thornton and Lee Miller), but space is limited, so reserve your space by clicking here.
Come Early (6:45-7:15) to park and get set up. Sound will be broadcast through your FM radio.
Film starts at 7:30
If you would like to help OHA provide free educational events to our community by sponsoring one of our drive-ins or educational events, contact Jen and Sarah at: info@okanoganhighlands.org
Can’t wait to see you there!
Who would have thought that our very own Okanogan Highlands is a great place to view one of the world’s most charismatic and endearing bird species? Although not many common loons nest in Washington any more, breeding pairs and chicks can be found on several highland lakes throughout the summer months and into the fall. This month’s Highland Wonders Podcast features Daniel and Ginger Poleschook – dedicated researchers, educators and advocates for common loons. They share what they have learned over 26 years of studying the species and getting to know the individual loons that inhabit our local lakes. Enjoy!
Jack, Nature Detective, Season 1, Episode 5: Washington’s Not-So-Common Loon
One warm spring day out on Bonaparte Lake, Jack the Nature Detective is fishing with his dad. Suddenly he hears a strange noise, “it sounds like a cross between a wolf’s howl and a chicken’s squawk.” Jack squints across the lake and he can’t believe what he is seeing! It’s a…a…penguin? It’s a very large bird, anyway, and black and white. What else could it be? Jack keeps watching. The bird is swimming around like a duck and keeps diving under water in a very penguin-like way. Jack is puzzled, though. He wonders aloud, “I thought that penguins live on the bottom of the globe, and we live closer to the top. If this is a penguin, it is very far from home. How could this be?”
From that day on, Jack watches his mystery bird friends often. There are two of them. He notices that they are good fisher-birds, and that they built a nest on a grassy tuft on the edge of the lake. One early summer day Jack sees something especially amazing. “Look!” he shouts. “One of the birds is carrying a fuzzy little baby on its back!” All of a sudden, the bird starts (what can only be described as) yodeling. She sounds scared and upset. Jack looks up and sees a bald eagle soaring above the lake. As the bald eagle is about to dive, Jack’s mom wades out into the lake waving her arms and yelling, “HEY! GET AWAY!” The eagle moves on, and the mama and baby glide away.
By this time, Jack is pretty sure this amazing bird is not a penguin, but he is still not sure what it could be. He decides, “It’s time to get to the bottom of this mystery.” Back at home, Jack gets to work with his favorite bird book, The Sibley Field Guide (it has, in the Nature Detective’s opinion, the best pictures). Soon Jack realizes that that his hunch was right – the mystery bird isn’t a penguin at all. It is a bird called the common loon! Now that he knows who they are, the Nature Detective can’t wait to learn more! Fortunately, the newest Highland Wonders Podcast is out, featuring Daniel and Ginger Poleschook, so Jack and everyone he knows can learn about common loons and what we all can do to protect them.
