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Walk through Time in the Highlands

Ecology & Evolution at Our Feet

Life has been on an immense journey through time, and it turns out that much of the evidence for that journey is all around us in the natural world. On this short hike we will look for the evidence that the plants, animals and even the rocks have changed over time, creating ever more complex ecological relationships and ever richer ecosystems. This walk offered a condensed version of a 5-day program on this subject that Dana taught last summer in the Methow Valley.

Dana Visalli, botanist and editor of “The Methow Naturalist,” led a guided hike along a hidden canyon connecting the Burge Mountain road and the Highlands Nordic Sno-Park near Havillah.

Native Bees of Washington State

A passionate naturalist and pioneer in native bee biology, Dr. Don Rolfs presented his own unique and beautiful photographs of native bees of Washington State. Seven years in the making, this fast-moving, profusely illustrated presentation on April 1st, 2016, was thoroughly enjoyed by both adults and children.

Mimicking Beavers to Heal Damaged Streams

Okanogan Conservation District, March 2016

The Okanogan Highlands Alliance (OHA) is working with partners to benefit water quality and quantity, and to increase habitat for fish and wildlife, by reducing severe stream channel incision that disconnects Myers Creek (north of Chesaw) from its floodplain. These changes will facilitate the growth of native vegetation on the historical and new floodplains, providing resources to encourage beavers to recolonize the area and improve the hydrology of the project sites into the future…

Click here for the full article…

Gifts of the Crow

Crows are mischievous, playful, social, and passionate. They have brains that are huge for their body size and exhibit an avian kind of eloquence. They mate for life and associate with relatives and neighbors for years. And because they often live near people, they are also keenly aware of our peculiarities, quickly learning to recognize and approach those who care for them, even giving numerous, oddly touching gifts in return. The characteristics of crows that allow this symbiotic relationship are language, delinquency, frolic, passion, wrath, risk-taking, and awareness—seven traits that humans find strangely familiar.

Lost Lake: Inside the Gem

This presentation on February 5th, 2016, outlined how OHA is preserving the Lost Lake wetland, making the site available to researchers, and teaching youth about the value and function of wetlands, using Lost Lake as an example. Delve with us here into the depths of this gem, and take a look at the array of botanical wonders that thrive at the Preserve…

Grouse and Spouse

The Highland Wonders educational series kicked off 2016 with an opportunity to learn about the world of grouse breeding behavior, with an inside perspective on grouse mating systems Dr. Michael Schroeder. Mike has a Ph.D. in wildlife biology and is the upland bird research scientist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The Roots of Music: Exploring Earth’s Soundscapes

OHA’s indoor Highland Wonders series resumed with a unique presentation by George Halekas, entitled, “The Roots of Music: Exploring Earth’s Soundscapes,” on Friday, November 6th, 2015.

Review Board Affirms Buckhorn Gold Mine Discharge Permit

Water surrounding the Buckhorn Mine must be left as clean as it was prior to mining

On July 30, 2015, the Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB) denied Crown Resources/Kinross’ appeal of the NPDES (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System) permit, thereby affirming that the water surrounding the Buckhorn Mine must be left as clean as it was before the mine was developed. The Buckhorn Mine continues to discharge pollutants into the environment in violation of their waste discharge permit…

Lost Lake Forest Trek

July 18th, 2015, with George Thornton

The Okanogan Valley Gazette-Tribune wrote a thorough article with photos about this event. (Written by Katie Teachout)

Reading the Story of the Land through Soils

Luke Cerise, US Forest Service Soil Scientist, hand textures soil in Myers Creek, north of Chesaw, to gauge the clay/silt/sand composition

On June 14th, soil scientist Luke Cerise discussed the soil environment at the Triple Creek site north of Chesaw, on the ground with community members. In this event, we learned about the living layer of the earth, soil; where air, water, minerals, and a vast array of macro and microscopic organisms make life on land possible. Climactic processes (such as freeze-thaw & weathering) have acted upon geologic processes (such as glaciation & volcanism) over billions of years to create sand, silt, and clay that make up what is considered soil.