"Freshwater Invasive Weeds" - Kathy Hamel
The
Washington Department of Ecology’s Kathy Hamel will introduce you to some of
Washington's most invasive freshwater weeds and describe the waterway
problems that they cause. Freshwater invasive plants currently include:
Eurasian watermilfoil, purple loosestrife, and one of the United States
worst aquatic invaders—hydrilla. Kathy will explore the pathways for
introduction of these species and discuss their impacts when they are
introduced and become established. She will also look at management methods
being used to control them in Washington State. Kathy has been managing a
statewide Aquatic Weeds Management Program for the Washington Department of
Ecology for nearly 20 years.
Presentation
[PDF - 2.23 MB]
For information on this topic, visit:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/links/plants.html
"Understanding and Restoring Beargrass
to the Olympic Peninsula Lowlands" - Daniela Shebitz
University of Washington doctoral candidate, Daniela Shebitz,
will give a presentation on the importance of incorporating cultural land
management practices in the restoration of beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax)
ecosystems. Beargrass is a culturally-significant plant that was once a
dominant component of human-maintained savannas in the low elevations of the
Olympic Peninsula. Beargrass is a fundamental component of traditional
basketry for tribes on the Olympic Peninsula, yet it is becoming
increasingly rare to find quality material in the absence of fire. Daniela
will talk about the various restoration methods she experimented with in the
lowlands of the Olympic National Forest.
Presentation
[PDF - 11.8 MB]
"Ethnobotany as a Multidisciplinary Science"
- Alfredo Gomez-Beloz
Life does not function in a vacuum: it is affected by everything, including
us. As a ceaseless seeker of knowledge and enlightenment, Dr. Alfredo
Gomez-Beloz has come to a more holistic understanding of science. He studied
the wound healing plants used by the Winikina Warao Indians of the Orinoco
River Delta, Venezuela and the use of botánicas by a Mexican population in
the US. Dr. Gomez-Beloz has been able to bridge the multiple disciplines of
science to offer a more holistic understanding of the world around us
through his diverse teaching experiences. Born in Chicago of Mexican
parents, Dr. Gomez-Beloz offers a fresh and interesting perspective to the
multidisciplinary approach to science, especially ethnobotany, the study of
the relationship between people and plants.
Presentation [PDF -
9.89 MB]
"Your Highway Nickels in Plants and Pathways"
- Robert Barnes
Ever wonder about all of the decisions that affect the
plantings along our state highways? Robert Barnes, a lead Landscape
Architect for the Washington Department of Transportation, will present
"Your Highway Nickels in Plants and Pathways." Designer and expert planting
coordinator, Robert Barnes will provide an overview of the highway design
process with emphasis on the plants that make our drives dull or dazzling.
Especially if you live in Tacoma or Gig Harbor, you'll appreciate the
insights that you'll gain about our most used roadways, new pedestrian
pathways under construction, and the various partners that make it all
possible.
Presentation [PDF -
17 MB]
"A Visit to the Glacial Heritage Preserve"
- Wendy Gibble
May is the best month of the year to take "A Visit the
Glacial Heritage Preserve", one of the Puget Sound's last remaining open
prairies. Join us in Tacoma for an introduction to this unusual and
undulating landscape as Wendy Gibble, UW Botanic Gardens Rare Care Program
Manager, shares the findings from her Master’s research on possible causes
for the success of the invasive of hairy cat’s ear (Hypochaeris radicata)
into the South Puget Sound Prairies. We'll also get an overview of the
Washington Rare Plant Care & Conservation Program (Rare Care), located at
the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture. This program
is the only conservation program focused exclusively on rare plants in the
state. The Rare Care program collects plant material from wild rare plant
populations and stores them in a climate-controlled seed vault for eventual
reintroduction into the wild. Rare Care also monitors rare plant populations
located throughout Washington.
Presentation [PDF -
1.54 MB]
"Mount Rainier - A Place We Love to Visit"
- David Uberuaga
Mount Rainier National Park Superintendent Dave
Uberuaga will talk about the extensive revegetation projects that occur in
the Park each year and highlight some of the challenges that these efforts
entail. Come learn how the park is maintained both by Park Service staff
and by the numerous volunteers that help to make it all possible. Our
speaker has devoted nearly twenty years at Mt. Rainier National Park and is
a recent recipient of the National Parks Conservation Association's
celebrated Stephen T. Mather Award for his dedication to the protection of
the Park, commitment to staff and volunteers. Join us as we celebrate the
glory of "The Mountain."
Presentation
[PDF -
5.98 MB]
"The Impact of White Pine Blister Rust on Native Forests"
-- Greg Ettle
Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) is found in the subalpine
zone throughout the Coastal, Olympic, Cascade, and Klamath Mountains,
extending well into California at high elevations along the Sierra Nevada.
White pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) is common throughout the
Pacific Northwest, generally causing widespread mortality of 5-needle pines,
and has devastated large areas of whitebark pine. A demographic study
of whitebark pine in Mt. Rainier National Park suggests a rapid decline in
whitebark pine in the park, with the population falling below 100
individuals in 148 years. Management options for blister rust infected
stands will be discussed. Greg Ettl is the Director of the Center for
Sustainable Forestry at Pack Forest and an Associate Professor at the
University of Washington.
Presentation [PDF -
4.04 MB]
"Changing Climates, Changing Strategies: Rethinking
Conservation Management" –
Peter Dunwiddie
The likelihood of human-induced changes in future climates
is forcing conservationists to examine how the potential impacts to
biodiversity can best be mitigated. Large uncertainties, novel
threats, and a rapid rate of change combine to make this a difficult issue
to address. This talk will examine various strategies being considered
or that are already finding their way into practice that anticipate
conservation practice in the 21st century. Peter Dunwiddie is the
Director of Stewardship for The Nature Conservancy in Washington, and has
been working on plant and animal conservation issues for over thirty years.
Presentation
[PDF -
1.26 MB]
“Mountain Flora of Washington
State” - Richard Ramsden
Richard’s presentation will focus on some of the showy
flowering plants found in the Olympic, Wenatchee and Cascade ranges of
Washington. At high elevation, species unique to a small area grow
side-by-side with species whose range extends to the arctic, Siberia and the
Alps. Where and when to see different species and in which habitats will be
discussed. A final segment will offer suggestions on how to cultivate
mountain species in an urban garden.
Richard is a long time member of WNPS Central Puget Sound
Chapter, the North American Rock Gardening Society Northwest Chapter, and a
volunteer for Rare Care, the rare plant monitoring program based at the
University of Washington. His photos of local flora have been included in
several local publications including Northwest Magazine and Washington
Trails, as well as Douglasia.
For more information on this topic, visit:
Alpine Flora of Washington State.
“Genetic variation in foundation tree species: Influences on litter quality,
in-stream decomposition, and interactions with nutrients and salmon
carcasses.” - Carri Leroy
October
2011
Although it is obvious that trees of different species
perform different roles in ecosystems, the role of genetic variation within
species is less obvious. Trees are some of the most genetically diverse
organisms in existence and this diversity is especially important for
species that structure whole ecosystems. This talk will focus on the
influences of genetic diversity on leaf litter chemistry, decomposition and
colonization by litter dwelling organisms in streams. In addition, we will
examine the interacting influences of nutrients, leaf mixtures and the
presence of salmon carcasses on leaf litter decomposition.
Carri is a stream ecologist and has been a faculty member at The Evergreen
State College since 2006. She received her B.S./B.A. degrees in
Environmental Science and International Studies from Oregon State
University,
and
an M.A. in Sustainable Communities and a Ph.D. in Biology from Northern
Arizona University. She has published over 25 peer-reviewed papers since
2004 and is a strong proponent of involving undergraduate students in the
research process. Carri is also the co-director of the Sustainable Prisons
Project (www.sustainableprisons.org)
which serves to bring science and nature to incarcerated men and women in
Washington state correctional centers.
Presentation [PDF
- 11.7MB]
“A Lot of What We Know about Puget Sound Country is Wrong” -
Michael Kucher
Michael Kucher was raised on a glacial moraine that
separated Connecticut from the Atlantic Ocean, better known as Long Island,
NY. It was a pleasant surprise for him to learn how much of Puget Sound’s
topography was shaped during that same glaciation, 15,000 years ago. An even
greater and more agreeable surprise came as he realized that certain
approaches to New England and New York’s ecological history as described in
William Cronon’s seminal book, Changes in the Land (1983), and Tom
Wessels’s
Reading the forested landscape: a natural history of New England
(1997) could be adapted and applied to unraveling the history of human
impacts on the ecology of Puget Sound Country. Not only easily, but (he
hopes) fruitfully.
In his talk, Kucher will attempt to demonstrate that the same sort of
misconceptions that once stood in the way of understanding the history of
New England’s landscape continue to prevent us from understanding changes in
our own. In his talk, Kucher will focus on one aspect of his work, how the
eradication of the beaver (Castor
canadensis)
has led to strange ideas of what is “natural” in our corner of the world,
including the very notion of dwelling in an “evergreen state.” Kucher
received his undergraduate education at the Lang College of the New School
for Social Research in 1987 and completed his Ph.D. in history at the
University of Delaware in 2000. He has taught at UW Tacoma since 1997.
Presentation
[PDF - 8.8MB]
