20 September Patty Garvey-Darda Why Did the Ecosystem Cross the Road?
Patty is a U.S. Forest Service biologist for Okanogan/Wenatchee National Forest. She will discuss the creation of wildlife bridges to connect habitats. “If we expect viable populations of wildlife in the Washington Cascades to persist, particularly the rare carnivores, such as wolverine and lynx, we must modify I-90. The interstate functions as a barrier to wildlife movement, effectively cutting the state in half, preventing gene flow between local and regional populations.”
18 October David Mildrexler, Ph.D Enduring Conservation Vision for the Blue Mountains Ecoregion
David is the Systems Ecologist with Eastern Oregon Legacy Lands, where he focuses on terrestrial systems science, global change biology, large landscape conservation, and the educational programs at Wallowology Natural History Discovery Center in Joseph. A resident in Wallowa County since 2005, David has worked with several nonprofit organizations in outdoor education and ecosystem management in the Blue Mountains.
15 November David G. Lewis Reconstructing Traditional Environments of the Willamette Valley1
David is a member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and a recognized researcher, scholar, writer, and assistant professor of anthropology and Indigenous studies at Oregon State University. His publications include Willamette Valley Treaties and his new book Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley. For more than 20 years, David has been studying the original histories of the people of Oregon and California. His research has focused on the history of Kalapuyans and other Western Oregon tribes, which he explores through journal essays and on his blog.
13 December Michael Murphy The Modern Bird World … Living for the City
Michael is a professor of biology at Portland State University. “I am currently initiating new studies to examine the population biology of forest birds living within the extensive forest park system of Portland, Oregon. This work is just beginning and will address questions ranging from the impact of domestic cats on avian nest success, to the influence of landscape structure on the dispersal dynamics and persistence of populations in isolated fragments of urban forest.”
17 January Charles Lefevre Oregon Truffles
Charles is on the Board of the Oregon Truffle Festival, is recognized internationally as a pioneer of the North American truffle industry, and is one of the most successful U.S. producer of inoculated trees and truffle-producing orchards. He received his PhD in forest mycology from OSU. He designed and developed one of the largest gathering of truffle farmers, scientists, and entrepreneurs in the world for the annual Truffle Growers’ Forum to share their expertise in what is otherwise a very secretive and fiercely competitive industry.
21 February Guido Rahr Salmon Conservation
Guido is president of the Wild Salmon Center based in Portland, OR, which is involved in scientific research, habitat protection, and fisheries improvement projects in dozens of rivers in Japan, the Russian Far East, Alaska, British Columbia, and the US Pacific Northwest. This work has resulted in protection of 7.7 million acres of habitat, including public lands management designations and 10 new large-scale habitat reserves on key salmon rivers across the Pacific Rim. Guido is a member of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Salmon Specialist Group and is a passionate fly fisherman and fly tyer.
21 March Nina Ferrari Forest Canopy Birds
Nina is a graduate student in the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society at OSU. Her PhD research is focused on questions of species coexistence theory, space use, and niche partitioning. She is investigating the abiotic (microclimate) and biotic (competition and vegetation structure) drivers of vertical bird distributions in old-growth and second-growth forests. She utilizes tree climbing, bioacoustics, and lidar to evaluate fine-resolution metrics across the vertical dimension in the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest. I am particularly interested in how birds can mitigate climate driven changes by modifying their habitat use.
18 April Sara Hamilton Taking Care of Oregon’s Kelp Forests
Sara is a marine ecologist who studies how ocean ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest are changing and what it means for the critters and people who depend on them. Her PhD work on kelp forests was conducted through the Department of Integrative Biology at OSU. She has also studied spatial patterns in the effects of ocean acidification and hypoxia on commercially important shellfish species. She decided to leave academia to find new ways to use her scientific skills to help create healthier ocean ecosystems and communities. Currently she is the Science Coordinator for the Oregon Kelp Alliance.
16 May Clara Bird Gray Whale Foraging Behavior
Clara uses drone footage to study foraging behavior specializations in gray whales of the Pacific Coast Feeding Group. Her research is focused on uncovering how patterns of behavior vary across habitat types and among whales of different sizes, body condition, and sex. This information will contribute to an understanding of the energetic consequences of various behaviors.