March E-Newsletter 2020
Institute for Applied Ecology E-News
We work to conserve native species and habitats. With offices in Oregon and New Mexico, our work puts restoration, research, and education into action. Take action, volunteer or become a member with a donation today!

"Do the best you can until you know better. And when you know better, do better." - Maya Angelou
Featured Articles
Two Hours from Nowhere:
Monitoring remote sagebrush ecosystems in Eastern Oregon
By  Lisa Schomaker and Kaitlyn Harless

Eighty miles from cell service and ten miles off the highway, on a bumpy track just north of the Nevada state line, botanical monitoring technician Kaitlyn Harless saw her first herd of pronghorn ( Antilocapra americana ) in the wild. Not long after, a wild horse ( Equus ferus ) galloped over the sagebrush-coated hills. And following an early summer flurry of snow showers, she uncovered her first dwarf purple monkeyflower (Mimulus nanus).   Read More
Celebrating Nearly a Decade of Native Seed Production in the Willamette Valley

Historically, the Willamette Valley of Oregon was lush with fields of purple camas ( Camassia quamash ssp. quamash ) and rosy seablush ( Plectritis congesta ) in the spring, and goldenrod (spp. Solidago ) highlighted by the last rays of sun in the fall. Today this prairie habitat is among the most endangered ecosystems in North America, with over 90% of upland and wet prairie habitat converted to other uses. Restoration practitioners have been actively restoring this critical habitat for decades but have been challenged to find high quality, diverse native seed for their projects. Read More
Oregon’s mysterious tidal forests

A sneak preview of Laura Brophy's upcoming pub talk, Pelican Pub, Pacific City, OR, 6-8 pm on March 12, 2020

Oregon's estuaries today are full of beauty: salt marshes with intricate, winding channels and mud flats with wheeling flocks of shorebirds and clam beds for the adventurous forager. But did you know that in pioneer times, over half of the Oregon coast's tidal wetlands were forested tidal swamps? A recent study completed by the Estuary Technical Group maps these historic tidal swamps and their current distribution Read More
Announcements
Staff Spotlight: Mirabai Collins
A warm welcome to Mirabai Collins, a new Education Technician with IAE's Ecological Education Program! From Northern California, she holds an undergraduate degree in English with an emphasis in linguistics. Mirabai has studied African American poetics as they relate to expressive constructs within oppressive and undermining frameworks. Attendant to this work is the exploration of un/natural environments and their creative possibilities, which brings her back to the land, and as a member of the Black Food Sovereignty Coalition, the fight for food-systems justice.

Mirabai brings her experience in delivering educational programming to women adults in custody (AICs) at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility (CCCF), as part of IAE's Sustainability in Prisons Project. AICs greatly appreciate her leadership with the care and harvest of English plantain leaves for food for the Oregon Zoo's Taylor's Checkerspot captive butterfly larvae. Mirabai also delivers weekly curriculum lessons and arranges a monthly guest speaker at the prison. She also assists in coordination and care of plants at CCCF's hoop house, and we appreciate Mirabai's dedication to the prison program.  
Ecological Education Volunteer Opportunities, beginning 3/7
Help teach the wonders of ecology to bilingual 3rd graders at Bald Hill Farm this spring! Topics will include studying birds, native plants, terrestrial and aquatic insects and water quality. Attend a volunteer training on Saturday, March 7, 9-noon to learn the lessons, then volunteer for one or all of the weekday field days in March and May, 2020. Email Dionne Mejia if you're interested. Read More
Pub Talk, Pelican Brewing Company, Pacific City, 3/12
In a fun pub talk at 6 pm on March 12 at the Pelican Pub in Pacific City, Oregon, Estuary Technical Group director Laura Brophy will share more surprising facts about these long-lost tidal forests and what you can do to help bring them back.   Read More
Many Hands Day of Sharing, 3/21
March 21, 10 am - 6 pm  - Shop at the  Many Hands Trading  Day of Sharing in Corvallis, Oregon, and $1 for every $4 spent that day will be donated to our work. Find local and free trade gifts, cards, and housewares at Many Hands Trading. Thank you Many Hands for choosing IAE for your Day of Sharing Fundraiser! Read More
Brief Updates
Southwest Office
Santa Fe wetland is getting renewed restoration attention! New Mexico State Forestry awarded funding to continue invasive species management at the Leonora Curtin Wetland Preserve in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This exciting multi-partner project led by IAE has resulted in the removal of 6 (of 9) acres of Russian olive trees and other noxious weeds (i.e., Russian knapweed). Current funding supports removal of two additional acres of Russian olive and essential follow-up treatments for protection of this treasured wetland cienega.
Ecological Education
Did you know beavers teeth continually grow, or that a skunk can spray up to 10 feet? These are just some of the fun facts that students at Linn County Juvenile Detention in Albany, Oregon, learned during an interactive animal adaptation lesson presented by the Ecological Education staff. Students handled a variety of animal skins and skulls then drew their favorite animal showing its habitat. IAE appreciates Sarah Diehl for providing generous donations for outreach to these underserved students. 
Habitat Restoration
Sevenoaks Native Nursery recently donated over 3,000 plants, including Oregon geranium ( Geranium oreganum ) and dwarf checkermallow ( Si dalcea malviflora ssp. virgata ), for restoration planting at Herbert Farm near Corvallis, Oregon. A team of volunteers and IAE staff planted these plants on a fine day in February. Many thanks to Sevenoaks and our other partners who support restoration at Herbert Farm, including City of Corvallis, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bonneville Power Administration, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board and Center for Natural Lands Management. Pictured: Peter Moore (IAE) explaining planting technique to IAE Board Member Deborah Clark and volunteer Nicole Dimanno.
Keep up with our work on Facebook and Instagram
IAE Board of Directors:
Ken Bierly, President; Cary Stephens, Vice President; Laurie Halsey, Treasurer; Deborah Clark, Secretary; Anne Bradley, Mak Estill, Brandy Humphreys, Debbie Johnson, Shinji Kawai, Carol Savonen