Witches, Hallucinations, and Seed Pathogens: A Closer Look at Ergot |
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Our vision is a world where all people and wildlands are healthy and interact positively, biological diversity flourishes, and environmental challenges are met with a social commitment to solving problems with scientific principles. |
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"We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it." - William Faulkner |
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Witches, Hallucinations, and Seed Pathogens: A Closer Look at Ergot |
During the 2023 field season, Southwest Seed Partnership (SWSP) seed collectors noticed higher than usual ergot prevalence on grass species throughout the Southwest. And in 2021, one of our farm fields even had an outbreak of ergot. These reports had us considering: is it appropriate to collect from a population with ergot present on some individuals, even if you avoid plants with signs of the disease? Read More
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More Seed for the Lesser Prairie-Chicken |
by Bronwyn Taylor, Tino Mendietta, Steven Lester, and Gwen Wion
In 2021, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) began a collaboration with the Southwest Seed Partnership (SWSP) to develop native plant materials in New Mexico. As part of this collaboration, the Partners for Fish and Wildlife identified a need for plant materials that could be used to improve habitat for the Lesser Prairie-Chicken in the High Plains ecoregion of Eastern New Mexico. Previously found across much of the western Great Plains, the Lesser Prairie-Chicken has experienced a 90% reduction in habitat compared to the time of European settlement. Read More
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TransLATINg Plant Names: Dimorphocarpa wislizeni
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In each Southwest Seed Partnership newsletter, we dive into a species’ binomial nomenclature and share the information often contained in scientific names. In this year’s newsletter, we chose to highlight Dimorphocarpa wislizeni, a plant with a name as unique as its appearance.. Read More
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Announcements
& Brief Updates
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2024 Native American Habitat Restoration Internships at Elderberry Wisdom Farm |
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Our friends at the Elderberry Wisdom Farm are recruiting interns for their Habitat Restoration Internship for Spring and Summer 2024! This paid opportunity provides Native Americans and other individuals of color who are pursuing conservation career pathways to receive culturally-tailored training, technical assistance, and mentoring. These internships integrate Traditional Ecological Knowledge with local conservation practices, and are supported by multiple collaborative partners in the mid-Willamette Valley.
Participants will receive a $3,000 stipend for completing the nine-week internship. It includes 166 hours of indoor classroom education and experiential service learning activities. Trainings are held three days a week.
Spring Internship: April 1 to May 31, 2024
Summer Internship: July 8 to August 30, 2024
For more information about this conservation opportunity, and to learn how you can apply, please visit their website here. |
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Murdock Trust Supports New IAE Facilities at Prairie House with Strategic Grant! |
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A rainbow above our new greenhouse for growing native plant plugs at the Institute's headquarters. Photo credit: Scott Harris.
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We are very excited to share the announcement that the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust has committed to support capital projects around our headquarters in Corvallis, Oregon, and strengthen our restoration, research, and education programs with a strategic grant in the amount of $200,000. We are extremely grateful to the team at Murdock Trust for their generous and important support, which will help us achieve our mission of conserving ecosystems across the Northwest. Thank you from all of us at IAE! |
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Southwest Seed Partnership Launches New Website |
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The Southwest Seed Partnership (SWSP), coordinated by the Institute for Applied Ecology, recently revamped their website. The goal of the SWSP is to assess and prioritize plant populations, collect and track wild seed, and collaborate and coordinate with farmers and conservationists to increase the commercial availability of genetically diverse, locally sourced seed for restoration, rehabilitation, and reclamation projects in the Southwest. Check out their new website here to learn more about this collaborative effort in the Southwest! |
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Support Our 2024 AmeriCorps Housing Fund! |
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Between April 25th and July 25th, IAE hopes to host a new AmeriCorps team to support restoration projects across the Willamette Valley. If you are interested in supporting their work and opportunities for young people in the field of environmental conservation, please consider donating to our AmeriCorps housing fund. This fund will help us cover their rental costs during their visit this Spring, should we secure . We hope to raise $10,000 by April, with your help! Thank you for your support. |
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Staff Highlight: Katy Silber |
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Katy Silber is the new Assistant Southwest Branch Director with the Institute for Applied Ecology in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She leads restoration and monitoring projects for native plants and animals and helps manage the branch’s daily operations.
IAE: Was there an experience or memory that helped steer your career into conservation?
Katy: I grew up curious about everything in nature. Before I understood anything about ecology, I would spend hours outside musing about why tadpoles had weird and variable morphologies, why there were a lot of some plants and very few of others, and what drove changes I saw in local habitats each year. My
interest in conservation originally spawned from my love of animals, but I’ve since grown to love native plants, and I know that to conserve native animals, we must restore native plant communities. This led me to working at IAE, where I get to spend everyday musing about natural phenomena and researching native plant and animal communities!
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IAE: What do you love about working at IAE?
Katy: I really enjoy the people at IAE. Everyone is passionate and skilled at what they do, from research and restoration to education and outreach. I am constantly learning from my coworkers and collaborators. Our work is
successful because of our great team!
Thank you for all of your hard work and for your contributions to restoring ecosystems across the Southwest, Katy!
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Volunteer Opportunities
in Oregon & New Mexico
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Check our calendar at appliedeco.org/calendar for a full list of volunteer opportunities, and help us restore native ecosystems on-the-ground.
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Do you love plants and wildlife? Are you inspired by hands-on work in conserving and restoring threatened and endangered species and critical habitats? The Institute for Applied Ecology is hiring multiple seasonal positions in New Mexico for our 2024 field season!
We are currently hiring for the following positions:
Visit our website to learn more about the positions and how to apply.
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Volunteer, Become an IAE Member! |
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If you'd like to show your business's support
for our work, please get in touch:
(541) 753-3099 x 701
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Ken Bierly, Brandy Humphreys, Cary Stephens, Jack Halsey, Jason Bradford, Anne Bradley, Shinji Kawai, Judy Li, John Savage, Sunia Yang, Graham Frank |
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