New Grant Provides Funding, Hope for Recovery of the Taylor's Checkerspot Butterfly |
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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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New Grant Provides Funding, Hope for the Recovery of Taylor's Checkerspot Butterfly |
Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly, a federally listed endangered species, was once abundant in Pacific Northwest prairies. Currently there are only two extant populations in Oregon, both located in Benton County. The primary threat to Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly is a lack of quality habitat. Read More
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Tiny, But Mighty: Weevils and the Battle for Checkermallow Restoration |
by David Cappaert and Brooklyn Richard
In the field of restoration ecology, insects are broadly recognized as beneficial to native ecosystems. Pollinators, of course, are extremely beneficial—but so are the many other insects that participate in the complex food web that supports ecosystem health and benefits. There is an aggravating exception in the case of the checkermallow species (Sidalcea spp). Read More
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A Practical Guide to Mojave Desert Native Plants |
Over the past year, IAE has been developing a guide called Mojave Desert Native Plants: Biology, Ecology, Native Plant Materials Development, and Uses in Restoration. The guide will serve as a resource for native plant restoration in the Mojave Desert Ecoregion (the Mojave). Modeled after Western Forbs: Biology, Ecology, and Use in Restoration, the guide features forbs, shrubs, and grasses for native plant materials development and restoration in the Mojave. Read More
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Cultivating Place at the 2024 National Native Seed Virtual Conference |
Over two days in February 2024, 900 attendees gathered virtually to attend the 2024 National Native Seed Conference. This was IAE’s 2nd virtual conference, the 3rd conference in as many years, and the 7th installment of the conference series since it was established. This year, we had attendees from all 50 states, 8 Canadian provinces, and 8 countries. It’s safe to say that this was our biggest native seed conference yet! Read More
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Announcements
& Brief Updates
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Announcing "Seeds for Change"
An Institute for Applied Ecology Podcast
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We are incredibly excited to share with you that we are launching a podcast dedicated to exploring conservation topics and issues—called Seeds for Change! Hosted by our very own Cierra Dawson, this monthly podcast will feature the voices of IAE staff and partners, while exploring the work they do to conserve native species and habitats on-the-ground through restoration, research and education.
If you're interested in learning more about the work we do for conservation, tune in for the first episode starting next week which features Tom Kaye, IAE's Founder and Executive Director. Join us to learn more about how IAE came to be, and Tom's own journey to conservation science and applied ecology.
New episodes debut monthly! In each, you’ll hear stories from restoration ecologists and field technicians, farmers, educators, and more!—with a focus on the work we do here at IAE to cultivate plants and the relationships with people that help sustain and recover ecosystems on-the-ground.
Seeds for Change is available on Spotify, Amazon Music, Castbox, RadioPublic, iHeartRadio, and anywhere else you listen to podcasts (RSS Feed available here).
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Plant Materials Program Spring Update |
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During the 2023 fall seeding season, IAE's Northwest Plant Materials Program—in partnership with IAE's Habitat Restoration Program, the BLM, and the USFWS—successfully distributed 484 pounds of conservation-priority seed to partners and restoration sites across the Willamette Valley.
The seed came from the following rare species:
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Golden paintbrush (Castilleja levisecta)
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Willamette daisy (Erigeron decumbens)
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Bradshaw's lomatium (Lomatium bradshawii)
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Kincaid's lupine (Lupinus oreganus)
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Nelson's checkermallow (Sidalcea nelsoniana)
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These rare seeds were distributed to more than 22 sites that are undergoing active restoration. Thank you to our funding partners—the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)—for investing in the collection and production of these important species!
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Coffee Creek Lab Releases Taylor's Checkerspot Larvae this Month |
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The Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly (TCB) is a federally endangered, charming, and colorful species. There are currently only 11 populations ranging from Corvallis to British Columbia. This species has been declining for some years now
due to habitat loss and reduction of its original host plant—but there is still hope for a comeback!
Ari Saliba and Annie Lamas, Coordinators in Ecological Education at IAE head up a project at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility (CCCF) to help reverse the butterflies decline. Larvae of the Taylor’s Checkerspot butterfly are being reared by incarcerated butterfly
technicians and Plantago growers in a lab and yard located within the facility. This time of year, hungry caterpillars (See the book!) wake up from diapause (a kind of slowdown of metabolism that allows them to over winter). Annie’s team raises Plantago lanceolata (an alternate food plant) to keep larvae fed. The larvae or pupae (depending on environmental factors) are later released into native prairies by US Fish and Wildlife Service colleagues including TCB expert Kelsey King. As weather begins to warm, butterflies begin to emerge and continue their lives in these beautiful spaces conserved and maintained partly for their survival.
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The lab technicians and growers at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility apply for positions in this program and are paid by the facility. Both teams go through training, though the laboratory crew has a large manual of procedures that guide the work.
After butterflies arrive in
April/May from the field, eggs
are laid, larvae hatch and growth continues until August when they enter diapause, usually after they have molted 4-5 times (each stage called an instar). Here they remain until wake-up (late February – March) and they begin growing once more.
On March 8, the USFWS and IAE worked together to release 1,136 larvae and pupae into maintained habitat suited for the Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly. The release occurred on Greenbelt Land Trust property just on the other side of Bald Hill. Within a few weeks, these pupae and larvae should emerge as butterflies. There are currently only 2 populations of TCB in Oregon; both of which are in Benton County. Although populations are limited within Oregon, the good news is that captive rearing labs such as ours help to maintain healthy populations and create the potential to introduce new populations into the wild. By 2025, the larvae rearing lab at Coffee Creek will have raised over 10,000 larvae for release!
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Author Talk on the Return of Cultural Fire |
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Join us on March 26 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. for an author talk and book signing event with Dr. David Lewis, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Tribal member and OSU Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Indigenous Studies. Dr. Lewis is the author of a new book Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley, and his talk will address the removal of water, return of cultural fire, and what this means to tribal descendants today. Thank you to our partners at Elderberry Wisdom Farm for sharing this opportunity with us. RSVP online at marionswcd.org/events
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Staff Highlight: Arissa Saliba |
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Ari Saliba is an Ecological Education Coordinator at IAE. She assists with butterfly lab work as well as the Sagebrush in Prisons Project, Conservation in Prisons, and the Parkify Your Yard Project. Her position helps provide ecological education to juvenile detention centers, adult prisons, and other educational institutions that IAE partners with. |
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IAE: Was there an experience or memory that helped steer your career into conservation?
Arissa: As a child, I lived in a rural area that was surrounded by Manzanita, Black Sage, and Coyotes. As I got older, the town I grew up in started to get developed. Wild patches of granite and Coast Live Oak were replaced with houses and natural areas near my home got bulldozed for development. I saw the displacement of the animals as resources were extracted and I knew I wanted to be a part of conservation efforts so precious ecosystems could be preserved.
IAE: What do you love about working at IAE?
Arissa: One thing I love about IAE is how we have many departments all doing different and important things in the realm of conservation. I really love the Ecological Education department that I am a part of because we get the opportunity to work with the human side of conservation which is incredibly rewarding. I also love that IAE cares about native plants and restoring disturbed habitat for endangered species.
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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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