Pahove Presentations: 2024/2025

Chapter meetings with intriguing presentations are held on the second Tuesday of each month from October–April (May) starting at 7:00 pm. We currently offer hybrid viewing formats, both in-person at MK Nature Center and a Zoom link for at-home enjoyment. You will receive more details about presentations via email. We also keep this chapter web page updated.

If you miss a talk, then you can view it afterwards on our YouTube channel or here through a link to our past presentations below.

PRESENTATION LINE-UP (Talk titles are teasers of what is to come and will be formalized with more information as the season progresses.)

October 8 – Ann DeBolt- Protecting Treasured Landscapes on Public Lands: The Mud Flat Oolite Dilemma

https://youtu.be/ddnY57yTbSE?si=gWFmDST8tNMUAhMg

The 1600 acre Mud Flat Oolite Site, located on BLM managed lands in Owyhee County, has been excluded from livestock grazing and off-road vehicle activity since about 1997. This unique geologic area supports several rare plant species, a variety of fossils, and wildlife, including nesting raptors. Recently proposed for mineral withdrawal, the public has until November 4 to provide input on this important proposed action. Ann will share info on the rare plants that grow here, and the proposed mining withdrawal and other management issues will be discussed. 

November 12 – Cheri Clausen- Weiser Depot Landscaping (ERIG)

https://youtu.be/xHGBHoARAuQ

The presentation will describe the components of the 2023 ERIG awarded to the Weiser Depot project, the progress made toward the goals of the grant, including setbacks along the way, and how a small idea grew beyond expectation thanks to community donations and volunteerism.

December 10 – Shawn Taylor- From Backyard to Database: Trends and insights from iNaturalist in Idaho

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKSwYLs0bA8

iNaturalist is a social network and phone application for sharing photos and confirming identifications of plants and animals. It has over 3 million users and 220 million observations around the world. I’ll highlight novel uses and insights from the iNaturalist app, with a special focus on plants in Idaho.

January 14 – Martha Brabec, City of Boise, and BSU Colleagues- Integrating New Research in Sagebrush Steppe Management: Challenges and Solutions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVP5DjHFJ4U

The integration of scientific research and data into land management practices is essential for addressing environmental challenges. Researchers at Boise State University are working directly with land managers at the City of Boise to develop innovative solutions to local challenges in our Boise foothills. This presentation will cover on-going research to include soil carbon sequestration in sagebrush steppe, remote sensing for urban weed management, and novel methods to promote survival in sagebrush out-plants.

February 11- Michelle Stevens- Bushy Lake Eco-Cultural Restoration Project Design – Integrating Cultural Keystone Species and Development of Culturally Significant  Plant Associations

The Bushy Lake Eco-Cultural Restoration Project  (lower American River, Sacramento, CA) incorporates Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), Western Ecological Knowledge (WEK) and Traditional Resource Management (TRM) of the Nisenan, Miwok and Maidu traditions into restoration project site design and management (Zedler and Stevens 2018). The project demonstrates the development of Culturally Significant Plant Alliances based on cultural keystone species into the Bushy Lake eco-cultural conceptual restoration design. The planting palette includes developing proposed Cultural Plant Alliances to complement and expand upon CNPS Plant Alliances. Proposed alliances represent areas dominated by culturally significant species. Examples of cultural plant alliances include a)  white root (Carex barbarae); b) mugwort (Artemisia douglasiana); c) dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum) and)  tarweeds (Madia speciosa). A 2021 wildfire provided an unplanned experimental variable to document vegetation response. Experimental results demonstrate that cultural plants (adapted to millennia of Traditional Fire Management) were resilient and recovered within one year. Indigenous Environmental Justice mandates hand weeding invasive species (precluding use of herbicides), to prevent exposure to people gathering food, medicine, and fiber. The eco-cultural restoration planting palette recommends native, fire resilient, and culturally significant species.

Youtube link 

March 11- Lynn Kinter- A Tale of Two Gardens

We will cover two gardens that have been installed in the last 4 years at the Idaho Fish and Game office in Nampa.  In front of the office is an educational garden showcasing native plants used by wildlife.  Out of the public eye is an informal garden of natives and non-natives installed to replace a weed strip.  Both gardens include xeric species favored by pollinators.  The educational garden features signs funded in part by the Idaho Native Plant Society.  We will discuss native plants that have worked well in these two gardens, and tips for installing and maintaining these types of gardens.

https://youtu.be/xPq1f8YGYwI

April 8- Barbara Ertter- A Naturalist’s Camino: Circumnavigating Spain by Bus, Train, and Foot

Everyone’s Camino de Santiago is different!  Barbara Ertter shares experiences and reflections from her walk in September 2018, with special attention to the natural history of the Iberian Peninsula.  Barbara’s Camino was only the final 200 km over an 11 day period, with some support from a tour company. However, the preceding bus tour from Madrid to Barcelona via Andalusia provided an unexpectedly relevant foundation for the Camino itself, as well opening windows into the surprising wealth of natural history in Spain.  Philosophical reflections are interspersed throughout the talk, including thoughts on  possible analogs in Idaho.

https://youtu.be/77CGL5kvfps