Tales from the Mushroom Trail - Notes & Video from the July First Tuesday

Notes by Volunteer Intern Piper Sallquist

Video Summary by Volunteer Intern Claire Waichler

Morels and the Methow: Hunting an Underground Culture

On July 1st, the Methow Conservancy hosted author Langdon Cook for a lecture on his new book, The Mushroom Hunters: On the Trail of an Underground America. Cook is a Seattle-based author known for his writing on the food and culture of the Northwest, and his new book only expands on this.  He spoke of his time traveling with and investigating the peculiar group of people devoted to picking and distributing mushrooms in the forests of the West. In certain seasons and years, the Methow Valley is ripe with morels, and this bounty attracts some hobby harvesters and some commercial. 

Cook tells his stories with an explorer’s gleam in his eye- at once nonchalant and thrilled to deliver adventure stories from an unexpected origin. Mushroom hunting is a casual pastime for many, but Cook takes a pastime and makes it his entire world. He recounted stories of hours long hikes yielding over a hundred pounds of the coveted fungi, and tales of temporary camps occupied for months at a time during the fleeting harvest seasons. The mushroom trade is the second largest all-cash industry in the United States, and operates in a shady world of seekers too stubborn or independent to pursue an industry with lower-hanging fruit. Cook immersed himself in this culture, becoming a mushroom hunter himself and following the “mushroom trail”, the migration pattern up and down the west coast that allows for full time fungus gathering.

The lecture was also peppered with photos of ways in which mushrooms might be consumed- from lobster mushroom risotto to matsutake stir-fry. Cook’s ability to combine adventure tale and homegrown gourmet was striking and quite effective, and certainly worked as an advertisement for his book.

When asked about the sustainability of the mushroom trade, Cook emphasized the benefits of appreciating and experiencing the forest to its fullest potential. 

What a way to start the summer!

Bighorn Sheep of the Okanogan - Video & Notes from the Jan 2014 "First Tuesday"

Jeff Heinlen, WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Biologist, gave our January 2014 "First Tuesday" program.  Here is a video of the talk and some notes.  He talked about the cultural history, ecology and life history, and management issues associated with the Bighorn Sheep of Okanogan County.

The video starts about 10 minutes into his presentation and lasts 51 minutes.



Notes by volunteer Bob Herbert
The Methow Conservancy’s first First Tuesday lecture for the 2014 season was presented by Jeff Heinlen.  Jeff spoke to a packed Twisp River Pub crowd about the Bighorn Sheep of Okanogan County.  There are seven herds of Bighorn sheep currently located in and around Okanogan County.  Washington’s herds are divided between two species, the California Big Horn, and Rocky Mountain Big Horn sheep.  Females can grow to around 150 pounds and males can weigh up to 200 pounds, and they choose to live amongst the steepest cliffs they can find. 

Their habitat is their best protection, and their soft, split hooves provide them with the stability necessary to traverse narrow ledges.  Their hoof design is similar to the Mountain Goats of the North Cascades and Rocky Mountains, and they both escape predators by climbing out onto ledges that no other creature dare walk.  Unlike deer and elk, Big Horn sheep’s split hooves are spongy.  This allows them to grip the uneven surfaces of the rock ledges they are climbing.  Their soft hooves can be used to grip and pull themselves straight up vertical cliffs with strength of their front legs.  Their leg bones and joints are also designed with shock absorbers so they can withstand the impact of a twenty foot leap onto solid rock. 

Bighorn sheep are grass eating vegetarians, like deer and elk, but unlike deer and elk, who have antlers that are shed annually, bighorns have horns that they keep their whole lives.  The full shape of their curled horns takes seven to eight years to form and the rings on the horn are one of the ways in which to identify their age.  Their horns make up between 8-12% of their total weight and they are used for protection, as well as for sparring during the fall rut.  In the fall, the males will ram their heads together in order to determine the pecking order for mating purposes.  The rings on their horns represent a years worth of growth, just like the rings on a tree.  The first five years shows the fastest growth and the largest distance between rings.  As they get older, the rings grow closer and closer to one another.  Another way to determine the age of a sheep is to slice one of their teeth.  A cross-section of one of their molars reveals a ring for each year of growth. 

There were seven sub species of Bighorn sheep in the west, but one of them has gone extinct.  By 1935 the entire population of Bighorn sheep was either hunted to extinction (locally), or killed from disease brought over by domestic European sheep.  In 1957, eighteen Bighorn sheep were reintroduced from British Columbia into northern Washington State and they were allowed to reproduce and expand inside of protected pens during the 1960’s.  After they were released near the Canadian border, they spread out south and east over the Columbia basin, until they eventually established seven individual herds.  There are approximately 500-600 Bighorn Sheep currently living in and around Okanogan County, and we are lucky to live amongst these unique creatures! 

            

Wolverines, Grizzly Bears, and the Natural Power of Connections - Notes from the Dec 2013 Holiday Program

Doug Chadwick by Karen Reeves

By Volunteer Bob Herbert

The Methow Conservancy's December program was standing room only for the biologist and author Doug Chadwick.  Doug traveled from his home outside Glacier National Park and he shared with us his vast knowledge about two of North America’s fiercest predators.  Doug is an expert on wolverines and grizzlies, and the photographs and stories he shared were enthralling.  Both creatures play an important role in the food chain, and they both provide balance to the pristine Rocky Mountain wilderness they call home.  They live on the crown of the continent, and Doug showed us that the wolverine prefers the crests to the valleys, and they summit the tallest peaks before breakfast.

             

Chadwick & "Tank" snarling by Joel Sartore

There is approximately one grizzly bear for every five square miles, and they and the wolves are known as ‘keystone species.’  The Northern Rocky Mountains boast the largest and densest population of grizzlies on the planet.  The berries the bears eat are returned to the ecosystem in the form of fertilizer and seed, which insures a constant source of food for these magnificent creatures.  The digging bears do in order to find grubs helps to turn the soil over, which is why Doug referred to them as the gardeners of the mountains.  These bears are survivors and they are capable of living in extreme conditions.  We learned that there are thirty grizzlies that still remain in the harsh, arid climate of the Gobi desert. 

Wolverine by Steven Gnam

The grizzly bear is a powerful creature and it symbolizes the rugged wilderness of North America, but the stories Doug shared about the wolverine kept the audience’s jaws open in awe and utter respect for this elusive creature.  The wolverine hales from the same family as weasels and martins and they reside in the alpine and sub-alpine regions of North America.  They grow to around three feet in length and they weigh thirty pounds at maturity.  They have been known to take down moose and caribou, and they are fierce enough to drive grizzly bears off of a carcass.  They travel the most difficult routes possible, over the highest peaks in the area.  They travel straight up avalanche chutes and down the backside of mountains at a speed that is unattained by any other creature, and they do it with the endurance necessary to evade any predator.  One GPS tracking device showed how a wolverine climbed a vertical mile to the summit of a mountain and back down to the next valley in ninety minutes.  They did this in the middle of winter with heavy snow on the mountain.  For any Methow locals who would like to test their endurance and speed against the wolverine, you can replicate this feat by starting at the base of Last Chance Point, attaining the summit, and returning to the road that leads to Hart’s Pass in 90 minutes, in snowshoes, in February.

Captive wolverines by Dale Pedersen

Wolverine by Steven Gnam

Wolverines will dig through 20 feet of snow in order to find a marmot sleeping in a den.  They dig their own den in 10-12 feet of snow, and they will tunnel 20-50 feet horizontally, which is why global warming is threatening this rare species.  The only real competition the wolverine has for food is bacteria, and they have been known to return to cached food tens of miles away, months after the kill, in order to find a meal during the harsh winter months.  Wolverines will not tolerate temperatures over 70 degrees, which is why they make their homes in the most remote, glacier covered mountains of North America.  There were 110 glaciers in Glacier National Park when it was founded in 1910, but there are only 23 that remain today.  The reduction of possible den sites and feeding grounds means that wolverine habitat is disappearing faster than any other species in that ecosystem.  There is an estimated 35-45 wolverines living in an area that covers 1,500 square miles.  The same area contains approximately 150 grizzlies, so you can see how rare the wolverine really is.  The wolverine’s territory covers 200 square miles of the most rugged landscape on the continent, and it is estimated that only 300 remain in the lower 48 states.   

Thank you to Doug for sharing his knowledge, expertise, and humor with us. and thanks to the Methow Conservancy for bringing him here.  I’m sure that everyone who attended gained a healthy respect for the wolverine and the grizzly bear, and we are lucky enough to have a small wolverine population living in our side yard in the North Cascades. 

Storytelling for Change - Notes from the Nov 2013 "1st Tuesday"

By volunteer, Bob Herbert
The Methow Conservancy’s "First Tuesday" program for November was filled to capacity with people eager to learn more about our resident film makers Benjamin Drummond and Sara Joy Steele.  Benj and Sara have started a project called Facing Climate Change and it focuses on the affects that global warming is having on northwest communities and tribes.  They have adopted a short film format that focuses on how global warming and climate change is affecting people’s lives and their livelihoods.  The average length of their mindfully created productions is just over four minutes, which means they are able to distribute them through the many social media networks.  

"Oyster Farmers: Facing Climate Change"

The first film we watched spotlighted a family owned oyster farm that was forced to relocate their hatchery due to increasing acidity in the oceans.  It is estimated that 25% of the carbon dioxide that has been produced through the emission of greenhouse gases has been absorbed by the oceans.  The increased levels of CO2 have lowered the pH and it is happening faster than climatologists expected.  The acidity of the Puget Sound is actually increasing faster than other areas due to the strong ocean upwelling that occurs here.  The colder the water, the higher the concentration of CO2.  The owners watched their oyster spawn decrease year after year.  Young oysters were struggling to survive in the acidic water; in some cases their thin shells would dissolve.  The family finally made the decision to open a hatchery in Hilo, HI.  They knew the pH would continue to drop so they were forced to relocate their oyster farm to an area where the ocean is warmer and acidification has not had as big of an impact.  

Plateau Tribes: Facing Climate Change

The next film focused on the Umatilla tribe of northeastern Oregon.  The Umatilla tribe has made a commitment to maintain the purity and availability of the First Foods given to the Indian people of North America.  They live in the high plains and they dig the same roots and gather the same berries as did their ancestors.  To this day, the Umatilla serve the same roots, berries, and salmon in their long houses, in the same exact order in which they were received from the Creator countless generations ago.  They share the First Foods with their brothers and sisters in the animal kingdom and they have made a promise to preserve these sacred foods for all.  This may become increasingly more difficult with time however, as the temperature continues to climb here in the northwest.  The Umatilla fear that the roots and berries will be forced into higher elevations, or even become extinct, and the quantity and quality of salmon suffers when water temperature increases.  The boundaries of their reservation will not change with the climate, so the future of the Umatilla’s food source depends on whether or not the developed countries of the world are will to do the right thing and address climate change once and for all. 

Benjamin and Sara’s films tell a personal, localized story.  This format is an extremely effective way of getting a message across in a short amount of time, and the stories they tell should be heard by as many people as possible.  More details about their Facing Climate Change series (which also includes films about coastal tribes and potato farmers) is available to watch at their website - http://bdsjs.com/ - and I urge you to check them out.   

Sara and Benj also showed the audience two films in their work for TEAM Network, a global web of field stations that provide an early warning system for loss of biodiversity in tropical forests.  Badru's Story was an official selection at the Wild & Scenic Film Festival and was also shown at the Mountainfilm Festival.  

Our natural history-loving crowd got a kick out of Benj and Sara's unique interviews called "The Natural History Project."  See a short film and/or listen to 15 different interviews at the website.

Thanks again Sara Joy Steele and Benjamin Drummond for sharing your films and thank you for the tireless work you are doing for the planet and its inhabitants!

Wolves in the Land of Salmon - Notes from the March "First Tuesday" Program

By Bob Herbert, Volunteer & Program Attendee
All photos © David Moskowitz

The Methow Conservancy’s March “First Tuesday” program was presented by David Moskowitz, author of the new book, Wolves in the Land of Salmon, as well as the field guide, Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest.  The free program attracted well over 200 people.  

For the past two years David put his expert tracking skills to work all over the Northwest studying and documenting the elusive and thrilling wolf.  Wolves have had a long history with North America, and their presence has come and gone for different reasons.  When the glaciers crept south, so too did the wolf.  When the ice receded the wolf followed it north into Canada.  There have been times when the wolf’s range covered all of North America, and we are lucky to live in one of the few places in America where the wolf has begun to naturally reestablish itself.

Wolves’ adaptability is one of its strengths, and through evolution the wolf has separated itself from its cousin the coyote in size, bulk, speed and strength.  The increase in the size of their paw and leg, combined with a broader chest, enable the wolf to take down large game like elk.  Wolves also have larger and broader noses compared with coyotes, and they have adapted to the snow by increasing paw size and decreasing the height of their ears.  They also have thicker coats compared with coyotes, which helps their survival throughout the cold winter months of the Northwest.

           

A wolf den in the North Cascades

Wolf packs typically contain one mating pair of adults and a group of their offspring and cousins.  Wolves coalesce at a “den site” only for the summer birthing period.  Dens are dug around natural features, such as holes under rocks, or old burrows of other animals.  After the pups have nursed and are outside the den, the pack roams within a territory, often splitting up, but then meeting again at a designated “rendezvous site.”  Here in the Pacific Northwest, the ideal range used by wolves is middle to low elevation forests and meadows.  Only in the height of summer do wolves move into the high country when large game has moved there too. 

Two wolves playing on the beach. Clayoquot Sound, BC

David’s research brought him far north of Vancouver to the Great Bear Rainforest wolf pack of British Columbia where he learned just how adaptable the wolf really is.  This area is a chain of uninhabited islands and he observed wolves fishing for salmon, eating barnacles and seals, and swimming miles of open ocean in order to travel between islands.  They have adapted to life on the coast to the point that they know to only eat the brain of the salmon, because the remainder of the flesh contains a parasite that can be harmful to canines.  We also learned that the Imnaha wolf pack that lives in Northeast Oregon swam across the Snake River in order to establish their new home. 

The last historic wolf pack in Washington lived in Olympic National Park in the 1930’s, and as we saw in photos, the elk have overgrazed many areas of the rainforest as a result of the elimination of the wolf.  The one thing ecologists, scientists and environmentalists all agree on these days is the fact that everything is interconnected on this planet.  The wolf is a glaring example of what can happen when a major predator is removed from a landscape.  Populations of various species can expand unnaturally and uncurbed, resulting in imbalances that can be seen throughout the ecosystem, from plants to animals.  When a wolf pack keeps populations of deer and elk in check everyone benefits, including the ravens, eagles, bears, coyote, fox and mice that eat from the wolf’s kill. 

Young wolves in the Great Bear Rainforest, BC

Another unexpected change that has occurred as a result of the elimination of the wolf is the reduction in the population of the Olympic Marmot.  The coyote population expanded after the wolf disappeared, but unlike the wolf, the coyote eats marmots.  In another example of interconnectedness, after the wolf was reintroduced into Yellowstone researchers discovered that the beaver made a comeback.  The elk no longer over-grazed the streams that contained the cottonwood and aspen groves because they needed to stay alert and on the move with a predator in the vicinity.  Beaver will only live where there are mature aspen and cottonwood and the elk had been eating the new shoots and not allowing them to mature, but that all changed when the wolf returned.  The elk moved about more and the beaver returned to their natural habitat.    

A wolf feeding on an elk carcass in MT

The wolf is at the top of the food chain, except for perhaps humans, David pointed out.  Wolves will hunt and kill prey species for food but they will also scavenge from other carnivore’s work.  Humans and wolves have a long history of coexisting together, but there is only one documented case in all of history of an attack on a human.  The parking lot at the mall poses more of a threat to us and with the help and dedication of people like David, the education process and understanding of wolves will continue moving in a positive direction.

Wolf in NW Montana

Every action we impose on the natural world around us results in a cascade of events.  The more we understand about the wolf and the integral part they play in the balance of nature, the better off we will all be.  David led an invigorating and enlightening discussion on wolves and his dedication to the species seemed inspiring to those in attendance.                     

The reddish hue of this young grey wolf is typical of many wolves in coastal British Columbia