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It’s time again for our annual Methow Conservation Course, and this year’s course promises to be another fantastic educational experience with stellar instructors from around the state! The 6-week course will explore the secrets of the shrub steppe landscape, revealing hidden facets of our most ubiquitous landscape – from its history and unseen influences to mysterious plant and animal relationships. Registration is open now. See the course syllabus and registration form above. Read below for more details or contact Mary by email or at 509-996-2870. North Central Washington’s shrub steppe ecosystem is teaming ecologically with wildlife and unique plants. It is also a rich part of our history and culture, from Native American and early settlers’ interactions with native plant communities to current uses. We’ll start the course by looking at shrub steppe ecology from the Columbia Basin to the Methow Valley, including the ecoregion’s geological formation. Then we’ll explore the early people of the shrub steppe landscape with guest speaker Jack Nisbet. We will burrow underground in the shrub steppe landscape to explore fossorial animal life, and then come to the surface to understand shrub steppe soils, which are teaming with life despite the arid landscape. Next, we’ll broaden our view to habitats such as water courses and cliff bands, which are unique yet integral to the flora and fauna of the shrub steppe ecosystem. The final course lectures will focus on the ecological role that disturbances such as fire and grazing play on shrub steppe vegetation communities, and how soil, hydrography, and genetic makeup of native plants are important for restoration efforts both on a large and small scale. We’ll also discuss how you can help preserve the cultural and ecological aspects of the shrub steppe in your own backyard. The course speakers include: Dana Visalli, Eric Bard, Jack Nisbet, Mike Schroeder, Kim Romain-Bondi, Jerry Benson, Heidi Newsome, George Wooten and Rob Crandall. Tuition is $125 for Methow Conservancy members. The tuition for non-members is $150, which includes a discounted one-year membership. Our volunteer/scholarship spots have filled. We expect the course to fill quickly so register soon! Contact Mary by email or at 996-2870 if you have questions. |
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The course runs for six weeks from February 1st to March 8th with one class per week on Mondays from 6:00 to 8:30pm at the Twisp River Pub. An optional dinner is served from 5:30 – 6:00pm for an additional fee. The week of the President’s Day holiday, class will meet on Tuesday Feb. 16th instead of Monday the 15th.