The spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) is an invasive species of leafhopper (a type of insect) that was accidentally brought to the U.S. from Asia. It was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014 and has spread to multiple states since then.

This episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast is all about the spotted lanternfly and is a little different than most episodes, because I don't just have one guest – I have four guests. Each of the guests on this episode represents a different part of the spotted lanternfly story and response.

Erin Otto is the National Policy Manager for the spotted lanternfly and is with the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service or APHIS. She joins us to help us understand the overarching work and coordination at the national level in regard to spotted lanternflies.

Dana Rhodes is the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's State Plant Regulatory Official. She brings with her the "been there, done that" wisdom, experiences, and lessons learned of a state that has been dealing with spotted lanternflies for several years now.

Subba Reddy Palli is Kentucky's State Entomologist and a Department Chair at the University of Kentucky. He represents those states that are on the leading edge, don't have spotted lanternflies yet, and would like to keep it that way for as long as possible.

Tracy Leskey is a Research Entomologist and Director at the USDA's Appalachian Fruit Research Station. Tracy joins us to share some of the research going on related to spotted lanternflies. The researchers aren't always the most visible individuals when it comes to emerging threats, but the work they do is vital to helping resource managers and others better understand the threat and ways to stop it, or at least manage it.

Our conversation covers a wide range of topics including basic biology of the spotted lanternfly, information about its life cycle, the impacts caused by the spotted lanternfly, how it spreads, ways to manage it, current research, and much more. One of the points that came up over and over again in our conversation is how this is such a collaborative team effort. Federal agencies, state agencies, cities and local municipalities, universities, corporations, industries, and private individuals are all working together to address the spotted lanternfly. We all have a role to play when it comes to combatting this invasive species.

Links:

• National Plant Board's members page: https://www.nationalplantboard.org/members.html
• Penn State Extension spotted lanternfly page: https://extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly
• Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture spotted lanternfly page: https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Plants_Land_Water/PlantIndustry/Entomology/spotted_lanternfly/Pages/default.aspx
• Stop SLF website: https://www.stopslf.org/index.cfm
• USDA APHIS spotted lanternfly page: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/resources/pests-diseases/hungry-pests/slf/
• Backyard Ecology's website: https://backyardecology.net
• My email: [email protected]

Episode image:

• Spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) winged adult and 4th instar nymph.
• Photo credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture, public domain

When it comes to planting for pollinators or gardening for pollinators, the traditional advice has always been to plant larger patch sizes or clumps of plants. The thought is that the larger patch sizes will be easier to see and more attractive to pollinators than smaller clumps or patch sizes. But saying that assumes that all pollinators are attracted to the same thing and that they respond to different species of plants in the same way.

In this episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast, we talk with Tristan Barley. Tristan recently received his Masters degree from Miami University in Ohio, and is currently a PhD student in Entomology at the University of Illinois. The research that Tristan conducted for his Master's thesis questioned the traditional advice.

Tristan's research looked at whether all pollinators prefer larger patch sizes and whether those preferences would vary not only based on the type of pollinator but also based on the type of plant. Perhaps, not surprisingly, he found that patch size preferences were different for some pollinators compared to others, specifically bumble bees and some of our tiny bees. He also found that the species of flower sometimes influenced the pollinator's patch size preference. In addition, Tristan looked at how different patch sizes affected seed production in one of the plant species he studied. It was interesting to think about the influences of patch size from the plant's perspective, and not just from the pollinator's perspective.

Our conversation discussed his research including what his findings meant from a practical standpoint and how we can apply his findings in our own pollinator gardens and pollinator plantings. We also talked about how many different types of animals visit flowers and how much happens on a flower. We both recommend taking time to just stare at a flower and enjoy getting to know everything that visits the flower.

Links:

• Do Pollinators Prefer Dense Flower Patches? Sometimes Yes, Sometimes No: https://entomologytoday.org/2022/01/12/pollinators-prefer-dense-flower-patches-sometimes-yes-no/
• The Effects of Flower Patch Density on Pollinator Visitation: https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=miami1605828141532099&disposition=inline
• Bauer Lab at Miami University: https://jonathantbauer.com/
• The Dolezal Bee Research Lab: https://publish.illinois.edu/dolezalbeelab/
• Backyard Ecology's website: https://backyardecology.net
• Related Backyard Ecology resources:
  • Conserving our Southeastern Grasslands with Dwayne Estes: https://www.backyardecology.net/conserving-our-southeastern-grasslands-with-dwayne-estes/
• My email: [email protected]

Episode image:

• Rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium)growing in a prairie.
• Photo credit: Jason Johnson, Iowa NRCS, public domain

In 2021, Kyle Lybarger began creating TikTok videos about native plants and grassland ecosystems in Alabama. He quickly became a social media star and even gained the attention of more traditional media streams including The Weather Channel. Kyle is doing terrific work teaching about and raising awareness of native plants and grassland communities. He is also actively involved in multiple on-the-ground conservation and restoration projects.

Kyle has been on my list of people to invite on the Backyard Ecology podcast for a while, but I couldn't decide on the right topic. Well, if you follow his Native Habitat Project videos on any of his social media platforms, then you know that Kyle is a wealth of information on a variety of topics. He's the type of person who would just be a lot of fun to go out in the field with or sit down and have a conversation with. So I decided, why not do that? Instead of trying to pick one specific topic to talk about, let's just have a conversation and that's what we did for this episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast.

Like any good conversation, ours takes many different twists and turns. One topic we talked about in detail is how less than 1% of our native grasslands remain, but well over 90% of the eastern U.S. is privately owned. The result is that many of our remaining grassland ecosystem in the East are on private land. Often times, the landowners don't know they have anything rare or special, because to them it is just "normal." This can sometimes be true even in the middle of a neighborhood like with the Porter's goldenrod story that he shared with us. Other topics we discussed included habitat management activities we are doing, how people can learn to identify plants or grassland remnants, and his goals for the Native Habitat Project.

Links:

• Native Habitat Project:
  • Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/NativeHabitatProject
  • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nativehabitatproject/
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NativeHabitatProject
  • TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nativeplanttok
  • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCISRiNeM7BACmSGq_dg-UJA
• Native Habitat Managers Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/224100792703827/
• Tennessee Valley Natives (Kyle's native plant nursery): https://www.facebook.com/TennesseeValleyNatives/
• Kyle's email: [email protected]
• Backyard Ecology's website: https://backyardecology.net
• Related Backyard Ecology resources:
  • Conserving our Southeastern Grasslands with Dwayne Estes: https://www.backyardecology.net/conserving-our-southeastern-grasslands-with-dwayne-estes/
  • An Introduction to iNaturalist with Maddy Heredia: https://www.backyardecology.net/an-introduction-to-inaturalist-with-maddy-heredia/
• My email: [email protected]

Episode image:

• Field of native grassland flowers.
• Photo credit: USFWS

Sometimes you read or hear something that makes you say, "Wait a minute! What?" It was one of those moments that led to this episode. In this episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast, I talk with David Mason. David is a PhD candidate at the University of Florida who has been doing some really interesting work related to songbirds, seed dispersal, and disturbed areas.

Open habitats such as grasslands, shrublands, and open woods are often very rich in bird diversity and abundance. Fires used to be a relatively common occurrence in these areas and would help them remain open instead of growing up into closed canopy forests. Many of these areas are adapted to fire, but we don't always realize it because fires have been suppressed for centuries. Over the last few decades, however, the use of prescribed fires for maintaining open habitats has become increasingly common.

Much of David's research is focused on seed dispersal by songbirds after a prescribed fire. David shares this research with us including the types of seeds that birds are bringing to his research sites. We also talk about what he isn't finding, which is actually why I wanted to have him as a guest on the podcast. We not only discuss his findings, but also the potential implications and applications of those findings.

David's research on songbird-mediated seed dispersal after prescribed fires is the main focus of our conversation. However, his broader interest is in seed dispersal after a variety of disturbance events – prescribed fire being just one type of disturbance and songbirds being just one method of dispersal. Towards the end of our conversation, we briefly touch on another branch of his seed dispersal research. This is a connection that I don't know if I ever would have thought about on my own, but it raised some interesting questions for me and made me think about things a little differently.

Links:

• David's contact info:
  • Website: https://davidmason.work/
  • Instagram: @ecograffito
  • Twitter: @ecograffito
  • email: [email protected]
• UF D.E.E.R Lab
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ufdeerlab/
  • Instagram: @ufdeerlab
  • Twitter: @ufdeerlab
• Backyard Ecology's website: https://backyardecology.net
• My email: [email protected]

Episode image:

Mockingbirds and other songbirds can be important agents for seed dispersal. Photo credit: Matt MacGillivray, CC-BY 2.0

Winter is often depicted as being dark and cold. A time to slow down and spend more time inside, than outside. But winter can be a really great time for observing nature and doing many habitat management activities. Habitat management activities that we can do in the winter is a topic that I get asked about frequently. So, I thought it might be helpful to share with you some of the things that we do on our farm at this time of year or that we recommend to others.

In this episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast, we're talking with Anthony Trimboli. You may remember Anthony from the trail camera episode he did with us several months ago. Anthony is a wildlife biologist and my husband. He also helps me with my nursery and habitat consulting business.

Anthony and my conversation is very fluid. We cover a wide range of habitat management activities such as identifying and treating invasive species, identifying erosion issues that may need to be addressed in the future, cutting trees, and planting.

Our conversation also frequently wanders from habitat management activities to more general activities related to observing nature. That only made sense to us, because being able to see and enjoy the nature on our property is one of the reasons why we do the habitat work that we do. Some of the nature observations we frequently like to do in the winter are search for cool native plants, look for vernal pools and observe the animals found there, look for shed antlers, and watch the birds. Hopefully, you enjoy are our conversation and find it helpful as you think about activities to do on your property this winter.

Links:

• Backyard Ecology's website - https://backyardecology.net
• Other relevant Backyard Ecology podcast episodes:
  • NRCS Programs for Pollinators and Wildlife - https://www.backyardecology.net/nrcs-programs-for-pollinators-and-wildlife/
  • Trail cameras: A fun way to watch wildlife in your yard - https://www.backyardecology.net/trail-cameras-a-fun-way-to-watch-wildlife-in-your-yard/
  • More than a Mud Puddle: The Exciting World of Vernal Pools - https://www.backyardecology.net/more-than-a-mud-puddle-the-exciting-world-of-vernal-pools/
• Other relevant Backyard Ecology blog articles:
  • The Goldenrod Gall Fly: An Insect with a Fascinating Life History and Valuable Role in the Ecosystem - https://www.backyardecology.net/the-goldenrod-gall-fly-an-insect-with-a-fascinating-life-history-and-valuable-role-in-the-ecosystem/
  • Ground Cedar: A Unique Evergreen Groundcover of Eastern Forests - https://www.backyardecology.net/ground-cedar-a-unique-evergreen-groundcover-of-eastern-forests/
  • Cranefly Orchid: A cryptic native orchid - https://www.backyardecology.net/cranefly-orchid-tipularia-discolor-a-cryptic-native-orchid/
• My email: [email protected]

Episode image:

• A patch of goldenrod on our farm.
• Photo credit: Shannon Trimboli, all rights reserved

The first "real" episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast went live on December 3, 2020. (Technically that was episode 2, but I don't count the introduction episode as a "real" episode because all I was doing was telling you that I was going to start the Backyard Ecology podcast.) This is episode 40, and we are fast approaching 25,000 total downloads. I am excited by how both the Backyard Ecology blog and the Backyard Ecology podcast have grown over the last year, and I am thankful to all my listeners and readers.

In this episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast, I thought it would be fun to review the top 10 most downloaded episodes in 2021. Maybe you'll find one that you missed, or be reminded of one that you wanted to listen to but then forgot about. Hopefully, you'll also be reminded of some of the episodes that you really enjoyed.

Also, let me know in the comments what your favorite episode was this year. Was it one of these? Or was it another one that didn't make the top 10 list? I know there were a lot of good episodes that didn't quite make the top 10 list.

Top 10 most downloaded Backyard Ecology podcast episodes this year

10) NRCS Programs for Pollinators and Wildlife - https://www.backyardecology.net/nrcs-programs-for-pollinators-and-wildlife/

9) Deer Ticks and Lyme Disease - https://www.backyardecology.net/deer-ticks-and-lyme-disease-why-is-lyme-disease-more-common-in-the-north/

8) Winter Hummingbirds in the Eastern U.S. - https://www.backyardecology.net/winter-hummingbirds-in-the-eastern-u-s/

7) Bats and Bat Houses - https://www.backyardecology.net/bats-and-bat-houses/

6) Acorns, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians and More: Responses to Forest Disturbances - https://www.backyardecology.net/acorns-birds-reptiles-amphibians-and-more-responses-to-forest-disturbances/

5) Mysterious Bird Deaths of 2021 - https://www.backyardecology.net/mysterious-bird-deaths-of-2021-digging-deeper-into-the-bird-mortality-event/

4) Growing Native Plants in Small Yards - https://www.backyardecology.net/growing-native-plants-in-small-yards/

3) Growing Native Plants: Insights and Stories from 3 Native Plant Nurseries - https://www.backyardecology.net/growing-native-plants-insights-and-stories-from-3-native-plant-nurseries/

2) A Conversation with the Co-Hosts of the Native Plants, Healthy Planet Podcast - https://www.backyardecology.net/a-conversation-with-the-co-hosts-of-the-native-plants-healthy-planet-podcast/

1) Factors that Make Pollinator Gardens More Attractive to Pollinators - https://www.backyardecology.net/factors-that-make-pollinator-gardens-more-attractive-to-pollinators/

Bonus episode:

Some people prefer listening to podcasts on YouTube, but YouTube views don't count as downloads. So, for a bonus, I wanted to share the most viewed episode on YouTube. That episode is:

• Milkweeds in Urban and Suburban Monarch Waystations with Dr. Adam Baker -https://www.backyardecology.net/milkweeds-in-urban-and-suburban-monarch-waystations-with-dr-adam-baker/.

Lichens are AMAZING organisms. You can find them practically everywhere from very urban areas to very rural areas. You can find them growing on trees, rocks, buildings, benches, and all kinds of different things. But many of us really don't know a whole lot about lichens.

In today's episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast, I talk with Dr. James Lendemer. James is the lichenologist at the New York Botantical Gardens and a professor at the City University of New York. He also co-authored the book, Urban Lichens: A Field Guide for Northeastern North America.

Our conversation dives into many different realms of the fascinating world of lichens. James and his colleagues say that "Lichens are a lifestyle," because lichens don't have a single common ancestor like you would find for all sunflowers or all oak trees. Instead, lichens have evolved multiple times in multiple different types of fungus. In some ways saying a fungus is a lichen is like saying an animal is an herbivore, carnivore, or parasite. It is simply describing a feeding style.

We also talked about how lichens are made up primarily of a fungus and either an algal or cyanobacteria, but also include all kinds of other organisms. Each lichen is kind of like its own little ecosystem. It's also the fungus that determines the species of lichen. Depending on the species of lichen, the individual lichens could all share the same species of algal or cyanobacteria or the individuals could contain different species of algae and cyanobacteria. It can get complicated, but very intriguing at the same time.

James and my conversation covered many other topics including how most species of lichens in eastern North America can be identified in the field with a hand lens and a good field guide. The new book, Urban Lichens: A Field Guide for Northeastern North America, that he co-authored with Jessica Allen and Jordan Hoffman provides one such field guide.

Urban Lichens was primarily written as a field guide to the lichens in New York City and other large urban areas in the northeast, but it isn't good only in urban areas. Many of the species found in those areas are also the most common species found in yards throughout the temperate regions of eastern North America. That makes it a great option for those of us wanting to learn more about the lichens in our own yards and communities, regardless of whether we live in a large metropolitan area, a suburban area, or a more rural area.

Links:

• James' books
  • Urban Lichens: A Field Guide for Northeastern North America * - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0300252994/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0300252994&linkCode=as2&tag=backyardecolo-20&linkId=ecd8e598790d4d007d3463fc00002488
  • Field Guide to the Lichens of Great Smoky Mountains National Park * - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1621905144/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1621905144&linkCode=as2&tag=backyardecolo-20&linkId=a4c3cb5df024e7516aaf65846c98a9e7
• Other resources recommended by James
  • Lichens of North America * - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0300082495/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0300082495&linkCode=as2&tag=backyardecolo-20&linkId=593214d1815f6555ea597d5a6415b902
  • Lichen Monitoring Curriculum: Middle School - https://www.nps.gov/grsm/learn/education/classrooms/lp-ncms-lichens.htm
  • Lichen Monitoring Curriculum: High School - https://www.nps.gov/grsm/learn/education/classrooms/lp-nchs-lichens.htm
• Backyard Ecology's website - https://backyardecology.net
• My email: [email protected]

Episode image:

• Lichens growing on the trunk of a city tree.
• Photo credit: James Lendemer, all rights reserved

Wild turkeys are fascinating birds that are only found in North America. They are also a conservation success story – one which most people aren't aware of because the turn-around was so successful. In this episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast, we talk with Dr. Bret Collier. Bret is a Professor of Wildlife Ecology at Louisiana State University who specializes in studying wild turkeys.

If you ask a room of wildlife biologists to name our nation's greatest conservation success stories, you are most likely to hear wild turkeys, white-tailed deer, and wood ducks come up frequently. It's hard to believe now, but there was a time, not too long ago really, when wild turkeys, white-tailed deer, and wood ducks had been extirpated from many areas and were steadily declining in population numbers. Losing them would have been a distinct possibility. But massive conservation efforts turned those declines around. Now all three of those species are so common throughout much of their range that the conservation success stories they represent have been mostly forgotten.

Bret and I discuss the wild turkey's conservation success story because we both believe that it is a story worth telling and one that doesn't need to be forgotten. We also talk about current turkey populations, because in the southeast we are seeing a decrease in turkey populations. There are hints that this might be starting to occur in other parts of the country too.

As Bret said during our conversation, "Wild turkey conservation at a national level rests on the private landowners." This is because so much of our land is privately owned, especially in the eastern U.S. So, in addition to talking about wild turkey populations, Bret shares with us the types of habitat that turkeys need and helps us understand some of the things we can do to make our properties a little better for turkeys.

Links:

• Bret's contact information
  • email: [email protected]
  • Twitter – https://twitter.com/drshortspur
  • Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/drshortspur
• Bret's webpage – https://www.lsu.edu/rnr/people/profiles/collier.php
• Wild Turkey Doc sites that Bret recommended
  • Twitter – https://twitter.com/wildturkeydoc
  • Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wildturkeydoc
• Backyard Ecology's website - https://backyardecology.net
• My email: [email protected]

Episode image:

• Male wild turkey
• Photo credit: Alabama Extension, public domain

When it comes to gardening for monarchs, the most common thing you hear is "plant milkweeds." Milkweeds are important, because they are the only thing that monarch caterpillars can eat. But they aren't the whole story. In fact, having other types of flowering plants available can actually make your gardens more attractive to monarchs according to recent research from the University of Florida.

In this episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast, we talk with Rebecca Nestle. Rebecca recently completed her Master's degree at the University of Florida where she explored several different topics related to gardening for monarchs.

Part of Rebecca's research looked at how many eggs monarchs laid on focal milkweed plants in gardens composed only of milkweeds compared to gardens with several species that bloomed throughout the growing season. She also dove into another topic that relates to concerns we both often hear about monarch predators. In this part of her study, she compared the number of "natural enemies" (parasitoids and predators of monarchs) in mixed-species gardens compared to milkweed-only gardens. She then compared how well monarch caterpillars survived in each of those situations. Her results for all three of these studies were both surprising and exciting.

Another part of Rebecca's research that we discussed related to the effects of high nitrogen levels on swamp milkweeds (Asclepias incarnata). She again, conducted a study that compared monoculture stands of swamp milkweed and swamp milkweeds intermixed with other species. She then looked at the impacts of these treatments on monarch caterpillars. Once again, the results were a little surprising, and potentially a little comforting for people gardening for monarchs in urban environments, near golf courses, or in other heavily fertilized locations.

Links

• Articles about Rebecca's Research
  • Study: For monarch butterflies, plant variety is the spice of life – http://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/news/2020/10/15/study-for-monarch-butterflies-plant-variety-is-the-spice-of-life/
  • Mixed-Species Gardens Increase Monarch Oviposition without Increasing Top-Down Predation – https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/11/9/648/htm
• Rebecca's Thesis
  • Investigating the Effects of Plant Diversity and Nutrients on Drivers of Monarch Fitness and Abundance – https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UFE0056937/00001
• Backyard Ecology's website - https://backyardecology.net
• My email: [email protected]

Episode image:

• Monarch butterfly nectaring on a New England aster
• Photo credit: USFWS Northeast Region, public domain

Bats are often associated with Halloween and relegated to roles in scary movies, but they are so much more. Bats are very diverse and fascinating creatures that play an invaluable role in our ecosystem. I love the fact that more people seem to be recognizing this and wanting to do things like put up bat houses and make their yards more bat friendly.

In this episode, I talk with Reed Crawford. Reed is a PhD student in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is studying bats and how they thermoregulate. His research has lots of implications for how we can make our bat houses safer for and more attractive to bats.

Reed and I start out talking about some of the common myths we hear about bats and the many threats that bats face. We then move on to discuss how bats need roosting spots with different conditions depending on factors like the time of year and the reproductive stage of the bat. The temperature of the site throughout the day and night is one of those important conditions, especially for moms and their young (pups).

Unfortunately, sometimes our bat houses can provide nice, warm, attractive conditions for mother bats to raise their young, but on our really warm summer days can get too hot and potentially kill the bats. Part of Reed's research is looking at different modifications we can make to bat houses to make them safer for the bats. We talk about many of those modifications including a different style of bat house called a rocket box, that doesn't look like the flat boxes that are commonly sold as bat houses.

In addition to Reed's research, we talked about suggestions for putting up a bat house and improving the bat habitat around our homes. One of the questions Reed and I both commonly get in regards to bat houses, is "Why aren't bats using the bat house that I put up?" Unfortunately, there isn't a simple answer to that question. It often depends on a number of different factors. But, hopefully Reed's research and those of others pursuing similar questions, will help us give more solid answers to that question in the future.

Links

• Reed's email: [email protected]
• Websites Reed Recommends:
  • Tips for making bat boxes safer for bats - https://wildlife.nres.illinois.edu/tips-for-making-bat-boxes-safer-for-bats/
  • Human-Wildlife Interactions Lab - https://wildlife.nres.illinois.edu/
  • Center for Bat Research, Outreach, and Conservation - https://www.indstate.edu/cas/isubatcenter
  • Bat Conservation International - https://www.batcon.org/
• Research Papers Reed Recommends:
  • Avoiding a conservation pitfall: Considering the risks of unsuitably hot bat boxes - https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/csp2.412
  • In artificial roost comparison, bats show preference for rocket box style - https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0205701
  • Surface reflectance drives nest box temperature profiles and thermal suitability for target wildlife - https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0176951
• Backyard Ecology's website - https://backyardecology.net
• My email: [email protected]

Episode image:

• Big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus)
• Photo credit: USGS, public domain