Dedication Point

This week, we’re talking about growing native plants in a nursery setting. Lots of restoration projects include as one component, the planting of nursery grown seedlings. There are several plant nurseries in the region that specialize in growing native plants for restoration projects, and for this episode, we spoke with the owners and operators of Twin Peaks nursery in McCall, ID.

This week’s interview is focused on one crucial aspect of desert shrubland restoration efforts - the use of pre-emergent herbicides. These pre-emergent herbicides prevent seeds from germinating without causing significant harm to most established perennials, and they are used almost universally in restoration projects in sage-steppe ecosystems to reduce the cover of invasive annual grasses. Brynne Lazarus, biologist with USGS, will be guiding us through her research on the use of pre-emergent herbicides in desert shrubland restoration efforts.

This week’s interview is focused on the Soda Fire. This megafire burned nearly 280,000 acres in Southwest Idaho and Southeast Oregon - just adjacent to the the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey NCA - in 2015. This wildfire generated a historic response, with more resources put into restoration, emergency stabilization, and research than ever before. We’re most interested in the research that has been conducted in an effort to test the effectiveness of a variety of different restoration strategies, and our guest is USGS ecologist Cara Applestein. Cara has been conducting research on post-fire restoration at the Soda Fire site since 2015, and shares a wealth of knowledge on this topic in today’s interview.

This week’s interview is focused on the strategic challenges associated with restoring sage-steppe ecosystems in the Great Basin. Our guest is Chad Boyd, a Rangeland Scientist and Research Leader who has been based in Eastern Oregon and working on restoration projects since 1999. His work is focused on establishing strategic decision-making protocols for land managers looking to restore sage-steppe ecosystems across the Great Basin. Despite the enormity of the problem, Chad is optimistic about the future of these landscapes, and I hope this optimism rubs off on some of our listeners!

This is the first episode of Season 4 of Dedication Point! Season 4 will be focused on restoration in the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey NCA, and we're getting this conversation started with Matt Germino, supervisory research ecologist with USGS. Germino has been leading a research team focused on restoration strategies and techniques in the Intermountain West since 2011, and he shares his wealth of knowledge on this topic here in this episode!

A panel discussion featuring Brandon Flack and Zac Hulling from the Idaho Fish and Game Department and Aaron Utz from Idaho Power discussing management strategies and the population status of waterfowl and upland game species in the CJ Strike Wildlife Management Area (which is encompassed by the Snake River Birds of Prey NCA).

Rita Dixon, the State Wildlife Action Plan Coordinator for the Idaho Fish and Game Department, discusses the diverse array of bat species that one can see in the NCA, as well as the the looming threat of white-nose syndrome, a devastating disease affecting bats across North America.

Boise State University Professor Ian Robertson discusses the role of insects in the ecosystems of the NCA, as well as his research on insect-plant interactions.

Herpetologist Kristina Parker discusses reptile surveys and rattlesnake research that she conducted in the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey NCA.

In this episode we’re talking about Jackrabbits, and how improved survey methods designed to assess their populations in the NCA hold the potential to benefit wildlife survey efforts all across the globe.

Guests for this episode are Dr. Jen Cruz, Assistant Professor at Boise State University, and her graduate student, Leticia Camacho.