Nature's Archive

Forestry is incredibly interesting and important, and it really speaks to me personally, because it’s one of these fields that is inherently interdisciplinary. You have to understand how things relate and connect to create a healthy, sustainable system. 

But traditionally, forestry was all about resource extraction, which often is done at the expense of long term sustainability.

And my guest today, Ethan Tapper, is just the person to help us understand how forestry is changing. Ethan is a professional forester, and has incredibly unique personal experiences, which have helped him gain a compelling perspective on what makes for a “healthy” forest, and the trade-offs involved in getting there.

Ethan personally manages a tract of forest called Bear Island in Vermont, and has had to deal with expanses of invasive species, disease, mismanagement, and much more to turn the tides and make the forest healthier.

Today, we discuss exactly how Ethan defines what a healthy forest is, the trade-offs he considers when facing challenges such as invasive species and disease, the use of herbicides and forest thinning, and much more.

And by the way, Ethan has packaged his personal journey into a book, due out in September 2024 called How to Love a Forest. And you can find him on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. 

Also find Ethan at ethantapper.com, and his new consultancy, Bear Island Forestry.

FULL SHOW NOTES

LINKS
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Bringing Nature Home – by Doug Tallamy
The Hidden Forest Biography of an Ecosystem by Jon R. Luoma [Amazon Link]
Nature’s Best Hope – by Doug Tallamy, Dr. Tallamy’s 2020 release
The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees – by Doug Tallamy, 2021
Runes of the North by Sigurd Olsen 

Previous Podcast Episodes Mentioned
Doug Tallamy on Nature's Archive

People and Organizations
Griff Griffith TikTok / Facebook and Redwoods Rising TikTok / Facebook
Kyle Lybarger at The Native Habitat Project
Tom Groves

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

Snakes are the perfect topic for Nature’s Archive. They are often over-generalized to fit a worst-case stereotype, but they are critically important to our food webs and ecosystems. And like so much of what we discuss, once you start learning just a bit about them, you see how amazing and diverse they are.

And there are few better suited to guide us through the world of snakes than Dr. Emily Taylor. Dr. Taylor is a professor of biological sciences at California Poly San Luis Obispo and has been studying mating systems and physiology of rattlesnakes for 25 years. She’s also founder of Project RattleCam, which monitors a huge Prairie Rattlesnake rookery in Colorado, founder of Central Coast Snake Services, and an author. In fact, her latest book California Snakes and How to Find Them comes out on May 7 2024, which is literally tomorrow from the original release date of this podcast.

Today, we discuss the diversity of snakes across the United States - and I have to say, I kept saying United Snakes as I tried to read this the first time. And of course, how to find snakes, just like in the title of her book.

We discuss what different snakes eat, why the Kingsnake is named kingsnake, why live animals can’t simply claw their way out of a snake’s belly, and what it’s like to be surrounded by dozens of rattlesnakes all rattling at the same time.

Of course, we also discuss how snakes contribute to our ecosystems, and the threats that they face.

Dr. Taylor can be found on Instagram, Twitter, and Threads as @snakeymama

You can check emilytaylorscience.com for events she is attending and much more.

FULL SHOW NOTES

LINKS
Advocates for Snake Preservation
California Snakes and How to Find Them - the NEW book!
Central Coast Snake Services
Dr. Christina Zdenek - Australian snake researcher, IG, Twitter
Free Snake Relocation Directory
Marissa Ishimatsu - major photographic contributor to Dr. Taylor's new book. Check Marissa's instagram for incredible snake and nature photography
Project RattleCam
Raptors Are The Solution - resources for dealing with rodents that don't harm snakes, birds, and pets
Save the Snakes

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

2024 is going to be another year of the cicada, with the emergence of two periodical cicada groups, or broods (Brood XIII and Brood XIX), at the same time, roughly in late April to early May.

Now, throughout much of the world, cicadas serenade us in summer afternoons - you might be familiar with that, and wonder “what’s the big deal”.

But in a few special locations, periodical cicadas emerge on a specific cycle, every 13 or 17 years. These emergences are like clockwork - somehow these insects know exactly when to emerge from the ground, in synchrony with each other, across a vast geography.

But it gets better still. Multiple species of cicada emerge together, sometimes in massive numbers approaching 1.5 million per acre of land.

And weirder still, these same species might emerge on a totally different schedule, offset by years, in areas a few hundred miles away.

What’s going on here? Well, this is just the start when it comes to the amazing aspects of cicadas. And today’s guest, Dr. Chris Simon, is perhaps the world’s expert on Cicadas. She joined me for an incredible wide-ranging discussion all the way from New Zealand.

Dr. Simon has been studying cicadas for decades. She is a Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and has a list of accolades so long that I could spend several minutes reading them.

So get ready to learn why these broods of cicadas emerge as they do, how glaciation influenced their locations, why 13 year cicadas tend to occur further south than 17 year cicadas, and of course, how you can see them too.

You can find more about Dr. Simon at cicadas.uconn.edu. And if you are interested in helping contribute to research on cicadas, download the cicada safari app from Apple or Google. More on that in the episode.

FULL SHOW NOTES

LINKS

University of Connecticut Cicada Website that includes the recordings heard in today's episode.

Cicada Mania has more information on cicadas!
Cicada Safari App
Gene Kritsky's book "A Tale of Two Broods: The 2024 Emergence of Periodical Cicada Broods XIII and XIX"
Scissors Grinder (an annual cicada we mentioned)
The Queen of Trees Documentary
Tumble Science Podcast for Kids has an episode with Dr. Simon

Thanks to Kat Hill for editing help this week.

Thanks to the University of Connecticut and Dr. John Cooley for use of the cicada recordings heard in today's episode, found on cicadas.uconn.edu.

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

When it comes to understanding nature, it often seems like the ocean surface - that undulating reflective layer of water - is more like an impenetrable curtain than just a layer of water.

There is just so much we don’t know about, and are too quick to dismiss, all because we can’t easily observe what’s going on down there.

Thankfully, octopuses are having a renaissance in popular culture, and as a result, serve as sort of an ambassador to the oceans. And this is in no small part due to the efforts of my guests today, Sy Montgomery and Warren Carlyle.

Sy Montgomery is the author of Soul of the Octopus and Secrets of the Octopus, among her many works.

And Warren Carlyle is the founder of OctoNation, a nonprofit octopus fan club boasting over a million members, and they have information on and photos and videos of nearly every octopus species on Earth.

Today we discuss just how incredible octopuses - and I admit, standard words like amazing and incredible just seem to fall short when describing these creatures.

They can contort and fit through tiny holes, change their color and texture in the blink of an eye, they can reason, some can use tools, and they are incredibly strong. They range in size from a kernel of corn to 300 pounds.

We cover a range of topics, but we delve deepest into exploring their intelligence. This, coupled with their distinctive lifestyle, physiology, and abilities, often leaves us humans astounded.

Sy and Warren had a new book, Secrets of the Octopus, released on March 19 2024, and are contributing to an exciting three part National Geographic TV series coming out on Earth Day 2024.

You can find Sy at symontgomery.com, and check out Warren’s efforts at octonation.com and @octonation on most social media platforms.

Get ready for a jaw-dropping and mind bending discussion about octopuses with Sy Montgomery and Warren Carlyle.

FULL SHOW NOTES

Links

Big Eye Jellyhead video ballooning like a parachute
OctoNation (and Octopedia) - Instagram , Facebook, TikTok
secretsoftheoctopus.com - The new book!
www.symontgomery.com
Dr. Alex Schnell
Warren on Social Media: IG
Sy on Social Media: IG

Related Episode: Kelp with Tristin McHugh

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

My guest today is Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant. Dr. Wynn-Grant is the co-host of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, is a wildlife ecologist and affiliated researcher at the UC Santa Barbara Bren School of Environmental and Science Management.

She’s also an author, with her new memoir entitled “Wild Life” coming out on April 2.

Today we discuss Dr. Wynn-Grant’s unique and inspiring personal journey into wildlife ecology, her awakening to the world of environmental justice, triggered by Hurricane Katrina, as well as some of her active research pursuits, including her work with bears and mountain lions that seem to have a propensity for visiting the beach.

I really enjoyed both the book and the conversation today, because Dr. Wynn-Grant has so many facets of her story that I can relate to, and that I find inspiring, and I think you will too.

Find Dr. Wynn-Grant on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or her website.

FULL SHOW NOTES

LINKS
Dangermond Preserve
Going Wild Podcast
Mapping Environmental Justice
Wild Life - Finding My Purpose in an Untamed World - by Rae Wynn-Grant

Thanks to Kat Hill for editing help on this episode.

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com

Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

Have you ever seen a fuzzy looking ant? Maybe it looked like a little pipe cleaner with fuzzy red or yellow hair?

If so, you probably saw a velvet ant. And here’s the thing - it’s not even an ant at all. They’re wingless wasps, and they often turn up along hiking trails, roadsides, and sometimes even in your backyard! And if you haven’t seen one, hit pause and check out the show notes on naturesarchive.com for a few photos.

What’s more, these wasps have quite the reputation and an amazing natural history.

With me today is Dr. Joseph Wilson, an evolutionary ecologist and associate professor of biology at Utah State University. Dr. Wilson is also the co-author of the new book, Velvet Ants of North America, as well as the wildly popular The Bees in Your Backyard.

I reached out to Dr. Wilson because I’ve always been fascinated with velvet ants, but found precious little information about them. I purchased the book and reached out to Dr. Wilson, and he graciously agreed to share some of his knowledge.

For example, did you know that some velvet ants have an auditory warning? And half of velvet ants are nocturnal? We discuss why we seem to usually see velvet ants deterministically wandering near trails, why they are often - and inaccurately - called cow killers, and more.

But I couldn’t have a chat with Dr. Wilson and not talk bees, so we kick things off with some discussion of bees, buzz pollination and more before transitioning to velvet ants.

Find Dr. Wilson on The Bees in Your Backyard, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

FULL SHOW NOTES

MORE LINKS
Also check out our interview with Krystle Hickman (episode #66) - about finding and photographing native bees.

The Bees in Your Backyard by Olivia Messinger Carril and Joseph Wilson
Common Bees of Western North America
Common Bees of Eastern North America
Velvet Ants of North America by Williams, Pan, and Wilson

Note: books are affiliate links to Bookshop.org. Support independent bookstores AND Jumpstart Nature by purchasing through these links or our bookshop store.

Other Insect-oriented Podcasts

Just Bugs
Bug Banter
Bugs Need Heroes

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com

Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

In nature, tree physiology is like the engine that keeps forests running smoothly, similar to how human physiology keeps our bodies going. Just as we study how our bodies' metabolism, respiratory systems, and other systems work to keep us healthy, biologists can look at tree physiology to understand how trees grow, use energy, and cope with challenges in their environment.

Today’s guest, Dr. Lucy Kerhoulas, is an Associate Professor of Forest Ecophysiology at Cal-Poly Humboldt. She specializes in the forest physiology of northwestern California, which includes redwoods, Douglas fir, oaks, and more.

Today Dr. Kerhoulas explores various aspects of forest physiology including how they  adapt to different conditions such as fire and drought. She delves into the scientific tools used to study how trees respond to environmental changes, including measuring carbon isotopes in tree tissues to assess impacts of drought. And this understanding of carbon isotope preferences provides interesting insights into historical atmospheric carbon levels, dating back hundreds of years. In fact, this is sometimes called “the smoking gun”, because it provides strong evidence of fossil fuel contributions to atmospheric carbon.

Dr. Kerhoulas also discusses how trees can share resources and signal each other during times of stress, possibly creating a cooperative environment within a forest.

This was a jam-packed discussion, and I hope you enjoy it.

FULL SHOW NOTES

Links to Topics Mentioned
Bigfoot Trail Alliance
CDFW
CNPS
CZU Complex Fire Map
Kerhoulas Forest Physiology Lab
Michael Kauffmann in Nature’s Archive Episode #41 discusses conifer trees and the Klamath Mountains 

Thanks to Kat Hill for editing help in today's episode.

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com

Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

You’re in for a treat today - it’s like two episodes in one.

My guest today is Allasandra Valdez, a botanist working on her PhD in plant physiology in  Cornell University’s Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department. Allasandra also has a background studying invasive species, and is the creator and host of The Happy Botanist podcast.

Today’s wide-ranging discussion touches on everything from studying plants' response to climate change through looking at carbon 13 isotopes, to invasive species including the Hemlock wooly adelgid, to the surprising behaviors of an invasive grass called Johnson Grass.

We also discuss Allasandra’s work in science communication and her podcast, The Happy Botanist.

As you know, my Jumpstart Nature organization seeks to amplify great work being done by others, and after meeting Allasandra and learning about her work and her vision, I felt that she fit the bill. So the last 30 minutes or so of today’s episode is a re-share of one of her episodes with Dr. Dan Katz. Dr. Katz studies airborne pollen - specifically allergenic pollen. If you’ve ever wondered why some pollen causes so much havoc, or if those pollen forecasts you sometimes see on the local weather are accurate, stay tuned to learn more.

Find Allasandra on Instagram and TikTok, and her podcast is on all of the usual podcast services, and the web at The Happy Botanist podcast.

FULL SHOW NOTES

Links
Daniel Katz: https://www.thekatzlab.com/
The Happy Botanist podcast

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com

Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

Many of you might recall the dramatic 2020 fire season in the western USA. In California alone, close to 4 million acres burned. Cities were clouded with smoke and unhealthy air for many weeks. I had ash fall at my home in San Jose, CA on several occasions.

But did you know that based on pre-colonial historical estimates, 4 million acres burned would be considered “below average”. How can that be? Does that mean that every summer in the 1700’s had smoke filled air and devastating fires? Spoiler alert: the answer is no.

In today’s episode, we reconcile how it was possible for more acres of land to burn every year, but with less dramatic impact. In fact, that historical fire was largely beneficial to the land.

Our guest today, who helps us decipher historical fire and how we can add more beneficial fire back to the landscape is Lenya Quinn-Davidson.

And when you have a guest who’s first name literally means “firewood” in Spanish (alternative spelling), you know you’ve found the right person to discuss wildfire management.

But Lenya Quinn-Davidson’s qualifications extend well beyond her name. She’s the Director of the FIRE network for the University of California’s Agriculture and Natural Resources organization. She focuses on the various ways humans connect with fire, including the use of prescribed fire for habitat restoration, invasive species control, and ecosystem and community resiliency. She’s actively engaged in local and national prescribed fire communities, and is an advocate for increasing diversity in the world of wildfire.

A quick aside before we get into the interview. Obviously, climate change is a huge component for why we see bigger fires. Heat has a disproportionate impact on fire intensity. So while we don’t talk about climate change much today, it is absolutely an amplifying factor in wildfire intensity and frequency.

You can find Lenya at LenyaQD on twitter.

FULL SHOW NOTES

Links
California Prescribed Burn Associations
Dixie Fire
Scott Stephens  - wildfire reconstructions from UC Berkeley
UCANR Fire Advisors
WTREX - Women-in-Fire Prescribed Fire Training Exchanges

Thanks to Kat Hill for editing help in this episode.

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

I bet you’ve heard of the National Park Service. Or the US Forest Service which manages all of our National Forests.

But did you know that there is another land management agency that manages more public land than either the National Parks or National Forests? This overlooked agency is the Bureau of Land Management, or BLM.

Josh Jackson has become one of the BLM’s top enthusiasts, with a huge following on his forgottenlandscalifornia instagram. He’s also a writer and conservationist, and is working on a new book all about BLM lands.

Today we dig into what turned Josh on to these fascinating places. He gives us a nice overview of what they’re like, the amazing sites and plants and animals you may see, and how you can enjoy them too. 

We also learn about his upcoming book, to be published with Heyday Books. It sounds intriguing , and aims to fill a major gap in the literature. You can find volumes about national and state parks and national forests - but try to find similar literature on BLM lands. Good luck on that!

I strongly suggest you follow Josh on his forgottenlandscalifornia instagram to see and hear about some of these amazing places.

FULL SHOW NOTES

LINKS
People and Organizations
Baba Dioum
Bureau of Land Management's visitors website
Heyday Books
Obi Kaufmann

Books and Other Things
California Desert Plants, by Kauffmann, Rundel, and Gustafson
Federal Land Policy and Management Act
In Defense of Public Lands, by Steven Davis
Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold
These American Lands: Parks, Wilderness, and the Public Lands, by Zaslowsky and Watkins
The Trouble With Wilderness - William Cronon's essay

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com

Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!