Chattermarks

All over Washington, the earth is reawakening. Can you see it?

In a period of only a few weeks, spring has come – a monumental paintbrush caressing the landscape, stirring it back to consciousness. Dabs of bright white, pink and yellow compliment deeper streaks of lavender, red and orange, all placed upon a backdrop of fresh green. Buds change to blooms on wildflowers and the hardier of the tree species sport new-growth fuzz.

I always feel so fortunate to stand witness to this spectacle, this miracle of life. From the western Washington’s Salish Sea shores to the contouring curves of eastern Washington’s Palouse Hills, I have made an attempt to capture the most current evidence of spring in our state’s many ecosystems.

Below is a detailed photographic guide to the spring blossoms of three distinct Washington ecosystems – western Washington’s Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve on Whidbey Island, eastern Washington’s Kamiak Butte in the Palouse Hills and the North Cascade Institute‘s Environmental Learning Center in North Cascades National Park. If you do not have enough time to read it all through, just glance through the photos and see if you can’t spot these beautiful spring colors in your own home ecosystems!

» Continue reading Painting a Washington spring portrait

With the season of fresh beginnings overtaking the physical landscape of the Skagit Valley and North Cascades, the mindsets of those apart of this year’s North Cascades Wild program from North Cascades Institute, North Cascades National Park and the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest are brimming with excitement for a season of new life, new experiences.

North Cascades Wild‘s first of three spring day trips, held on several Saturdays throughout April and May for Skagit and Whatcom county-selected participants, commenced on April 17th at the North Cascades National Park Ranger Station off Highway 20 in Marblemount. Eleven students, representing towns within Whatcom and Skagit counties, joined North Cascades National Park’s Volunteer and Youth Programs Coordinator, Mike Brondi, native Nursery Manager, Cheryl Cunningham, and Institute instructors Amy Brown, Kelsi Franzen, Martine Mariott and Rebecca Ryan, for a day of connecting to their place and each other through learning and service.

(Title) The North Cascades Wild crew goes “wild” for wetland grasses at the nursery (Above) Karla, a NC Wild participant, examines plants in the greenhouse

» Continue reading NC Wild plants the seeds of spring

The Institute is venturing over to eastern Washington the weekend of May 15-16 for a very special field excursion with biologist and geologist Mark Darrach. “Bunchgrass Dreams: High Desert Ecology” explores the Arid Land Ecology Reserve, located within the Hanford Nuclear Reservation near the Tri-Cities in Eastern Washington, which is the largest remnant of native sagebrush-steppe habitat in the state. An unspoiled refuge for an indigenous landscape disappearing throughout the intermountain West, the ALE is home to an entire community of diverse and unique plants, reptiles, birds and mammals, including Rattlesnake Mountain milk-vetch, Rocky Mountain elk, Piper’s daisies, burrowing owls, sagebrush lizards, Swainson’s hawks and more than 45 species of butterflies.

This excursion is extra-special because the ALE is off-limits to the general public and there are very few guides that have permission to enter it. We’re very fortunate that Mark has access to this landscape and is willing to lead an Institute exploration for us. There are a handful of spots still open for registration — you can sign up via our website or by calling Kacey at (360) 854-2599.

And finally, here are an Institute staffer’s reflections from attending this field excursions a few years ago:

Our weekend on Rattlesnake Mountain is one I will never forget. I’d seen that mysterious hump across the shrub steppe ranchland of southeastern Washington as I criss-crossed the state by car, but never knew much about it.  It’s big! At more than 3,500 feet, it’s one of the tallest, treeless mountains in the world and you can see vast stretches of Washington from its crown. It’s also impossible for casual hikers to visit because access to it is very limited. The Institute’s entree under Mark Darrach’s guidance is something special. When Mark unlocked the access road gate at the foot of the mountain, and we quietly entered, I felt like we were being allowed “backstage” into one of the most mysterious and complex landscapes in the Northwest.

The mountain is a convergence of culture, natural history, politics and botany and I can’t imagine anyone knows more about it than Mark Darrach. We spent two days with him and the questions and conversations ranged widely; I don’t believe we ever asked him a question that he couldn’t answer. A luxury of intellect in a remarkable natural setting.

–Kris Molesworth (Photos by Carl Molesworth)

North Cascades National Park geologist Jon Riedel teaches students on a misty moraine ridge on the flanks of Mt. Baker

Elisabeth Keating, a freelance writer covering the Parks Climate Challenge, accompanied the students on their hike to a glacier on Mount Baker the second week of July 2009 and filed this report from the North Cascades.

On July 8, I arrived at the Horseshoe Cove campground at Baker Lake where the Parks Climate Challenge students were setting up camp and preparing for their glacier exploration. There are 19 high school students in this new program, each a young leader drawn from five urban areas around the country: Denver, Washington D.C., Seattle, Chicago and the Bay Area.

There are three phases to the Parks Climate Challenge: Phase 1 consists of 30 days in the North Cascades meeting with scientists, camping, exploring and learning. Phase 2 is a trip to Washington DC where students will meet with legislators and work on a service project on the Mall. For phase 3, the students will returnhome to create and lead an environmental project in their local communities. Possible projects could include planting trees, hosting a climate change day at their school or starting a recycling project at their school.

“We weren’t necessarily looking for students who are interested in careers in the environment,” explained Megan. “What’s most important is that they demonstrate leadership potential and that they return to their urban communities as ‘climate change ambassadors’ that the community will respond to.”

For most of these urban students, it’s been a process of many of “firsts”: first camping experiences, first time bathing in a stream, first time eating hummus, first time at a rodeo (the July 4th celebration in Sedro-Woolley!) and even the first time some had “s’mores.

Home Sweet Home: Setting up camp at Horseshoe Cove on Baker Lake

Everyone had fun putting up tents and cooking dinner, along with testing out the mosquito hats. “It’s not cool-looking,” one student noted, “but we don’t care as long as it gets the job done!”

Two Parks Climate Challenge students demo their “campfire style”—mosquito netting hats and sweats!

» Continue reading Parks Climate Challenge meets Mt. Baker’s glaciers

Guest Post by Bob Valen, National Park Service Public Information Officer

Smokey bear is renowned for a few simple 1950s quotes, all of them are asking you and me to “prevent wildfires.” The message is straight-forward, sensible and appropriate in specific situations.

Well, the world of wildland fire management has grown in scientific sophistication. Our understanding of fire and its essential role in ecosystems has increased exponentially. It’s no surprise that some people become confused and frustrated when a wildland fire continues to burn with the blessing of fire managers.

One such fire is the recent Panther Creek Fire. Not large in size, this blaze is currently burning in a fire-adapted ecosystem in Ross Lake National Recreation Area. The Panther Creek fire is a lightning-caused fire burning in a heavily-forested area on steep terrain on the east flank of Ruby Mountain above Panther Creek. Due to steep, dangerous terrain, firefighters are not on the mountain at the wildfire.

View of smoke from Panther Creek Fire above Ross Lake; photo by Kerry Olson

» Continue reading Essential Fire: Blaze on Panther Creek

If you know anything about Gary Snyder, then you can understand why we here at North Cascades Institute are incredibly excited about his forthcoming visit to Seattle on May 27. Strands of Snyder are interwoven in to the Institute, our mission, our staff and our North Cascades Environmental Learning Center, and his poetry and worldview have an almost totemic presence in our work.  The 50 years of poetry, interviews and essays that Snyder has produced has educated, inspired and illuminated many of us in many different ways. Some of us came out west after reading one of his books on the mountains and trails of our region. Others have been impacted by his writing about community, culture, watersheds, ecology and sustainability — concepts he was exploring decades before they became influential buzzwords in our society. I know of people that have become fire lookouts or trail workers, poets or environmental educators, Buddhists or off-the-grid pioneers in part because of the example Snyder set in both his lifestyle and his writing.

Has Gary Snyder likewise inspired or informed you in some way? Has a particular poem crystalized some thought or feeling for you? Did one of his essays change the way you look at the world ? Which of his writings have impacted you and why?

We’re curious and hope you’ll share your Snyder story with us. Everybody who responds to this post with a germaine comment will be eligible to receive a free copy of Snyder’s book Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems, a compendium of mountain poetry that is turning 50 years old this year. I’ll give folks a week to respond and then randomly pick three lucky winners, announcing them in the comments early next week.

» Continue reading Gary Snyder and “Riprap” book give-away