Arundo Eradication Bioblitz 

This April, join us in our efforts to locate the highly invasive plant, Arundo donax ("Arundo" or "Giant Reed") in the Eel River watershed.

We will be hosting a virtual event where we will discuss what non-native invasive species are and how they threaten our native ecosystems, as well as details about what Arundo is, its most identifiable characteristics, and why we are removing it. Cal Poly Humboldt's Associate Professor of Applied Ecology, Kerry M. Byrne, Ph.D. and California State Parks North Coast Redwoods District's Invasive Species Program lead, Michelle Forys will be guest speaking, sharing information about Arundo that you won't want to miss! 

 You can join our project on inaturalist and upload your very own photos of Arundo that you find in the floodplains of the Eel River and South Fork Eel River. By sharing information about Arundo that you find, you can help us eradicate it from our beloved watershed for good! 

Join our virtual event on April 3rd at 12:00pm using THIS zoom link!
The meeting ID is: 879 1784 1912
Passcode: 721760


© Wendy McCrady, inaturalist 
© Wendy McCrady, inaturalist 

Science On Tap Series 

We are partnering with the Mad River Brewery and Maddy Rifka who works for the Yurok Tribe Wildlife Department and Sanctuary Forest to start a Science on Tap event series! This monthly event will host impactful speakers, create a space for student/professional networking, as well as celebrate our beloved local breweries. Our hope is to bring like-minded people together to encourage communication and idea-sharing in a fun and casual setting. 

March Event
Condors
California Condor Recovery in Northern California: Prey-go-neesh flies free 

Friday, March 31st talks start at 6:00pm
​Mad River Brewing Co
195 Taylor Way
Blue Lake, CA 95525
Picture
Three of the condors in the Yurok Tirbe's Northern California Condor Restoration Program.
After a 14-year journey the Yurok Tribe, in partnership with Redwood National and State Parks, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and many others, has successfully brought Prey-go-neesh (California condor) home to the Pacific Northwest. This restores a critical member of our ecological community, promotes reconnection to this amazing species, and cultural revitalization for the tribal people who have long lived in relationship with him. Special guests Tiana Williams-Claussen, director of the Yurok Tribe Wildlife Department, and Chris West, the Northern California Condor Restoration Program Manager, will provide a brief introduction to the incredible Prey-go-neesh and discuss the traditional paradigm guiding the Yurok Tribe's efforts to bring them home to northern California and the Pacific Northwest. They will discuss the management approach the Yurok Tribe is taking for reintegrating condors into the region and provide an update on how the newly released population is doing, flying free in Northern California once again.

​For more information visit the Yurok Tribe website and to keep up-to-date on the project by following Northern California Condor Restoration Program on Facebook or follow @YurokCondors on Twitter.
 
Featured Speakers 
Tiana Williams-Claussen

Tiana is the Yurok Tribe Wildlife Department Director and member of the Yurok Tribe. She comes from the village of Wehl-kwew’ on the Yurok Reservation. She received her BA in Biochemical Sciences from Harvard University, returned to serve her tribe, and is currently pursuing a Master of Sciences in Natural Resources from California
Polytechnic State University, Humboldt. She was instrumental to the formation of the Yurok Tribe Wildlife Department, she currently serves as Department Director.
Chris West

Chris is the Northern California Condor Program Manager. Chris began working with California condors as an intern with the Ventana Wildlife Society in 1999; leading to his Masters research at Humboldt State University investigating condor vigilance behavior while feeding. He began working for the Yurok Tribe in 2008, working to set up the first reintroduction site in the Pacific Northwest and is now the Manager of the Northern California Condor Restoration Program.
February Event
Fish and Fire

Friday, February 24th talks start at 6:00pm
​
Featured Speakers
Lenya Quinn-Davidson
Presentation Topic: "California’s Fire Movement: Burning from the bottom up"
​
Lenya Quinn-Davidson is a Fire Advisor with the University of California Cooperative Extension. Lenya’s focus is on the human connection with fire, and empowering the use of prescribed fire and cultural burning for ecosystem and community resiliency. Lenya works at various scales, including locally with private landowners to bring fire back as a tool; at the state level, where she collaborates on policy, research, and community-based burning; and nationally, through her leadership on prescribed fire training exchanges. Lenya is passionate about using fire to inspire and empower people, from ranchers and cultural practitioners to agency leaders and young women, and everyone in between.
Toz Soto
Presentation Topic: ​"Restoring Fish, Fire, and Water in the Klamath River"

Toz Soto is a Fisheries Biologist and the Fisheries Program Manager for the Karuk Tribe. He has worked in the Klamath River Basin since 1997. Toz works to monitor fish populations in the Klamath River, study impacts to their success, and design efforts to improve their habitat. Toz was on the frontlines of the August 2022/McKinney Fire fish kill, and is working to understand how the increasing severity and extent of fires impacts fish. 
​January Event 

Making Dams and Breaking Dams

Friday, January 27th talks start at 6:00pm
​
Featured Speakers 
Brook Thompson​ 
Presentation Topic: "Finally! Klamath Dam Removal Becomes a Reality! - A talk with a local tribal member and engineer"

Brook Thompson (She/Her/They), the granddaughter of 'aawokw Archie Thompson, is a Yurok (enrolled) and Karuk Native. Growing up, she lived and fished on the same land that her ancestors have been on since time immemorial.  Brook fights for water and Native American rights through speaking to groups and frontline activism. She has been an intern for the City of Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in D.C., the California State Water Resource Control Board Office of Information Management, and Save California Salmon. Currently, she is a restoration engineer for the Yurok Tribe’s fisheries program. In 2017 Brook was awarded the American Indian Graduate Center’s Undergraduate student of the year, and in 2020 she won Unity’s 25 Under 25 award. Brook is a graduate of Portland State University with a B.S. in Civil Engineering and a minor in Political Science, and an M.S. in environmental engineering at Stanford University with a focus on water resources, and is now attending UC Santa Cruz for a Ph.D. in Environmental Science where she studies how Indigenous Knowledge can be better implemented into California water policy. Thompson’s goal is to bring together water rights and Native American knowledge through engineering, public policy, and social action.

Garrett Costello
Presentation Topic: "Building Dams-Partnering with beavers for restoration success" 

Humboldt Alumni Garrett Costello of Symbiotic Restoration works to implement ecological restoration projects by constructing beaver dam analogs, a process-based restoration technique. Since starting Symbiotic Restoration in 2018, Garrett has designed, planned, and constructed large and small-scale low-tech process-based projects across California. With shovel in hand, Costello hopes that habitat restoration can bring beavers back to California watersheds and return the control of dams to nature's greatest engineers.
Keep up-to-date on events by following us on social media!