Dr Jessica Allen, lichenologist and cell biologist at the University of California San Diego, has studied lichen all over the world, including in Okanogan County! In the course of 45 fascinating minutes she sheds light on what exactly lichen are, their life history, and what makes them so unique and special. Having studied lichen for 17 years, she is uniquely qualified to inspire us all to dig in and discover the diverse, beautiful, and complicated world of lichens. Enjoy!

Want to learn more?

Check out this article from the New York Times (2021) featuring Jessica Allen: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/03/realestate/gardening-lichen-fall.html

Find the Northwest Lichenologists at: https://northwest-lichenologists.wildapricot.org/

Lichen books recommended by Dr. Allen:

Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest (2024) by Bruce McCune, Linda Geiser

Lichens of North America (2001) by Irwin M. Brodo, Sylvia Duran Sharnoff, Stephen Sharnoff

To learn more about and support Okanogan Highlands Alliance, visit: ⁠okanoganhighlands.org⁠

Our furry, toothy friends, nature’s flat-tailed engineers, the North American Beaver (Castor canadensis) is native throughout this continent, and once populated our region in great numbers. Over the last two hundred years the fur trade and the general perception that beavers are pests have decimated populations. The future is looking brighter for beavers, however, as people like Alexa Whipple and organizations like the Methow Beaver Project are making great strides in demonstrating the value of beavers for the many ways they support communities, livelihoods, and biodiversity. The life history of beavers and the ways that they change their habitat to meet their own needs also happens to contribute to water conservation, improve water quality, restore and maintain habitat for countless other species, contribute to wildfire resilience, mitigate climate change, and more. As beavers gain more positive attention for their ecological values, policy makers are looking to do their part to change the way beavers are perceived and managed on a Washington State-wide level. Have a listen!

Methow Beaver Project: https://methowbeaverproject.org/

Senate Bill 5846: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5846&Year=2023&Initiative=false

This podcast is produced by Okanogan Highlands Alliance. For more information or to support OHA, visit our website: okanoganhighlands.org

This episode arrives just in time for the Great Backyard Bird Count, a worldwide citizen science effort organized by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Audubon Society and Birds Canada to observe and record wild birds all over the world. It doesn't matter what level you are, everyone is welcome and encouraged to join a worldwide community of bird fans and participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count. This podcast episode will help you prepare!

Over the course of the next 20 minutes, Alex Feinberg, avid birdwatcher and software programmer with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's eBird program, shares his experiences learning to birdwatch, and how the vast and varied bird resources developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology can help you learn. By the end you will be ready to let your birding career take flight.

We hope that you are inspired to get outside, watch birds, listen for birds, and join the worldwide community of bird fans, not just for the Great Backyard Bird Count, but for a whole lifetime of birdy adventures! 

For more about The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and to explore their resources, check out their website: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home

To get involved, check out the Great Backyard Bird Count: https://www.birdcount.org/

This podcast is produced by Okanogan Highlands Alliance. For more information or to support OHA, visit our website: okanoganhighlands.org