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Carey's Balsamroot
Greetings Cowiche Canyon,
Is there a better time to get outside in our valley? Here are some ways to savor and support outdoor experiences.
| | Last Chance to Get Tickets | |
What: Cowiche Canyon Rocks Auction and Garden Party
When: Sunday, April 27, 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Where: Yakima Area Arboretum
This year we’re celebrating our 40th Anniversary. Tickets are still available, but going fast! Join us for a special celebration and to support our ongoing conservation, recreation, and education programs.
| Earth Day in Cowiche Canyon! | |
What: Earth Day in Cowiche Canyon
When: Saturday, April 19, 10:00 am to 12:30 pm
Where: Cowiche Canyon West/Weikel trailhead (531 Weikel Rd, Yakima, WA 98908)
Join us for one of our favorite days of the year! Take a family-friendly tour of Cowiche Canyon and learn from an amazing community of educators about the science, beauty, and life of our place on earth. Join us to learn about:
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Butterflies – David James (Washington State University) will display the diversity of local butterflies and their remarkable life stages, along with books, handouts, and photographs for show and tell.
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Canyon Geology – Suki Smaglik and Katharine Solada (Yakima Valley College) will show and tell about local volcanoes – present and past. There will be lots of rocks to observe, feel, and talk about.
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Birds – Jerred Seveyka (Yakima Valley College) and students will help you observe bird life in Cowiche Canyon, from small wrens and sparrows to large birds of prey like hawks and owls.
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Trees – Sean Tait (Leaf on the Wind Arboriculture) will help interpret tree and plant sensibilities like communication, decision making, learning, and memory.
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Native Bees – Volunteers with the Washington Bee Atlas will focus on the powers and uniqueness of native bees. Check out bees up close – via microscope – and learn how to safely observe and identify them.
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Native Plants – Keyna Bugner (Washington Native Plant Society) will teach plant identification strategies and show how plants are essential to our ecosystem.
No registration necessary. Just join us!
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Mother's Day Wildflower Walk
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What: Mother’s Day Wildflower Walk
When: Saturday, May 10, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Where: Snow Mountain Ranch (2648 Cowiche Mill Rd #2262, Cowiche, WA 98923)
Register here.
Join us for a wildflower show, especially for moms! We’ll offer two different loops to experience the amazing variety of wildflowers on display at Snow Mountain Ranch in mid spring.
*Note: This walk is actually the day before Mother's Day.
Distance: Loop 1: 3.1 miles. Loop 2: 2 miles
Difficulty: Loop 1: Uneven ground, about 500 feet elevation gain; Loop 2: Uneven ground, about 150 feet elevation gain
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Adding a Key Piece
to the Uplands
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looking West from the newest part of the Uplands
We’re thrilled to announce the acquisition of 80 additional acres in the Cowiche Canyon Uplands. This significant expansion, made possible through the generosity of community donors and funding from Yakima County, strengthens CCC’s ongoing efforts to preserve open spaces for wildlife and public enjoyment.
“We are incredibly grateful to our supporters who made this acquisition a reality,” said Celisa Hopkins, Executive Director of Cowiche Canyon Conservancy. “This land provides important habitat for wildlife, permanently secures one of the most popular trails in the Uplands network, and ensures that future generations can continue to explore and appreciate the natural beauty of Cowiche Canyon.”
| Map showing the location of new 80-acre acquisition in the Cowiche Canyon Uplands | | |
This spring, heavy rain and rogue trail users did some severe damage to beloved trails. We’ve been busy restoring trails and preventing future damage by creating ways for water to move off trail. In the Uplands, South Uplands Loop and Radio Flyer have new water bars. At Snow Mountain Ranch, Balanced Rock Trail is newly side-sloped.
See other trails that are severely damaged or in need of repairs? Please let us know!
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photo courtesy Yakima Valley Tourism
An annual report helps give perspective to our long-term work and goals. How did our work in the past year help save more shrub-steppe and connect our community to our ecosystem? Check it out here!
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Wildflowers are beautiful right now. Sadly, this also tends to be the time when we see the most people wandering off trail, to avoid other people or to take a perfect photo or for reasons unknown.
Wildflowers live and breathe off trail. Some are fragile – needing very specific conditions to continue to grow and stay beautiful for us and insects to enjoy.
To respect plant lives, please try to stay on or beside the trail when letting others pass. Also, beautiful pictures can be taken right on trail, we promise. Your picture will be even more beautiful for showing that you truly love our shrub-steppe.
| | What to Look for on Trails | | |
Sagebrush violet (viola trinervata) is in full force in and around lithosol soils.
This time of year is bursting with color and new life. Watch for:
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Purple flowers! One of our favorite lomatium, Columbia Desert Parsley (lomatium columbianum), is in full bloom at Snow Mountain Ranch. And Sagebrush violets (viola trinervata) are in full two-toned purple flush.
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Balsamroots! Carey's balsamroot (balsamorhiza careyana) and Hooker's balsamroot (balsamhoriza hookeri) are out and opening to the spring sun..
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Rough-legged hawks are beginning their migration north for the summer! Keep your eyes to the sky as these hawks soar above. They look very similar to Red-tailed hawks, except Rough-legged hawks have a black band on their tails.
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Miner bees! Andrena are a genus of bees commonly known as miner bees. While there are dozens of different species in our area, they tend to be solitary ground-nesting bees, meaning they don't live in colonies but in individual burrows or nests. Miner bees often emerge early in spring and and pollinate a variety of flowers. Look for them on bright yellow balsamroot flowers.
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Donate - We depend on community donations to run our programs and operations.
Volunteer - We depend on community volunteers to support our stewardship, trail maintenance, and education work.
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