SEPTEMBER ENEWS

*Date corrected for 9/26 training

Fall in the Canyon, by Elizabeth Montes de Oca

Greetings Betsy,

September is full of opportunities to learn about, explore, and appreciate our special place on earth.

EVENTS

Images of the Shrub-Steppe

Is Beautiful

Canyon Winter by Jeffrey Reynolds

Images of the Shrub Steppe, an art exhibit celebrating and exploring the life of our local shrub-steppe, is open and runs until September 29. Congratulations to our Award Winners (Juror’s Choice: Canyon Winter, by Jeffrey Reynolds; CCC Choice: Milkweed Flower, by Kate Green.

There are a few special speaking events to complement the exhibit:

Saturday, September 14, 1p to 2p / Artist Talk (note the time change to this event!)

Exhibit artists Gayle Scholl, Elizabeth Montes de Oca, and Jeffrey Reynolds will speak about their artistic process, inspiration, and philosophy. Short talks will be followed by time for question and response conversations with the artists.

Friday, September 20, 5p to 6p / The Lives and Times of Shrub-Steppe Butterflies, with David James

Local entomologist David James (WSU) will trace some of the remarkable lifecycles and adaptations that have allowed butterflies to survive and thrive in our shrub-steppe habitat.

Saturday, September 28, 1p to 2p / A Tale of Two Lava Flows, with Zach Schierl

Learn how two extraordinary lava flows, andesite from the west and basalt from the east, met here to shape the shrub-steppe landscape of the town and river valley we call Tieton.

Become a Trail Ambassador for CCC!

What: Trail Ambassador Training

When: Thursday, September 26, 5pm

Where: Cowiche Canyon Conservancy Office (302 N 3rd St #201, Yakima, WA 98901)

Interested in being an official ambassador for Cowiche Canyon Conservancy trails and lands? This is your chance! These in-person and interactive 90 minute trainings prepare volunteers to ambassador on trail and at trailheads.

Trail Ambassadors serve as friendly and informative points of contact with trail users to support safe and responsible use of trails. Our small and mighty team of ambassadors is helping to encourage a culture of kindness and stewardship that make our trails and lands safer and healthier places for our community.

*We will be offering two more trainings in February of 2025

Community Walk - Still Blooming!

What: Still Blooming? Community Walk

When: Saturday, September 28, 10am to 12pm

Where: Snow Mountain Ranch

This family-friendly walk will seek out some of the plants that are still flowering in the fall, and some of their insect friends. We'll look closely at rabbitbrush, clematis, desert buckwheat and more! This walk will be led by Cowiche Canyon Conservancy staff Cy Philbrick.

Distance: about 2.5 miles. Difficulty: some uneven ground; about 200 feet of elevation gain.

Save the Date - Fall Colors!

What: Fall Colors Walks

When: Saturday, October 19, 10am to 12:30pm

Where: Snow Mountain Ranch

A Cowiche Canyon Conservancy tradition! We’re offering a series of walks for folks to experience fall in different ways. Walks offer different themes, interests, and difficulty levels.

Walk options:

Fall Shinrin Yoku with Mary Carpenter – soak up fall by going for a slow, sensory-rich walk. Distance: ~1 mile. Elevation gain: very little
Birding for the family with Bran Romero – Learn how to use binoculars (we have kid friendly binoculars!) and join us to listen to and spot some of the fall birdlife in our area. Distance ~ 2 miles. Elevation gain ~ 100 ft.
Betsy’s Trail Exploration – A guided hike of one of CCC’s newest and most dynamic trails. This hike will likely take about 2.5 to 3 hours. We encourage you to bring water and snacks! Distance: ~ 6 miles. Elevation gain ~ 750 feet.

*Stay tuned for more announcements about this event

WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO

Gathering Milkweed Seeds

A small team of education volunteers has been learning to harvest and process seeds from showy milkweed (asclepias speciosa). These seeds are packaged to distribute at outreach events like last weekend’s Steppe into the Square, where we distributed tens of thousands of seeds to our community!

As the host plant for monarch butterflies, milkweed is crucial to the survival of monarch larva, which exclusively eat milkweed plants.

A big thank you to longtime supporter and renaisance-man Mike Hiler, who offered an educational harvesting and processing workshop. Mike reminded us that any weak link in the chain of milkweed – from Canada to Northern California or Mexico – can significantly harm the survival rates of monarchs. So if we want to continue living with these beautiful creatures we need to do what we can to strengthen milkweed chains.

A Beautiful Event in Tieton

Last weekend we hosted our first ever Steppe into the Square event in the Tieton square. It was a beautiful day filled with good music, learning, creativity, and meaningful conversations about trails, health, and supporting all kinds of life!

Thank you to the musicians -- Scatter Creek, Root Biscuit Revival, and Jeff Maine -- for the great tunes. Thank you to all of the great local educators and vendors who participated in spreading knowledge, good food, and love! Thank you to all the volunteers who helped run the event, especially those who helped organize and run fun and educational art activities for kids. And thank you to all the folks who braved the warm day to join us.

We think we'll do it again next year!

Welcome Bran

This month we’re welcoming the newest member of our team, Bran Romero, to Cowiche Canyon Conservancy and Yakima.

Bran is an Americorps Jesuit Volunteer for the 2024-2025 year. Originally from New Jersey, he attended school at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia where he earned a Bachelor's in Science in Chemical Biology. Bran is currently soaking up knowledge about shrub-steppe ecology and will expand our capacity for science-based outreach and education. When not in the office and on trails, you can find Bran playing piano, reading, and birdwatching everywhere he gets a chance.

CONSIDER THIS

Help Us Improve Accessibility

Cowiche Canyon Conservancy is looking for community volunteers who care about universal accessibility.

We are recruiting community members to create an Accessibility & Inclusion Advisory Committee to meet monthly during the first four months of 2025. The purpose of the committee is to help guide Cowiche Canyon Conservancy’s work in improving the accessibility of our lands, communications, and programs.

*We are looking for committee members who represent the disabled community or organizations serving people with disabilities.

*CCC offers a stipend to help offset any costs associated with participating in the committee.

Interested? Or know someone who may be? Please contact Cy (eco@cowichecanyon.org; 509 248 5068 ext 12) for more info or to talk about getting involved.

What to Look for on Trails?

Pygmy short-horned lizard

Fall can be a great time to find reptiles – not just snakes, but how about the pygmy short-horned lizard (Phrynosoma douglasii)? Aka “horned toads”, this squat lizard has a short, triangular tail and is incredibly well camouflaged when staying still. You may see one scurrying near your feet. Or, stay very still and see if any rocks move!
Still blooming plants! T all buckwheat (eriogonum elatum) are blooming above spindly stems. Gray Rabbitrush (ericameria nauseousa) and Green or Yellow Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus) are still attracting dozens of species of insects. Richardson's Penstemon or cutleaf penstemon (penstemon richarsonii) is a colorful surprise in the draws of Snow Mountain Ranch.