Meet Our Guests: Aaron Wanner

Aaron Wanner

Co-Director, White Clouds Preserve

Custer County, ID

9/10 - 9/14

For our convoy’s brief time in Idaho, we are lucky enough to unroll our Paco pads and pitch our trailer in White Clouds Preserve, a name almost as beautiful as the 432 acres of land it signifies. Towering behemoths of red rock (thrilling for the climbers in our ranks) stretch out over a meandering segment of the Salmon river that winds below our campsite. The 1.5 miles of clear, rushing water lay at the physical and ideological heart of the preserve, constituting the central focus of conservationist Aaron Wanner’s restoration efforts on the property. 

When we first meet Aaron, I find him to be soft spoken, shifting on his feet and talking to us from behind the chair we set out for him. But as the rising light shifts on the rock wall behind us, he seems to thaw with the cool morning air. Stepping forward, he uses his hands, gesturing at the land around us as his dog, Bruno, weaves around his boots. It becomes clear that behind his quiet tone lies a fierce passion for protecting the preserve and the diverse wildlife it houses. 

We pepper him with questions as the sun gets higher, tromping through thick grasses and donning gloves to help weed the grasslands. Slowly we learn of his life, from the suburbs of Sacramento (where, he is sure to tell you, he ‘unfortunately’ grew up) to years of service in the military, back to school and finally to Custer County, Idaho, where he now lives with his wife and daughter on the preserve. He’s full of surprises, in between conversations about native birds and the health of grasses he tells us of his love for geology, jewelry-smithing and Disco Jazz. 

Though the bulk of his work consists of rewilding projects like planting and fencing, his face really lights up when we ask him about the community aspect of conservation. He’s adamant that conservationists must work with ranchers, miners and hunters rather than against them, finding ways to live on the land that support human interest and wildlife alike. When asked about finding hope when ecological issues seem insurmountable, he insists that change begins with individuals. We all have passions and strengths. For Aaron, this is where our potential to make positive change lies. “We can make a difference,” He tells us, sweeping his arm out at the fragile land he cares so deeply for, “this is where it starts; in your backyard.”

By Hannah Cuvin

Meet Our Guests: Joe McCormack and Montana Pagano

Joe McCormack and Montana Pagano

McCormack: President, Nez Perce Homeland Project

Pagano: Watershed Restoration Specialist, Nez Perce Tribe

Wallowa County, OR

8/31/22

The scene looks like something out of a postcard; hot midday sun on sloping buttes, pale yellow broken up by creaking barns and lone trees, a desolate sky that seems to shake with the oppressive heat. It would make a good photo, a still life of a barren land, pristine and empty in its captured stillness. So beautiful, so lifeless. 

But standing with your feet in the dry brush doesn’t feel like stepping into a photograph. There is no stillness here. A black cat slipping between rocks, the whine of a dog escaping from a car window. White butterflies, the brush of a snake. And in the center of it all, Joe McCormack and Montana Pagano, as startling to see as the wobbling birds overhead and hopping crickets underfoot. They stand in the grasses of the Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland, a portion of land owned by the tribe that historically occupied Wallowa County. After hundreds of years of violence and forced removal from the landscape, the Nez Perce are slowly making their way back to their ancestral homeland. The 320 acres of land that we are gathered on, along with our two speakers and their colleagues, stand at the center of that reclamation. 

Joe, part of the Nez Perce tribe, is the only tribal member to permanently reside in Wallowa County. He is the president of the Homeland project and works with the Tribal Fisheries to restore native fish to the landscape. Sitting in front of us in a faded t-shirt and sneakers, he is practically overflowing with stories and facts. From his time serving in Vietnam to the recently installed cell tower on the land, he bounces between topics with an even-keeled enthusiasm. Most of all, though, he tells of the fish that this region houses and how the local tribes are making efforts to restore their habitats. 

Occasionally, Montana will chime in with some additional information about conservation work on the Homeland property. Her ponytail swinging behind her, she leads us out in the heat to look at the river that cuts through the prairie grasses. Her work involves increasing the diversity of the waters by adding various natural structures to divert and complexify the flow of water. Doing this helps restore water to the banks around the river, helping native plants (some of which are culturally important to the Nez Perce peoples) take root. These roots and complex water systems, in turn, provide habitat for fish that need places of refuge on their journeys to the ocean. 

The work that Joe and Montana do on this land has a visible impact; the shores around the river are lush with willow and cottonwood. I’m sure that much of the wildlife I was so surprised to see in the landscape is here due to the efforts of people like them who work hard to restore the cultural and ecological richness to Wallowa County.

By Hannah Cuvin

Meet Our Guests: Sarah Gilman

Sarah Gilman

Freelance Environmental Writer, Editor, and Illustrator

Winthrop, WA

9/6 - 9/10

Introducing Sarah Gilman, a freelance journalist and editor whose work appears in several publications including The Atlantic, Hakai Magazine, and The Washington Post. Graduating from Whitman in 2004 with degrees in Art and Biology, Sarah credits her experience on Semester in the West in ’02 as the inspiration for her professional writing career. “Semester in the West is simply a crash course in journalism,” Sarah shares as we embark on a 4-day writing workshop by the banks of John Day River in Ukiah, OR. 

On Semester in the West, students—Westies—engage with various stakeholders across the western United States in an effort to better understand the environmental issues and solutions at hand. Westies write three essays, Epiphanies, detailing their experiences in the West throughout the semester. Three writing workshops scatter between segments of the semester, enabling Westies to spark ideas about their Epiphanies. During our times with Sarah, she and her co-instructor—a corgi named Taiga—help with our Epiphany process through writing exercises, office hours, individual one on ones, and public readings.

Reminiscent of her experience as a Westie, Sarah sees the process of writing Epiphanies as similar to what Journalists do to publish a story—meeting sources, profiling people, telling stories. Now, as a journalist, Sarah extends her professional advice to us, reminding us the importance of accurate representation in storytelling, especially when telling the stories of others.

By Jake Wang

Meet Our Guests: Gail Hammack

Gail Hammack

Rancher

Wallowa County, OR

9/4/2022

On a reunion weekend, we were joined by twenty previous Westies as we marched into Gail Hammock’s cow-patty-laden riverfront ranch. The property was once operated by Gail’s partner, Doug McDaniel, a youthful character who spent twenty years devoted to re-meandering the agriculturally influenced channelized section of the Wallowa River that runs through the ranch. The property is up against the basaltic wall of a valley, new sprouts planted by Gail line the reestablished riparian area, and an old suspension bridge handbuilt by Doug set the scene for this Northeastern Oregon Ranch. 

The Semester in the West class of 2006 visited this same site with Doug after the first phase of re-meandering in 2005, and many returned sixteen years later to witness the effects of this project. Gail stood above us, a  cowgirl, her short white hair neatly tucked behind her ears, her plaid button-down neatly tucked into her dark blue jeans, her dark blue jeans neatly tucked into her chunky work boots. She led us around the marshy property, indicative of the now fully sinuous river returning seasonal waters to the riparian areas, sprouting with aspen and cottonwood. Gail works in conjunction with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to construct and maintain this project, setting an example for her neighbors who are implementing their own re-meanders downstream. Gail hopes that other landowners can recognize the necessity to unchain these erratic fluvial systems from their canals and return them to the malleable, untethered landscape that they used to move freely across.

By Thomas McElfresh

Meet Our Guests: Josh Johnson

Josh Johnson

Senior Conservation Associate, Idaho Conservation League

Ketchum, ID

9/11/2022

Josh met with us on the White Clouds Preserve in Idaho to talk about his work with the Idaho Conservation League. As Senior Conservation Associate for ICL, he focuses on a variety of conservation issues, specifically mining. He orchestrated an agreement with the Blackbird cobalt mine to provide funding for organizations like White Clouds doing riparian restoration on the Snake River.

Josh told us ICL's watchdog role includes a "balancing act of where to draw the line or mitigate the impacts" of mining. It's a complex issue and Josh works hard to ensure that mining companies are extracting material as safely as possible. He took us to the Thompson Creek Molybdenum Mine to discuss the environmental realities of mining. Consumers require materials like cobalt for high output batteries or molybdenum for steel strengtheners, but open pit mining can create enormous ecosystem and water quality concerns. Josh and ICL face a huge gray area in their conservationism and constantly grapple with how to best protect the places and spaces they care so deeply about.

By Rachel Husband

Meet Our Guests: Rich Wandschneider

Rich Wandschneider

Director, Josephy Library of Western History and Culture

Joseph, WA

8/31/2022

We caught up with Rich Wandschneider on the banks of Wallowa Lake, where azure water ran towards a horizon of sheer, glaciated peaks. Rich cheerfully encouraged the Westies to jump in the lake before our meeting. The water was cool, clear, and after a long morning in the sun, incredibly refreshing. 

As we dried off in the shade, Rich told us about his work as a historian, writer, and entrepreneur in Wallowa County. Rich has lived in the area for some fifty years, during which time he founded the Bookloft community bookstore in nearby Enterprise and was instrumental in starting Fishtrap, a prestigious writing workshop centered in the Wallowas. He now directs the Josephy Library of Western History and Culture in Joseph, Oregon. This community space promotes community understanding about the history of the West and particularly the Indigenous peoples of this area.

Wallowa County is famous in part as the historic home of Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, also known as Chief Joseph the Younger. Joseph led a large band of Nimípu (Nez Perce) people in a fighting retreat towards Canada after the United States evicted them from their homeland in the Wallowa Valley. Rich told that story and spoke to the Westies about recent efforts by the Nez Perce tribe to reestablish a formal presence in the county. Mentioning the push to use the knowledge of Indigenous people in managing wildfire, fish, and other conservation issues, Rich comments that, "We are listening to tribal people because for one thing, we screwed up a lot. We screwed up with fire. We screwed up with water. We screwed up with lands, and we're looking for ways out and we're saying, Oh, these people lived here a long time. Maybe they knew something." 

As we concluded our talk with him, Rich encouraged us to write attentively and carefully about history and indigenous issues. Good writing, he told us, is essential to understanding and illuminating other people’s perspectives. Rich’s advice has carried us forward as we continue thinking and writing about the complicated legacies of the West.

By Sam Allen

Meet Our Guests: Todd Nash

Todd Nash

County Commissioner, Rancher

Wallowa County, OR

9/2/2022

Students joke that our speaker, a rancher, will arrive on a horse as we mill about on the dirt track leading into the corral, awaiting Todd Nash. This area is currently empty of cattle, but you can tell it doesn’t stay that way. It’s 10am on a Friday morning, a fact the beating sun seems to have forgotten. College students are never still, but the group's steady din of morning moans and gripes is slowly quieted as, sure enough, a horse enters our periphery. 

Todd Nash has just come from an early morning spent moving cattle. His calm demeanor and smile seem like contradictions; he’s taken time out of his ranching duties to meet with us, but Nash is also the Commissioner for Wallowa County, and the president of the Oregon Cattlemen's Association. He values making connections across the board, and works hard at those relationships. As a stakeholder and politician, Todd Nash is deeply intertwined in rural dynamics and land use.

Nash looks down from his chair, taking his eyes off the group for the first time. He reaches for the bunchgrass at his feet, using the land as his teaching aid. Our conversations range from wolves to rangeland, timber policy to grassland ecology. His passion for the art of ranching is the truest glimpse we get at his world before responsibilities drag both parties away from conversation. “There’s artistry in what we do out here, and I want you to see that.” This time, Nash rides away with his horse trailer on the back of his truck rather than on horseback.

By River Woodruff

Meet Our Guests: Paul Hessburg

Paul Hessburg

Senior Research Ecologist, Pacific Northwest Research Station, USFS

Wenatchee, WA

8/26/22

We sit on an unused logging road, Douglas Firs creating a thick green crown above us, as Paul Hessburg pours his encyclopedic knowledge of the forest and its functioning onto his eager audience. There’s not much Paul hasn’t done. He is a professor at the University of Washington, Oregon State University, University of Idaho, and Washington State University. He has 136 publications, and currently works as a senior research ecologist for the U.S Forest Service.

Paul walks us through the ecological history of our surroundings. He points to the Douglas firs, uncharacteristic of the riparian area we are in, explaining how they have overstepped ponderosa pines in this ecosystem. With drastic fire exclusion, the fire-resistant bark of ponderosas has failed to be advantageous, allowing fast-growing conifers to sprout up in their shadows.

He makes sure not to exclude humans from this ecological narrative, stressing the importance of cultural burnings in stewarding this land. With colonial expansion, forest fires became inseparable from the fear of destruction, yielding excessive fire-suppression. He now collaborates with local tribes to create fire regime models, envisioning how the forest service can incorporate cultural burnings into their fire mitigation strategies.

While much of Paul's work surrounds the expansive set of issues plaguing our forests, Paul says he “runs on optimism,” believing that landscape ecology can identify the right tools for the right situations. He extends his optimism to us, making sure we understand the importance of not only finding something we are good at but something we love, a job where retirement becomes an unthinkable option, as it is for him.

By Tali Hastings

Meet Our Guests: Janet Millard

Janet Millard

Wildlife Biologist, Okanogan National Forest

Leavenworth, WA

8/27/22

Chelan Ridge observation point has a panoramic view overlooking the Methow Valley, Black Canyon and Lake Chelan. The rolling green forests meld into brown hills marked by black toothpicks, evidence of past megafires. The cold wind gusts up from the valley below, reminding us of our 4,000 foot elevation gain to visit the Chelan Ridge Hawk Watch site.

Spread out among the rocky outcrop at the observation point, Jessica, Skyler and Janet share their wealth of knowledge with us. The exclamation “BIRD!” is a common and acceptable interruption of the conversation. Eager eyes immediately scan the sky as fingers point and everyone shouts out their guesses of the flying raptor’s identification. Clearly in her element, Janet Millard stands on the edge of the rocks wearing her tattered “bird nerd” hat with binoculars around her neck.

Janet, a USFS employee worked for many years studying the spotted owl and now works in collaboration with Hawk Watch International. All three field biologists share how important the collaboration between these two organizations is in order to make this project possible. Skyler, Jessica and Janet all share a similar sentiment: working in the field is challenging. It often feels like the mountain of work does not make a big enough impact. Our society is ridden with people who like comfort and ease; they don’t want to change their habits. Janet emphasizes the importance of continuing the work because it can make a difference. Full of emotion, she reminds us that we are the next generation, and we have the power to have a large impact.

By Abigael Carron

Meet Our Guests: Kristen Kirkby

Kristen Kirkby

Fisheries Biologist, Cascade Fisheries

Wenatchee, WA

8/29/22

Salmon populations in the Methow Valley are struggling. Swimming over 500 miles on their journey to the Pacific Ocean, juvenile salmon have to cross 9 perilous dams that drastically reduce their numbers. As adults, they have to swim all the way back upstream, again past 9 dams, before they reach their natal streams to spawn. We met with Kristen Kirkby to discuss the current situation of Methow Valley salmon, as well as what is being done to help them.

Kristen works as a Fisheries Biologist for Cascade Fisheries, a nonprofit organization working to restore native fish habitat in the upper Columbia Basin through enhancement, education, and community engagement. A Whitman graduate and 2004 Westie who majored in Environmental Studies and Biology, Kristen has over a decade of field experience with salmon.

On the banks of the Methow River, Westies learned from Kristen about a restoration project recently carried out by Cascade Fisheries. After learning about this project, and about the decline of salmon throughout the Columbia Basin, Westies got the chance to don wetsuits and snorkel the Methow River to observe fish. Although we saw many, they were a slim fraction of the abundance that once was. Kristen is working to help recover salmon populations through river restoration, education, and outreach.

By Henry Roller

Meet Our Guests: John Rohrer

John Rohrer

Program Manager, US Forest Service

Methow Valley, Washington

8/28/22

I attentively stare at John Rohrer’s tall leather boots that wrap around both ankles and search for evidence of bites. Nearsighted, I place my glasses upon my nose and sure enough, there are no marks, given decades of prior experience handling rattlesnakes as a youth in the southwest.   

            As an adolescent in Arizona, the desert and John’s father’s interest in snakes together instilled a fascination with the reptiles, and brewed an interest in pursuing the career as a wildlife biologist. Enthused that ectothermic animals such as rattlesnakes are able to exist in a much cooler climate like Washington, John moved to Twisp in 1991.

            He wishes to flip the negative paradigm surrounding rattlesnakes, and inform the masses that these are ectothermic creatures simply focused on maintaining their body temperature so they can survive. Spending only five months of the year out of the den, the Northern Pacific Rattlesnake resides underground during the other seven. The objective is to stay warm, and “attacks” he says are generally instances of defense or accidents, as only one person is bit in the Methow every three to four years. He ruminates on those who blindly “whack” rattle snakes on site, “…and people are evil,” he hesitates, “…some people, not everybody.”

            John later shares a story with the students on wolverine tracking while working as a field coordinator for the USFS, this span being the highlight of his career. One wolverine that took the name of “Special K,” given its high tolerance for a certain sedative, appeared multiple times coincidentally over the years despite the reclusive nature of wolverines. With shakiness in his delicately weathered raspy voice, he states that wolverine conservation and tracking work is what he was born for.

By Leo Cohen

Meet Our Educators: Kent Woodruff

Kent Woodruff

Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Forest Service

Methow Valley, WA

8/18/2022 — 8/29/2022

Make way for the irrepressible Kent Woodruff!

Kent was our humble, knowledgeable, and overwhelmingly generous guide in the Methow Valley. He, along with our fearless leader Phil, planned the entirety of our Methow segment. His numerous connections in the valley provided us with a plethora of wise, kind, and informative speakers from day one onwards.

Kent began his work in the valley with the United States Forest Service (USFS) in the early 90’s and completed a truly mind numbing quantity of projects in his many years there. A number of these projects have taken off in incredible ways since their humble beginnings. And, as their humble founder, Kent took us to see the exciting work that is now being done around the Methow. Beginning with a rickety shack at the foot of a jaw-dropping cliff containing what is thought to be the largest townsend's big eared bat population in Washington state; to the Methow Beaver project, whom we spent a thrilling day with at one of their most successful restoration sites in the valley; to the Chelan Ridge Raptor Migration Observatory, where we saw the (very humane) trapping, data collection, and release of the first migrating sharp shinned hawk of the season. Kent gave us the insider scoop on the inner workings of the valley and the inspiring conservation efforts being spearheaded by passionate locals.

It was immediately apparent to our cohort that Kent was incredibly well respected among the many speakers with whom we met. Everyone we spoke with greeted Kent as an old friend, which we eventually came to do as well. Kent met us at the crack of dawn everyday and didn't leave until long after dusk. He bestowed an immense amount of his own knowledge and worked tirelessly to provide an unbeatable lineup of guests, each bringing their own unique take on the importance of place-based conservation. And, after two weeks in the Methow he had earned the respect, love, and friendship of each and every one of us.

We are overflowing with gratitude for you, Kent. We couldn’t have asked for a better way to kick off our semester. Thank you so much for all your hard work and for being the sweetest, wisest human being to have touched our lives.

By Jonah Rosen-Bloom

Meet Our Guests: Ashley Ahearn

Ashley Ahearn

Journalist

Winthrop, WA

8/19/22

Early in this semester, the Westies have been fortunate to work with former NPR reporter and podcaster Ashley Ahern here in the Methow Valley. Ashley led a special workshop designed to give Westies skills in conducting interviews and designing podcasts.

In her work at NPR, Ashley wrote stories featured on programs like All Things Considered, Here and Now, and The World.  She has since moved to the Methow Valley and worked on her own productions, including “Grouse,” a series on the endangered sage grouse, and “Women’s Work,” a podcast about female ranchers in the West. Working with Ashley allowed us to make use of her formidable podcasting experience and learn about how to make our interviews and recordings interesting and effective.

To help Westies become podcast pros, Ashley sent us out into the communities of Winthrop and Twisp, where we interviewed residents of the Methow Valley. After traveling around the dry, scenic valley to get our stories, we reconvened at TwispWorks, a retrofitted Forest Service ranger station that now serves as a commercial and community space. In the midst of native plant gardens, craft breweries, and the North Cascade Mountains, Ashley taught Westies the basics of using audio software, writing scripts, and conducting productive interviews.

All the skills Westies learned from Ashley will help us in interviewing our guests throughout the semester. This winter, keep an eye out for a series of podcasts made by us that summarize some of the amazing people and fascinating issues we have been studying! These will be available wherever you normally find your podcasts.  (For those of you in the Methow, these podcasts will also be played on KTRT, 97.5 FM Winthrop, AKA ‘The Root.’)

By Sam Allen

Meet Our Guests: Tom and Gina McCoy

Tom and Gina McCoy

Founders, C6 Forest to Farm

Methow, WA

8/24/22

Gina McCoy stood on the raised roots of a tree, speaking to us in front of a rippling lake framed by deep green mountains. Explaining to us the planetary carbon cycle, she emphasized how human activities disrupt the natural process of plant photosynthesis and respiration. Industrial agricultural practices deplete the soil’s nutrients, sucking carbon out of the soil, and years of fire suppression have created an excess of plant material that places forests at risk of megafire. Gina and her husband Tom founded the nonprofit C6 Forest to Farm from a deep concern for the forests, hoping to reconnect the cycle of nutrients and carbon in soil.

Gina and Tom’s nonprofit produces biochar from the discarded biomass of Forest Service logging and thinning projects. They sought a way to enable the Forest Service to expand their forest restoration projects, which often require tree removal to manage underbrush thickness and fire risk. Biomass, or plant material, is heated under specific conditions to produce a form of charcoal called biochar. Biochar’s porous structure retains water, nutrients, and bacteria, creating fertile soils and sequestering carbon by preventing it from decomposing or burning, both of which release CO2 into the atmosphere. By turning biomass into biochar, Tom and Gina are working towards a more sustainable forest, farm, and planet.

By Ellen Haney

Meet Our Guests: Dana Visalli

Dana Visalli

Organic Farmer, Editor of the Methow Naturalist

Methow Valley, WA

8/20/22

We drove down a long dirt driveway to met with Dana on his farm, which consisted of a few large garden patches and a green house next to his cement, two-story property. He explained the organization of his land and gave us an introductory lesson on ecology and botany. One of the main tenants of his approach was that “nature doesn’t waste anything.” His eyes lit up and his hand gestures became more pronounced when explaining how photosynthesis uses the power of the sun along with oxygen and water to fuel life, and the process of cellular respiration moves around molecules to reverse this reaction.

He also described how he uses his compost pile to return the nutrients from his harvests to the soil for the next year. The way Dana’s property is organized serves as one example of how he matches his words and ethos to his actions. He built his house to be completely off the grid, with solar power and a back-up generator for power. His water comes from a well on his property next to the Methow River, and he supports himself by selling the produce from his garden. His self-sustaining approach minimizes waste he creates by using renewable, locally sourced resources. He also set up an outdoor classroom in his backyard for us where we used microscopes to view tiny, clear diatoms that live in the orange-brown scunge that coats river rocks. The conscientiousness that he put into this lesson and set-up demonstrates his enthusiasm for showing others that how the land around him supports life.

By Sonia Burns

Meet Our Guests: Carmen Vanbianchi

Carmen Vanbianchi

Research Director, Homerange Wildlife Research

Methow Valley, WA

8/23/22

With a population of just over 50, lynx are at a dangerous tipping point in Washington state. Large wildfires have vastly reduced their available habitat and rising temperatures have decreased the snowpack they have adapted to thrive in. Luckily, they seem to be slowly making a comeback, or at least resisting extinction, in large part due to the dedicated efforts of wildlife biologist Carmen Vanbianchi and her colleagues. Carmen has dedicated her career to passionately advocating for lynx, and firmly believes in the right of every species to exist regardless of their perceived economic value. She argues “It’s our responsibility and our job to not just throw up our hands… and [to] keep looking for solutions.”

After leading us up to the top of a wooded hillside surrounded by pines and the charred remains of past wildfires, she showed us proof of the lynx presence through wildlife cameras placed in strategic locations throughout the forest. She explained that, although the extreme and widespread fires of recent years have done significant damage to lynx habitat, lynx have actually evolved to thrive in heterogeneous environments that include sections of burned forest alongside more luscious woods. This reinforced what we have been hearing from other speakers, that prescribed burning can mitigate bigger fires and create a healthier, more resilient ecosystem.

Despite the lynx’ promising resilience, it can be hard to stay optimistic when progress is slow and there are few others making lynx a priority in wildlife management. “I’m just one little person pushing a rock up a hill and we need lots of people pushing rocks uphill,” she told us. However, as public opinion is slowly shifting toward seeing the innate value in all parts of ecological systems, there is hope of lynx making a meaningful recovery in Washington thanks to lynx biologists like Carmen.  

By Kaitlyn Salazar

Meet Our Guests: Matt Ellis

Matt Ellis

Fire Management Officer, Methow Valley Ranger District, U.S. Forest Service

Methow Valley, WA

8/23/22

Our exposed skin soaks in the beating Methow sun as we sit perched on the edge of a dusty gravel road overlooking a field that has been swept with a large black paintbrush. Our eager eyes follow the outline of the valley ridge that Matt Ellis traces with his hand. We sit amidst a man who offers insight into the power of fire.

Matt is the Methow Valley District Fire Manager Officer. Originally from Tennessee, Matt has worked in fire management in several states, and has been in the Methow Valley region for the past seven years. He states, “even though I am from Tennessee, working in the Methow has been a highlight in my career because the area fits my personality. ” This statement shines through not only in his work, but also in how he speaks with us.

In our time together, Matt makes clear that fire serves many purposes. He speaks of how fire has the power to destroy, while it is also a natural process that is key in maintaining a healthy environment. Wildfires, or “disturbances” as Matt refers to them, result in burning vegetation, which eventually become heterogeneous zones. Heterogeneity allows for diversification of flora and fauna that is necessary for the formation of a “patchwork quilt” landscape. In creating this quilt, species have a greater chance at surviving and further evolving.

Everything in the world is deeply interconnected, and as we learn from Matt, destruction in the form of fire can contribute to a healthy ecosystem. Matt is confident that with a combination of clear communication with community members and a positive attitude, the Methow Valley will become an even more resilient place. Future fires, whether prescribed or not, will weave that textured patchwork into a tighter quilt, ultimately balancing everything out and benefiting the environment.  

By Katie Spegar

Meet Our Guests: Sarah Brooks

Sarah Brooks

Executive Director, Methow Conservancy

Winthrop, WA

8/20/22

Snowy Tree Crickets provide a sound track to the perfectly rehearsed performance of night falling over the Methow Valley. As the sky deepens and stars flicker on, squinted eyes turn to headlamps and Sarah Brooks welcomes Semester in the West to the Methow. Sarah is the Executive Director of the Methow Valley Land Trust. She was the first non-scientist hired to the organization, and it is obvious why. Her ideologies of community and collective support are deeply aligned with scientific views of ecological restoration. In her welcome she asks us to consider the question, “What’s your responsibility as a human when you love a place?” Sarah exudes love for the Methow, where she has lived and worked for the last 18 years. Her answer to this question is found in the mission statement of the Land Trust: “to inspire people to care for the land.” Sarah extends this by explaining that it is also our responsibility to care for the people who care for the land.

As we sink into camp chairs molded by generations of Westies, Sarah encourages us to “lean into the complexity required to study environmental issues.” This complexity forces Sarah to grapple with her position as a white settler as she works to integrate a process of reconciliation with the Methow people into the work of the Land Trust. Contradictory to a long history and tradition of conservation as exclusionary to indigenous peoples, building a relationship with the Methow people in which they can collaborate as stewards of the land is absolutely essential to Sarah and the Land Trust. The project Sarah is most proud of in her 18 years working for the Land Trust is the return of 320 acres the Methow Tribe. This is only the start. She tells us that building this collaboration she so deeply believes in will take time, dedication, and humility. This relationship must be fostered “at the speed of trust.” 

By Mosley Lerner