Over the last century, historical wildfire regimes have shifted due to climate change, the exclusion of Indigenous fire stewards, and land management philosophies. As a result of these pressures, forests have experienced increases in fuel buildup that threatens dry forest resilience across western North America. Within post-fire landscapes, pollination is critical for vegetation recovery and ecosystem health. We used field based and molecular methods to evaluate the effects of fire reintroduction on bee community composition across a temporal range of one to nine years post-fire, and in an unburned control, in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.

As ecosystem engineers, beavers have a big impact on the habitats that they call home. This can often be a boon for fish and wildlife sharing this space, but a headache for people nearby. Throughout the Puget Sound region, many beavers find homes in urban and exurban waterways. Beavers Northwest Communications Manager Joe Mouser will dive into beavers’ unique ecology, incredible benefits, as well as the challenges and opportunities afforded by living with beavers in a landscape dominated by human infrastructure.