AUGUST ENEWS

Richardson's Penstemon at Snow Mountain Ranch. Image by David Hagen

Greetings Betsy,

As summer lingers, here are many ways to celebrate, support, and learn about our local ecosystem.

EVENTS

Steppe into Tieton Square with Us!

What: Steppe into the Square

When: Saturday, September 7, 11am to 3pm

Where: Tieton Town Square (Tieton City Park)

Join us in Tieton town square for a day of music, local food, art

activities, and learning. This event will focus on the ways we can access,

learn from, and support our beautiful ecosystem, the shrub-steppe. Learn about local trails as well as ways to rewild our yards, parks, farms, hearts and minds. There will be opportunities to learn about how and why gardening and landscaping with native plants helps support life in our special place on

earth.

We're excited to have a great lineup of musical guests, food and plant vendors, and educators!

Musical Guests

Root Biscuit (Julie and Sally and Jeff Parker)
Jeff Main
Scatter Creek

Vendors

Educators

Cowiche Canyon Conservancy
Heritage Gardens Program
Washington Dept. of Fish & Wildlife
Washington State University – Master Gardeners Program
Washington Trails Association

*More vendors may be added over the next few weeks.

Images of the Shrub-Steppe

Opens September 6

Fall in the Canyon, by Elizabeth Montes de Oca, from this year's exhibit

What: Images of the Shrub-Steppe

When: September 6 thru September 28

Where: Boxx Gallery in Tieton, WA

The eighth year of Images of the Shrub-Steppe features beautiful works of many different mediums inspired by shrub-steppe lands and life in the Yakima Valley.

Boxx Gallery is open Saturdays and Sundays, 11a to 4p.

In addition to Steppe into the Square (above), there will be a few special speaking events to complement the exhibit opening:

Saturday, September 14, 2p to 3p

Artist Talk

Hear from exhibit artists about their artistic process, inspiration, and philosophy. *More info coming soon about this event. Stay tuned.

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.

WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO

Saying Goodbye to Bill

We are sad to say goodbye and thank you to Bill Powers, our first ever Jesuit Volunteers Corps fellow.

In our office, we will miss Bill’s adventurous energy, intelligence, and analytic ability to ask precise questions. Bill helped amplify our outreach efforts by starting and deepening relationships with dozens of community groups, from the YMCA to assisted living facilities. He also helped us build relationships with dozens of new volunteers. Bill introduced a diversity of Yakima residents to shrub-steppe and CCC trails. He improved the quality of our field trips by fearlessly leading geology and shrub-steppe learning stations. Bill went above and beyond the asks of his responsibilities by: helping us build, restore, and sign CCC trails; giving an excellent talk at Single Hill on life deep underground; and by playing fiddle with Root Biscuit for our Nature's Storytellers event.

While Bill contemplates the next phase of his life, he is currently doing a long-range hike near Banff, British Columbia.

We wish Bill all the best with whatever physical and mental challenges he takes on next.

CONSIDER THIS

Looking for a High Impact

Volunteer Opportunity?

Cowiche Canyon Conservancy wants to hear from community members interested in joining our Board of Directors.

We are seeking individuals with diverse talents, lived experiences, and community connections who are committed to conservation of shrub-steppe and connecting people to the landscape through education and low impact recreation. Of special interest to us are potential board members with fundraising, community engagement, real estate, and business experience.

Our active and engaged board governs and guides the organization, which includes an executive director, five staff members, an AmeriCorps volunteer, and 6,388 acres of conserved land. As a member of our volunteer Board of Directors, you can play a role in the long term success of the organization by providing leadership, expertise, perspective, and guidance. A board member position description can be found here . If you are interested in board service, please contact Celisa Hopkins at celisa@cowichecanyon.org.

Help Improve Our 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.

Lower Cowiche Creek Trail is Open

image courtesy Yakima Bikes and Walks

The City of Yakima’s Lower Cowiche Creek Trail has recently opened! This means a new pedestrian and bike friendly path running from the start of Cowiche Canyon Rd (off Powerhouse) to near Prospect Rd, where Cowiche Canyon Rd turns into a dirt road. In the future, this path may connect all the way from the Greenway at 40^th Ave to the Cowiche Canyon Trail.

You can take a quick virtual tour of the trail here, on Yakima Bikes and Walks Facebook page.

If you visit, you'll also have the chance to view significant floodplain restoration work completed by Mid Columbia Fisheries. It's exciting to see rocks, trees, native plants, and even beaver (if you're lucky), doing what they do to slow down water and create a functioning floodplain that will benefit local fish, wildlife, and human infrastructure.

*If you use this trail, please note that it is owned and managed by the City of Yakima, NOT Cowiche Canyon Conservancy. While we support pedestrian trail connectivity in Yakima, we are not responsible for maintaining this trail.

What to Look for on Trails?

Cougar! Last week, we had another credible cougar sighting in Cowiche Canyon. Please be aware and cautious in the area. Cougar periodically move or migrate through this area. They may have been displaced because of nearby wildfires. If you spot a cougar and believe the animal to be a public safety concern, please report it to WDFW (360-902-2936).

Blooming plants. Tall buckwheat (eriogonum elatum) are blooming above spindly stems. Gray Rabbitrush (ericameria nauseousa) and Green or Yellow Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus) are just beginning to bloom. Richardson's Penstemon or cutleaf penstemon (penstemon richarsonii) is a colorful surprise in the draws of Snow Mountain Ranch.