From Extinction to Recovery: Re-introducing the Golden Paintbrush to Oregon

Sponsored by the Willamette Valley Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon

Reintroduction of populations may be necessary when species have become so rare that protecting wild populations is not enough. Golden paintbrush (Castilleja levisecta) became locally extinct in Oregon sometime after the late 1930’s, but small populations persisted in Washington and British Columbia. Recovery of this species has led to intensive reintroduction efforts in the Willamette Valley.

This talk by Tom Kaye of the Institute for Applied Ecology will review the history of the species, research on its ecology, and restoration efforts. Tom Kaye, PhD, is founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Applied Ecology (IAE), a nonprofit organization with a mission to conserve native habitats and species through research, restoration, and education. He is also a courtesy Associate Professor in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University. Tom conducts research on rare species, habitat restoration, plant invasions, and plant population responses to climate change, and engages prison inmates in conservation through the Sustainable Prisons Project in Oregon.

For more information, contact John Savage at 503-779-5414 or at John@StraubCenter.org.