Winter 2024 Lectures

“Can eating caterpillars reduce wildfire damage in forests? Traditional gathering by the Nüümü People influences pines, caterpillars, wildfire, and defoliating moths.” with Dr. Jeff Holmquist, UCLA-WMRC. Tuesday, April 16th, 2024. 6:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m. PST. In-person, Owens Valley Station, 3000 E. Line St., Bishop, CA. Research Center: Jeff Holmquist, Jutta Schmidt. The Nüümü People have traditionally harvested Pandora Moth caterpillars (piagi) as these larvae descend Jeffrey Pine trees in order to pupate in the ground.  Fallen needles and branches are cleared away from the trees to be harvested, and a trench is created around each tree.  Descending caterpillars are captured by the trenches and cooked as food.  Our Tribal-USFS-WMRC team hypothesized that the traditional clearing and digging of trenches around trees might reduce tree damage from wildfires.  An ensuing wildfire showed that there was indeed less damage to trees that had been prepared for harvesting, and a number of complex ecological interactions are becoming apparent. This event is Free & Open to the Public.

All other 2021-2024 lectures are recorded and can be watched on YouTube: