Hike and Learn 

Hike and Learns are designed to connect you more fully to the wonder and value of the biodiversity within the Monument. They are co-created with local scientists, historians, artists, writers, and more. They consist of a Friday evening lecture followed by a Saturday hike in the Monument. You are welcome to attend just Friday or just Saturday or both days. All events are free of charge.

See below for a list of our upcoming Hike and Learns. We hope you can join us!

Bats of Oregon

Friday Night Talk - July 11th, 6:00 - 7:30 PM

Sign up HERE

Saturday Excursion - July 12th, 8:30 - 11:00 PM

Sign up HERE

Explore fundamental topics about bat biology and the life history of Oregon bat species. This will include their role in ecosystem services in the Pacific Northwest, addressing common misconceptions, and offering conservation actions for those interested in supporting local bat populations. We will also learn about ultrasonic detections (which we will utilize on Saturday) and discuss the various ways to collect data on bats.

On Saturday, we will learn about ultrasonic detections and discuss the various ways to collect data on bats. Each participant will have the opportunity to use a handheld superheterodyne bat detector on Saturday to listen for bat calls. These detectors convert ultrasonic bat calls into frequencies that are audible to humans by mixing the ultrasound with a carrier wave.

Emma Busk is a biologist for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) out of the Ashland Field Office. She graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences. Emma has 6 years of experience working with bats using accepted protocols and various trapping methods including hand nets, mist nets, harp traps, and acoustic detectors. Emma has worked under Kim Thompson (BLM), Tony Kerwin, and Alice Chung-MacCoubrey (National Park Service), learning a variety of handling techniques and decontamination methods for the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd). For the last few years, Emma has worked alongside Alice conducting white-nose syndrome surveillance surveys of maternity colonies throughout southern Oregon and northern California. Emma has been coordinating and leading surveys in the Ashland Resource Area for the BLM and in the Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest. Emma is a member of the Oregon Bat Working Group, Western Bat Working Group, and the North American Society for Bat Research.

Native Bees of Southern Oregon

Friday Night Talk - July 18th, 6:00 - 7:30 PM

Sign up HERE

Saturday Excursion - July 19th, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Sign up HERE

Come and learn about the huge diversity of bee species in Oregon and some of what we will be able to see while in the CSNM. We will discuss the differences between a bee, fly and wasp, and some basic bee family ID skills for when you get a bee in your jar. Learn about basic bee biology, seasonality, and the many habitats and structures that bees will use for nesting, including how you can support them in your own yard. 

On Saturday, we will go to a bee-filled meadow in the CSNM and I will demonstrate how to safely catch a bee and get it into a jar without hurting yourself or the bee. Nets and jars will be available for people to have the opportunity to try and catch bees on their own. In the field, we will see firsthand just how vast our Oregon bee diversity is, how many great bee mimics are out there! 

Amanda Huffman is a wildlife biologist out of southern Oregon for the Bureau of Land Management. She graduated from Southern Oregon University with a degree in Biology and a focus in Field Biology. She has volunteered with the Oregon Bee Atlas run by Oregon State University for the last five years, helping to collect and identify native bees in our county and beyond to better understand the bee diversity in our beautiful state. We can't protect what we don't know is there! Amanda has 6 years of bumble bee survey and identification experience, and 5 years of working with the Oregon Bee Atlas expanding her repertoire to native bee identification. 

Unless otherwise noted, talks are held at the Ashland Food Co-op Community Classroom located at 300 N. Pioneer Street in Ashland, OR. The community classroom in NOT in the grocery store. It is in a separate building a block behind the grocery store on 300 N. Pioneer Street. The talk is an opportunity to learn, ask questions, and meet your fellow hikers. It is optional and not compulsory before taking the hike.

If you can’t hike the trail you are welcome to attend only the talk! Enjoy the images and participate in the discussion. We believe in making the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument accessible for all people to learn about and appreciate our public lands.

Hikes are held in various locations within the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. We kick off the hikes at the Rite Aid parking lot located at 2341 Ashland Street in Ashland at 9AM (unless otherwise noted) and carpool/caravan to the designated spot in the Monument together.

On the day of the hike:

• Bring plenty of water

• Bring lunch and snacks

• Consider bringing additional items such as: hat, sunscreen, walking sticks, camera, binoculars, hand lens, notebook and pen

• Wear sturdy shoes and protective clothing

Be considerate of the group and meet on time at the designated location.

Practice hike ethics and leave no trace. Learn more.

Limited facilities. The only public toilet facilities are located at the Hyatt Lake campground, Hobart Bluff trailhead, Pilot Rock trailhead, Grizzly Peak trailhead, and the Tub Springs Wayside. There are no washroom facilities or pit toilets at most other locations.

Previous Hike & Learns

Tiny and Endangered - So What?

May 23rd & 24th

What the Klamath Mardon Skipper butterfly has to teach us, with Jeanine Moy from Vesper Meadow Education Program.

As small as your thumbnail, and as subtle as the orange-brown clays of the Cascade-Siskiyou itself, the Klamath Mardon Skipper is the most unassuming butterfly - yet is also the bellwether of watershed health, surviving in the upper most reaches of the Rogue and Klamath River Basins. Found nowhere else in the world besides the subalpine meadows of the Cascade-Siskiyou, this species has been rapidly declining in the last decade.Join Jeanine Moy as she brings you along through the native bunchgrasses and seablush flowers for a butterly-eye view of the Monument. Hear the story of a rare and imperiled species, and learn about our chance to come together and protect the land that both the Mardon and our communities rely on. Participants will gain opportunities to become involved and take action for meadow habitat conservation and restoration.

LICHENS IN THE MONUMENT

Februrary 21st & 22nd

Lichens are very common in southern Oregon. They are found on natural and man-made features including across rock surfaces, festooning from tree branches, speckling the sidewalks in town, and on (and within) many other substrates. However, they are often overlooked. We will discuss what lichens are, how they interact with their surroundings, and basic identification of different types, including some we will see on the snowshoe hike the following day. We hope you leave you with a better understanding and appreciation of these fascinating organisms.

Wildlife Tracking

January 31st & February 1st

Join us for a fun, relaxed, and interactive workshop designed to connect you more deeply to the wild animals who live in the Monument and beyond. Our evening talk will introduce animal tracking (with a focus on Track & Sign ID). We will offer tools that will increase your observational skills and help you to spot track & sign during our hike the following day.

This hike and learn is appropriate for both beginners to tracking and those looking to continue to brush up their skills! You never know what kind of animal signs we will stumble across!

For those who attended Jad D’Allura’s Friday Night Talk on Volcanoes, you can find a copy of his presentation below:

PARTICIPANT REVIEWS

"I loved the lecture before the hike."

"To see drawings and pictures [helped] to understand what I saw during the hike."

"It was nice having everyone contribute some knowledge on the hike."

"Beautiful area!"

Gallery of previous Hike and Learns. Check out our blog for write-ups and photos of the previous Hike and Learns!

LEAVE NO TRACE
Principles of Outdoor Ethics

Plan Ahead and Prepare
 Travel & Camp on Durable Surfaces
 Dispose of Waste Properly
Leave What You Find
Respect Wildlife
 Be Considerate of Other Visitors