SFI- Pacific Northwest Prairies & Climate Change Free Presentation

Prairies in the western Pacific Northwest, such as those found in the Rogue and Illinois Valley regions, are critically endangered ecosystems. A variety of factors, including the disruption of historical fire regimes, land use change, and invasive species, have all contributed substantially to their decline. Now, climate change threatens to add to these existing threats. As conditions become hotter and drier, many plant species native to these ecosystems are at risk of decline. To understand how climate change will affect Pacific Northwest prairies, researchers from the University of Oregon conducted a multi-year experiment at three sites across western Oregon and Washington, including at the Siskiyou Field Institute. Join us at 6:30pm on Friday, May 6 for a free public seminar to hear from ecologist Paul Reed about the results of this study, and ongoing efforts to facilitate native prairie restoration in an era of climate change.