Meetings
Monthly Meetings are held every fourth Tuesday, August through May, 6:30 p.m. (social) 7:00 p.m. – meeting begins. Monthly meetings are held at the Moana Nursery Landscape and Design Center, 1100 West Moana Lane, in Reno. Moana Nursery is on the southwest corner of Lakeside Drive and West Moana Lane; the Landscape and Design Center is a separate building, located on the west side of the parking lot (not in the nursery shop itself). We look forward to seeing you there!
- August 28, 2012 – Kim Toulouse, NDOW – “A Brief History of Recorded Time on the Truckee River”
- September 25, 2012 – Bob Goodman - A Closer Look At “STAY AWAY!”
- October 23, 2012 – Gary Blomquist – Attack of the Pine Bark Beetles!
- January 22, 2013 – Bartshe Miller - Mono Lake on the Rise, Birds on the Wing
- February 26, 2013 - David Jickling - Whose Whoos In Nevada? Owls of the Truckee Meadows and Northeastern Sierra Nevada
- March 26, 2013 – Peggy Robinson - Birds, Mammals, and Hunter Gatherers of Tanzania and Botswana
- April 23, 2013 – Lindsey Dimitri - Ecuadorian Avifauna: Spectacular Diversity From the Cloud Forest to the Amazon
- May 28, 2013 – Jenni Jeffers – Owls of Nevada
August 28, 2012 – Kim Toulouse, NDOW – “A Brief History of Recorded Time on the Truckee River”
It’s the lifeblood of our community, and has been a source of contention and legal battles for many years. Kim Toulouse, Education Coordinator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife, will give us a historical look at how man has treated the Truckee River, both bad and good, over the last couple centuries.
September 25, 2012 – Bob Goodman - A Closer Look At “STAY AWAY!”
Nevada is well known for its high number of hot springs, and the admonition to stay away from them for that very reason; they are very hot water that can kill. Photographer Bob Goodman made many journeys around the state to cautiously record the life forms that grow in these hot springs, with water reaching up to 200 degrees. What started as a supposed short project, has turned into a very long adventure into a world of ever-changing abstracts of color, texture, and shapes found nowhere else. Bob will provide us with views of a world very few people get to see up close and personal.
October 23, 2012 – Gary Blomquist – Attack of the Pine Bark Beetles!
No, it’s not a horror movie, but it is a horror for the trees attacked by them. Dr. Gary Blomquist, Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Nevada, Reno, has been studying the life cycle and biochemistry of the pine bark beetle for many years. These insects have devastated forests throughout the West including the Sierra Nevada, especially after the 8-year drought we experienced several years ago. Gary will describe how the beetles manage to infest such huge areas of forest, then talk about his research into how the beetles attract one another with their pheromones (a love story?), and discuss possible ways of controlling these pests in the future, based upon his knowledge of their pheromones. Join us for a very interesting and informative talk. And, no, the talk will not be technical.January 22, 2013 – Bartshe Miller - Mono Lake on the Rise, Birds on the Wing
Mono Lake is a striking, saline ecosystem surrounded by desert peaks, volcanoes, and the Sierra Nevada. The lake is one of the most productive lake habitats on the planet, and a migratory oasis for significant numbers of birds. The Los Angeles Department of Water & Power threatened to unravel it all through decades of water diversions. Now, nearly twenty years after the State Water Resources Control Board Decision, Mono Lake remains far from its target management level. Do two decades of stream restoration and balancing Public Trust values make a difference on the ground? Join Mono Lake Committee Education Director Bartshé Miller for an in-depth look at Mono's avian world and the challenges of stream restoration and lake stabilization.
February 26, 2013 David Jickling - Whose Whoos In Nevada? Owls of the Truckee Meadows and Northeastern Sierra Nevada.
Join us for an evening on owls - their calls, habits and habitats. Long time LAS member and past President, David Jickling, will present what should be an interesting and enjoyable show on the owls that live in our area. At least seven species are fairly easily found within an hours drive of the Truckee Meadows including Great Horned, Barn, Northern Saw-Whet, Northern Pygmy, Flammulated, Long-eared and Western Screech. Two others, the Spotted Owl and Great Gray Owl are known to live in the Sierra Nevada but take some traveling to find. David will give us a brief introduction to these magnificent birds and teach us how to recognize their vocalizations and provide tips for calling them in. We also want to hear your owl stories. So be prepared to share. Who's that? David will tell you.
March 26, 2013 – Peggy Robinson - Birds, Mammals, and Hunter Gatherers of Tanzania and Botswana.
Peggy Robinson, long-time LAS member, recently visited Tanzania and Botswana to see its wildlife and its native tribes. She will give us a presentation featuring slides of the birds and mammals of Tanzania and Botswana, including the Okavango Delta (the world's largest inland delta) and the Kalahari Desert. Peggy also had personal interactions with the Hadza Tribe of Tanzania, one of the last true hunter-gatherer tribes still living a traditional life, and a brief interaction with a San Bushman in the Kalahari Desert. She will show slides of her visits with these peoples along with commentary about the interactions.
April 23, 2013 – Lindsey Dimitri - Ecuadorian Avifauna: Spectacular Diversity From the Cloud Forest to the Amazon
Ecuador is famous for the Galapagos Islands, but the incredible biodiversity of the mainland is just as exciting. Recent studies have found that Yasuni National park in the Amazon region could be the most biodiverse place on earth. Ecuador is a birder’s paradise with over 1600 species of birds across a wide array of habitats. More species of hummingbirds are found in Ecuador than anywhere else on earth with over 125 species. Other species groups include tanagers with 165 species and antbirds with 96 species. Lindsey has been to Ecuador on 3 separate volunteer trips in order to learn how to mist-net and band birds with LifeNet Nature (lifenetnature.org), an organization that promotes wildlife conservation through a combination of science and ecotourism. Her talk will include photos of wild birds and birds captured in mist nets in the cloud forest and Ecuadorian Amazon and will touch on the behavior of many of these species, especially charismatic species such as the Andean cock-of-the-rock.
May 28, 2013 – Jenni Jeffers – Owls of Nevada.
Jenni Jeffers has been a fixture at the annual Spring Wings Birding Festival in Fallon for many years, leading the popular “Owl Prowl” field trips. She often takes live owls into classrooms to talk to kids about these intriguing animals. Jenni’s presentation will focus on the habitats, life history and conservation of native owls in the state and, as an added bonus, will include some live owls.