A Bunch of Champignons

A Recap of the Annual Volunteer Appreciation Party

In February, we celebrated all of our remarkable volunteers at our Annual Volunteer Appreciation Party. Inspired by the fun and diverse fungi in our region, our volunteers enjoyed a tasty dinner alongside the most beautiful cookies that resembled Amanita Muscarias and Agaricus Bisporus’. We also highlighted all of the great work that our volunteers have contributed throughout the year, in addition to honoring a handful of volunteer awards.

Golden Chanterelle Award: The recipient of the Golden Chanterelle Award is Kevin Talbert, a volunteer who has dedicated the most hours to our organization in 2024, for a total of 86.5 hours.

Funguy Award: The recipient of the Funguy Award is Jim LaVally, a site steward and docent volunteer who has always been consistent and reliable, as well as extremely fun to be around.

A Cluster of Champignons Award: The recipients of the A Cluster of Champignons Award are Bryan Nelson and Dale Shostrum, two volunteers who have dedicated their time and energy to plan and complete all of the barn painting at the Harry & Marilyn Fisher Preserve at Pompadour Bluff.

The Good Spore-t Award: The recipient of The Good Spore-t Award is Billy Crawford, a volunteer who has always been able to handle a quick task pivot or change of plans, and always with a positive attitude.

Thank you again to all of our incredible volunteers who have dedicated their generous time and enthusiastic energy to assist us in the office or in the field. We couldn't do what we do to conserve the land that we appreciate and enjoy without YOU.

Late Summer Flowers - Radiant Gentians

As the day length contracts, and the mountain flowers go to seed, gentian flowers bring a jolt of vibrancy and beauty to drying tawny meadows in late summer. In our region, the petals range from otherworldly azure to blue purple but can also be red and white in other regions of the world. The most common local mountain gentian in our region is explorer’s gentian (Gentiana calycosa) which has a beautiful green window in the floral tube below the five petal lobes. A great place to see it, is along the Pacific Crest Trail at Big Red Mountain on the Siskiyou Crest, where the flowers are nestled within tufts of green beargrass leaves.

Two other local gentians are globally rare and are only found in the Klamath-Siskiyous in Oregon and California. Near Oregon Caves and Grayback Mountain in Oregon, Klamath gentian (Gentiana plurisetosa) lives in a handful of mountain basins. The petals have gorgeous long purple threads or bristles, difficult for insects to navigate, but athletic bumble bees are regular visitors. And in the Illinois Valley and the Smith River Watershed, living with cobraliles and western toads, the spectacular Waldo gentian (Gentiana setigera) blooms under September skies in fens, including at Eight Dollar Mountain.

Worldwide, gentians are important in traditional medicine and for brewing bitters. These late season flowers are more than gorgeous farewells to summer, they also provide essential pollen and nectar for pollinators. Poets like Emily Dickison, Bryant, and Ralph Waldo Emerson incorporated gentians into their prose, but dare we say, none of their work compares to quietly sitting next to a patch of gentians in September.