Bob and Graham’s talk will explore the evolving landscape and plant communities for the historic range and distribution of the butterflies of Cascadia, including the Oregon Silverspot. The presentation will take flight with the sharing of Bob’s poem “Pollen Nation” and bloom into a discussion of the importance of native plants and even some NON-native plants for butterflies and others. Graham will nectar on the Early blue violet (Viola adunca) and its importance to the threatened Oregon silverspot butterfly, highlighting the plant’s and animal’s historic habitat along with some of the new and exciting efforts and restoration technologies the North Coast Watershed Association and its partners are employing to restore and enhance populations of Viola adunca and other key species in the Clatsop Plains.
Robert Michael Pyle is a renowned American lepidopterist, writer, teacher, and the founder of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Bob is the author of thirty books, including Butterflies of the Pacific Northwest (co-authored with Caitlin C. LaBar), Magdalena Mountain, Where Bigfoot Walks, Nabokov’s Butterflies, and other works of essay, poetry and fiction. Pyle holds a Ph.D. in Lepidoptera Ecology and Conservation from Yale University and has dedicated his career to studying and protecting butterflies and other invertebrates. He lives in an old Swedish farmhouse in Gray’s River, Washington.
Graham holds a Master of Environmental Studies from The Evergreen State College and is the executive director of the North Coast Watershed Association. His graduate research focused on the restoration and enhancement of the early blue violet for caterpillar development of the Oregon silverspot butterfly. He has worked in native plant nurseries, agricultural farms, and on a myriad of watershed restoration projects, from dam removals on the Elwha River to the redesignation of the Cascade Head Biosphere Reserve and estuary uplift of the Salmon River. Through his artwork, Graham aims to better communicate how we can fit into our ecosystems and conserve diversity.
Doors open at 6pm with food and beverages available via the Taproom window, talk starts at 7pm. All ages welcome and never a cover.
The Thursday Lecture Series is a recurring community lecture series every Thursday, October through May. Thank you to our 2024/2025 Partners –
1st Thursdays – Ales & Ideas w/ Clatsop Community College
2nd Thursdays – Wit & Wisdom w/ Philosofarian
3rd Thursdays – Thursday Night Talk w/ Clatsop County Historical Society
4th Thursdays – Nature Matters w/ Lewis & Clark National Historic Park, Lewis & Clark National Park Association, and North Coast Watershed Association
WHERE: Fort George Lovell Showroom, 1483 Duane St. Astoria, Oregon 97103 Map
