1847-1852 Monroe Area Oak Savannas and Prairies

Oregon State University researcher Dennis Albert will present "1847-1852 Monroe Area Oak Savannahs and Prairies". The lecture will highlight the 250-300-year-old Garry oaks in the woodlots around Monroe, Alpine, and Bellfountain and in the Corvallis area as well as the many food plants that occur under the canopy of the oaks. 

Over two years of exploration, Dr. Albert has discovered several new remnant savannas and suspects that there are more such remnants for the audience to discover, perhaps on their own property. 

Dr. Albert is trained as a Forest Ecologist and has identified prairies and savannas in Michigan, some of which are now actively managed with mowing and fire. In Oregon, he conducted research on coastal estuaries, eastern Oregon playa lakes, butterfly food plants in the Warner Mountains, and on prairies and oak savannas in the Willamette Valley. He has authored books aimed at the general public on sand dunes, Great Lakes coastal wetlands, and the original vegetation of Michigan, as well as articles on the Ecoregions of Oregon and insect/plant interactions for the new Oregon Flora.