The Society for Ecological Restoration-Rocky Mountains Chapter

is excited to host a series of pub talks:

 Food, fun, and ecological restoration!

Please check back often for information on upcoming pub talks. Join SER-RM to help support pub talks and other great learning and networking opportunities!

Upcoming

We are busy planning our next pub talk – check back soon for more information!

Past pub talks

October 9, 2019, 6 – 8 PM, The Irish Snug (Denver, CO): Vicki Vargas-Madrid from Denver Parks and Recreation talked about the work Denver is doing in order to become a certified Community Wildlife Habitat City through the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) by the end of 2019.  Through this process, the city is creating habitat gardens, spaces, parks, etc. throughout the city while increasing awareness of their benefits for people, wildlife, and water.

June 19, 2019, 6 – 8 PM, WeldWerks (Greeley, CO): We were joined by about 30 restoration enthusiasts for a lovely evening on the outdoor patio at WeldWerks as Joe Schneider, Western States Reclamation Inc., discussed a high stakes restoration project in southern Colorado that was done in conjunction with Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU). The project achieved 90% pre-disturbance restoration on 344 acres of pipeline right-of-way in a 2-year timeframe using a 7-step model. Joe talked about the model and how it supported restoration success by ensuring proper planning, management, and monitoring. Following the presentation, we had a great discussion with the audience about the challenges faced and lessons learned along the way to seeing successful project completion.

May 8, 2019, 6 – 8 PM, Gaslight Social (Casper, WY): Dr. Jana White talked about Douglas Core Area Restoration Team efforts to restore sagebrush in areas affected by wildfire at the Gaslight Social in Casper on the evening of May 8. Natural re-establishment of sagebrush within wildfire-impacted areas is a slow process that can take decades or even centuries. Since 2014, the Douglas Core Area Restoration Team has planted 100,000+sagebrush seedlings within 5000+acres of a Sage-grouse Core Population Area of eastern Wyoming.  This presentation highlighted the role of collaborative conservation in enhancing habitat for Greater Sage-grouse, along with data-supported lessons the Team has learned through their research investigating environmental constraints to sagebrush growth, survival, and recruitment.

November 7, 2018, 6 PM – 9 PM, New Belgium Brewing (Fort Collins, CO): Over 115 ecological restoration enthusiasts packed New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado, on November 7^th, 2018, to discuss forest restoration on the Colorado Front Range as part of the Central Rockies Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration pub talk series.  The event was highlighted by a large and diverse crowd of CeRSER members, full of students from area universities and community colleges, as well as a good turnout from members of the Society of American Foresters, who co-sponsored the event. Dr. Mike Battaglia, Research Forester with the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) presented a science-informed forest restoration framework that has been co-developed with researchers, managers, and other stakeholders over the past eight years and recently published in RMRS-GTR-373.  As additional publications arrive from this collaborative effort, outreach initiatives are ramping up so that everyone from field foresters to decision-makers can apply the latest ecological restoration techniques. Nehalem Clarke (RMRS) debuted two short outreach videos, and Dr. Kathie Mattor from Colorado State University presented the outreach strategy development process and assessments. Generous sponsorship from Westervelt Ecological Services, the Society of American Foresters Colorado-Wyoming Chapter, and the CSU Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship allowed for a friendly venue and plentiful food to compliment the ecological restoration.

September 10th 2018, 6 PM – 9 PM, Lift Restaurant and Bar (Jackson, WY): Dr. Andrew Ray from Yellowstone National Park gave a presentation about restoration of the McClaren Mill gold mine and mitigating its impacts on waterways in the Park.

July 10, 2018, 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM, The Oak Room at Oskar Blues (Longmont, CO): We will be hosting a pub talk in conjunction with the High Altitude Revegetation (HAR) Summer Field Tour to discuss restoration activities at Front Range sites flooded in 2013 with a panel of Emergency Watershed Protection leadership and technical assistance team personnel. As always, this pub talk is free and open to the public; pre-registration is not required for the Pub Talk. CeRSER will provide appetizers and a cash bar will be available. Help support more great events like this! Join the Central Rockies chapter of SER at: www.ser.org/page/membership. If you are interested in attending the HAR Field Tour, visit their website: https://sites.warnercnr.colostate.edu/har/field-tours/. Not able to make the HAR Field Tour? No worries, join us at the Pub Talk in the evening to learn about the work that has been done and discuss successes and failures. Interested in helping sponsor this event? Please contact Jessie Olson (jolson at lwog.org).

November 1, 2017, 6PM  – 9PM, Sublette County Library (Pinedale, WY): Dr. Douglas Smith, University of Wyoming, presented a talk titled “Restoration Efforts for Pollinators in the Pinedale and Jonah Gas Fields.”  The Pinedale Anticline and Jonah Infill natural gas fields both exist within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.  Smith presented some of the challenges associated with establishing vegetation in the fields due to harsh climate conditions and soil quality, as well as the importance of restoration for wildlife, recreation and especially pollinators.  A total of 32 individuals were at the talk, ranging from University of Wyoming researchers, to industry managers, and the general public of Pinedale.  The talk lasted ~30 minutes and another ~30 minutes focused on open discussion with the audience.  Beer was provided by Wind River Brewing Company and pizza was provided by Old Stones Smokehouse and Pizzeria.  The event was sponsored by Central Rockies Chapter of Society for Ecological Restoration and co-sponsored by Jonah Energy and Wyoming Reclamation and Restoration Center.

May 3, 2017, 6:30PM – 9:00PM, New Terrain Brewing (16401 Table Mountain Parkway, Golden, CO):
Jenny Briggs (USGS, Denver) presented a talk about “Fire and forest restoration in the Front Range: Is there a silver bullet?” Many of Colorado’s vital resources – from snow sports to wildlife habitat to clean water to great beer – are derived from ecosystem services provided by our forests. This talk explored the scientific and social sides of diverse forest restoration projects underway in the Front Range that have the goal of making our ecosystems and communities more resilient to disturbance. Current projects range from the local to the national scale, and represent collaborative efforts between resource managers, researchers, and numerous stakeholders/partners – including breweries and businesses. Approximately 50 people joined us forJenny’s talk and contributed to a great discussion about forest restoration and fire risk reduction in the Front Range. Diverse perspectives were represented by participants including private landowners, county open space managers, fire and forestry specialists, scientists, and federal/state agencies. Special thanks to our co-sponsors for the evening: New Terrain Brewing and Yummy’s food truck. Food, beer, and ecological restoration!

February 9, 2017, 6:00PM – 9:00PM, Gold Hill Mesa (142 S. Raven Mine Dr., Set 200, Colorado Springs, CO): The CeRSER pub talk in Colorado Springs featured an update on watershed restoration efforts following the 2012 Waldo Canyon fire with Carol Ekarius (Coalition for the Upper South Platte) and Leah Shipstead (U.S. Forest Service). Carol and Leah led an insightful discussion of the complex post-fire environment, blending technical ecological restoration techniques such as log erosion barriers, sediment ponds, and wetland revegetation, with the need to manage for ecosystem services like protecting drinking water and recreational access in the burn area. The restoration efforts have made great progress, and Carol and Leah demonstrated how they have used adaptive management to learn and improve the science and practice of stream restoration following the fire, but much work remains as we approach the 5 year anniversary of the burn. About 60 people came to hear the latest post fire restoration updates, as well as enjoy free food, beer, and wine thanks to our co-sponsors Rocky Mountain Field Institute, Palmer Land Trust, and Gold Hill Mesa.

October 27, 2016, 6:30PM – 9:00PM, O’Dwyers Public House (1622 E. Grand Ave, Laramie, WY):Nicholas Graf (Wyoming GIS Center) and Michael Curran (University of Wyoming) will be talking about a Greater sage-grouse lek-based tracking tool and Wyoming-wide reclamation efforts: Tracking disturbance, reclamation & peak Sage-grouse males. Download the pub talk poster here. Talk summary: Over 2,000 maps have been created for sage-grouse leks known to occur in Wyoming. Each map contains reclamation and disturbance features within a 2-mile radius of each lek. Various aspects of the tool have been used to populate the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Conservation Efforts Database for the Greater sage-grouse Endangered Species listing decision, while other aspects inform decisions regarding future anthropogenic development and address success, failure or lack of knowledge regarding habitat restoration for sage-grouse related to existing disturbances. This talk will outline the importance of the tool for policy and decision making, as well as the tool’s usefulness for tracking previous and informing future restoration projects.

July 26, 2016, 6:00PM – 9:00PM: In conjunction with the High Altitude Revegetation Committee-CeRSER 2016 Summer Field Tour, Mike Wight, River Restoration Director for the Southwest Conservation Corps, talked about collaborative watershed-length riparian restoration in four major tributaries of the Colorado River and the value of engaging young adults in riparian restoration.  This pub talk was sponsored by Horizon Environmental Services.

June 23, 2016, 6:00PM – 9:00PM: Laura Archuleta presented an amalgam of presentations, thanks to Linda Kiefer (EPA) and Doug Jamison (CDPHE), about the mining legacy in the Upper Arkansas River valley near Leadville, Superfund work, and the steps taken to restore natural resources values and the efforts that were critical to transforming  the Upper Arkansas River from a severely impacted aquatic system to the Gold Medal fishery we enjoy today. To download the event poster, please click here.

February 16, 2016, 5:00PM – 7:00PM: Dr. Tom Kaye with the Institute for Applied Ecology at Oregon State University presented a pub talk about species reintroductions, “Using ecology as a stick: beating back extinction of golden paintbrush”, at Avogadro’s Number in Fort Collins. This pub talk was organized by the Colorado State University SER student guild and co-sponsored by CeRSER.

November 11, 2015: Dr. Rich Alward provided a pub talk at Baron’s Bar and Grill in Grand Junction, Colorado, from 6 to 9 pm. Dr. Alward talked about the Benefits of Successful Ecological Restoration Following Oil and Gas Development highlighting important concepts, challenges, research results, solutions and benefits. He also addressed existing state rules for oil and gas restoration and solicit input about the adequacy of these rules and suggestions for rule changes that might better ensure successful restoration.

May 21, 2015: Durango, Colorado, from 6 – 9 pm at the Lost Dog Bar & Lounge. Dr. Tony Cheng, Director of the Colorado Fire Restoration Institute and Professor in the Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship at
Colorado State University will present a talk on “Fires, beetles, floods – oh my!  Lessons learned from the work of the Colorado Forest Restoration Institute.” This event is being co-sponsored by CeRSER, the Mountain Studies Institute, and FireWise Southwest Colorado. Click here for the event poster.

March 11, 2015: Evening book-signing event at New Belgium Brewing Company with author Kevin Fedarko. “The Emerald Mile” is the epic story of the fastest ride in history through the heart of the Grand Canyon. This pub talk was co-sponsored with the High Altitude Revegetation Committee as part of the 2015 HAR – CeRSER Joint Conference. Click here to view the event poster.

January 28, 2015: Dave Buckner, President of ESCO Associates Inc., gave a talk titled “Evaluation of plant species diversity in reconstructed ecosystems: Ecology and metrics”. This pub talk was co-sponsored by the Denver Botanic Gardens at the Irish Snug in Denver, CO. Click here for the event poster.

November 12, 2014: “The Douglas Core Area Restoration Team: Who we are and what we do” was presented by Dr. Peter Stahl, Director of the Wyoming Reclamation and Restoration Center at Altitude Chophouse and Brewery in Laramie, WY. Click here to view the event poster.

March 5, 2014: “Wildfire in the Colorado Front Range: Using tree rings to reconstruct fire history and lessons learned from the Fourmile Canyon Fire” by Meredith Gartner, CU-Boulder (Lazy Dog Tavern, Boulder, CO).

January 30, 2014: Jonas Feinstein and Steven Yochum with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service presented CeRSER’s inaugural pub talk on “Ecology and hydrology of fires and floods: Applied science in a changing landscape” at New Belgium Brewery (Fort Collins, CO).