Plateau on the Radio: Episode 32 Fall Foraging with Ashley Doyle

Listen to Episode 32 HERE...

It's that time of the season again friends, and now that crisp autumn is all around, guest host, forager and nutritionist Ashley Doyle is back on the air to bring you some great knowledge on foraging the Colorado Plateau.

Guest Host and forager extraordinaire, Ashley Doyle.

This time around she discusses medicinal and nutritional properties of Common Mullein, Mormon Tea, Snakeweed, Pinyon, and also how some foraging isn't just for eating but for crafty folks too.

If you would like to get a hold of Ashley Doyle with questions or some of your own knowledge on Fall Foraging the Colorado Plateau region, you can drop her a line at thecoloradoplateau@gmail.com, and she would love to hear from you.

An invasive plant found everywhere on the Plateau,
Common Mullein, is quite the useful plant indeed.

Further Reading:

Common Mullein Resource Page

Snakeweed Resource Page

Mormon Tea Resource Page

Pinyon Pine Resource Page

Coyote Melon Resource Page


Plateau on the Radio: Episode 31 The Tale of Everett Ruess

Listen to Episode 31 HERE...

Everett Ruess in the 1930's, photo by Dorothea Lange.

On this episode of our radio hour we explore the short but full life of Everett Ruess, an artist and wanderer who disappeared in the heart of the Grand Staircase-Escalante in 1934. 

Join us as we look at his past, hear some of his writings, and listen to some songs inspired by one of the great Plateau mysteries.

Inscription found by Greg Funseth and photographed by David Roberts
Further Reading: 

Finding Everett Ruess by David Roberts - If you can stand a whole bunch of badly placed advertisements you can read all of this great and extremely informative work by David Roberts via the link provided.

EverettRuess.net - a page by Everett's family.






Plateau on the Radio: Episode 30 Biological Soil Crust

Listen to Episode 30 HERE...

Tune in to the radio hour to learn all about something that is near and dear to our hearts...Biological Soil Crust.

Biological Soil Crust in Canyonlands National Park, UT (Photo by Bill Bowman)
Join us as we open up the Colorado Plateau Classroom and attend an entertaining lecture by soil ecologist Jayne Belnap and learn all about this amazing life form, the ecosystem services it performs, and about efforts to restore it in areas it was destroyed.

The recording is courtesy of a great program put on in Aspen, CO called Naturalist Nights and was put on by the great folks at the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies and recorded beautifully by The GrassRoots Community Network.

And as always friends remember...Don't Bust The Crust!



Further Reading:

Research Paper Links by Jayne Belnap via Resarch Gate

A Field Guide to Biological Soil Crusts by Roger Rosentreter, Ph.D., Matthew Bowker, Ph.D., Jayne Belnap, Ph.D. Free to download the .pdf file.

Crust 101 by SoilCrust.org - a great resource for all things crust. 

Biological Soil Crusts - a 2 page hand-out, ideal for classrooms or informational booths.

Forest Rangeland Soil Ecology Lab at Northern Arizona University