Name: 2024 Lecture Series Urban Wildlife: Exploring Our City's Wild Side
Start: 2024-10-16T18:00:00-07:00
End: 2024-10-16T20:00:00-07:00
Location: Leach Botanical Garden

Join us for the 2024 lecture series, Urban Wildlife: Exploring Our City's Wild Side, featuring talks on mammals, reptiles, birds, and fish found in Portland’s urban environment. The garden opens at 6pm for an after-hours stroll, appetizers, and beverages, with a captivating lecture beginning at 7pm.
October 16
Fish Tails in Portland
Melissa Brown
After a 1996 tour for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in the Bering Sea, Melissa realized that fisheries were more than just fish. It became apparent that a complex mix of history, politics, and conservation were integral to management decisions that shape future abundance and distribution, and that a biologist working for species recovery should be versed in all three. After working for the Lummi Nation to restore habitat in northern Puget Sound, Melissa moved to Portland in 2010 to serve the City as the senior fish biologist for the Bureau of Environmental Services. Today, her job takes her to every corner of the city’s rivers and streams year-round to wade or boat, collecting data on fish genetics and population metrics. In this presentation, Melissa will share what she has learned. Along with photos and anecdotes, she will discuss projected trends and expectations for future conditions as the city continues to be transformed by its citizens’ protection efforts, economic development, and climate change.