JACKSON, Wyo. — On Tuesday, April 8, Teton County Library will be hosting two free programs: a virtual seminar about sagebrush restoration and an in-person discussion of the history of prehistoric earthquakes deep within Jackson Lake.
The Jackson Hole Bird & Nature Club’s (JHBirds) Teton Plants Program,”Restoring Sagebrush Habitats: Insights in Plant Traits and Soil Microbes Vital for Success,” will be available via Zoom-only at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. Participants can join the sagebrush restoration meeting here, and it will also be recorded.
University of Wyoming Professors Daniel Laughlin, Linda van Diepen and Dillon Romero, along with Laura Jones, Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) vegetation ecology and management branch chief, will share how soil microbiota, plant seeds and roots support the growth of native species.
According to JHBirds, the presenters will discuss on-going efforts to remove invasive species on the Antelope Flats region in GTNP, allowing for the growth of a more biodiverse habitat of native sage, wildflowers and grasses. The latest research “may hold the key to optimizing restoration efforts and advancing our understanding of how to best restore sagebrush ecosystems,” JHBirds wrote.
Also on Tuesday, the Geologists of Jackson Hole will offer an in-person presentation,“Hunting Teton paleo-earthquake records in the deep parts of Jackson Lake” in TCL’s Ordway Auditorium from 6 to 7 p.m. Participants can also join the event via Zoom.
Dr. Ryan Thigpen, a University of Kentucky Associate Professor in tectonics, geodynamics and geomechanics will reconstruct the timing, magnitude and recurrence interval of Teton fault earthquakes in the deep part of Jackson Lake for the last 15,000 years.
According to the Geologists of Jackson Hole (GJH), lake sediments and turbidites or deep-marine sandstone beds can be paleo-earthquake (prehistoric) “recorders.” Although, collecting geophysical surveys and cores in deep-water lakes can pose logistical and scientific challenges, GJH wrote.
“Trenches across the active fault have clearly established at least two, and potentially three, major events in the last 10,000 years,” GJH wrote via press release. “However, recent studies of sediments in moraine lakes adjacent to the fault highlighted more potential events that were not observed in the fault trenches.”
Prior to the geology talk, people are invite to enjoy free soft drinks and appetizers from 5:30 to 6 p.m. at TCL.
