Northwest Sportsman – August 2019

22 Northwest Sportsman AUGUST 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com

By Randall Bonner

N

ear the end of summer, the Institute for Applied Ecology in Corvallis holds a peculiar

culinary fundraiser event in Willamette Valley wine country. Typically, when you

think of the kind of pairings you might see on the menu at vineyards in the area,

cheese and crackers come to mind.

However, at the IAE’s Invasive Species Cook-off, area conservationists gather to share

their dishes of bullfrog legs, red swamp crawfish, starlings, Eurasian collared doves and

nutria. For those who can’t stomach eating the flesh of such critters, there’s vegetarian

options that include things like dandelion greens and purslane. For those with a sweet

tooth, the plethora of possibility with blackberries is almost infinite.

It might not dent populations of nonnative species

in the Northwest, but an annual cook-off held near

Corvallis helps raise awareness about them.

Wash it all down with one of the

amazing invasive potions on tap, such as

Matt Bahm’s Purple Varnish Clam Stout

or Mousa Diabat’s French-style Queen

Anne’s Lace Saison. If you’re not ready (or

of age) to get off the wagon, then there’s

a nonalcoholic category of entries like

Joel Rea’s blackberry soda and Rodrigo

Valle’s strawberry mint kombucha. Indeed,

there’s a little something for everyone.

I.A.E. WAS FOUNDED in 1999, so this year

will be a 20th anniversary celebration

for the organization. Melanie Gisler, an

ecologist there, spawned the concept for

the cook-off eight years ago, and is now

the director of an expanded Southwestern

office in Santa Fe, New Mexico, that

opened in 2015. The crew has grown

to include a diverse group of over 30

staff members with expertise in habitat

management, experimental design,

restoration, education and planning.

Their mission is to “conserve native

species and habitats through restoration,

research, and education,” and they explain

that their vision is “a world where all

people and wildlands are healthy and

interact positively, biological diversity

flourishes, and environmental challenges

are met with a social commitment

to solving problems with scientific

principles.” The IAE has received several

awards for their accomplishments from

various organizations.

“We recognize that eating invasives

is unlikely to make a dent in large-

scale infestations,” says IAE fundraising

coordinator Michel Wiman, “but we still

want to make people aware of the threats

invasive species pose to native plants and

wildlife. Invasive species are estimated to

cost the US an estimated $120 billion in

damages annually.”

LAST YEAR WAS my first time attending

and participating in the event, held at

Harris Bridge Vineyards in Wren, west of

Invaders,

Hot And

(Mostly) Tasty!

Author Randy Bonner prepares his walleye tacos

during 2018’s Invasive Species Cook-off, held

by the Institute for Applied Ecology of Corvallis

to raise awareness about the threats posed by

nonnative species to our region’s fish, wildlife

and plants. (RANDY BONNER)