When: Tuesday, August 7, 10 am to noon
Where: Clear Lake Habitat Reserve, Warrenton
Led by: Tom Horning and Kathleen Sayce

When North Coast Land Conservancy acquired Clear Lake Habitat Reserve in 2013, it was the last undeveloped interdunal lake on the Warrenton peninsula outside of Fort Stevens State Park to be conserved. Since them NCLC has protect this pristine, hidden dune swale lake while undertaking a major wetland creation project on what used to be a degraded dune nearby. In the past five years NCLC staff and volunteers have planted thousands of native shrubs, trees, and other plants, and additional natives have moved in on their own (along with beavers and other critters). Botanist Kathleen Sayce will be examining the plant community that is taking shape here, and geologist Tom Horning will be speculating about how the lake and dunes here were formed. Did you guess that this origin story probably involves one or more earthquakes?

TOM HORNING grew up in Seaside and earned his master’s degree in geology at Oregon State University. He returned to Seaside in 1994 and opened Horning Geosciences, a geological consulting service. Tom joined the board of NCLC in 1996 and has been actively involved with the land conservancy ever since.

KATHLEEN SAYCE grew up and continues to live on Willapa Bay and has been active in conservation efforts on the South Coast of Washington and North Coast of Oregon all her life. She is a consulting ecologist and educator, and was science program director for the Willapa Alliance and chief science officer for ShoreBank Pacific. She has a master’s degree in botany from Washington State University. She is the president of the Filipendula Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon.

Walk info: This is an easy, mostly flat walk located on established trails. The walk is about 1 mile in length. No toilets on site. No dogs allowed on site.

What to bring: Water and snacks. Wear sturdy walking shoes and dress for the day’s weather.

This program is free, but registration is required.