Fall 2009
Friday, October 30, 7:30 p.m.
Aspen Trees
by David Burton
For many the symbol of autumn in the Sierra Nevada is the brilliant flash of color provided by the turning leaves of the Aspen trees of the range. Thousands trek into the Sierra to view the awe-inspiring, albeit brief, appearance of this natural display. But, the natural history and contemporary management of the quaking aspens is an even more intriguing story.
David Burton is principal coordinator of the Aspen Delineation Project, a collaborative effort of the Pacific Southwest Region (R5), California State Office-BLM, and California Department of Fish and Game. The Aspen Delineation Project was created in 2002 to assess the state of knowledge and management practice regarding aspen on public lands. The project focuses on how agencies have identified, mapped, treated, monitored, and studied aspen habitats. It also explores challenges, issues, and roadblocks surrounding aspen management. David is a full time Bureau of Land Management and United States Forest Service volunteer and recipient of the Forest Service’s National Individual Volunteer Award.
Sewell (Science) Room 111 / Rocklin Campus General $5 / Students $2 / Museum members free
Friday, November 20, 7:30 p.m.
The Fascinating World of the Ringtails
by Dave Wyatt
Biologist David Wyatt will present an illustrated lecture chronicling the life and habitat of Ringtails. The Ringtail (Bassariscus astutus) is a mammal of the raccoon family, native to arid regions of North America. It is also known as the Ringtail cat, Ring-tailed cat or Miner's cat. The Ringtail is found in California, Colorado, Oklahoma, Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, Utah, and throughout northern and central Mexico. For years, Wyatt has studied these animals on the Sutter Buttes, near Marysville. Over the course of twenty years of accessing the Buttes to study the Ringtail, his studies have revealed the Sierra Buttes Ringtail population density to be among the highest documented anywhere in the wild.
David Wyatt has taught biology and field ecology at Sacramento City College since 1998. He has studied bats in Belize, Mexico, and the United States. He has led numerous ecological tours in the Western Hemisphere and continues his 23-year Ringtail research in North America. 
Wyatt brings a wealth of experience to the classroom and lecture hall. Born in Hawaii in 1962, Wyatt settled in Sacramento as a child. As a student at American River College, he originally majored in criminal justice, but a class at ARC called “California Natural History” changed the course of his life and inspired him to pursue biology.
His influence extends far beyond the classroom. He also acts as the biological adviser for the Middle Mountain Foundation, a non-profit organization that educates the public about the Sutter Buttes, located in California’s Central Valley and known as the smallest mountain range in the world. Wyatt also served for ten years as a CalTrans biologist.
Sewell (Science) Room 111 / Rocklin Campus General $5 / Students $2 / Museum members free
Friday, December 4, 7:30 p.m.
Sierra Nevada Winter Ecology: Survival Strategies
by Ecologist Joe Medeiros
When winter arrives in temperate latitude habitats – myriad changes occur. Plants and animals alike make adjustments necessary to accommodate the cold and significant reductions in light energy. Migration, hibernation, dormancy and regeneration will be discussed, with a focus on our own Sierran species.
Joe Medeiros has hiked and studied in the Sierra for more than 35 years, lead countless trips of students and mountain enthusiasts, and served as a National Park Ranger at Devils Postpile National Monument in Mammoth Lakes, California.
Joe taught biological sciences at Sierra College from 1990 until his retirement in 2009. Joe is the co-coordinator of the college’s Sierra Nevada Lecture Series, and the major force behind the establishment of Sierra College’s People and Culture Days and the annual Earth Day celebration each Spring.
Joe also taught for many years at Modesto Community College and was the Founder and Director of that college’s outstanding Great Valley Museum. He was instrumental in the massive expansion of Henry Coe State Park in Morgan Hill, California, and in the establishment of Great Valley Grasslands State Park in Gustine, California.
Joe was honored as Sierra College Teacher of the Year in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007. In 2009, Joe received the prestigious “Placer Conservator Award” from the Placer Land Trust.
Sewell (Science) Room 111 / Rocklin Campus General $5 / Students $2 / Museum members free
Spring 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010, 7:30 p.m.
Sierra Snowstorms & the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics
by Mark McLaughlin
Award-winning Sierra Nevada Weather & Cultural Historian
Sewell (Science) Room 111 / Rocklin Campus General $5 / Students $2 / Museum members free
Friday, February 26, 2010, 7:30 p.m.
"Relics of Eden: The Powerful Evidence of Evolution in Human DNA"
Dr. Daniel Fairbanks
Professor of Biology & Research Geneticist, Brigham Young University
Sewell (Science) Room 111 / Rocklin Campus General $5 / Students $2 / Museum members free
Friday, March 26, 2010, 7:30 p.m.
Natural History of Baja
by Steve James
Professor of Biology & Marine Ecology, Sacramento City College
Sewell (Science) Room 111 / Rocklin Campus General $5 / Students $2 / Museum members free
Friday, April 23, 2010, 7 p.m.
"Conversation with a Tramp"
by Lee Stetson as John Muir
His 18th annual performance. Lee was recently featured as the voice of John Muir in Ken Burns' The National Parks on PBS.
Dietrich Theatre, Rocklin Campus
General $10 | Students | $5 | Museum members free
Want advance tickets? Send a check (made out to Sierra College Museum) and a self-addressed and stamped return envelope to 'Muir Play Tickets' - c/o Richard Hilton / Sierra College / 5000 Rocklin Road / Rocklin, CA 95677
Friday, May 7, 2010, 7:30 p.m.
Sexual Selection
by Keely Carroll
Professor of Biological Sciences, Sierra College
Sewell (Science) Room 111 / Rocklin Campus General $5 / Students $2 / Museum members free
Related Websites:
The Museum now has an eJournal, the Journal of the Natural History Museum.
For recordings of lectures about the Sierra Nevada, visit the Sierra Nevada Virtual Museum, Enter, and then click on the link, "Sierracasts". (The site is in Flash, but there is a text only version available.)
For more information on the Sierra Nevada, visit Saving the Sierra website. They have radio broadcasts, a storybooth and a blog with recollections about the Sierra.