Episode 4: Russian Olive and Siberian Elm

In the American West, few living beings are as hated as Russian Olive and Siberian Elm. These two tree species that are originally from Eurasia grow well in the soils of the Colorado Plateau, and farmers and ranchers put forth tremendous effort to kill them. Fighting well-adapted species is a losing battle though. This episode asks what it would mean to accept these newcomers as permanent fixtures on the land and to learn to live with them.

This 4-part podcast series was recorded live in summer of 2022 during our ethnobotany lecture series by botanist Gabe Crawford.