Ralph Lampman
Pacific Lamprey - Keeping 450 Million Years of Tradition Alive
About the Speaker
Ralph Lampman (aka Lamp-rey-man) has been working as a Lamprey Research Biologist for the Yakama Nation Fisheries since 2012. He has graduated from Humboldt State University and worked as a Fisheries Biologist for the Siuslaw National Forest in central Oregon coast for several years, before he attained a MS degree from Oregon State University with a thesis project on Pacific Lamprey radio telemetry. He has slowly been migrating from California to Oregon to Washington, so Alaska may very well be his next destination (due to global warming J). He is originally from San Francisco, California, and spent his adolescent years in Tokyo, Japan. Pacific Lamprey, commonly called “eels” by tribal members and others, is an incredibly important species for the Columbia River tribes in terms of food, medicine, and culture. They also serve many roles in the stream ecology, benefiting many, many native species. Ralph will demystify Pacific Lamprey secrets in relation to biology, ecology, and more, using photos, videos, songs, and more. He will also provide a synopsis for the work that has been done to restore this important species.