April Meeting: Pinon Jays

The speaker for our first 2026 meeting will be John Ubelaker.  His presentation to the Club will involve the role pinon pine plays in our Taos environment and its unique life cycle among the pine trees by using the pinon jay for spreading the seeds and extending the range of the trees.  Pinon pine is the only pine tree that is successful in spreading by using the birds.

John Ubelaker received his PhD degree from Colorado State University and completed post doc degrees from Emory and Princeton Universities.  He joined SMU and had many students, both undergraduate and graduate students.  He served as chairman of the biology department and for 16 years served as director of the Fort Burgwin campus here in Taos where he learned much about the history of the fort and of the flora and fauna of the area.