Bulletin of the Native Plant Society of OregonNOTE: This is an archived NPSO Bulletin.
Some information may be out of date, and
some links may not be functional.
Bulletin of the Native Plant Society of Oregon[ Return to Bulletin Directory ]
Sept. 27, Sat.. State Board Meeting: 10 A.M. - 4 P.M. Central Oregon Environmental Center, 16 NW Kansas, Bend. Hosted by the High Desert Chapter.
Meeting: No meetings for the rest of the summer.
Meeting: No meetings until October.
Aug. 2, Sat. Work Party: Help build the boardwalk at Jackson-Frazier Wetlands. Spend a constructive morning helping to level soil, shovel gravel, move boards and assemble boardwalk. It's a great project! Tools and water provided, but bring work gloves (and food is desired). 9 A.M. - 1 P.M. Meet: OSU parking lot, west of the Beanery, 26th and Monroe. For more information, call Bob Frenkel.
Aug. 16, Sat. Field Trip: Day-long hike at Three Finger Jack. Meet: OSU parking lot, southwest of Campus Beanery, 26th and Monroe, 7:30 A.M. Hike to Three Finger Jack moraines from Jack Lake, return via Round Lake trail. Moderately strenuous 8 mi. hike with cross country segment. Unusual plants include Elmera racemosa, Claytonia megarhiza var. bellidifolia. Bring food and water. Call Loren Russell, for information and to reserve a place. Limited to 12. persons.
Help Wanted: Interested in gardening? We meet at the Avery House once a week in the evening, 6:30 - 8 P.M., to work on the native garden. Last year we created woodland beds, and this year we're preparing a new bed for our dry prairie section. Stop by and take a look.
Help Wanted: Would you like to help with the annual Spring Flower Sale? It's always a lot of fun. We usually need help potting plants, transporting plants, plants, booth, table, literature, etc., and staffing the table. If you are interested in helping with the native garden, the flower sale, or the Benton County Fair display, call Carolyn.
Meeting: No meetings in the summer.
Sept. 22, Mon. Meeting: 7:30 P.M. Room 110, main campus, Lane Community College, Eugene. Jerry Igo, of the Mid-Columbia Chapter, will present his video program, "Cottonwoods, Cattails and Coots," about wetlands and their uses for outreach and education. Jerry may also talk about his recent pilgrimage along the Lewis and Clark Trail. Directions: From 30th Ave., turn south on Eldon-Schafer Drive, go past Oak Hill School and park in LCC's south parking lot, east end. Walk downstairs to Science Building. Entrance to room 110 is on the east side of the building.
Meeting: No meetings in the summer.
Aug. 2, Sat. Field Trip: Strawberry Summit/Morning Hill Forest Farm. Easy 7 mi. R.T. hike, with 1200 ft. elev. gain, to the highest peak in the Strawberry Wilderness, at 9038 ft. See interesting alpines and whitebark pine. Three grapeferns are found here. Participants can camp Fri. and Sat. nights at the trip leader's beautiful Morning Hill Forest Farm. Call Jennifer Barker in Canyon City, for details.
Sept. 13, Sat. Field Trip: Broken Top Volcano. Our annual trek to view the spectacular glaciated scenery and alpine wildflowers in the high Cascades, west of Bend. This is a 6 mi. R.T., moderate to strenuous hike with 1700 ft. elev. gain. Mostly off-trail hiking through the Three Sisters Wilderness, so number is limited to 12. A Cascades classic! Preregistration is required. Call trip leader Stu Garrett, evenings, to sign up.
Sept. 17, Wed. Meeting: This will be the first meeting of this new chapter. The time, place and subject will appear in the September Bulletin. Call Susan Erwin, for more information.
Aug. 6, Wed. Meeting: 7:30 P.M. Mildred and Stuart Chapin's beautiful house in White Salmon, Washington. Paul Slichter, a biology teacher at Gresham H.S., will give a slide show on the wildflowers of Lake County's high desert area. For directions, call the Chapins.
Aug. 9, Sat. Field Trip: Grass seed collecting and swimming party on the east side of Mt. Hood. Join USFS botanist, Caitlin Cray, to savor the contemplative joys of seed collecting and the joys of swimming at White River Falls State Park. We'll learn how to recognize and pick seed from Idaho fescue and prairie junegrass, look for the elegant, late- blooming green-band mariposa, and finish the day with a swim downstream from the falls. Our collection sites are all within a quarter mile of the road, so not much hiking. Bring a large, paper grocery bag and scissors for the seed collecting. Meet: Barlow Ranger Station (13 mi. south of the Dalles) at 10 A.M. Expect very hot, dry weather, so bring plenty of water and sun protection and lunch, swimsuit and towel. We'll finish seed collecting by 2:30 P.M. and cool off at White Falls State Park. The park has a pleasant, shady picnic area with BBQ grills, if you want to linger there for supper. Call Caitlin Cray, for more information.
Sept. 3, Wed. Meeting: 7:30 P.M. Pietro's Pizza in the Dalles. Bill Reynolds, weed control officer for Hood River County, will tell us about a study on knapweed control.
Meeting: No meeting in August.
Aug. 3, Sun. Field Trip: Mount Hood wilderness area. Specific trail to be announced. Limited to 12 persons. Preregistration required. Leave: 8:30 A.M., Gateway/99th Ave. Park & Ride, near southeast corner of parking lot. Take exit 7 from I-84, turn immediately right onto NE 99th Ave. Second meeting: 9:30 A.M., Zig Zag Ranger Station, Hwy. 26. Moderate, 3 hr., hike. Bring lunch. For more information, call Greg Stone, or Sue Allen.
Aug. 23, Sat. Field Trip: Elk Meadows. Join USFS botanist, Heather Laub, for a 2.5 mi. hike through mature forest, arriving at a subalpine meadow, with abundance of asters and views of Mt. Hood. Modest elev. gain, easy grade. Limited to 12 persons. Preregistration required. Driving: 140 mi. R.T. Leave: 8 A.M., Gateway/99th Ave. Park & Ride, near southeast corner of parking lot. Take exit 7 from I-84, turn immediately right onto 99th Ave. Second meeting: 10 A.M., Hood River Meadows parking lot at trailhead. Take Hwy. 26 to Hwy. 35, watch for signs to Hood River Meadows on left. To sign up, or for more information, call Greg Stone.
Meeting: No meetings in the summer.
Aug. 2, Sat. Field Trip: Oregon coast from Brookings to Charleston. Leader: Bruce Rittenhouse, BLM. Features: Rare plants, such as Lilium occidentalis, other coastal vegetation. Meeting place to be announced. This trip may be extended to two days, if the participants want to. Call Don Heinze for more information.
For information on South Coast Chapter, contact Bruce Rittenhouse.
Meeting: No meetings in the summer.
Aug. 9, Sat. Field Trip: Black Butte and Metolius Spring. Dr. Morris Johnson, Western Oregon University, will lead to the top of Black Butte in central Oregon. This 3 mi. hike starts at 4500 ft. elev. and ends at 6000 ft. Terrific views, penstemons and other wildflowers. Contact Morris for meeting time and place.Aug. 16, Sat. Field Trip: Wash Creek Divide. This trip along Cascade mountain ridges features the rare Aster gormanii, other late season flowers, huckleberries and great views. Meet: 8 A.M., BLM parking lot, corner of Fabry Rd. and South Commercial. Driving time about 2 hrs. Leader: Claire Hibler.
Meeting: No meetings in the summer.
Aug. 16 - 17 & Sept. 13 - 14 Sats. & Suns. Work Party: The Nature Conservancy's Dunstan Preserve on the Middle Fork John Day River. Help remove old fences, dismantle buildings, repair historic structures. BBQ Sat. eves. Bring camping equipment, food, musical instruments. Meet at preserve Sat. A.M. For directions, call Berta Youtie or the preserve,.There may be more field trips in August. Please watch the "Briefly" column in the La Grande Observer for announcements.
IMPORTANT NOTE TO FIELD TRIP PARTICIPANTSField trips take place rain or shine, so proper dress and footwear are essential. Trips may be strenuous and/or hazardous. Participation is at your own risk. Please contact the trip leader or chapter representative about difficulty, distance, and terrain to be expected on field trips. Bring water and lunch. All NPSO field trips are open to the public at no charge (other than contribution to carpool driver) and newcomers 'and visitors are always welcome.NOTICE TO FIELD TRIP CHAIRS AND LEADERSThe Forest Service and other agencies have set policies limiting group size in many wilderness areas to 12. The reason is to limit human impacts on these fragile areas. Each group using wilderness areas should be no larger than 12.POSTAL NOTICEBulletin of the Native Plant Society of Oregon; John Robotham, Editor; 117 NW Trinity P1. #28, Portland, OR 97209.Published monthly. Subscription price $18/year. ISSN 0884-599. Date and issue number on page 1. |
Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors of the articles. They do not represent the opinions of the Native Plant Society of Oregon, unless so stated.
Guidelines for Contributors to the Bulletin
The NPSO Bulletin is published monthly as a service to members and the public.At the spring board meeting in Roseburg, the membership report indicated that NPSO did not show any growth over the past year. Growth in itself is not important, however the lack of growth can be taken as a measure of the health of an organization. If members are finding satisfaction or stimulation from the activities and programs of the organization they will they will maintain their membership. What appears to be happening in NPSO is that we lose old members as fast as we gain new ones.
This suggests that some of the people who had an initial interest in NPSO have been disappointed. I believe that we should be trying to find out what these people wanted from NPSO that they did not find. I feel that this should be done at the chapter level. Each chapter has different levels of activity and the reasons for changes in membership will probably be different for each chapter. If it appears that the reasons are shared by all of the chapters, the information gained by one chapter can be shared with the others.
In addition to finding the causes for members leaving NPSO, I believe we are not telling the public enough about what we are accomplishing. I have never seen a news article about the grants we award to activities such as the Atlas Project or the Carex Working Group. Our sponsorship of summer interns should be newsworthy. Each chapter has some project that should be of interest to the public, primarily because the projects have value far beyond the publicity that NPSO might receive. To cite just a couple of examples, NPSO chapters have carried out revegetation projects, and have worked to remove knapweed, teasel and other noxious plants from sites of special value. I am certain that information on these projects would bring new members to NPSO.
I would be interested in hearing from any of the members who would take the time to prepare a description of "What I want from my membership in NPSO." If there are enough responses to this request, I will prepare a summary for a future issue of the Bulletin.
Michael Fahey
President, NPSO
Blue Mountain
Inez Julia Austin
Eric Clough
Jerold D. Linville
Laura Richardson
Corvallis
Amity Gagnon
Anne Reiling
Robert L. Stebbins
Stan Stephens
Emerald
Glen Cole
Marcia J. Cutler
Melda DeSalvo
Helen Hollyer
Nancy Holzhauser
Karen Jeanne
Eileen Jones
Jana Logan
Dawn Saxton
Susan Schubert
Jeff Walker
High Desert
Alvin F. Chase
Darryl Fitzwater
Paula and Lynne MacNeill
Mid-Columbia
Camilla Bishop
Sally Claggett
Lori Johnson
Marie Louise Penchoen
Lynn Roberge
Dale Rush
Chela Stader
Portland
Shelly Atwood
Brian E. Baker
Marilynn Christianson
Virginia Dodson
Sabine Dutoit
Margaret E. K. Evans
Marit Federcell
Lexi Fickensher
Karen L. Hennings
Colin MacLaren
Bronwyn S. Owen
Julie Reilly
Otha L. Terry
Sarah Uebel
Siskiyou
Rick Barclay
Cyndi Dion
Winn Frankland
Carrol J. Maurer
Allan V. Naydol
Umpqua Valley
Jim Long
Christine Masters
Willamette Valley
Bill and Gay Purnell
William Cusick
Susan M. Geer
April 26, 1997, Roseburg, Oregon High on the list of priorities for this meeting were nominations for the positions of state treasurer and editor of Kalmiopsis. Luckily, Jean France agreed to remain as treasurer until someone could be trained to take over. Ideas for the Kalmiopsis editorship were discussed and potential parties were to be contacted.
The board applauded Tom Kaye for the symposium proceedings and Dave Kennedy for the latest issue of Kalmiopsis. Both are beautiful books. Money from the excellent sales of the symposium proceedings will go to research grants, the Oregon Flora Project and a future symposium.
Conservation efforts continue on both sides of the state. On the eastside, Stu Garrett is pursuing a new grazing policy for the high desert with the BLM and the USFS and is writing letters to BPA regarding Botrychiums. The main issue facing the westside is the threat to the Rough and Ready Botanical Area. Also, there will be increased logging in the Willamette National Forest, due to logging restrictions on the coast where the marbled murrelets are found.
In her last report to the board as EFO liaison, Maya Muir encouraged all board members to think about how their chapters can get more involved in the volunteer process. Soon EFO will have some more creative options to reach the quota for volunteer hours, including printing the EFO logo and having a monthly column in the Bulletin and on our web page. Shane Latimer will be submitting articles to the Bulletin that will also be worth volunteer hours. In 1996, we were short some hours, so Sue Allen donated some artwork in lieu of the hours.
At the time of this meeting, the field season for listwork had just begun. Lucille Housley is stepping forward to get lists together from the southeast corner of the state. Medford BLM submitted 236 species lists which are being entered. Maps, like the Carex maps are being created for the regional coordinators, showing where to concentrate their efforts. Anyone wanting to donate time to either the Atlas or Checklist project should talk to Scott Sundberg.
Tasks that go beyond the Atlas and Checklist themselves have begun. A contributors' guide for the Flora will direct planning and identify parts of the Flora that can be independently funded. There is no reason that people such as George Argus, the willow expert, couldn't start working on parts of the Flora while we complete the Checklist. Existing software needs to be evaluated for data storage and some serious decisions regarding the timeline and corresponding budget for the Oregon Flora Project need to be made. Keli Kuykendall has volunteered to organize the fund-raising effort. Start thinking about a new Flora of Oregon as a well-funded project with a full-time staff.
All grant requests came in under budget. Linda Boyer's proposal to re-survey the Willamette Valley for Delphinium oreganum does not meet our grant guidelines because some of the money she requested will go to lab work. Although clearly outside of our rules, an exception was granted because it is a direct outgrowth of field work. The committee agreed to award this grant, but recognized it as a special case so as not to ruin the integrity of the program. This reaffirmed NPSO's commitment to field work and it did not displace any field work because there were not many grant requests this year. This stipulation was made since botanists have not been obtaining enough money to get out in the field, especially in eastern Oregon.
For the last meeting over which he would preside as president, Mike Igo focused on a few pressing issues. Washington State Parks and Recreation was threatening to allow grazing in the Dalles Mountain Ranch, a state park containing many kinds of plants in its more than 6000 acres. The president also appointed Jerry Igo as a NPSO representative to the Exotic Plant and Pest Council. This group is a cooperative effort to work on weed problems throughout the western states and Canada. Of course he did not forget to mention the opening of the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center on May 24th, a large development complex landscaped exclusively with native plants.
The final hours of the spring NPSO board meeting were spent discussing the activities of the chapters. This summer will be full of field trips, Atlas lists, plant sales, flower shows, native plant gardens, identification classes, conservation agreements, brochures, habitat restoration and more.
Heather Laub
Secretary, NPSO
June 7 - 8, 1997, Camp Cascade, Oregon The annual meeting convened after dinner at Camp Cascade, with President Mike Igo presiding over the 65 members present. Mike thanked outgoing officers for their efforts, and gave commendations to Bulletin editor John Robotham and Bulletin mailing committee Marvel Gillespie and Bob Powne. He also presented an award to outgoing Kalmiopsis editor David Kennedy, and announced the appointment of Linda Vorobik as new editor. Then the new officers were inaugurated. They are: Mike Fahey, president; Mike McKeag, vice president; Heather Laub, secretary; Jean France, treasurer; Bruce Barnes, Bruce Newhouse, Kareen Sturgeon, directors. Soon after that, the brief business meeting was adjourned, and Scott Sundberg began his presentation on the Oregon Flora Project.
The following morning, the new NPSO president, Mike Fahey, began the summer board meeting. The treasurer's report began the meeting on a good note; due to successful sales of the symposium proceedings, money was available early to finish the three Oregon Flora Project grants.
Bruce Rittenhouse provided the board with a list of Oregon Natural Heritage Program List 1 plant species (1995 edition) arranged by chapter. He requested that each chapter prioritize the top five species that they feel need monitoring or additional inventory. The intention is to see NPSO take an active role in monitoring plant populations for population trends, habitat assessment, and threat identification. Bruce was inspired by an article in the Botanical Garden Journal describing a program of volunteers who monitor rare plants in other parts of the country. On the south coast of Oregon and in northern California, a successful volunteer population monitoring program has already been set up for Lilium occidentale.
Mike Fahey designated a chairperson for the nominating committee, so that nominations for the three directors-at-large and four officers to be elected in the following year will be made long before the elections. He also recommended that we go back to the schedule specified in the bylaws for announcing names and publishing biographies. Several chapters have also been changing the guard. The Siskiyou Chapter elected new officers, including Jennifer Biegel, a primary organizer of the successful Siskiyou Ecology Conference. Chapter board positions for the next year have filled by the Emerald Chapter as well. Everyone on the board feels that it is important to find enthusiastic people to continue local chapter activities during the next year.
The recipient of the Jean Davis Memorial Fund, a $1000 scholarship, is Russell Huddleston, a student at Southern Oregon State College. Russell is researching plant ecology of the vernal pools on the Agate Desert landform in the Rogue Valley near Medford. Russell was a strong candidate and we are happy we can help him continue his educational pursuits.
As always, chapter reports were saved for last. The Emerald Chapter is celebrating its successful Mt. Pisgah Wildflower Show in May, and its gorgeous new t-shirt. The Siskiyou Chapter wrote a letter to the Siskiyou National Forest about the loss of the Illinois Valley botanist. This ranger district deserves a full-time botanist, due to the number of rare species and the potential impacts from mining and other projects. The Mid-Columbia Chapter will be hosting their annual plant show , July 26-27, at Skamania Lodge. In addition, the chapter awarded $250 to Daysha Eaton to help the Hood River Ranger District botanists monitor the effects of management activities on native plants at Mount Hood Meadows. The award was matched by the Portland Chapter which takes a strong interest in the activities of the nearby ski area.
Heather Laub
Secretary, NPSO
It was a wonderful weekend in May in the Illinois Valley. A wide array of speakers, posters and field trips, along with great weather, allowed people from many places in the nation to learn more about this fabulous area -- the Siskiyou/Klamath region.
Keynote speakers, Frank Lang, Art Kruckeberg and Don Zoebel, shared stories about historical botanical explorations and information about the serpentine vegetation of the vicinity and in particular about Port Orford cedar.
Jennifer Beigel (new Siskiyou Chapter president), Eric Jules and Barry Snitkin did a terrific job in organizing the event. The topics presented were truly ecological and presented information and research on a variety of subjects. The local community worked really hard in supporting these three in the logistics of the weekend.
At the beginning of the conference, Jennifer said that in their early planning they thought 60 people might get together for a one day workshop. But as potential presenters responded and people registered, it turned into a three day event, with 300 attending, and had to be moved to a larger building.
As events like this go, many questions came out of the conference. The Siskiyou Regional Education Project is compiling these questions, so they will be available as potential research projects.
Many asked if there would be a conference next year. Plans are to have a field session. Details will be supplied later. We really want to continue this effort, so we hope to have another one organized in two or three years. It was really valuable to hear what people in different fields are doing in this vicinity and to get some networking going.
Dominick DellaSala of the World Wildlife Fund attended. He calls the Siskiyou/Klamath area the "Galapagos of North America." Recently the WWF named this area one of the four richest conifer forests in the world and is promoting it in its international and national forest campaigns.
The event's sponsors included the Siskiyou Project, the Oregon Caves National Monument, Southern Oregon University Biology Department, the Native Plant Society of Oregon, and its Siskiyou Chapter. I was proud to have NPSO and our chapter associated with this top quality conference.
There will be a notice in the Bulletin when conference proceedings are available.
Barbara Mumblo
Siskiyou Chapter
Oregon's Rare Wildflower Poster depicts Punchbowl Falls and three of the Columbia River Gorge's endemic wildflowers. Text on the back describes the natural history of the Gorge and the mission of the NPSO. Available from Stu Garrett, 21663 Paloma Dr., Bend, OR 97701 (541-389- 6981). Individuals may order posters at $12 each, plus $3 per order for shipping. Posters are mailed in tubes. Chapter treasurers may contact Stu, for wholesale prices to chapters.
NPSO Window Stickers are decals with NPSO's trillium logo in green over an opaque white background, for use inside car windows. Available from Stu Garrett, $1, minimum order five.
NPSO T-Shirts are available in various colors and designs, and are sold through NPSO chapters.
NPSO's Original Wildflower Poster depicts 13 Oregon wildflowers in a striking artist's rendition. Soon to be a collector's item. Available from Stephanie Schulz, 84603 Bristow Rd., Pleasant Hill, OR 97455. $5 each, plus $3 per order for shipping. Posters are mailed in tubes.
NPSO Membership Directory lists names, addresses, and phone numbers of members (April, 1997). Available from Jan Dobak, $2 each.
Webmistress@NPSOregon.org
© Copyright 1996 Native Plant Society of Oregon, All Rights Reserved
Last Modified April 6, 1996