2008 Archived Events

The following is a list of events sponsored by White Pine Chapter or in collaboration with other organizations in 2008.

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Thursday, January 24, 2008, 7:00 p.m.
White Pine Chapter Monthly Meeting
UI College of Natural Resources Building (CNR), Room 108
Speaker: Todd Ott, graduate student in Natural Resources
Title: A Modern Synthesis of Plant-based Survival Skills

Todd, a graduate student of Steve Brunsfeld and an expert on ethnobotany, will speak on his experiences from teaching wilderness survival skills for 15 years. He will begin with an overview of wilderness survival strategy/philosophy and continue with a discussion of the importance of botanical knowledge with specific examples in the northern Rocky Mountain and Inland Northwest.

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Wednesday, February 27, 2008, 7:00 p.m.
White Pine Chapter Monthly Meeting in collaboration with Palouse Prairie Foundation
1912 Building, 3rd and Adams St, Moscow, ID
Speaker: Gary Lentz, Lewis and Clark State Trail Ranger, and historian
Title:"Trifles Will Not Stop Me"

Mr. Lentz will present a living history demonstration about the early explorer/botanist David Douglas -- the man responsible for dozens of discoveries and descriptions of our native northwest trees, shrubs, and other plants -- and his travels throughout the Northwest from 1824 to 1827. Mr. Lentz will bring materials for plant identification, as well as a reproduction plant press from Douglas's era.

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Thursday, March 20, 2008, 7:00 p.m.
White Pine Chapter Monthly Meeting
UI College of Natural Resources Building (CNR), Room 108
Speaker: Jacie Jensen of JenCrops
Title:"Palouse Prairie Restoration and Seed Increase Efforts: Lessons Learned by Wayne and Jacie Jensen"

Jacie will present on the lessons that she and her husband, Wayne, have learned about the Palouse Prairie ecosystem. Since 2004, usng their own remnant atop Paradise Ridge as a seed collection site, and with assistance from university researchers and conservation organizations, they have investigated ecologically-sensitive methods to manage invasive plants. In addition, recognizing that long- term restoration, expansion and management of this ecosystem requires the availability of eco-regional seeds of the native wildflowers, they have developed seed increase plots from collections off their land which have been expanded into certified-seed fields. The certified seed, and the seedlings produced from them, are just becoming available for local plantings.

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Thursday, April 10, 2008, 7:00 p.m.
White Pine Chapter Monthly Meeting in collaboration with Palouse Prairie Foundation
Neill Public Library (Edith Hecht Reading Room), 210 N. Grant Ave, Pullman, WA
Speaker: Tim Eaton, owner of Prairie Bloom Nursery
Title:"The Ecological Role of Natives in the Garden and Creating a Native Garden Esthetic"

Tim has owned/managed Prairie Bloom Nursery for over 10 years, and through his extensive experience and knowledge will talk about the role natives play in gardens of the Palouse, and offer tips on how to create a native garden. Attendees should enter through the door on the east side of the building, near the parking lot.
Xeriscaping handout on species for this area which Prairie Bloom Nursery helped develop.

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Thursday, April 24, 2008, 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. University of Idaho SUB
Rare Plant Symposium, with the UI Department of Rangeland Ecology and Stillinger Herbarium
See website Rare Plant Symposium. Several speakers representing various agencies from around the Northwest, including U.S. Fish and Wildlife, will address topics including livestock management, conservation strategies, and monitoring approaches and data analysis, with particular emphasis given to Silene spaldingii.

Among the speakers are:
Introduction & Overview - Chris Shafer
Livestock Management - Kerrin Doloughan Bureau of Land Management
Conservation Strategies - Gina Glenne U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Monitoring Approaches & Data Analysis - Peter Lesica Consultant and Janice Hill Consultant

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Saturday, April 26, 2008, 8:00 a.m.
White Pine Chapter Field Trip to the Grande Ronde River, and Troy and Flora Oregon
with Nancy Miller and Dr. Bill Rember, leaders.
Flora and Geology along the Grand Ronde River

Join Nancy and Bill for a day discovering the wildflowers and geology of the Grande Ronde. Meet at 8 a.m. at the Forest Service Research Station on Hwy 95 just south of Hwy 8 to carpool. We’ll stop briefly at Field Springs and at one of the pull-offs along Rattlesnake Grade to see what early spring flowers are blooming. At the bottom of the grade we will check out the riparian vegetation along the stream as well as the geologic features of the canyon. We will then proceed towards Troy along the Grande Ronde River. Because of the lower elevation, we should see a different selection of flowers blooming. If the road conditions are good, we will travel from Troy to Flora, Oregon to see flowers blooming near Flora, then to the Mima Mounds located on the road to Enterprise (Hwy 3). We will then return via Hwy 3 along the rim of the Grande Ronde and back up Rattlesnake Grade after re-crossing the river. If the road from Troy to Flora is not in good condition to travel, we will return along the Grande Ronde. This will be an all day trip so please bring snacks, lunch and beverages. Binoculars will come in handy for seeing birds and possibly elk on the grassland hills of the canyon.

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Tuesday, May 20 Palouse Prairie Foundation Evening Field Trip to Howell Prairie Remnant - INPS members invited

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Tuesday, May 27 Palouse Prairie Foundation Evening Field Trip to Palouse Prairie Remnant on Paradise Ridge - INPS members invited

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Saturday, May 31 White Pine Chapter Field Trip to Feather Creek Trail near Bovill

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Weekend, Friday, June 20 - Sunday, June 22, 2008
INPS Annual Campout
Sam Owen Campground on Lake Pend Oreille.

More information will be available in Sage Notes and on the INPS State Website.

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Tuesday, June 24, 2008; 7:00 p.m.
White Pine Chapter Grass Identification Workshop
Peggy Chevalier will be doing the workshop. It will primarily be for those with minimal experience identifying grasses. She will focus mostly on identification at the genus level although some will be at the species level. She will have grass samples and information sheets for participants.

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Saturday, June 28, 2008
White Pine Chapter Field Trip to Elk River Falls
led by Pam Brunsfeld, Director of the UI Stillinger Herbarium

(The drive is approximately one hour and hopefully the numerous camas fields will still be in bloom.) Bring lunch, water, sunscreen, etc. The lower falls is a gentle one mile hike from the parking lot and numerous orchids will be viewed. For those interested we can continue to middle falls, about another ˝ mile and/or the upper falls, another ˝ mile beyond that, then return to the parking lot. Elk River is only a three miles from the Elk Creek Falls turnoff and wonderful huckleberry ice cream cones are available at the General Store.

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Saturday, August 23, 2008
White Pine Chapter Field Trip to Emerald Creek area and Hobo Cedar Grove

Dr. Bill Rember will lead this activity. The morning will be spent at Bill's fossil beds, about 10 miles west of Clarkia, where Bill will describe the paleohistory of the area and lead us in exploring for fossils. The area is abundant with fossilized leaves, from an era when the region was warmer and wetter, with a climate and ecology similar to that of the current southeastern U.S. We will then travel to the nearby Hobo Cedar Grove for lunch, followed by an easy walk through the big trees.

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Saturday, September 20, 2008
White Pine Chapter Annual Meeting and Potluck at Giant White Pine Campground

Annual Potluck at Giant White Pine Campground (about 45 min. from Moscow; drive north from Moscow on HW 95; turn right onto HW 6 at the Potlatch junction; continue east past Potlatch, Harvard, and Princeton, past Laird Park and on to the White Pine Campground parking lot on the right). Meet at Rosauer's for carpooling at 11 a.m. Bring: A dish to share, your own place setting and beverage. There will be a brief chapter meeting, followed by an opportunity to hike the trails.

White Pine Scenic Drive is one of Idaho's Scenic Routes and takes visitors through a six-mile corridor of majestic white pines. One of the nation's largest white pine trees is located at the Great White Pine Campground. This four-hundred year old tree was six feet in diameter and 188 feet in height. It was cut down in the summer of 1999 due to disease, but the tree still lies as a reminder of the majesty of the white pine forest.
The campground area has several hiking trails, 14 camp sites and restrooms.

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Thursday, December 11, 2008, 7:00 p.m.
Palouse Prairie Foundation Monthly Meeting
Neill Public Library (Edith Hecht Reading Room), 210 N. Grant Ave, Pullman, WA
Speaker: Tim Meyers, Director of Whitman County Parks
Title: What's New About Whitman County Parks

The Palouse Prairie Foundation will host this public meeting. Attendees should enter through the door on the east side of the building, near the parking ot. Tim's presentation will focus on prairie restoration at Kamiak Butte, a project update at Klemgard, and future goals of the comprehensive plan.

White Pine photo by Dr. Wm Hall