Archived Event Calendar 2015

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Thursday, January 8, 2015, 7:00 p.m. Chapter meeeting co-sponsored by Palouse Prairie Foundation, INPS White Pine Chapter
Presenter: Pamela Brunsfeld
Topic: Fun Plant Facts
Location: 1912 Center, Great Room, 412 East Third St., Moscow, Idaho (between Adams and Van Buren) -->

Be enlightened and entertained by Pam Brunsfeld, University of Idaho Systematic Botany Instructor and recently retired Curator of the UI Stillinger Herbarium. We've enjoyed Pam's numerous field trips over the years, and her workshops on identifying penstemons. This program will kick off the year with a lighthearted yet educational approach to plants. (You'll learn the real reason why carnations are called "pinks" and other assorted facts.)

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Tuesday, February 24, 2015, 7:00 p.m. INPS White Pine Chapter meeeting
Presenter: Brenda Erhardt, Resource Conservation Planner, Latah Soil and Water Conservation District
Topic: Part 1: The Value of Common Weedy Native Plants
Part 2: Fires Effects on a Local Prairie Remnant Location: 1912 Center, Great Room, 412 East Third St., Moscow, Idaho (between Adams and Van Buren)

The first part of this program focuses on the value of various native plants that have a reputation for being weedy or overly aggressive in certain settings. Many of these plants, both annual and perennial, are important components of the local native plant community but are often overlooked. This presentation will help identify these natives and will demonstrate the value these plants can have in restoration efforts. Part two will highlight the results of monitoring efforts three years following a prescribed burn on a local Palouse Prairie remnant. This monitoring project was particularly focused on determining the effects of this burn on the non-native invasive annual grasses.

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Thursday, March 12, 2015, 7:00 p.m. Palouse Prairie Foundation - INPS White Pine Chapter Joint meeting
Presenter: Pamela Pavek, USDA-NRCS Plant Materials Center
Topic: Attracting Native Invertebrate Pollinators with Palouse Prairie Plants
Location: Gladish Community Center, (Gold Room) 115 NW State St, Pullman WA

Pollinators world-wide are in trouble. Loss of habitat, poor diet, diseases, and use of pesticides have caused declines in pollinator numbers. These declines are alarming in both agricultural and natural settings, where pollinators play an important role in plant reproduction. We have the ability to improve pollinator habitat by planting diverse plant species, providing water and nesting sites, and reducing pesticide use in our yards and farms. Palouse Prairie plants are excellent species for pollinator habitat because they co-evolved with insect species in our region. They also are adapted to our climate, and therefore need minimal water and attention. Pamela Pavek has spent several years researching plants for pollinator habitat. She will discuss ideal native plant species, types of pollinator habitat, and establishment methods in her talk.

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Wednesday, March 18, 2015, 7:30 p.m. Palouse Audubon - INPS White Pine Chapter Joint meeting
Presenter: Jerry Cebula and Sarah Walker
Topic: Birding and botanizing trip to Nome, Alaska, June 2014
Location: 1912 Center, Great Room, 412 East Third St., Moscow, Idaho (between Adams and Van Buren)

Naturalists Jerry Cebula and Sarah Walker will present a slide show about their birding and botanizing trip to Nome in June 2014. Birders trek to distant Nome to behold North American shorebirds in their breeding plumage, to find Arctic residents like Ptarmigans, and because they dream of seeing uncommon birds from Siberia and southern Asia like Bluethroats or Yellow Wagtails. Plant-lovers like to explore western Alaska to see the tiny but showy tundra beauties of the Beringian flora. Jerry and Sarah explored 250 miles of gravel roads across the Seward Peninsula and were amazed at the unexpected and unusual things they saw there.

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Tuesday, March 24, 2015, 7:00 p.m. INPS White Pine Chapter meeting
Presenter: Dr. David Tank, Associate Professor, Dept of Biological Sciences, UI, and Director, Stillinger Herbarium
Topic: Natural History Collections in the 21st Century: an update on Stillinger Herbarium activities and how you can get involved
Location: 1912 Center, Great Room, 412 East Third St., Moscow, Idaho (between Adams and Van Buren)

Dr. Tank's research focuses on the investigation of the patterns and processes that shape plant bidiversity. He will give an update on current projects in the Stillinger Herbarium, with a focus on the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria and ongoing digitization efforts, the use of natural history collections in research, and opportunities for you to get involved in herbarium activities.

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Thursday, April 23, 2015, 7:00 p.m. Palouse Prairie Foundation - INPS White Pine Chapter Joint meeting
Presenter: Lori Carris, Associate Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, WSU
Topic: Uncovering the Secrets of Morel Mushrooms
Location: Gladish Community Center, (Gold Room) 115 NW State St, Pullman WA

The morel (Morchella spp) is one of the most highly prized edible spring mushrooms around the world. Two types of morels have long been recognized—black morels (Morchella elata group), and yellow or common morels (Morchella esculenta group). Black morels are the predominant type found in our Pacific Northwestern conifer forests. Molecular research methods developed in the past decade provide evidence for a much greater number of species of morels that are habitat specialized. Molecular studies have also revealed that the center of origin and diversity for morels is most likely in western North America. The presentation will summarize the implications of this exciting research on morels, as well as recent research conducted in my lab at Washington State University that has documented a previously unrecognized stage of this iconic spring mushroom that occurs abundantly in late fall and early winter.

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Sunday, April 26, 2015, noon until about 6 p.m. White Pine chapter is invited to join the UI Systematic Botany field trip
Leader: Pam Brunsfeld, UI Systematic Botany Instructor
Location: Skyline Drive, Mary Minerva McCroskey State Park

Be a part of the fun and informative University of Idaho Systematic Botany class field trip! Come enjoy spring blooms in diverse habitats and get pointers on identifying plants of forest and Palouse grassland.

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April 26-May 2, 2015, INPS celebrates Native Plant Appreciation Week

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Saturday, May 16, 2015, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. INPS White Pine Chapter 4th Annual Plant Sale
Coordinator: Pamela Pavek Pamela's email
Location: 1912 Center, Arts Room, 412 East Third St., Moscow, Idaho (between Adams and Van Buren)

This is an important fundraising event for our chapter, enabling us to provide grants for native plant projects. The sale introduces more people to the joys of gardening with native plants and increases the number of native plants in our landscapes which benefits our local ecosystems.

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Saturday, May 30, 2015: 11:00am—3:00pm Gormsen Butte Star Thistle Event
Help restore Palouse Prairie—Hand pull yellow starthistle on beautiful Gormsen Butte
Gormsen Butte is south of Paradise Ridge, near Moscow, Idaho
Leader: Brenda Erhardt, Resource Conservation Planner, Latah Soil and Water Conservation District.
Send questions and RSVP to Brenda Erhardt
Limited to 15 participants.

Help with restoration of a beautiful Palouse Prairie remnant on Gormsen Butte (located south of Moscow, just south of Paradise Ridge) by hand-pulling patches of yellow starthistle. A one-mile walk takes us to the south-facing slope we’ll be working on. Both the walk and the slope are fairly steep, but participants will be able to work at their own pace. The many wildflowers blooming make it a treat to be up there while working! The goal is to reduce the patches of yellow starthistle in the hopes of eradicating it after diligent hand-pulling for a few years. Brenda will help with the initial identification of yellow starthistle plants and will be happy to answer questions about the rest of the plant community as well as other ongoing restoration efforts on Gormsen Butte.

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The following is from the INPS state website. The foray is held each year alternately in North Idaho or in South Idaho. Writeups of prior forays are in past Sage Notes. The purpose is to make collections for the various Idaho herbaria.

Weekend, June 18-22, 2015 2015 8th Annual Idaho Botanical Foray
Location: Selway River drainage, Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest
Follow the IBF Facebook page for more information: 2015 Idaho Botanical Foray

Save the Date! The 8th Annual Idaho Botanical Foray will be held in the Selway River drainage of the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest June 18-22, 2015.

We look forward to exploring the early season flora of our northern Idaho disjunct temperate rainforest, and contributing new collections from this amazing ecosystem. More detailed information about camping and logistics will be available soon.

Watch the facebook page or contact Dr. David Tank at the University of Idaho for questions.

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Weekend, July 10-13, 2015, Idaho and Wyoming Native Plant Societies Joint Annual Meeting. Driggs, Idaho

A chance to mingle, socialize, botanize and explore one of the world's most beautiful alpine areas while doing so. There will be five field trips each day, plus an optional all-day auto tour on Monday. The trips will range from valley riparian areas to high alpine ridges, from easy walks to arduous all-day hikes. Group sizes will be kept as small as possible to maximize the interface with our botany experts. Full description (and registration form) will be in Sage Notes (March issue out soon) and on the INPS Website 2015 INPS Annual Meeting. Plan to attend! Register soon!

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Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015, 7:00pm. White Pine Chapter meeting
Program: “Research Natural Areas: Gems of diversity in the North Fork-Clearwater River watershed.”
Presenter: Fred Rabe, Professor Emeritus, University of Idaho.
Location: 1912 Center, Great Room, 412 E. 3rd St., Moscow, ID

Our extensive Wilderness system is invaluable….but how do we protect the smaller examples of diversity? Dr. Fred Rabe has been involved with this question for four decades. One answer, which he discusses in this talk, is the network of Research Natural Areas (RNAs) within the U.S. Forest Service. Establishing an RNA requires thorough documentation of geologic and aquatic features, and of rare biological species or communities—as they relate to the larger ecosystem. It also requires perseverance! Ongoing research in RNAs often includes monitoring, nature-oriented laboratories, and teaching. Identifying the numerous native plants there and comparing them to invasive species littering roads and byways is an example of a recent RNA workshop. Dr. Rabe will discuss these aspects, his work with botanists and with Friends of the Clearwater, and his specialties — the remaining undamaged aquatic areas and the insects and other macroinvertebrates found there.

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Sunday, October 18, 2015, Noon - 5:00pm. White Pine Chapter Annual Meeting
Location: Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute (PCEI), 1040 Rodeo Drive, Moscow, ID

Enjoy the crisp fall weather and foliage colors with White Pine Chapter-INPS, at the Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute (PCEI). Connect with friends old and new, and re-engage your interest in native plants. We’ll view plantings of natives, as well as pre-existing natives on site, visit the John Crock Learning Nursery, and see the many eco-friendly building features and art.

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Thursday, November 12, 2015, 7:00pm. White Pine Chapter Meeting, co-sponsored with the Palouse Prairie Foundation
Speaker: James Riser II, PhD, Palouse Conservation District Botanist
Subject: Results of this season's survey of Palouse Prairie Remnants in Whitman County
Location: 1912 Center, Great Room, 412 East Third St., Moscow, Idaho. Please use east entrance.

Very little native Palouse prairie grassland is left in Whitman County, and most is on private land. The Palouse Conservation District has begun a project to determine where the remnants are and then, if possible, botanically survey them to get some idea of their condition. Learn what was found in this first survey season, and what is planned for next summer. Dr. Riser's research has included plant population genetics, phylogenetics, and phylogeography. He is known for his knowledge of milkweed and orchid structures and strategies. He also manages White Pine’s Facebook page.

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Tuesday, December 1, 2015, 7:00pm. White Pine Chapter Meeting and Holiday Gathering

Speaker: Nancy Miller and Susan Rounds
Subject: Annual Meetings in Review - 2016 Preview From Refugia to Ridgetops and 2015 Two Sides of the Tetons
Location: 1912 Center, Great Room, 412 East Third St., Moscow, Idaho.

White Pine photo by Dr. Wm Hall