Idaho  Native  Plant  Society

P.O. Box 9451 Boise, ID 83707

Category Archive - Education

November 20, 2011

RPC: 2011 Conference Results

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June 10, 2011

2011 Annual INPS Meeting at the CITY OF ROCKS/CASTLE ROCK STATE PARK

Annual Meeting information:The Loasa Chapter is hosting the 2011 INPS Annual Meeting at the City of Rocks National Reserve and at the adjacent Castle Rocks State Park, both headquartered at Almo, in southcentral Idaho.

Our gathering on June 24–26, 2011, affords great opportunities to observe native
flora in a large variety of habitat types and unusual rock formations popular with climbing enthusiasts.

INPS received a welcome letter from Wallace Keck, Superintendent of City of Rocks
National Reserve and Park Manager for Castle Rocks State Park. In addition, Wallace and his staff have created a facebook profile at https://wwwdotfacebookdotcom/CastleRocksStatePark to which they have been posting daily photos of wildflowers in bloom, all neatly identified. They
now have over 75 different photos posted at their 2011 wildflowers album! There is also much information and many maps posted at their websites
http://parksandrecreationdotidahodotgov/parks/castlerocksdotaspx and http://wwwdotnpsdotgov/ciro, including a 1995 complete annotated checklist of vascular plants.

If you have not already sent in your reservation form please do so immediately, as we need it to arrange for the Saturday dinner and to plan for camping.

DIRECTIONS:
From Interstate 84 take exit 216 (Declo); go south on Idaho 77 south through
the small town of Declo across old US hwy 30, and on south through the town of Albion to the Conner Creek junction, then turn right (southwest) on through Elba and to the south side of Almo. The visitor center in Almo will be on the left (east) side of the road. Maps are available there at any time, but the center closes at 4:30pm.

Our evening programs will be at the Ranch House unit of the Castle Rocks State Park,
northwest of Almo, on the Big Cove Road (2800 S). This road is about 2 miles north of Almo, on the Elba-Almo road. Go west on the Big Cove Road for less than 2 miles to the Ranch House. If we have inclement weather, we will meet in the Park warehouse southeast of the Visitor Center in Almo. This warehouse also includes a large conference room in the upper floor.

FRIDAY
2-5pm – Registration for the INPS annual gathering will be at the Visitor Center in Almo, in order to provide you with a pass to the State Park, to direct you to camping, and to get a tally of those going on the North Fork Circle Creek tour tomorrow (see below) to arrange for shuttles. For those arriving later, registration will continue at the Ranch House. We suggest you arrive early, to take advantage of the Visitor Center before it closes at 4:30pm.

--6pm – Dinner with grilled sausages for the group, at the Ranch House. Sausages, buns, condiments, paper plates, and napkins will be provided. Please bring your own utensils and beverages. Also, please bring an appetizer, salad, or dessert to share.

--7pm -- Wallace Keck, Superintendent of the National Reserve and Manager for the State Park, will give us an orientation of the area. As he is very knowledgeable about the flora, fauna, and geology of the area, he will be able to answer many questions.

SATURDAY: 9am – Meet for the field trips
Almo Creek wetlands and adjacent sagebrush-grass and pinyon-juniper types within the Ranch Unit of Castle Rocks State Park: This unit has a good network of trails and interesting microclimates adjacent to the many granite monoliths used by rock climbers. The wetlands area has uneven footing but the walk is otherwise fairly easy, generally within a mile of the facilities at the ranch house. Meet at the Ranch House and walk from there.

North Fork Circle Creek drainage: This would involve a shuttle to the upper edge of the drainage, within the City of Rocks National Reserve, and walking four miles downhill through several habitat types to the Circle Creek Overlook. This trail would provide the best opportunityto see a variety of habitat types plus superb vistas, but there are no facilities along the way. We are expected to be gone from 9am to 2pm; be prepared for this. Those wishing to catch the shuttle at the Visitor Center should meet there at 8:30am; all others will meet at Bread Loaves
on the west side of the National Reserve. This is the ideal trip, as it will be lead by Wallace Keck, Park Manager, and goes through the greatest variety of habitat types.

Emery Canyon: This field trip involves a minimum amount of walking—a riparian area and a hillside are alongside the road. This option allows the opportunity to drive to other sites within the area, and we will always be close to the cars. We will meet at the Bread Loaves Campground turnoff.
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Be prepared: All field trips will require plenty of water and sun protection. Packing a light lunch is advisable.
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SATURDAY EVENING – 6pm – meet at the Ranch House for the annual meeting, dinner, and a special speaker: Dr. Stephen L. Love, Research Professor and Superintendent of the University of Idaho Research and Extension Center at Aberdeen, will speak to us about the buckwheats of Idaho and their use in landscaping.

SUNDAY- Field trips are optional; let us know if you are interested. Please remember that checkout time at the campgrounds is 1pm.

December 23, 2009

Native Flora Workshop March 23-24, 2010

Idaho State University, Wood River Room, Pocatello, Idaho

The Sah-Wah-Be Chapter of the Idaho Native Plant Society is pleased to sponsor the 1st Idaho Native Flora Workshop. Co-hosts include: The Idaho Museum of Natural History, Ray J. Davis Herbarium, and the Idaho State University Department of Biological Sciences.

Theme: Back to Basics in Field Identification

Held in alternate years between Idaho Rare Plant Conferences, this workshop provides opportunities to learn more about our native flora and to network with fellow native pant enthusiasts and professionals. All plant aficionados who want to learn more about native plants in Southeast Idaho and improve their field identification skills are encouraged to attend. Professional botanists from Southeast Idaho and surrounding states will speak on topics of local interest and lead the workshops.

Tentative Conference Schedule:

There will be a no host social on Monday evening, March 22 from 6:30-8:30 pm for anyone coming in early at, Portneuf Valley Brewing, 615 S. 1st Ave.

The conference will start Tuesday, March 23, with registration and poster submissions starting at 8:30am. Presentations by professional botanists on different aspects of native flora common to Southeast Idaho and surrounding states promise to be educational and interesting.

On the evening of the 23rd we will hold our dinner banquet. This is a great opportunity to socialize with botany friends of old, as well as make new acquaintances. Our scheduled speaker is H. Wayne Phillips who will present Wild Orchids of Montana and Idaho. The banquet will be just down the hall from the conference at the Pond Student Union Ballroom. The banquet is open to all conference attendees, INPS members and their guests.

Included in the Wednesday morning session will be a presentation by NatureServ on how they rank plant species followed by a panel discussion on the same topic from professional ranking botanists from Idaho and surrounding states

Wednesday afternoon there will be keying workshops on the Tribes of Asteraceae and the Tribes of Poaceae. Each session will last 2 hours from 1:00-3:00pm and from 3:00-5:00pm. Sessions will run concurrently.

A $35 registration fee ($15 for students) is due by February 28th. Registration submitted on March st or later will be $45 ($25 for students). Cost of the banquet will be $21.00 per person.

Please contact me with any questions or concerns, and thank you for your interest. Janet Bala, Organizing Committee (208) 282-2815 (work) (208) 317-3824 (cell)

balajane at isu dot edu

November 15, 2006

Rare Plants, Pollinators, and Their Conservation

IDAHO NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY -- PAHOVE CHAPTER
7 P.M. NOVEMBER 16, 2006

MK NATURE CENTER AUDITORIUM, IDAHO FISH AND GAME
600 SOUTH WALNUT AVENUE (BEHIND FISH AND GAME HEADQUARTERS)

GINA GLENNE, Botanist for the Snake River Fish and Wildlife Office, US Fish and Wildlife Service presents:

Rare Plants, Pollinators, and Their Conservation

When do conservation efforts need to consider pollinator conservation to be effective? How do biologists determine if and which pollinators are necessary for a rare plant species to reproduce? What can you do to encourage native pollinators in your yard? Understanding how a rare plant reproduces and whether or not pollinators are needed for reproduction is essential to rare plant conservation. Hear the latest on pollinator conservation actions for Idaho species.

COMING SOON...

Your invitation to the Pahove Chapter Conservation Committee meeting Stay tuned!

February 17, 2005

UW Herbarium Photographic Images Online!

The University of Washington Herbarium (WTU) has recently developed a new web site containing photographs, distribution maps and descriptive information for Washington's vascular plant flora. The website currently contains 5,713 photographs of 1,183 species, which can be accessed by browsing lists of names, or by a basic random-access identification key provided for those species. Visit the site at
http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php.

The main WTU Herbarium web site:
http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/collections/herbarium/index.php.