2024 INPS Statewide Annual Meeting/Campout

2024 INPS ANNUAL MEETING/CAMPOUT by Derek Antonelli, Calypso Chapter President

The Calypso Chapter of Coeur d’Alene is excited to host the 2024 Idaho Native Plant Society Annual Meeting and Campout.  We have selected historic Farragut State Park as the venue for the event.  The gathering will take place from Friday, June 14, through Monday, June 17.  Mark your calendars!

Registration is Open!  *PUBLIC WELCOME
There are two ways for you to register for the INPS Annual Meeting/Campout. You can either complete the online registration form or print out the mail-in registration form.

Location:  Farragut State Park is located on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille (https://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/parks/farragut/).   Located in the middle of the Idaho Panhandle, it has a rich and diverse flora, and a long, varied history.  It was the homestead of John and Carrie Leiberg in the late 1880s.  John completed extensive botanical surveys in the area and Carrie was a frontier doctor.  During World War II over 300,000 sailors completed their basic training at Farragut.  In the 1960s Farragut hosted the Girl Scout Senior Roundup and Boy Scout World Jamboree attended by thousands.

Registration Fee:  To help cover the cost of this event there is a $27.50 fee for each person attending.  Children under 15 years of age are free.  There is additional camping ($30/vehicle) and meal ($20/meal) fees should you wish to take advantage of these options.

Idaho State Park Passport:  Because it is a state park, every vehicle is required to have an Idaho State Park Passport.  The Passport can be purchased for $10 online or by mail at the time of vehicle registration renewal, or it can be purchased in person from any county DMV office.  If you come in a vehicle that does not have a Park Pass, the park will charge you $7 for each day you are there—more for non-Idaho residents.

Camping: We have reserved the Thimbleberry Group Campsite at Farragut State Park.  The huge site will provide us with the opportunity to keep the Annual Meeting participants together in one location.  The site amenities include a lighted restroom with flush toilets plus additional pit toilets, numerous picnic tables, ample spots to set up tents in wooded areas, and a large field in which to park RVs.  The site has a source of potable water, but no water or electric hookups for RVs.  If you need to have hookups for your RV, you can make your own reservation at one of Farragut’s many nearby campgrounds

At the Thimbleberry Group Campsite, we can have up to 200 people camping, but we can only have 80 overnight vehicles with each trailer counting as an additional separate vehicle.  To cover costs there is a $30 camping fee for each vehicle for all three nights.  Examples:  If four campers come in a single vehicle there is only a single $30 fee.  Pickup campers, vans and motorhomes count as one vehicle.  Since trailers are counted in our 80-vehicle limit, they will be charged a $30 fee in addition to the $30 fee for the tow vehicle.  Just think of it as free camping but with a parking fee.

Schedule of Events:

Friday, June 14

2:00pm until 8:00pm Checking in at the Farragut State Park Visitor Center.

2:00pm and beyond Annual Meeting participants can check-in at the Thimbleberry Group Campsite 

2:00pm to 4:00pm Open house and tour at Cedar Mountain Perennials in Athol

3:00pm to 4:30pm INPS Board Meeting at the Athol Library

6:00pm to 7:00pm – Potluck at the Thimbleberry Group Campsite

7:00pm to 8:00pm – Ice Age Floods talk by Dr. Tony Lewis

 

Saturday, June 15

8:00am to 4:30pm – All day field trips

BLM’s Blue Creek Bay Recreation Site and Trails

Chilco Mountain National Recreation Trail #14

Rathdrum Mountain Park Cedar Forest Trail

8:00am to 11:30am – Morning half-day field trips

Farragut Herbalist Plant Walk

Ice Age Floods Driving Tour led by Tony Lewis

Leiberg Home Site Talk and Walk led by Jack Nisbet

1:00pm to 4:30pm – Afternoon half-day field trips

Farragut Herbalist Plant Walk

Ice Age Floods Driving Tour led by Tony Lewis

Leiberg Home Site Talk and Walk led by Jack Nisbet

6:00pm to 7:00pm – Annual Meeting Banquet at Athol Community Building

Meal described in Activities Description section below

7:00pm to 7:15pm – INPS business meeting at Athol Community Building

7:15pm to 8:15pm – Talk by Jack Nisbet on the legacy of John Leiberg

 

Sunday, June 16

8:00am to 4:30pm – All day field trips

Lost Lake and Mineral Point Trails

Rathdrum Mountain Park Cedar Forest Trail

Chilco Mountain National Recreation Trail #14

8:00am to 11:30am – Morning half-day field trips

Farragut Buttonhook Bay Hike

Farragut Herbalist Plant Walk

1:00pm to 4:30pm – Afternoon half-day field trips

Farragut Buttonhook Bay Hike

Farragut Herbalist Plant Walk

5:00pm to 7:00pm – Informal gathering for BYO dinner and comradery at Thimbleberry Group Campsite

Monday, June 17

8:00am to 1:00pm – Clean up Thimbleberry Group Campsite.  Depart.

 

Activity Descriptions

  • Check-In Procedures.You will need to check-in at the Farragut State Park Visitor Center.   Let them know you will be staying at the Thimbleberry Group Campsite if that is the case.  They will issue you a sticker for your windshield. The Visitor Center does not allow campers to check-in until 2:00pm and they close their office at 8:00pm.  After 8:00pm you can come straight to the Thimbleberry Group Campsite then check-in at the Visitor Center in the morning.  If you arrive before 2:00pm on Friday you can take in the sights and activities offered by the park if you have a Park Passport or get a daily permit.  You still must return to the Visitor Center to check-in to the campsite.  Once you have checked in at the Visitor Center, proceed to the Thimbleberry Group Campsite and check-in with us.
  • Cedar Mountain Perennials Open House.  This native plant nursery is open Friday afternoon.  It is located at 7875 Hwy 54 about ½ mile east of Athol on the north side of the road.  If you are looking for something to do after setting up camp, Bob and Jill Wilson would be happy to show you their facility anytime until 4:00 pm.
  • Potluck.  We will be having our traditional potluck on Friday evening at the Thimbleberry Group Campsite.  We will have hamburgers and sausages on the grill.  Please bring a side dish, salad, bread, or desert to share with the group.  Bring plates and silverware and your appetites.  While the campsite has plenty of picnic tables, it does not have a covered area.  If you have a canopy, please bring it along for rain or sun protection.
  • Ice Age Floods:  Friday Evening Talk.  Dr. Tony Lewis, president of the local chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute, will be on hand after the potluck to describe the massive floods that occurred when the glacial dam broke at what is now Lake Pend Oreille.  These floods scoured the landscape all the way to the Pacific Ocean creating new plant habitats all along the way.
  • Banquet and Annual Meeting.  We will have a meal for the entire membership on Saturday evening at the Athol Community Building at 30355 Third St in Athol.  Guests are well to attend.  The meal will be catered for those who choose the option on the Registration Form.  Olive Garden will cater the meal with a variety of pastas, sauces, and toppings with ample green salad and breadsticks.  The catered meal will cost $20 person.  You are welcome to bring in your own meal.  The Athol Community Building does not allow alcohol.  Following the meal, an INPS business meeting will be held to address the administration needs of the Society.
  • Keynote Talk: John Leiberg’s North Idaho.  Following the INPS business meeting, Jack Nisbet, noted Spokane-based author, will give a keynote talk. Jack has published several collections of essays and award-winning biographies of fur trader David Thompson and naturalist David Douglas. Jack’s talk will recount the legacy of John Leiberg.  His book The Dreamer and the Doctor follows the unlikely journey of the Leiberg family through north Idaho and beyond.  In 1885 Swedish immigrant John Leiberg, along with his companion Dr. Carrie Marvin and her infant child, homesteaded on the outer point of what is now Farragut State Park. Over the next two decades, Leiberg combed the surrounding mountains to collect flora and mosses, staked over three dozen mineral claims, surveyed what became North Idaho’s National Forest parcels, and established an ecological baseline for the entire region.  Jack will have copies of his many books available for purchase.
  • Leiberg Home Site Walk.  A talk and walk at the Leiberg home site.  Join Jack Nisbet for this tour of Leiberg’s favorite plants and places, which provide a unique context for the Idaho Panhandle we experience today.  This is a half-day activity on Farragut State Park.
  • Ice Age Floods Driving Tour.  Join Dr. Tony Lewis on this tour to see firsthand some of the evidence of these great floods.  The expected round trip drive will be about 40 miles.  Parking is limited at some of the stops so only five vehicles can be used for each session—therefore you should expect to carpool.  This will be a half-day activity.  
  • BLM’s Blue Creek Bay Recreation Site and Trails.  Blue Creek Bay of Lake Coeur d’Alene is a few miles south of Coeur d’Alene.  Several trails can be accessed from the trailhead parking area.  The upland forest area consists of ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, grand fir, western larch, western white pine, western red cedar, and western hemlock.  Numerous species of native plants are found within these diverse forest types.  A large wetland/riparian and wet meadow area extends along the head of Blue Creek Bay filled with black cottonwood, thin-leaf alder, red-osier dogwood, cattails, grasses, sedges, rushes, and bulrushes.  A portion of the Mullan Road, the first overland wagon route constructed through the northern Rockies, crosses through the uplands.  The hike will be led by BLM botanist LeAnn Abell.  The trails are moderately easy.  The recreation site is approximately 34 miles from Farragut State Park.
  • Farragut Trails Buttonhook Bay Hike.  This hike will occur on trails within Farragut State Park that loop past Buttonhook Bay on the most southerly portion of Lake Pend Oreille.  Over 200 plant species have been observed in Farragut State Park.  On this trail the rare purple meadowrue, Thalictrum dasycarpum, is found on the Buttonhook Bay shoreline.  The hike is a half-day activity that covers just over two miles on easy to moderate trails.
  • Chilco Mountain National Recreation Trail #14.  This trail passes through beautiful subalpine forests on the way to North Chilco Peak.  Talus fields and open areas at the peak provide a distinctive mountain flora.  The peak and ridges offer outstanding views of Lake Pend Oreille and the Rathdrum Prairie.  The trail is quite steep and is considered challenging.  The elevation gain is nearly 1500 feet in just under two miles.  To be courteous to your fellow hikers, you should not attempt this hike unless you are up for the challenge.  Please note that this trail is currently closed due to fires last season.  We are hoping that the trail will be open prior to the Annual Meeting.  If not, we will find a similar hike as an alternative.   Chilco Mountain NRT #14 is located about 10 miles from Farragut State Park.
  • Farragut Herbalist Plant Walks. Join local herbalists as they share with participants how to identify local and native plants.  They will also discuss the plants’ historic and current uses on a walk along the trails within Farragut State Park.  Bring your notebook, take notes and do further research afterwards.  No harvesting is allowed in the state park.  This is a half-day activity.
  • Lost Lake and Mineral Point Trails.   This field trip will experience two different trails located near each other.  The Lost Lake Trail #81 is a 1½-mile trail through a variety of forest types that loops past Lost Lake.  A wide variety of native plants are found on the trail.  The unusual rattlesnake fern (Botrypus virginianus) is easily seen along the trail.  Much harder to find are the true moonworts (Botrychium spp.) which occur there as well.  The Mineral Point hike follows a portion of Trail #82 along the slopes overlooking Lake Pend Oreille.  The habitats along the trail vary from exposed rocky outcrops to sheltered western cedar forest basins and everything in between.  Many different kinds of plants can be found.  We will be going out and back on this trail so how far you go depends on your enthusiasm.  The hike will be led by USFS botanist Jennifer Costich-Thompson.  These trails are easy to moderate in difficulty.  The Lost Lake Trailhead is about 32 miles from Farragut State Park
  • Rathdrum Mountain Park Cedar Forest Trails.  The City of Rathdrum has established a park with a 10-mile system of trails on the forested base of Rathdrum Mountain.  The trail loop we will be taking proceeds up a small mountain stream within a moist western cedar/western hemlock forest.  The ground is carpeted with many species that are typically found in the moist forests of northern Idaho.  The return leg of the trail loop passes through a drier forest dominated by Douglas-fir.  The drier forest has an entirely different assemblage of native plants.  One of the highlight plants that may found along the trail is the rare phantom orchid.  The complete loop is a relatively easy 2.5 miles.  Rathdrum Mountain Park roughly 21 miles from Farragut State Park.

 


PAST ANNUAL MEETINGS