Bulletin of the Native Plant Society of OregonNOTE: This is an archived NPSO Bulletin.
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Bulletin of the Native Plant Society of Oregon[ Return to Bulletin Directory ]
The NPSO membership year is January to December.
Check your address label on the Bulletin. If there is a 96 on the top line, we haven't received your renewal yet.
NPSO brings you field trips, programs, classes, the monthly Bulletin, and the annual Kalmiopsis. Your membership and donations make it possible to carry out more of the m any projects that are needed to pursue the goals of NPSO.
The 1997 edition of the NPSO Membership Directory will be published in April. If you wish to receive a copy, add two dollars to your renewal payment.
If you wish to have your address or telephone number, or both, withheld from publication in the Directory, please make a prominent note on your renewal form.
If you would like to have your e-mail address published in the Directory, please send e-mail to jddobak@teleport.com.
Jan. 18, Sat. State Board Meeting: 10 A.M. - 4 P.M. Room 302, Walker Hall, Linfield College, McMinnville. (On Linfield Ave., across the street from Dillin Commons). For more information, contact Kareen Sturgeon.
Jan. 6, Mon. Meeting: 7 P.M. Small Business Development Center, SE 1st & Dorian, Pendleton. Janet Ebaugh, botanist for the Umatilla Reservation, will present a program on wet meadow restoration on the upper Grande Ronde River.
Jan. 13, Mon. Meeting: 7 P.M. Room 2087 Cordley Hall, OSU campus. Dr. James Trappe, professor of mycology at OSU, presents "Trees, Truffles and Beasts."
Officers: Newly elected officers are: Danna Lytjen, president; Carolyn VerLinden, vice president; Dick Brainerd, treasurer; Keli Kuykendall, secretary.
Jan. 27, Mon. Meeting: 7:30 P.M. PLEASE NOTE THAT WE WILL MEET AT A NEW TIME AND LOCATION: Main campus, Lane Community College. Directions: From 30th St., turn south on Eldon-Schafer Dr., go past Oak Hill School, park in the south parking lot at LCC. Walk down stairs of Science Building to room 109, which faces south parking lot. Rhoda Love, a longtime teacher of botany at LCC, will talk about the forthcoming book, Northwest Plant Hunters, of which she is one of the editors-in-chief. For more information, call Kathy Pendergrass.
Feb. 24, Mon. Meeting: 7:30 P.M. PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW MEETING TIME AND NEW LOCATION: Main campus, Lane Community College. (For directions, see above.) Gale Baker, teacher of botany at LCC, will talk about the plants of the Lane Community College Reserve. For more information, call Kathy Pendergrass.
Jan. 28, Tue. Meeting: 7:30 P.M. Central Oregon Environmental Center, 16 NW Kansas, Bend. Lucile Housley, botanist with the Lakeview BLM, will show us slides from her recent foray to South America, including Chile, with an emphasis on the botany and ecology of the region.
Feb. 25, Tue. Meeting: 7:30 P.M. Central Oregon Environmental Center, 16 NW Kansas, Bend. Stan Kuntzman, will share his trip to eastern Russia/Siberia. He will speak to the issues of timber harvest and ecology and the local people.
Jan. 8, Wed. Meeting: 7:30 P.M. Mosier School. Jerry Igo will give the premier showing of his newest video, "Cottonwoods, cattails and coots -- the wetlands of the west."
Feb. 5, Wed. Meeting: 7:30 P.M. Mosier School. Jerry Baker will give a program on the flowers of his dude ranch, and how flowers and a dude ranch mix.
For information on the North Coast Chapter, contact Christine Stanley.
Jan. 14, Tue. Meeting: 7 P.M. First Methodist Church, 1838 SW Jefferson, Portland. Vern Nelson will speak on "Hedgerows and Windbreaks in the Pacific Northwest: Their Purpose and Native Plants."
Feb. 11, Tue. Meeting: 7 P.M. First Methodist Church, 1838 SW Jefferson, Portland. Kate McCarthy will talk about "The Impacts of Ski Development on Alpine Plants and Wetlands."
Mar. 11, Tue. Meeting: 7 P.M. First Methodist Church, 1838 SW Jefferson, Portland. Roy Beatty will tell us about "Native Plant Salvage."
Jan. 16, Thu. Meeting: 7:30 P.M. Room 171, Science Building, Southern Oregon State College. Paul Hosten, an independent consultant working with the Applegate Watershed Council, will present a talk , "Community Planning and the Carberry Creek Project."
Feb. 20, Thu. Meeting: 7:30 P.M. Room 171, Science Building, Southern Oregon State College. Joan Seevers, botanist for the Medford District of the BLM, will present a slide show on "The Botanical Wonders of the Siskiyous."
Mar. 20, Thu. Meeting: 7:30 P.M. Room 171, Science Building, Southern Oregon State College. Elaine Plaisance and Jim Duncan will present a slide show on their "Botanical Explorations in Polynesia: New Zealand and Hawaii."
For information on South Coast Chapter, contact Bruce Rittenhouse.
Jan. 9, Thu. Meeting: 7 P.M. Room 310, Douglas County Courthouse, Roseburg. Discussion of upcoming programs.
Jan. 13, Mon. Meeting: 7 P.M. United Methodist Church, 600 State St. NE, Salem. Dr. Rhoda Love will speak on the forthcoming book, Northwest Plant Hunters. Please note that this meeting is one week earlier than usual.
Jan. 15, Wed. Meeting: 7 - 9 P.M. Forest and Range Sciences Laboratory, Gekeler Lane and C Ave., La Grande. Please be prompt so we can take care of business before the 7:30 program which will be presented by Paula Brooks, Forest Botanist, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. She will show slides of this area's wide diversity of spore-bearing plants -- ferns, club mosses and Botrychiums. Join us for this opportunity to view these less showy but fascinating and beautiful plants. Repeat of canceled November program.
Elections: They will be held at the February meeting, and the date and time will be in the February Bulletin. Nominations are open for president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. Mail nominations to: NPSO Nominating Committee, P.O. Box 885, La Grande, OR 97850, or make them at a meeting. Individuals my nominate themselves. Secretary and treasurer could be combined. Officers will serve from February, 1997 through January, 1998. President and vice president are responsible for planning and leading monthly meetings, representing NPSO in an official capacity, attending and reporting on quarterly Board meetings (at least one person needs to go), and maintaining the vigor and growth of the William Cusick Chapter. Secretary is responsible for taking minutes of monthly meetings and mailing them, and for local biannual newsletters. Treasurer handles the finances of the chapter.
Viola Sobolik, charter member and past officer of the Willamette Chapter, died on October 9, 1996 at Dallas, Oregon. She helped create and was the first curator of the Delbert Hunter Arboretum, a garden of Oregon natives at Dallas.
Vi, as she was known to all, was no ordinary person. She touched the lives of many with her kindness and interest in others. She did it through being an intelligent and well informed plant person. A wide array of plant interests was her medium. She led NPSO field trips and shared her vast knowledge at many meetings. Her home was the terminus for a number of field trips, and her first class rock garden, which nurtured a number of Northwest natives, was an inspiration.
Vi grew up and lived in Illinois before coming to Oregon in 1976. She readily transferred her interests and experfise from the teaching and library positions at Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois to gardening and natives in the Pacific Northwest. Soon, she inspired many with her sharing of knowledge and experience of Northwest natives, rock gardening, flower arranging, and most other garden subjects.
Vi Sobolik will be long remembered as a warm, friendly and humble person who gave freely of her time and knowledge.
The following is the last in a series of three articles in which NPSOIODA interns discuss their activities during the 1996 field season. Interns were selected from a pool of applicants and worked with scientists from the Oregon Department of Agriculture/OSU Plant Conservation Biology Program to carry out research related to threatened and endangered species in the Pacific Northwest. Project locations ranged from beaches on the coast to the high desert of eastern Oregon. Interns were jointly funded by NPSO, state, and federal dollars and plan to use their experiences to further their careers in botany and biology. Thanks again to NPSO for contributing to botanical education and work experience.
Tom Kaye, Plant Conservation Biology Program, Oregon Department of Agriculture
I was excited by the chance to contribute to the monitoring of rare plant species, as one of the three interns selected to participate in the Native Plant Society of Oregon and Oregon Department of Agriculture's plant conservation program. This position gave me an opportunity to work with ODA botanists and an OSU graduate student on projects that included propagation, specimen collecting, species surveys, transplanting, and monitoring.
My work commenced with an excursion to southeastern Oregon for a plant survey. This trip was to get acquainted with our co-workers and to familiarize ourselves with the vegetation of eastern Oregon. In addition, species lists were compiled and specimens pressed for possible contribution to the Oregon Flora Project and the Oregon State University Herbarium. This trip was followed by several treks into eastern Oregon to continue the demographic monitoring of the rare plants Lupinus cusickii, Astragalus tyghensis, and Haplopappus radiatus. Between these excursions, the project I worked most closely on was the reintroduction of the endangered species Plagiobothrys hirtus into its native habitat. This project was conducted by an OSU graduate student, Kelly Amsberry.
Plagiobothrys hirtus (Greene) Johnst. (hairy popcorn flower) occurs along the Umpqua Valley of southwest Oregon in Douglas County. A member of the Borage family (Boraginaceae), the hairy popcorn flower is less common than a related species, the fragrant popcorn flower (P. figuratus). Due to its limited distribution (five known populations, all in Oregon), P. hirtus is listed as endangered under the Oregon Endangered Species Act and by the Oregon Natural Heritage Program.
This low-lying herbaceous plant inhabits a vernal pool environment. Wetland associates include natives and non-natives such as American vetch (Vicia americana), Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota), self-heal (Prunella vulgaris), common rush (Juncus effusus), Sidalcea cusickii, silver hairgrass (Aira caryophyllea) and the black medic (Medicago lupulina).
This white-flowered species has two floral morphs -- small and large. The significance of the morphs has not yet been determined. It has been classified as an annual, but Kelly Amsberry observed that P. hirtus may act like a perennial in environmentally favorable conditions.
The objective of Kelly's project was to transplant greenhouse-grown P. hirtus seedlings into designated plots within its native range, with the intent of assessing the environmental parameters necessary for the survival of the species. The Yoncalla site, which lies along an I-5 right-of-way, and a site owned by The Nature Conservancy, south of Sutherlin, served as a focus for reintroduction efforts. The Yoncalla site was approximately ten feet from the rushing traffic along I-5. Needless to say, work at this site was accompanied by the deafening road noise of passing cars and trucks. The exhaust fumes from the passing cars irritated the olfactory glands, but within a few feet the aroma of mint eradicated the offensive smell. We were continually amazed that a rare species could be found in such a habitat. Unlike Yoncalla, the TNC site was buffered from the freeway by a barrier of trees which dampened the noise. This site also differed from Yoncalla by exhibiting a more botanically diverse habitat, and the co-occurence of the species Plagiobothrys figuratus.
Three interns and two ODA employees helped Kelly with the preparation of her plots for the transplanting of 480 plants over a four-day period. At both of the locations, we set up plots that consisted of three moisture zones: wet, medium and dry. Within each zone there were four treatments (1. weeded, 2. fertilized, 3. weeded and fertilized, 4. control -- neither weeded nor fertilized). Through the midday heat we shoveled, weeded, and struggled with a soil auger to prepare the plots for young starts. Once the labor was completed and the transplants were comfortably situated within the designated zones, we could relax knowing that the most difficult work was over.
Kelly set up the plots so we could go back and collect data periodicaly to quantify the effect of zone and treatment on the mortality of the starts. Upon returning to the locations, we discovered that the plants were doing quite well in expected regions (the wet zone). In contrast, the transplants in the dry and medium zones at the TNC site suffered 100% mortality. When Kelly revisits the sites next year, she will be able to see if the introduced plants have successfully established themselves. Why should success of this project be important? Relatively little is known about the life history characteristics of this species. Thus, any information that sheds light on the conditions required for the continuing viability of this plant is valuable.
I would like to thank NPSO, ODA, Bob Meinke and Tom Kaye for making it possible for me to participate in plant conservation efforts. In addition, the humor and knowledge of Anne Turner, Sarah Brown, Steve Gisler, Matt Carlson, and especially Kelly Amsberry were appreciated.
The 13th annual Idaho Rare Plant Conference will be held in Boise on February 11-12, 8:30A.M. to 5 P.M. The location is the Idaho Power Company's corporate headquarters. Registration is $12 prior to February 1 and $17 thereafter. A special symposium highlighting Idaho's rare fungi and lichens, held in conjunction with the conference, will take place on February 13, 8 A.M. to Noon. The Ellen Trueblood Symposium honors the Idaho mycologist, perhaps one of the most significant contributors to our knowledge of Idaho's fungi. Special guests include Oregon mycologists Dr. Tom O'dell and Dr. Mike Castellano, who will present information from the UCRB project and on the role of fungi in the forest. For registration information, contact conference chair Nancy Cole, (208) 388-2351, or write Idaho Native Plant Society, P.O. Box 9451, Boise, ID 83707.
A Native Plant Society of Oregon electronic mail discussion list now exists on the Internet. The list will serve as a forum for discussion of issues of concern to the Society. The initial motivation for launching the list was the decision by the members of the Landscaping with Natives Committee to conduct a continuing "virtual meeting" by e-mail, on the Internet, as a way to keep the work of the Committee going in spite of the broad geography spanned by Comminee members. The list will serve as a tool for the Committee but participation is open to all, and the range of suitable discussion subjects span the full range of topics embraced by the NPSO itself.
For those of you new to electronic mail lists, the procedure is simple. First you must subscribe to the list. You do so by addressing an electronic mail message to the server, in this case, Majordomo@teleport.com. In the body of your message, enter the text, subscribe npso-1 (and nothing more). The list server will automatically add your e-mail address to its table of subscribers to the NPSO list and send you an acknowledgement message explaining how to post messages to the list (and how to "unsubscribe" if you ever need to).
Once you are a subscriber, you will receive all postings to the list. Any message you post will be automatically sent to all subscribers, including you. A discussion among several participants, residing in different parts of the state, keeping very different hours, can proceed rapidly using such a list. Late breaking news can be announced, impromptu field trips and work parties can be organized, emergency letter writing campaigns on behalf of a threatened site can be launched; the potential uses are virtually unlimited.
Most lists are not very active until a critical mass of subscribers signs on. I added the members of the Landscaping with Natives Committee as list subscribers. I announced the existence of the list on a Northwest native plant gardening list and within 24 hours a surprising number of new people signed on. Join us. This forum can be as rewarding and useful as we choose to make it.
This conference is sponsored by the Native Plant Society of Oregon, in cooperation with the Oregon Natural Heritage Program, the Oregon Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. It takes place every other year, and is an opportunity for botanists from across the state and from various agencies to assist in updating the listing status of Oregon's rare plant species. Anyone having information relating to Oregon's rare plants is welcome to attend.
This year, the conference will take place on March 7 - 8, 1997 in Bend, Oregon.
Schedule:
| Fri. March 7 | 11:30A.M. | Registration ($15 by mail or at door) |
| 1:00 P.M. | Conference starts | |
| 1:20 P.M. | Update by ODA | |
| 1:40 P.M. | Update by BLM | |
| 2:00 P.M. | Update by USFS | |
| 2:20 - 5:30 P.M. | Listing updates and determinations facilitated by ONHP, ODA, USFS, BLM and/or NPSO. | |
| 6:30 P.M. | Informal social. | |
| Sat. March 8 | 8:30 A.M. - 5:30 P.M. | Listing updates, with lunch break. |
| 5:30 P.M. | Conference adjourns. |
Please send Sue Vrilakas, Oregon Natural Heritage Program, 821 SE 14th, Portland, OR 97214, (503) 731-3070, ext. 338, information on specific taxa you wish to have considered. A handout will be prepared and be available at registration. We will be able to show slides of species during the conference. When sending recommendations to Sue, please first do the herbarium work to support them. Accommodations are at the attendees choice. Motels within two or three miles of COCC include Red Lion, 382-8384; Best Western Woodstone Inn, 382-1515; Rainbow Motel, 382-1821; Motel West, 800-282-5577; Cimarron Motel, 382-7711.
The conference will be held at the Hitchcock Auditorium, Pioneer Hall, Central Oregon Community College, NW College Way (on the west side of Bend, on the hill). To get there, take Greenwood/Newport about one mile west of Bend and turn north on College Way, just uphill from the bookstore.
You may register ahead by mail and avoid a line, or register at the conference. (see schedule). Registration covers attendance, light snacks and drinks, and a mailed copy of the updated listing booklet. To register by mail, send, by February 21, to Stu Garrett, 21663 Paloma Dr., Bend, OR 97701. If you have questions, call Lisa Croft or Stu Garrett.
PLEASE NOTE: The success of the Rare Plant Conference depends on participants completing the rare species pre-work. To receive your pre-work packet, send a stamped and self-addressed envelope with your registration.
This conference was planned and organized by the High Desert Chapter, Native Plant Society of Oregon.
We are planning the First Conference on Siskiyou Ecology, to be held on May 30 - June 1, 1997 in Cave Junction, Oregon. It will bring together researchers from academic institutions and natural resource agencies, naturalists, students and community members interested in or working on various aspects of the Siskiyou Mountain region, as well as the Klamath Mountain region. Presentations will cover a broad spectrum of topics, including past and current research on regional flora and fauna, the botanical significance of the area, unique geological features, and historical changes influencing the integrity of the region. Keynote speakers include Dr. Art Kruckeberg, of the University of Washington, and Dr. Frank Lang, of Southern Oregon State College. There will also be educational workshops and field trips to areas of ecological interest. Of course, the unique serpentine flora of the region will be a primary focus of both presentations and outings; late May is an excellent time to see many of the Siskiyous' endemic species in bloom.
The conference is being coordinated by the Siskiyou Regional Education Project and co-sponsored by the Southern Oregon State College Biology Department and the Oregon Caves National Monument. We encourage anyone interested in presenting talks or posters at the conference to send an abstract of 300 word or less by March 1, 1997. Send abstracts and/or requests for registration information to: Attn: Jennifer Beigel and Erik Jules, Conference on Siskiyou Ecology, ,c/o SREP, P.O. Box 220, Cave Junction, OR 97523, or e-mail to: ejules@umich.edu.
The Mount Pisgah Arboretum, in Eugene, and the Emerald Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon are sponsoring this outing, "Winter Twigs of the Mount Pisgah Arboretum," which will be led by Rhoda Love, and which will take place on February 1, from 10 A.M. to Noon. Participants will receive a newly-revised winter twig key (a $2 value), If possible, please bring a hand lens, a pocket knife and a ruler.
The fee, which helps support the Arboretum's education program, is $3.00, or $2.00 for MPA members, and everyone is welcome. Meet at the Arboretum's visitor's center at 10 A.M. For more information, call 345-6241.
Hello everyone! Time again for the fun and excitement of another state legislative session. By the time you read this article the wheels will be turning rapidly in Salem. I thought it would be a good idea to alert you to discussions we need to be engaged in. Also, if you have any legislative concepts or concerns for this session please let me know so I can bring them up while I'm at the capitol. I can be reached at 222-9091 during the day, or at steveh@hevanet.com on the Internet.
The first order of business will be the budget. We need to work diligently to secure adequate fundmg for botanist positions in the departments of Agriculture, Parks, Forestry, and even ODOT. We have a unique chance to couple our advocacy to the Governor's strategy for salmon and healthy streams. However, I personally find it difficult to support the proposed sales tax on beverage containers. My personal preference is to seek ways for polluters to pay for recovery efforts. My personal opinion aside, I need to hear feedback from the NPSO Board and membership on their preferences on this critical issue.
On a more proactive front, I have been working on developing a legislative proposal for added measures on invasive weed control, and on native plant protection. The package would include a weed free hay certification program, incentives for using native plants in public works projects, salvage of native plants from development, and native plant education. I would like to submit this package with strong sponsorship from rural legislators so that we might maximize our chances of passage. The NPSO Legislative Committee will meet on February 1, in Salem, to discuss this proposal in greater detail. Again, comments, suggestions, and attendance are welcome.
A host of other topics will certainly fill our plate during the session. We are sure to see legislation from the Department of Forestry, Water Resources, State Lands and Agriculture that can have some serious ramifications for our efforts to protect native plants. I will make every effort to keep you posted as the session progresses.
Webmistress@NPSOregon.org
© Copyright 1996 Native Plant Society of Oregon, All Rights Reserved
Last Modified December 22, 1996