Annual Meeting: The Emerald Chapter will host the meeting at the Mount Pisgah Arboretum in Eugene. More information and registration materials are included in the April Bulletin and on the Emerald Chapter website.

For information on the Blue Mountain Chapter call Jerry Baker at 541-566-2244.

Program: The Flora of King’s Mountain. Jake Hurlbert has been documenting an ecological study of a temperate rainforest about 50 miles NW of McMinnville near Elk Creek Campground for the past year. The study takes place between 600' and 3200' over a 2.5 mile climb on the slopes of King’s Mountain. It is an area that receives between 100 and 200 inches of rainfall per year. This study explains the relationships between autotrophic and heterotrophic plants and animals; how insects and mushrooms help recycle the biomass; and why certain plants have problems where others thrive. His motivation for the study was a large fruiting of phantom orchids that can only exist because of their mycoheterotropic adaptation. Come and enjoy a virtual tour of a year in the life of King’s Mountain. Carnegie Room, McMinnville Library, 225 NW Adams Street.

Event: Wildflower Show and Education Day. All activities will be at the McMinnville Public Library, 225 N.W. Adams St., McMinnville. We will play a new game called "Stump the Plant Chumps." The public may bring in pictures or blooms and leaves of local plants for identification. It will be a kick to see how we do! In addition, we'll show a new Powerpoint presentation on Yamhill County roadside plants, give tours of the McMinnville Public Library native garden maintained by the chapter, listen to short talks about various aspects of native plants and related subjects, view exhibits, and have a native plant sale. Call chapter president Marna Porath at 503-835-1042 for details.

Field Trip: Elowah Falls. The trail starts in John Yeon State Park about seven miles east of Multnomah Falls in the Columbia Gorge. A past chapter president and wetland biologist will lead us. The 1½-mile trail has a rise of 700 feet. Other side trips are possible. Seeps in the rock cliffs along the trail provide habitat for numerous species of wildflowers, and we’re likely to see Corydalis scouleri, several Saxifrage spp., Castilleja rupicola, Delphinium glareosum, Romanzoffia, Mimulus, liverworts and ferns. Poison oak sometimes requires careful stepping. We’ll have sweeping views of the gorge and into the falls basins. We’ll gather to carpool in McMinnville at the Linfield College parking lot at Linfield Ave. and Blaine St. at 8:15 am, depart at 8:30 am, and return in late afternoon. RSVP to Craig Markham, 503-537-0587 or markhamcp@verizon.net.

Carpool: to Eugene for Wildflower Festival and Plant Sale. Meet in McMinnville at the Linfield College parking lot at Linfield Ave and Blaine St. at 8:15 am and depart at 8:30 am. Suggested admission is $5. For carpool, RSVP to Marna Porath at 503-835-1042.

Meeting: Miller Woods. We’ll start out with a potluck meal and a general meeting to discuss options for the coming year. This is a good time to share your ideas for field trips, projects, educational programs, etc. Then we’ll have a tour of Miller Woods and receive an update on what has been happening there since our September 2006 meeting. Please bring a potluck dish to share and your own plate and silverware. RSVP with number attending to 503-472-1745. For more information on the site visit www.yamhillswcd.org/proj_events/mil–lerwoods/miller_woods.html.

Field Trip: Baskett Slough. Learn to identify some native grasses (and other plants) in this National Wildlife Refuge south of Amity. By the end of May, most of six to eight common prairie/savanna grass species should have inflorescences sufficiently developed to allow identification. Karl Anderson, a Willamette Chapter member, will lead us and bring some handouts on basic grass morphology. Meet either at the refuge parking lot at the foot of Baskett Butte at 9 am or in McMinnville at 8:15 am to depart at 8:30 am at the Blaine and Linfield street parking lot by Linfield College. For carpool, RSVP to Marna Porath at 503-835-1042.

Field Trip: Kingston Prairie. John Savage, Willamette Chapter president and Nature Conservancy volunteer, will lead this joint Willamette and Cheahmill chapter walk through the best example of tall-grass prairie remaining in the central Willamette Valley. Meadow and wetland species in bloom may include Dodecatheon hendersonii, Camas sp., Bradshaw’s lomatium, Willamette daisy, Oregon larkspur and white-topped aster. The prairie is a Nature Conservancy site and accessible only by permission. Meet at 8:15 am to carpool from the Blaine and Linfield street parking lot by Linfield College, or be at Kingston at 10 am. For carpool, RSVP to Susan Williams at 503-538-1865 or Jennie Sue Dunn-Dixon at 503-472-1745.

Field Trip: Drift Creek Falls. A moderate 3.5-mile round trip trail, appropriate for all family members, crosses a long suspension bridge to get to the beautiful waterfall. Along the way, hikers will identify plants and mushrooms. Since the turnoff to the falls is only 10 miles from the coast on Highway 18, people who want to could visit the beach after the field trip. Meet at 7:45 am for an 8 am carpool departure from the Blaine and Linfield street parking lot by Linfield College, or meet at the Drift Creek Falls trailhead at 9 am. For carpool or information, RSVP to Jake Hurlbert at 503-474-0775.

To join the Corvallis email list to receive notification of upcoming events, please email Matt Blakeley-Smith.

Work Party: Gardening with Natives. Celebrate Earth Day and get your hands dirty. If you started seedlings during our winter workshop you will want to exchange plants with others! We will also clean-up the garden and enjoy the spring wildflowers. Please bring garden tools, seedlings to exchange (though not required), ziplock bags, and an after-dinner treat! Avery House, Avery Park, Corvallis. Contact Matt for more information (see above).

Field Trip: Botany for Beginners at Beazell County Park. To celebrate Native Plant Appreciation Week, we planned a half-day trip to Benton County’s newly added 585-acre memorial forest. We’ll look for flowering forest species as well as upland prairie rarities. This trip is designed with beginners in mind. We’ll teach some of the basics so you will more fully enjoy Oregon’s native plants. Meet at the Wilkinson Hall parking lot SW of The Beanery, 26th and Monroe, Corvallis. For more information contact Matt at 541-231-9861.

Event: Plant Sale. Corvallis Spring Garden Festival. Central Park, Corvallis. Stop by and get some native plants for your garden.

Dinner with Speakers at Nearly Normals. Join us for dinner at Nearly Normals, 109 NW 15th Street, Corvallis. All Welcome. RSVP Matt at mattbs@peak.org so we can save table space.

Meeting: Native Insects of the Pacific Northwest. Pete and Judy Haggard’s presentation wil feature some of the native insects that are in their field guide Insects of the Pacific Northwest. The discussion will include the role native plants play in gardens to provide the stable environment needed to maintain healthy populations of insects, which in turn help maintain the health of the plants, which in turn attract other wildlife such as birds and frogs. If possible, they’ll provide a display of live insect specimens but also encourage people to bring insects for identification. Avery House, Avery Park, Corvallis. For more information call Matt Blakeley-Smith at 541-231-9861 Please note this is not our usual meeting time.

Meeting: Exploring the Klamath--Siskiyou Bioregion. The area is known for convoluted geology and astounding biodiversity. Please join Siskiyou Field Institute outreach Coordinator, Cece Bowerman for a presentation that will highlight the intriguing characteristics of this region. After a short film Cece will share slides of unique flora and fauna. EWEB Training Room at 500 East 4th Avenue, Eugene. Call 541-746-9478.

Wildflower Walk: Mount Pisgah Arboretum. Gear up for Native Plant Appreciation Week with botanist Dr. Rhoda Love who will lead a wildflower walk through the Arboretum to see the beautiful natives now in bloom. Refreshments provided. Meet in the Arboretum Visitor Center. Free.

Field Trip: Blanton Heights Oak Savannah. The City of Eugene hopes to acquire a 200-acre parcel of land with a grant from the Forest Legacy Program. We will study native flora during a 3-mile walk through this property. Wear hiking shoes. Bring water and snacks. Meet at 9 am at South Eugene High School. Call 541-345-5531.

Field Trip: Observance of Endangered Species Day in Eugene. Rhoda Love will lead a one-hour walk at Amazon Park. We will see the Federally-listed wildflower, Bradshaw's desert parsley, and the Amazon Prairie Restoration site. Meet at the Amazon Visitor Center on Hilyard Street south of the pool at 10 am. Call 541-345-6241.

Mt. Pisgah Arboretum Wildflower Festival Collection and Setup. If you wish to help collect flowers for the show please contact David McClurg at dpm@efn.org or call 541-746-9478. To help set up displays come to the Arboretum at 9 am Saturday.

Event: Mt. Pisgah Arboretum Wildflower Festival. There will be hundreds of native wildflowers on display and a plant sale. Come for the food, live music and information booths representing many local organizations. The event is sponsored by the Mt. Pisgah Arboretum; the Botany Dept. of Lane Community College and Emerald Chapter, NPSO. For more information call 541-747-3817.

Meeting: Insects of the Pacific Northwest. Pete and Judy Haggard will present a slide show featuring some of the native insects in their field guide, Insects of the Pacific Northwest. EWEB Training Room at 500 East 4th Avenue, Eugene. Call 541-746-9478.

Field Trip: Mt. Pisgah Oak Habitat Management Tour. Oak Savannah is one of the most imperiled ecosystems in the Willamette Valley. Friends of Buford Park will give a tour of a pilot project to manage oak woodland habitat near the summit of Mt. Pisgah. Bring water. Wear good hiking shoes. Meet at 9 am at South Eugene High School or 9:15 am at the Mt. Pisgah Arboretum. Call 541-345-5531.

To be added to the e-mail list for upcoming events, please contact Maria Britton at mebritton@bendbroadband.com. For questions or additional information, please contact Eileen Obermiller at hd_president@NPSOregon.org

Field Trip: Lookout Mountain, led by member M.A. Willson. Trip details will be provided later.

For information on the Klamath Basin Chapter, contact Sarah Malaby, 541-884-5703, smalaby@cs.com.

Meeting: Orchids of Oregon. Emerald chapter’s Charlene Simpson will talk about the economic importance of orchids and discuss their diverse morphology, habitat preferences, and reproductive strategies, emphasizing the high cost of pollinator specialization and specific mycorrhizal obligations. Board Room, Building 1, Columbia Gorge Community College, The Dalles.

For information on the North Coast Chapter contact Vivian Starbuck at 503-377-4141.

If you would like to receive the semi-official, Chapter e-mail newsletter, The Calochortus, e-mail Don Jacobson.

Field Trip: Hamilton Mountain. This hike in the West Gorge features a wide variety of flowers of the Douglas-fir forest, meadows, and cliffs. The rare Lewisia columbiana should be in bloom. 7.6 miles, 2000 feet elevation gain. Meet at 8:30 am at Gateway Park and Ride. Please contact me for exact meeting location and so I know how many people will be attending. Beth Magnus, cell 503-706-5108, landline 503-226-7919, magnus@pcez.com.

Field Trip: McCord Creek. We’ll be looking for Dodecatheon dentatum, Castilleja rupicola, Erigeron howellii, Erigeron oreganus, and many others in flower. There may be some late-flowering Douglasia laevigata, and Stenanthium occidentale should be coming into flower. Driving: about 60 miles round trip; hiking: about 3 miles with 500 feet elevation gain. Contact Jan and Dave Dobak, 503-248-9242.

Meeting: Native Insects. Judy and Pete Haggard will present a program featuring some of the native insects that are in their field guide Insects of the Pacific Northwest. The emphasis of their talks is not only insects but plants, especially native species, and gardening with native plants to attract wildlife. They should have copies of their book available for purchase and autographing. Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church on SE Belmont Street at SE 54th Avenue. Enter the church parking lot from SE 54th Avenue.

The SOU Herbarium will be open from 7-7:30 pm immediately preceding the NPSO meetings on the third Thursday of each month (except December). The Herbarium is located in the SOU Science Building, Room 206. Call Connie at 541-488-0368 for information or to schedule another time.

Field Trip: Rough and Ready Creek Trail to Mud Springs (Illinois Valley). Rough and Ready has a large variety of serpentine plants, some endemic to the area. The trail goes through Jeffrey pine woodland, rock outcrops, a Darlingtonia fen, and the Rough and Ready Creek flood plain. A portion of the area was burned by the Biscuit Fire. The hike is an easy 2-3 miles but does have several narrow spots with a steep incline down to Rough & Ready Creek. Meet at Illinois Valley Visitor Center, Cave Junction, half a block from Hwy. 199 on Hwy. 46. Call Armand Rebischke 541-482-2141.

Event: Native Plant Awareness Week Spring Wildflower Show. Northwest Nature Shop, 154 Oak St. Ashland. View local blooming wildflowers and ask the experts all your wildflower questions. Come and get free wildflower seeds! Call NW Nature Shop 541-482-3241.

Field Trip: Baker Cypress ACEC and Flounce Rock. Join Marcia Wineteer, BLM Botanist, for a short, very easy hike (around 1/2 mile RT) to the Baker Cypress ACEC above Lost Creek Lake. We'll spend about an hour monitoring survival of Baker cypress seedlings that were planted in 2006 and 2007, then look for wildflowers in the vernally wet meadows. Species of interest, in addition to the Baker cypress, include Lewisia triphylla and Paeonia brownii. We'll then drive a short distance to Flounce Rock for panoramic views of the Lost Creek Lake area and a few more wildflower species. Call Armand Rebischke 541-482-2141 for meeting time and place.

Meeting: The genus Erythronium in western North America. Oregon and northern California are the global center of Erythronium diversity, with 20 of the approximately 32 species found worldwide. When not exploring the far corners of the Willamette Valley, Ed Alverson has been roaming the west in search of fawn lilies, avalanche lilies, and their kin. He will tell us some of what he has learned in the course of his explorations. Ed is the Willamette Valley Stewardship Ecologist for The Nature Conservancy. He has been working as a field botanist in the Pacific Northwest for over 25 years and has authored over 40 technical and popular articles about the flora and vegetation of this region, and his photographs have appeared in a variety of publications. Room 171 of the SOU Science Building, Ashland. For more information, contact Alex Maksymowicz, 541-482-1964.

Field Trip: Low Divide Road to N. Fork Smith River (Coast). We will look at the serpentine plant associations along Low Divide Road, just south of the Oregon-California border. Mostly a driving trip. Meet at 9 am in the town of Smith River on the east side of Hwy 101 at the beginning of Low Divide (Rowdy Creek) Rd. Leader: Norm Jensen

Event: Annual Native Plant Sale. Celebrate Native Plant Appreciation Week with us as we hold our second annual native plant sale. Since last year’s sale was such a huge success, we are back again and even better this time around! See the large variety of easy-to-grow native plants we have on hand. Our event is the same day as the Master Gardener plant sale at the fairgrounds, so be sure to stop by to see us and talk natives. Free landscaping advice and informational handouts will be available. To get there, take I-5 Exit 123 and follow the signs past the fairgrounds, where you’ll find us out front at the Douglas County Museum of Natural History. Time to stock up on those native plants you wish you had growing in your garden. For more information call Donna Rawson 541-459-2821.

Meeting: Costa Rica. Come explore the beauty of Costa Rica with presenters Barbara and Jim Long. They will share photographs and experiences of their recent trip through the Panama Canal and along the south coast of Costa Rica. Both were a part of an interpretative tour conducted by National Geographic with exceptional naturalists. Meet upstairs in the Mercy Education Bldg., 2459 Stewart Parkway, Roseburg. For more information call Sam Friedman at 541-673-0589.

Program: Silver Falls State Park Mother’s Day Birding and Wildflower Weekend. Wildflower walks, beginning at 10 am and led by NPSO members, will be offered throughout the two days. Starting point for the walks is the Historic South Falls Lodge. Bird walks, presentations, and photo hikes will be available. For a full schedule of activities, registration forms, and overnight options at the Silver Falls Conference Center, contact Dorothy Brown-Kwaiser at 503-874-0201. Free and open to the public.

Field Trip: Bush Park Wildflower Walk. Members of the Willamette Valley Chapter will lead a walk to identify wildflowers in Bush Park and the Deepwood Estate. Participants should meet at the Mission Street Parking lot near the soapbox derby track at Bush Park. Free and open to the public. For more information, call 503-399-8615 after 7 pm.

Field Trips: Siskiyous/Cave Junction. Plant expert Wilbur Bluhm may lead his annual Memorial Day weekend field trip at sites near the Siskiyous. Each trip is independent of those of the other days, enabling a person to participate in field trips for one, two, or all three days. For information, call Wilbur Bluhm at 503-393-2934. Please note: This trip is tentative. The decision to undertake the trip will not be made until mid-May.

Field Trip: Dog Mountain. Participants in this all-day hike will view wildflowers on Dog Mountain located in the Columbia Gorge on the Washington side. John Savage of the Willamette Valley Chapter will lead the hike. This is a difficult hike but the pace will be slow. Bring lunch and water. To register, call 503-399-8615 after 7 pm. Free and open to the public.

Meeting: Restoring water to watersheds and complexity and stability of riparian ecosystems. Suzanne Fouty will focus on beavers and riparian habitats in the Burnt River watershed. Following Dr. Fouty's presentation, the chapter will discuss how to incorporate more detailed vegetation sampling into the ongoing Burnt River monitoring. Baker County Library, 2400 Resort Street, Baker City.

Field Trip: Owlsley Hogback (tentative, depending on plant phenology and smowmelt). This is a gentle hike along a dry, rocky ridge with the potential to also explore Fox Prairie. Lots of lomatiums and penstemons among the many plants to see. Led by Susan Geer. Contact her at susanmgeer@yahoo.com for additional information.

Field Trip: Strickler RNA. The RNA is located just north of Starkey Experimental Forest near LaGrande It is an old growth ponderosa pine-larch habitat, with some trespass grazing issues. Led by Jenifer Ferriel. Please check the chapter website for more details.