Olympic Peninsula Chapter Washington Native Plant Society October 2018 Through January 2019 Fall Newsletter

Olympic Peninsula Chapter Washington Native Plant Society October 2018 through January 2019 Fall Newsletter

To promote the appreciation and conservation of Washington’s native plants and their habitats through study, education and advocacy Do you know what the earth meditates upon in autumn? (Why not give a medal to the first golden leaf?) from Pablo Neruda’s The Book of Questions…. The summer brought an exploration of wildflowers in the higher places. Fall brings a more reflective mood as the cool weather and decreasing light approach. This newsletter is intended as a general summation of what we as a chapter plan to do over the next few months and what continues to inspire us. Pay attention to the trip leaders and authors for updates on specifics.

FALL EVENTS Duckabush River Short Trails. Saturday October 20, 2018. Meet at the Quilcene Ranger Station at 9:00 AM to carpool. We will explore the Interrorem Nature trail, an historical interpretive loop trail, before starting down the Rang- er Hole Trail, 0.8-mile-long, which meanders through forest until the last 500' where it descends steeply to the river. Then we'll drive to Collins Campground for lunch along the river. After lunch we'll drive to the 0.8-mile-long Murhut Falls trail, through second growth forest to old growth forest around the falls. Bring your hand lens, field guides, and a lunch. Note: This is a weather-dependent trip. Please let me know if you are interested so I can notify you if there is a change of plans. Wendy McClure 360-379-3820 [email protected].

PROGRAM Tuesday October 16, 2018. Wendy Gibble, Rare Care Program Manager. Seed Banking: An Age-Old Art Used for a New Purpose. Port Townsend Community Center in Up- town Port Townsend at 620 Tyler St. Social time at 6:30 pm; program begins at 7:00 A seed is one of nature’s marvelous adaptions. It makes the perfect receptacle for an embryonic plant, providing protection from the ele- ments and transportation to a new home. Early humans took advantage of seeds’ resilient nature, storing them through winter months and transporting them over trade routes. One could argue that without the seed, the course of human society may have taken a drastically differ- ent trajectory. Today, seeds are serving another purpose, this time for their own species benefit. In seed banks across the country, scientists and land managers hold millions of seeds of the nation’s native rare plants, painstakingly gathered from wild popula- tions. In this talk, Wendy Gibble will explore the biology of seeds, the science of seed banking, and some of the ways we break seed dormancy to initiate germination. Wendy Gibble is the Rare Care Program Manager at the University of Washington Botanic Gardens. In her 14 years with the program, she has conducted research on rare plant ecology, overseen the seed banking and rare plant monitor- ing programs, and propagated rare plants for outplantings. She completed her master’s thesis in plant ecology at the University of Washington. For program questions contact [email protected] or phone Dixie at 360 385-6432. 1 . Point Wilson Work Party, Fort Worden State Park. Saturday October 27, 2018 9:30 am -noon. Meet at the center (waterside) restrooms on the beach. Join Friends of Fort Worden and WNPS for a work party. We are continuing with some work on fencing with some remain- ing cable and augers. and sprucing up the restoration area and trail signs. Continuing with the ongoing removal of ammophila from specific areas near the beach. We will provide the tools and tarps; working hands welcome! (gloves and shovels would be helpful.) Bring your own water. Coffee and snacks will be provided by Jan North and the Friends. For more info Contact Sharon Schlentner [email protected] 360 379-9810 or Claude Manning. [email protected]

Tunnel Creek. Friday November 9 2018: 9:00 am. Meet at the Quilcene Forest Service Ranger station. Tunnel Creek is a great area for mosses; a little wetter than other areas on the eastern side of the Olympics.. This hike at this time of year has been chilly, and revealing!!. We will look at the winter foliage, identify a few mosses and admire the mushrooms on our way to the shelter (2.6 miles!) Storms brew in November so this hike is weather dependent. Led by Sharon Schlentner and Dan Post. To sign up contact Sharon Schlentner: [email protected] or 360 379-9810 Dan Post at [email protected] 360 390-8635 Chetzemoka Interpretive Trail Exploration. Saturday November 17, 2018 9:30 to 12:30. Meet at the Kitchen Shelter at Chetzemoka Park. The Chetzemoka Interpretive Trail is a new project envisioned by the Port Townsend Native Connections Action Group and co-sponsored by the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, and endorsed by the Jefferson County Historical Society. This route will eventually have signage and further explores the history of important locations once used by the native people in the Quimper Peninsula. Plants play a critical role in survival. This 4.5 mile ur- ban hike will include botany, history, and even a crack plant or two. We will return to Chetzemoka Park and have lunch. Dixie Llewellin, and Lys Burden, Native Connections Action Group member will lead this hike. Any questions contact [email protected] or phone Dixie at 360 385-6432.

PROGRAM Tuesday November 20 2018. Dr. Eric DeChaine, WWU. The Future of Alpine Plants En- demic to the Olympic Mountains. Port Townsend Community Center. 620 Tyler St. Social time at 6:30 pm; program at 7:00 .The unique history, geography, and climate of the Pacific Northwest have promoted a flora with exceptional endemism that may face high rates of extinction due to climate change. During the Ice Ages, several glacial refugia scattered across the region provided areas of suitable habitat for alpine plants. While isolation among those refugia likely promoted the rise of endemics, their remoteness now means that the endemics are trapped on ever-shrinking environmental islands. The Olympic Mountains of Washington, one of the glacial refugia, harbors the highest concentration of alpine endemics in the region. As such, the Olympics provide a representative system for understanding how future changes in climate may impact endemics across the Pacific Northwest. In short, they are in trouble. The Olympic alpine will experience novel environmental conditions in the future, with a pronounced decrease in winter snow and an increase in growing season moisture stress. For each of five Olympic Mountain endemics that we studied, 85-99% of the suitable habitat will be lost by 2080. Indeed, suitable habitat will remain only on the highest peaks of the eastern Olympics. Therein, the distribution of micro-topography may be a critical factor in deter- mining their long-term survival. Dr. Eric DeChaine Western Washington University, Bellingham is interested in the evolution and biogeography of arctic -alpine plants, especially the Saxifragaceae. He studies the effects of historic and future climates on the distribution and diversity of plants with the goal of identifying processes underlying speciation and endemism around the North Pacific Rim. For program questions contact [email protected] or phone Dixie at 360 385-6432.

2 Low Trail Winter Walk. Sequim Port Angeles area… Friday December 7, 2018. 10am start .We plan to walk along parts of the Olympic Discovery Trail or low elevation trail relatively nearby. Details and destination TBA, as weather and time dictate. Contact one of us by November 30 Sharon Schlentner [email protected] 360 379-9810 or Fayla Schwarz. [email protected] for updated info. ANNUAL POTLUCK. Tuesday December 18, 2018. Annual Holiday Potluck and Slide Show. Starts at 5:00pm social time; 6:00 dinner and program. Port Townsend Community Center, 620 Tyler St., Port Townsend. Set up and socializing starting at 5:00 dinner at 6:00 pm. Celebrate a successful botanical year with good food, good company, and a variety of images. Bring a potluck dish, place setting and favorite photos. Bring images of plants from the around the world, across the country or your back yard. Photos should be on either a CD or thumb drive. This is also the time when we assess our goals as a group and hold our annual elections. Any suggestions regarding projects or field trips for 2019 are welcome. Hope to see you there! Contact Ann Weinmann for questions or further information: awein- [email protected]; 360- 379-0986. Teddy Bear Hike; 15th Annual; Fort Townsend State Park, Tuesday January 1, 10:00 am led by Fred Weinmann: We will welcome in 2019 on quiet trails among big trees, beside carpets of moss, surrounded by rhododendrons and huckleberry. Everybody is welcome whether you bring the 11th es- sential or not. Meet in the main parking lot before 10 am. Plan to hike 1-3 miles depending on the weather. Contact Fred or Ann Weinmann at 360-379-0986 or [email protected] for further information

PROGRAM. Tuesday January 15, 2019. Dr. Robert Pelant, DVM. Golden paintbrush Restoring Abandoned Agricultural Land to Native Oak-Prairie Habi- tat. Port Townsend Community Center 620 Tyler St. Social time at 6:30 pm; program begins at 7:00 Dr. Robert K. Pelant is the founding director of the nonprofit Pacific Rim Insti- tute (PRI) on Whidbey Is- land. . He will talk about why and how the Pacific Rim Institute - PRI - is restoring habitat on their Whidbey Island site, as well as throughout the Puget Sound. PRI is com- posed of 175 acres of glacial out-wash prairie, oak and fir savanna and fir-hemlock-yew forest. They currently propagate over 30 species of native plants and recently tripled the size of their nursery. They maintain an her- barium that is open to the public by appointment. They provide formal and informal workshops and university -level courses. . Over two miles of trails are open to the public. PRI works with federal, state and private organ- izations, and communities to manage a regional native plant seed bank network and give native plants, animals and pollinators a fighting chance in the 21st centu- Aerial of Pacific Rim Institute. Photos Courtesy of Robert Pelant. ry. Not attempting to restore land to some "idyllic state" reminiscent of the distant past, PRI focuses on a bio-diverse and resilient habitat to increase the odds of our natural world surviving and thriving in the future. Why do we have degraded lands? What is restoration and why do we do it? What are the end goals? Please join us and Dr. Robert K. Pelant, the CEO of PRI for an evening to explore these concepts and questions. A veterinarian by training, Pelant worked and lived in Asia, Latin America and Africa for 30 years working on environ- mentally sound food production at the grassroots and national levels. Contact [email protected] or phone Dixie at 360 385-6432. Kul Kah Han Native Plant Demonstration Garden work parties continue on Wednesdays in early fall. Check with Linda Landkammer for specifics. [email protected]. Matt Albright Native Plant Center would still love to have volunteers at the nursery on Mondays and Wednesdays be- tween 9am and 4pm. We're up to our ears collecting, and cleaning seeds. We're also doing a fall once-over for weeds in the seed increase field, as well as spreading mulch. We're starting to sow seeds, and we're jumping into planting season soon. Contact Laurel Moulton, Assistant Manager and Volunteer Coordinator [email protected] Tel: 360 683-0757.Matt Albright Native Plant Center Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe in partnership with Olympic National Park.

3 SUMMER EVENTS Our chapter trips made it to several ridge tops. Mt Walker early in the year, Klahhane ridge for the Pipers’ bellfower Campanula piperi.

Badger Valley trip wound down through a field of wildflowers with the mountain bog gentian, Gentiana calycosa at its conclusion..

Gentiana calycosa. Fayla Schwarz

Jamestown S’Klallam tribal members visit Prairie Preserve, Port Townsend. On July 23, during the annual arrival of Canoe Journey participants at Point Wilson, members of the nearest native community—the Jamestown S’Klallam band on Sequim Bay—came to Port Townsend’s ancestral prairie remnant at Spring Valley Golf Course to share stories about a fa- mous ancestor, Chetzemoka, widely remembered as a friend to early settlers and commemorated by the Wash- ington State Ferry, MV Chetzemoka. Together with local WNPS Olympic Chapter members, and guests from Clallam County, the S’Klallams shared knowledge about North Olympic prairie sites, the major plants, and their uses. Then for the first time in memory, ground was broken on the prairie to dig camas bulbs (Camassia quamash). In this droughty summer, the ground had become quite hard, but with very modest success some small bulbs were uprooted, together with a few crowns of Fritillaris affinis (rice root, or chocolate-lily) which revealed the rice grain-sized bulblets. All of that planting material was sent home with the S’Klallams to help ‘seed’ their ef- forts at recreating prairie habitat on tribal land at Sequim Bay. Mt. Ellinor August 24, 2018 hike - Twelve ad- venturous hikers started at the 3,500' upper Mt. Ellinor trailhead and hiked to the 5,944’ sum- mit. This trip occurred when forest-fire smoke was often dense, but we were fortunate, and caught a nearly smoke-free day. Mt. Ellinor is among the most accessible high elevation SE Olympic Mountains locations, and here one can see a broad diversity of montane through subal- pine plant species. Endemics we observed were: Flett’s fleabane, Olympic Mt. aster, Olympic rock mat Petrophytum Piper’s harebell, Olympic paintbrush, Olympic Mt Ellinor hikers August 2018. Joanne hendersonii rock mat and Flett’s violet. During the hike we engaged in develop- ment of a plant list for this trail - thank you to Wendy McClure4 for providing us with a 1992 field trip plant list which made a good starting point. —Joanne Schuett-Hames

The Back Page Joshua Chenoweth,,Restoration Botanist for Olympic National Park, is concluding his eleven year venture on the Elwha Restoration project. Those chapter members involved in some aspect of the project would agree that it has been and continues to be, an amazing journey.

Mt Ellinor fog. Jack Haskins

After Wendy McClure’s Quinalt Lake camping / Colonel Bob Wilderness and big tree ventures Ann and Fred find the Kloochman fir, the largest Douglas fir in Fred and Ann Weinmann Washington (17 feet in diameter) near the Queets River Trail .

General chapter info Our Botany programs are currently scheduled for the third Tuesday of the month from Oc- tober through April. Port Townsend Community Center, 620 Tyler St., Port Townsend.6:30 social 7:00 program. Hikes are scheduled throughout the year. Our next chapter board meeting will be in January. Contact Ann Weinmann for details. Chapter Apparatus

Co-Chairs: Ann and Fred Weinmann 360-379-0986; [email protected] Vice Chair (Programs and Web site) : Dixie Llewellin 360-385-6432; [email protected] (for the Web site go to wnps.org and click on the link to Chapters) Treasurer: Dan Post 360-390-8635; [email protected] Secretary: Eve Dixon 360-775-0470; [email protected] Conservation Chair: Wendy McClure 360-779-3820; [email protected] Board members at large: Sharon Schlentner, Linda Landkammer, Luzi Pfenninger, Fayla Schwarz Newsletter: Sharon Schlentner [email protected] 360 379-9810

The next newsletter will be for : Spring 2019. February through April . Email updates occur monthly. Submit newsletter information in PROPER FORMAT (see examples under events) no later than January 18. Include details including time, place, and the name and contact information for the coordinator/leader of the event. Send input to Sharon Schlentner [email protected]. 360 379-9810.

Name:______Address:______City:______State______Zip______Phone:______Email:______Membership Category Individual $40.00 WNPS Special friend $100-499 Budget /Student $20.00 WNPS Best friend $500 Family $55.00 Sustaining Member $1000 Club/Institution $75.00 WNPS Patron $5000 WNPS Friend $50-99 One chapter is included; please add $10 for each additional chapter

Please remit by check payable to WNPS and mail to: Washington Native Plant Society 6310 NE 74th St., Suite 215E, Seattle, WA 98115 Phone: 206-527-3210 or 1-888-288-8022; email: [email protected]

Olympic Peninsula Chapter, WNPS c/o Sharon Schlentner 581 Saddle Drive Port Townsend, WA 98368