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Summer 2013 Rare Plants on Display by Chet Neufeld NPSS Executive Director the NPSS Has Once Again Been Busy with Field Tours

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Summer 2013 Rare Plants on Display by Chet Neufeld NPSS Executive Director the NPSS Has Once Again Been Busy with Field Tours Vol. 18, No. 2 /npss.sk www.npss.sk.ca @NPSS_SK Summer 2013 Rare plants on display By CHET NEUFELD NPSS Executive Director The NPSS has once again been busy with field tours. While the weather didn’t always cooperate, we managed to have some good times and find a lot of interesting and rare plants. Here’s a break- down of the tours for 2013. Peggy McKercher Conservation Area Tour - May 25 The summer tour schedule started out with a tour to the Peggy McKercher Conservation Area on the outskirts of Saskatoon. This is an area in transition; it has recently been acquired by the Meewasin Valley Author- ity but had been a Catholic Church retreat for a number of years. As such, there was a mix of introduced and native plants, and signs of human use which will be remediated as the site is brought back to a more natural state. Continued on Pages 4, 5 & 6 PHOTOS BY CANDACE AND CHET NEUFELD ABOVE – Woolly gromwell (Lithospermum ruderale) found during the Southwest Corner Tour in Cypress Hills on June 22 and 23. RIGHT – Smooth Cliffbrake (Pellaea glabella ssp. occidentalis) found in the Cypress Hills, a new location for Saskatchewan. NPSS could Getting to NatureCity Holts win Spot use a few good the root of an Festival draws the Crocus 2 board members 3 invasive problem 7 1,200 people 8 contest, again 1 In search of a NPSS Board of Directors President: few good plants, Shelley Heidinger 306-634-9771 Past-President Tara Sample 306-777-9137 Vice-President: board members John Hauer 306-463-5507 I hope that everyone enjoyed their summer! So far at least. Treasurer: As I glance out the window I am continually reminded Cheri Sykes 306-924-8028 of what an odd summer we’ve experienced. Secretary: The grass was so green at the end of July and this is Sarah James 306-780-6121 nearly unheard of, or at least it is here in the south east corner of the province! Directors: But the green came at a high Leanne Heisler 306-757-5729 cost as many of us throughout the Jennifer Lohmeyer 306-787-8707 province have experienced some of Sarah Vinge 306-780-9417 the most extreme weather we’ve ever Nadia Mori 306-946-3219 seen! Tornados, hail and heavy rains have been a regular occurrence and Executive Director: the temperatures sure aren’t what Chet Neufeld 306-668-3940 they usually are as it’s been quite Newsletter Editor: cool. David Freeman 306-791-0047 I sure hope none of you have ex- perienced the darker side of summer SHELLEY NPSS Address: up close and if so, that you remained Native Plant Society of Saskatchewan HEIDINGER unscathed. P.O. Box 21099, Saskatoon, SK S7H 5N9 PRESIDENT’S I guess this reminds us that we Phone: 306-668-3940 Fax: 306-668-3940 MESSAGE should never take Mother Nature for Email: [email protected] Website: www.npss.sk.ca granted, although she was certainly in Twitter: @NPSS_SK www.facebook.com/npss.sk a good mood for most of our south east tour of the Este- van area in mid-July (see cover story). I was able guide Native Plant News is a quarterly publication of the Native Plant our small group around the Estevan area to experience Society of Saskatchewan (NPSS) and is one of the benefits of not only the variation in weather but also in plant life and membership. Members are invited to submit articles, news, environments – from the side of the Souris Valley to the views, photographs and comments. Views expressed by the prairie upland! authors are not necessarily those of the NPSS. The group saw many native plants unique to the south east corner of the province, but the most exciting find of the Deadlines: Submission Publication weekend was our very last stop where we found a patch of Winter Issue: November 1 December 15 Buffalo grass (Bouteloua dactyloides)! This was such an Spring Issue: February 1 March 15 exciting experience as none of us had ever seen it before! Summer Issue: May 1 June 15 Many other exciting finds were experienced during our Fall Issue: August 1 September 15 other NPSS tours. I hope you were able to attend one of the tours in your area! Membership Dues (Year end November 30th) While we enjoyed the search for rare and special Individual $30 plants, we are also searching for new board members. The Family $45 Society will be seeing several of our board members step Student $15 down this fall for various reasons. Corporate $200 If you or anyone you know might be interested in Life $500 serving on the Board for a term (or two!), please contact Please contact the NPSS office for information about the myself or Chet for more information (our contact informa- lifetime membership instalment payment option. tion is to the left of this message). It would be particularly helpful if you had some expe- rience in one or more of the following: business, finance, graphic design, marketing or communications. I wish everyone the best of times as we move from summer into fall and I sure hope Mother Nature is good to you! 2 Upcoming Events September 2013 Nature Saskatchewan Fall Meet September 20 to 22 Meadow Lake, Sask. The Meadow Lake branch of the Junior Forest Wardens invites you to Saskatch- PHOTOS BY DIEGO STEINAKER ewan’s Northern Boreal Forest surround- Experimental plot with minirhizotron at the center in northeast Montana. ing the community and provincial park of Meadow Lake. Try your hand at canoeing and wilderness skills, and learn about the northern boreal forest and the Junior Getting to the root Forest Wardens. http://www.naturesask.ca of invasive wheatgrass Soil Workshop Saturday, September 21 By VASILIKI BALOGIANNI Crested wheatgrass, an exotic species Station 20 West, 1120 20 St. W. from Asia, currently occupies 6 to 11 Saskatoon, Sask. PhD Student in Plant Ecology, Learn how to keep your soil healthy and million hectares of grassland in the Great productive in an interactive, hands-on University of Regina Plains of North America. It commonly workshop. Contact Jared Regier, Back- exists in near-monoculture conditions. yard Garden Program Coordinator for When new exotic species appear in While much knowledge has been more informatin at [email protected] established ecosystems among native accumulated about its management http://www.ecofriendlysask.ca species it is referred to as an “invasion”. through restoration attempts over the past Invasive plants may co-exist with decades, control of crested wheatgrass October 2013 the natives, but they sometimes cause a remains elusive. Our research questions Weed Webinar Series: complete shift in species composition, whether mowing, as a surrogate for Absinth Wormwood which is considered one of the greatest grazing, can decrease the root length of Wednesday, October 23 environmental changes both on local crested wheatgrass relative to the native Join us for a Ministry of Agriculture and global scales. Exploring the effects grasses. In order to answer this question hosted webinar on Wednesday, Oct. 23 at noon. Nadia Mori will explain the biol- of plant invasions on ecosystem char- we conducted a five-year field experiment. ogy and characteristics of the plant while acteristics and functions is crucial for Minirhizotrons (transparent tubes) Lorne Klein will discuss control options predicting future environmental costs were installed beneath prairie at Medi- and their feasibility in perennial forage and benefits, and for designing restora- cine Lake Wildlife Refuge in Montana stands. Register using the link below or tion attempts of invaded ecosystems. and underground images of roots, fungi call for more information. Note you may join the webinar by computer or phone. Plant growth in prairie is mainly and insects were captured periodically Nadia Mori: 306-946-3219 controlled by below ground resources during the growing season. This con- Lorne Klein: 306-848-2382. such as water and nitrogen. Also, most tinuous, non-destructive method allowed https://www2.gotomeeting.com/ plant competition occurs below-ground. accurate observations at great depths. register/354170002. Thus, changes in plant species are strongly Early results indicate the root length expected to affect below-ground factors of crested wheatgrass is up to four January 2014 such as root length, and the mass of stored times greater than that of native spe- Native Prairie Restoration/Reclamation soil carbon. Therefore, understanding cies. Mowing did not have any effect Workshop: the impact of invasions below ground is on roots of either crested wheatgrass Stretching our Boundaries” crucial for vegetation management. nor native grasses, and thus it might not January 29 and 30, 2014 Many studies have been conducted re- be an appropriate management tool for Radisson Plaza Hotel Saskatchewan Regina, Sask. garding the effectiveness of the restoration controlling crested wheatgrass. Save the date. Details to come. attempts such as grazing and herbicides. In summary, crested wheatgrass www.pcap-sk.org However, many studies focused on param- has much more root length than native eters like above ground productivity, while grassland species. Consequently, it is To submit your native plant only a few studies considered roots. likely more efficient in using the limited related event to our events Our research is focusing on the below ground resources than natives. As list, send your information below ground effects of the invasive root dynamics are not affected by mow- (including date, contact, perennial bunchgrass crested wheatgrass ing, crested wheatgrass management phone number and location) (Agropyron cristatum). should focus on alternative techniques. to [email protected]. 3 Summer tours successful despite weather Continued from Page 1 It was fitting that our visit was part of the NatureCity Festival, as the festival was meant to connect people with nature and make us question how we can better interact with it.
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