Meeteetse Museums to Offer Free Botanical Tours June 28 and 29

Meeteetse Museums will host separate botanical tours on June 28 and 29. Both tours are free. The event on Saturday, June 28, is a “Sub-Alpine Botanical Tour” of the Dick Creek Lake area in the west of Meeteetse. The second is a “High Desert Botanical Tour,” which will be held on Sunday, June 29, on privately held property not far from Legend Rock State Archaeological Site. Both areas require moderate hiking. Participants will also need high-clearance drive vehicles. Some car- pooling, however, may be arranged with the museum prior to arriving for the tours. Rides with other guests may also be arranged at the museum on the morning of the tours. Participants are asked to bring magnifying glasses for both tours if they have them. They are also asked not to bring their dogs on the tours, whether or not they would be on a leash. The Sub-Alpine Botanical Tour (Saturday, June 28) will be led by Michael Kirkpatrick who has worked as the Shoshone National Forest botanist since July 2013. He earned an MS in botany under Dr. Ron Hartman at the Rocky Mountain Herbarium, University of , in 2014. His master’s degree centered on a floristic inventory of the White River Forest and vicinity south of the Colorado River, for which he collected and identified over eleven thousand vascular plant specimens. Prior to the Shoshone, he worked as a seasonal botany technician at Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument (2003), Idaho BLM (2004), Capitol Reef National Park (2005), Pike–San Isabel NF (2006), Arapaho–Roosevelt NF (2007), and WYNDD (2012). When not in graduate school, he worked as botany consultant from 2008–2013. In the summers he can be found “rejoicing and cursing polleniferous organisms.” This tour will depart from Meeteetse Museums (1947 State Street in Meeteetse) at 9:00 a.m. (please arrive by 8:45). All participants are required to sign a brief release form and register with the tour, which is free. The participants will arrive in the Dick Creek area with the “caravan” at about 10:00 a.m. and the tour will start at approximately 10:30. Please bring appropriate clothing for variable weather, plenty of water, and a sack lunch. It is estimated that the tour will last into the afternoon. The High Desert Botanical Tour (Sunday, June 29) will be led by Earl Jensen. Dr. Jensen is the author of Flowers of Wyoming’s Big Horn Mountains and Big Horn Basin (limited copies of this book will be available for sale at Meeteetse Museums and is appropriate for both the Saturday and Sunday tours). Jensen was born in Wisconsin and developed an interest in botany at the age of 15 while serving as the naturalist at a Boy Scout Camp at which he taught plant and animal identification. In 1964, he earned his BA in biology from Luther College in Iowa and, in 1968, received his Masters of Science Degree from Humboldt State. In 1972 he earned his PhD in plant taxonomy at Utah State. After working with the New York Botanical Garden and Intermountain Herbarium at Utah State, he relocated to Wyoming. In 1973 he began teaching at the Greybull High School. Mr. Jensen is now

1 retired, but continues to teach about the flowers found in the Big Horn Mountains and the Big Horn Basin. The High Desert Tour will be held on private land a few miles from Legend Rock State Archaeological Site. Those participating should arrive at Meeteetse Museums by 8:30 a.m. to register and sign a short release form. Rides may also be arranged at this time; however, you should call ahead to be certain of car-pooling. High clearance vehicles are necessary to access this location. The guided tour will depart the museums at 9:00 a.m. and will arrive on site at about 10:15. The tour should begin about 10:30 and last into the afternoon. Moderate hiking is required. The tour takes place in a high desert environment, so participants are asked to wear appropriate clothing, bring water, and a sack lunch. Also bring a magnifying glass. If you have any questions about these botanical tours, please call the museum between 9:30 and 4:00 at 307-868-2423 or email [email protected]. We hope to see you on these exciting tours!

2