Iowa Native Plant Society Newsletter August 1996 Vol. 2, No.3 Annual Meeting and DooUttle Prairie Field Trip August 24th The Society's Annual Meeting will be held on Au­ The field trip is sponsored jointly by the Society and gust 24th at McFarland Park just north ofAmes. Chris­ the Central Iowa Prairie Network. Lloyd Crim, who has tine has included some of the topics to be covered in led IPN field trips to Doolittle for several years, will the business meeting in her "Greetings... " (page 2). show us the prairie. Doolittle is one of the premier prai­ Several of these are important issues relating to our rie pothole complexes in the state, and contains a high organizational status and by-laws that will determine diversity of wet prairie and wetland plant species. Par­ the future course of the Society. Your attendance and ticipants will be able to wade through potholes and ob­ input are important, so please try to attend! serve vegetation zonation patterns firsthand. Purple blaz­ ing stars (Liatris pycnostachya) are abundant and should The Society currently has no logo, and we need your be at their colorful best by this time. Be prepared to get help! Bring (or send to Deb Lewis in time for the An­ wet to experience the prairie potholes, and BRING IN­ nual Meeting) your artwork or idea for the Logo Con­ SECT REPELLENT. An article by Paul Wetzel, an ISU test at the Annual Meeting. The entries will be judged graduate student, describes the dynamics of prairie potholes b all members present during the lunch time. If you such as those at Doolittle Preserve. Paul's article begins on win, you can choose between free membership for 1997 page 6. or a free T-shirt with your design on it! In this issue Schedule for INPS annual meeting: Annual Meeting Notice 1 9 a.m. - Social hour/continental breakfast Greetings Fellow Plant Enthusiasts 2 Preserve Board Meeting/DNR Foray 2 (coffee, juice and rolls provided) On the Horizon (lNPS events) 3 10 a.m. - noon - Business meeting Freda Haffner Kettlehole State Preserve 3 INPS Field Trips Reports 4 Noon - 1 PM - Lunch (bring a sack lunch) In a Nutshell (related activities) 4 and Logo Contest The Dynamic Ecology of Prairie Pothole Wetlands. 6 Forms and survey . 9 1 p.m. - Travel to Doolittle Prairie State Silky Prairie Clover back cover Preserve for the field trip August 1996 1 President: Christine Kirpes G tin Fellow Plant Enthusiasts 377 Crandall Dr. NE Cedar Rapids, IA 52402-1552 Things have really been growing well for us this summer. I can't believe it's been almost (319) 373·5405 a year since Fort Dodge. Already it is time to get ready for our first INPS annual meeting! Vice-President: Bill Thomas Here is a preview of most of what we' ll cover during the "business" portion of our meeting. 11490 8th St. Marion, IA 52302 Elections. Please use the nomination form in this newsletter to let us know who you think (319) 377-4109 would be good officers for 1997 (including yourself). Send it to Bill Thomas (or give him a call if time is running short) before the meeting, if possible, so we can gain the Secretary: Deb Lewis 341A Bessey, ISU consent of the nominees. You may bring nominations to the meeting if you have asked Ames, IA 5001 1·1 020 and the nominees have agreed to run. (515) 294·9499 [email protected] Approval of By-laws. The organization committee will bring copies of the by-laws for you to read so that we can have a final vote on them. We should also have our Articles of Treasurer: Mary Brown 330 Windsor Dr. Incorporation available for comment. Iowa City, IA 52245 (319) 338-3875 Committee reports. We will report on what we have accomplished this year, and make sug­ gestions for what to work on next. We will have sign-up sheets for those interested in Organization Committee: working with each of the committees , you're welcome to join one if you haven't yet had LeRoy and Susan Anderson 1978 Skyline View Rd the chance. Decorah, IA 52101 (319) 382-9320 Presentation of Charter Member certificates to all who have paid 1996 dues. Appointment of "at-large" representatives. As now written, our by-laws provide for repre­ Eric Howes-Vonstein 808 Park Dr. sentatives at-large. These are people who can give us more detailed information about Vinton, IA 52349 possible field trip sites in their area, help organize and publicize planned trips there­ (319) 472-3202 abouts, and in general promote INPS where they live. They could do this by attending or Membership Committee: sending information to the Program Committee meeting, lining up trip leaders or hosts, Philip Dykema etc. This is a good way to balance our leadership, and keep informed on possible projects 314 S. 4th St. Ames, IA 50010 throughout the state. (515) 232-5878 [email protected] Do think about how you can share your talents in INPS, whether by serving as an officer Jane Clark or at-large representative, working with a committee, leading/helping with field trips, publi­ 9871 Lincoln Ave. cizing our group at other events, or organizing one of the many other possible projects. I am Clive, IA 50325 . looking forward to seeing your faces again, and hearing your suggestions and ideas for next (515) 223-5047 year. Program Committee: Martha Maxon Christine Kirpes, President RUST E&IISuite 222 501 Sycamore St. Waterloo, IA 50707 (319) 232-6531 Judy Felder State Preserves Advisory Board Meeting and DNR Foray in Dickinson Co. 335 Beldon Ave. September 5th - 8th Iowa City, IA 52202 (319) 351-7718 The Iowa Department of Natural Resources have planned their annual foray to coincide William Norris with our Saturday field trips to Freda Haffner State Preserve. The State Preserves Advisory 343 Bessey, ISU Ames, IA 50011-1020 Board will meet at 1 p.m., Thursday Sept. 8th, at Gull Point State Park just east of Iowa (515) 296-1546 Highway 86 north of Milford. The meeting is open to the public, and input on acquisition [email protected] and management of state preserves is encouraged. The DNR foray will begin Friday morn­ Tom Rosberg ing; the foray headquarters will be Iowa Lakeside Lab (north of Milford on Hwy. 86). The P.O. Box 234 foray provides an opportunity to observe or participate in a coordinated effort by Iowa's Colo, IA 50056 natural historians to study and inventory an area; everyone, regardless of level of experi­ (515) 377-2930 [email protected] ence, is invited to join in . Editorial assistance: Lodging, as with our field trip, is being arranged at Iowa Lakeside Laboratory. Contact Linda Gucciardo, 339 Science II, ISU, Ames, IA 50011 Daryl Howell (515-281-8524) or John Pearson (515-281-3891) for more information. (515) 294-1285 [email protected] 2 INPS Newsletter Vol. 2 No.3 On the Horizon...INPS Events Field trip to White Pine Hollow State Preserve (Dubuque County) - October 12th Logo Contest - August 24th Enjoy an autumn hike through one of Iowa's most beauti­ In conjunction with the annual meeting, members will have ful woodlands, and see Iowa's largest stand of native white the opportunity to decide on the image they wish to use to con­ pine. The terrain here is varied, with numerous rock outcrops, vey the goals and purposes of the Iowa Native Plant Society. deep ravines and steep bluffs. Although oak-maple woodland Get out your pens and pencils, or just come up with a good is the dominant vegetation type, cool north-facing talus slopes image for a logo. Bring your ideas to the annual meeting in provide habitat for a variety of rare and unusual plants such as whatever form is convenient. Discussion and voting will be moschatel (Adoxa moschatellina), golden saxifrage during the luncheon break. (Chrysosplenium iowense), and northern monkshood (Aconitum noveboracense), as well as several moss species much more Field Trip to Excelsior Fen and Freda Haffner typical ofnorthern habitats. John Pleasants, a plant ecologist at Kettlehole (Dickinson Co.) - September 7th Iowa State University who has just completed a major study of 'White Pine Hollow for the Iowa State Preserves Board, will be Iowa native Scott Zager of the Minnesota Department of our tour guide during this excursion. He will discuss some of Natural Resources will lead participants in Excelsior Fen, one the questions that arose from that study, such as why the oak forest and pine trees are being replaced by maples. of Iowa's rarest wetland communities. Possible fen specialties , to be seen are lesser fringed gentian (Gentianopsis procera), Riddell's goldenrod (Solidago riddellii), two species of arrow Participants should meet at lOAM at Holy Trinity Catholic grass (Triglochin spp.) and grass-of-Parnassus (Parnassia Church in Luxemburg. Be prepared for rugged walking condi­ glauca). tions. Ed Freese and Nancy Slife will lead us through Freda Freda Haffner Kettlehole State Haffner Kettlehole. The landform feature known as a "kettle" Preserve developed from the melting ofa large block ofglacial ice which lodged there during the waning stages of the most recent gla­ submitted by Ed L. Freese ciation. Ed is coauthor ofthe published Flora ofFreda Haffner Arend's Kettlehole, in Freda Haffner State Preserve, repre­ Kettlehole (Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci. 99:23-33, 1991) and, to fur­ sents the most recent chapter of Iowa's prairie history. Biolo­ ther whet our appetite, has written an article about Freda Haffner gists and geologists have been unraveling the story of its origin Kettlehole Preserve which begins in the next column.