2017 Annual Meeting of the Illinois Native Plant Society June 2-4 at Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois (Please see the following pages for details) 2017 Annual Meeting of the Illinois Native Plant Society June 2-4, 2017 Augustana College Rock Island, Illinois Dedicated to the study, appreciation, and conservation of the native flora and natural communities of Illinois The Quad City Chapter and the Officers of the Illinois Native Plant Society cordially invite you to the Society's 2017 Annual Meeting. This year’s activities will take place at Augustana College and at numerous field locations in Iowa and Illinois. ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— At this year's annual meeting, the Illinois Native Plant Society warmly welcomes members of the Iowa Native Plant Society and the Illinois members of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) to its meeting activities! Friday: Registration and evening activities will be at Hanson Hall of Science, Augustana College 4:00 - 6:30 PM — Registration and Check-in: located in the atrium 5:30 - 6:30 PM — Mixer: heavy hors d'oeuvre in the atrium (no alcohol) 6:30 - 6:45 PM — Welcome to the 2017 Annual Meeting and announcements. 6:45 - 8:30 PM — Deep Nature: Photographs from Iowa Photographers, Linda & Robert Scarth will discuss and show images from their book Deep Nature: Photographs from Iowa. The book offers a tiny sampling of some of the Midwest’s smaller creatures and plants to entice viewers to look more closely at the Mid- west, especially Iowa, with its treasures. Many of these subjects are necessary for a healthy environment for all species. Nature speaks in many languages and is understood in many ways. The way the Scarths work to understand and express the importance of all their subjects is through their beauty. Their hope is that these images enchant and enlight- en rather than overwhelm, and to provide a positive emotional response that protects them and their habitats. Reshaping Nature in the Corn Belt In the last 200 years, the Corn Belt’s native ecosystems have been plowed into oblivion and subjected to the ever-increasing demands of new agricultural technologies and chemi- cals. Now climate change is pressing its fingerprint into the land and laying out yet an- other ecological future. Where might we lovers of the natural world go from here? How might we guarantee a better future for the native plants we treasure? Ecologist and author Connie Mutel will chart the sequential Midwestern transformational forces and propose some answers to these questions. Her talk will be based on two of her most recent books, The Emerald Horizon (a natural history of Iowa, published 2008) and A Sugar Creek Chronicle: Observing Climate Change from a Midwestern Woodland (2016). Saturday: Registration and check-in for field trips will be at Hanson Hall of Science, Augustana College 7:30 - 8:15 AM –– Registration and field trip check-in: located in the atrium 8:00 - 8:30 AM –– Organize field trip carpools and depart 8:30AM - 4:00 PM — Field trip time includes travel time, return by 4:00 PM Saturday All-Day Field Trip Options 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM Thomson-Fulton Sand Prairie (South Unit, 36.7 acres) and Ayers Sand Prairie (115 acres) –– were dedi- cated respectively as Illinois State Preserves in 1970 and 1974. Both preserves are typical of dry sand prairie, sand dune and blowout communities typical of the Mississippi River Section of the Illinois and Mississippi River Sand Areas Natural Division. A plant inventory of Ayers revealed 39 species of grasses and sedges, 16 species of woody plants and 96 forbs. The dominant herba- ceous species are little bluestem, June grass and hairy grama grass. Carolina anemone, sandcress, puccoon and sand prim- rose are typical sand prairie species. Black oak and cottonwood occur in the blowouts along with scattered clones of aromatic sumac. Thomson Fulton Sand Prairie is recovering from past grazing and off-road and ATV activity. Little bluestem, three- awn grass, plains prickly pear cactus and June grass are some of the common plants in the preserve. Leader: Randy Nyboer Hike difficulty: easy Fern Workshop and Wildcat Den ––– The fern workshop, highlighting the ferns of the Quad City region, will be conducted by Bob Bryant; and will cover the identification, distribution, uses, folklore, field guides and pho- tographing ferns. The workshop will be held at Nahant Marsh Education Center (SW part of Davenport, IA). In the afternoon you will tour Wildcat Den State Park with the group that was touring Nahant Marsh. Wildcat Den (423 acres), located north of Muscatine, IA, is one of the most unique parks in Iowa, combining natural beauty and solitude, preservation of historical structures, trails, camping and picnic areas for recreational use. The Pine Creek Grist Mill, built in 1848, is one of the finest examples of mid-nineteenth century mills, and is the only operational grist mill between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. The trail to and through the sandstone ravine, known as the “Devil’s Punch Bowl”, shows many of the geological and floral features of the park. Hike difficulty: moderate Nahant Marsh Education Center and Wildcat Den –––Nahant Marsh is part of a larger 3,500 acre+ ecologi- cal area that was formed by the confluence of the Rock and Mississippi Rivers and includes Credit Island and The Milan Bottoms. Today, the Nahant Marsh preserve is comprised of 265 acres and growing. Nahant Marsh is the largest urban wetland on the Upper Mississippi River and serves around 18,000 people annually through educational programming. In 2016, Nahant Marsh received two awards (excellence in Environmental Educa- tion Programming and for working with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and local Soil and Water Conserva- tion Districts for planning the QC Pollinator Conference) from the Iowa Association of Naturalists. Biologists and volunteers have documented 414 plant species, 175 birds, 62 mushrooms, 41 mammals, 14 rep- tiles, and 7 amphibians within the preserve bound- aries. The preserve is comprised of bottom for- ests, sedge meadows, mesic prairie restorations, and a small sand prairie. Staff works with re- searchers to guide restoration and preservation efforts. Leader: Brian Ritter Hike difficulty: easy In the afternoon you will tour Wildcat Den State Park (see description in Fern & Wildcat Den Trip above) with the group that was attending the Fern Workshop at Nahant. Landscaping with Native Prairie Plants & Brockhouse Wet Prairie — Constructed in May of 2003, in Walcott, IA, this home and landscape is an ongoing landscape experiment utilizing only the small area of a typical, small residential lot. Both the home and surrounding landscape were designed by Mr. & Mrs. Mays in an attempt to aesthetically incorporate function, low maintenance and prominently feature native plants. Both the home and the landscape are fully handi- capped accessible, although neither Dan nor Cyndia is physically challenged. The design challenge was to embrace accessibility without looking institutional and to utilize native to the fullest extent without creating a WASP – (Wild And Scary Prairie). The grounds in- corporate three visually different rain gardens fed by French drains, a small vegetable garden, native plant propagation beds, and copious additional planting are- as throughout the landscape featuring native plants. The Brockhouse wet prairie, located near Walcott, is a smaller triangular acreage that has never been plowed. A few of the featured plants are Marsh Marigold and Michigan Lily. The Brockhouse family has owned the prairie ground for generations and remains devoted to preserving this “corner of the cornfield”. Leader: Dan Mays Hike difficulty: easy Saturday Morning Half-day Field Trips 8:30 – Noon Indian Bluff Hill Prairie overlooks the entrance road to Indi- an Bluff Golf Course and Forest Preserve managed by the Rock Island Forest Preserve District. and is located in Milan. Even though it is a small hill prairie remnant, it is one of the few re- maining native prairies in the Quad Cities and is readily accessi- ble to the general public. Leader: Chris Benda Hike difficulty: moderate Beling Biological Preserve is a 109-acre wetland and floodplain forest complex Moline's 7th Street and the Rock Island border. It was donated to Augustana College in 1998, by the Beling Family Estate to further its ecology instruction. Beling compliments the upland habitats of Augustana’s other two field stations (Green Wing Environmental Laboratory and the Collinson Ecological Preserve). The construction of bridge from Rock Island to Milan over the Rock River was completed in 2007, which required some wetland mitigation was required. The Milan Beltway bikeway path was later ap- proved to crossover the bridge and across the northwest corner of the pre- serve. Despite the bridge and bike path Beling remains a valuable resource for teaching and conducting research. Leader: Bo Dziadyk Hike difficulty: easy Gardening with Conifers -a whole New World of gardening. 9:00 –11:00 AM Quad City Botanical Center Gary Whittenbaugh, an Iowa native, is well known in the Midwest for his many presentations on gardening subjects, particularly the use of co- nifers and companion plants in the garden. He has been gardening for over 40 years with emphasis on dwarf, slow growing and unusual coni- fers plus trough and rock gardening. President of the American Conifer Society Central Region 2001-2005, and was the recipient of the prestig- ious ‘Marvin and Emelie Snyder Merit Award for Service’ from the American Conifer Society in 2005. He is an Iowa Master Gardener and received the Lifetime Master Gardener award in 2005. He is member of the American Conifer Society and the North American Rock Garden So- ciety. The Conifer story is fascinating and unique. See how the color, texture and form of conifers add year round beauty and contrast to gar- dens and landscapes.