High Desert Winds

 See examples of weeds, bring your own for an ecologist to identify.

 Hear about county grant funding for eradication programs.

What – Plant cottonwood cuttings and put on protective vexar tubes on seedlings to help restore the riparian areas to a more natural condition. Bob and Robert will give us a tour of the ranch and describe the terrestrial and aquatic habitat management projects underway on the ranch for restoration.

Project background - Trout Creek Ranch is a 3,010-acre ranch purchased by General Electric Company (PGE) for the wildlife habitat management in 1999. The ranch is located approximately two miles upstream from the confluence of Trout Creek with the Deschutes River.  The habitat is being managed to benefit the production of mid-Columbia steelhead. The restoration activities include regrading, reshaping, and realignment of approximately 1.4 miles of the stream and re-vegetating the riparian areas. With these actions they hope to restore the stream’s natural functions and improve water quality and quantity.

When - April 11 2009 9AM to 2 pm.

Where – The field trip begins at the PGE Trout Creek Ranch.

Directions -  Take HWY 97 north from Madras approximately 2 1/2 miles. Turn left on Cora Lane Cora land merges with NE C Drive, Takes a sharp right becomes Bulkeley lane goes down the grade to gateway. Follow signs to Trout Creek Recreation Area. From gateway, turn north on Clements drive.follow sign to trout Creek recreation area-as you go under railroad tunnel and cross bridge, trout creek ranch gate is on your right (it is Coleman road on the map). I am told standard cars can manage the ranch road, though it is steep.

Carpooling – Carpooling is not part of the field trip, however many people like to car pool.  You can meet Eileen at the Fred Meyers in Redmond behind the can and bottle return center. If you would like to carpool from Bend, call Eileen and she will send out a general email to those who would prefer to meet there. Approximately 30 minutes from Madras.

Working conditions - Riparian area of Lower Trout Creek-possibly muddy

What to bring- Dress appropriately for weather-bring work gloves-waders recommended (not required)-extra hammers, shovels, digging bars would be useful.

Lunch will be provided.  Bring drinking water.

Age considerations- many different tasks easy to strenuous-minimal walking (we are not wheelchair accessible however).

RSVP to ceobermiller@webformixair.com; eileen@dappledearth.com; or Eileen (541) 923-2777

map to trout creek

Lets Pull Together has scheduled this years weed pull for Deschutes County for June 13, 2009.  Everyone is welcome. Wear long sleeves and sturdy shoes.  Bring drinking water.  Gloves will be provided to children and adults. Go to Lets Pull Together for locations and additional details.

Join the Native Plant Society of Oregon (NPSO) and enjoy publications and activities focused on the enjoyment and conservation of our native plants.

• The Bulletin of the Native Plant Society of Oregon is a state wide rag that shares the activities of the NPSO throughout the State.   It is mailed to members and subscribers. As a member you are welcome to attend any State field trips, lectures, presentations, or other announced events.  The Bulletin also features articles on notable people, plant discussions, data, and similar organizations.
• The Kalmiopsisis the journal of NPSO. It features in-depth articles about Oregon’s native vegetation and flora, botanical history, book reviews, presentations of NPSO Fellows, and more. It is mailed to members and subscribers. Recent issues can be accessed here in PDF format. Older issues are currently being uploaded to the State web page and will be available soon.

Link to http://www.npsoregon.org/membership.html for more information and an email able or printable form.  You can also get a form from Eileen@dappledearth.com.

Dues include the NPSO Bulletin (11 issues/year) & Kalmiopsis (usually once per year). Membership is for the calendar year. New memberships enrolled after July 1 include the following year.

Extra gifts can be made when joining or renewing your membership. These can be directed to the Jean Davis Memorial Scholarship Fund, the Leighton Ho Memorial Field Botany Award Fund, the Rare & Endangered Plant Fund, and/or the Friends of the Oregon Flora Project, in any amount.

What:  Data Collection of the Pumice grape-fern (Botrychium pumicola).   Two to four volunteers are requested for this project.  The work involves assisting Forest Service employees with data collection at two sites located about one hour southeast of Bend, several miles southeast of Pine Mountain.  This will be the second year of full data collection at these sites.  The objective of this ten-year monitoring project is to determine if cattle are having an impact on this sensitive plant.  The monitoring was initiated after discovering that roughly 1/5 of the world’s population of this species occurs in one cattle pasture. 

In a nutshell, the actual monitoring involves searching for previously located and numbered plants along already-established transects within fenced and unfenced plots, measuring them, determining fertility (by presence or absence of the spore-bearing stalk) and placing numbered tags next to those that are new to the monitoring.  This information is then recorded on a pre-made data sheet.

When:  The work will most likely occur the week of June 29 and will take at least the first four days of the work week.  Because of the distance from town, the work days will be 10 hours’ length (this includes driving time to and from the sites).  Volunteers will be able to ride along in Forest Service vehicles. 

Working conditions:  Pleasant co-workers; warm to uncomfortably hot weather, with potential for thunderstorms; white, highly reflective, sandy pumice soils; no shade; flat  topography; no hiking is necessary; pleasing vistas of Pine Mountain, Mahogany Butte, northeast rim of Newberry Crater.  No previous experience is necessary to help—just a good attitude, careful attention to detail, and willingness to look for and record relatively inconspicuous plants!

What to bring:  Lunch, snacks, and plenty of water– there is no water or toilet facilities available on site.  Please wear shade hats and sunscreen. Consider wearing sturdy tennis shoes or other comfortable walking shoe.  Boots are not recommended since they tend to churn this delicate soil that the grape-fern lives in. 

Age considerations: High school students and older are welcome on this volunteer project.  While children are welcome on almost all NPSO events, please do not bring younger children for this event.  Thank you.

Reservations: Required a minimum of 2 weeks in advance.

Contact: 

Charmane Powers
Botanist, Bend/Ft. Rock Ranger District
Deschutes National Forest
e-mail:  cpowers@fs.fed.us
541-383-4730

The USFS is looking for help fencing off ponds from cattle grazing and to set up bird blinds.  This project is still in its planning stage and may not be ready for action until the fall of 2009 or perhaps even 2010.  More information will follow as it firms up.

This project is about three miles from the monitoring project outlined above, near the BPA Sand Springs substation.  Roughly 50 acres will be fenced.  There is a known population of the pumice grape-fern that will be protected, as well as good habitat for the species.  This project will also set up bird watching blinds.

What: 

When:  we’ll fill these in as information becomes available

Working conditions: 

What to bring: 

Age considerations:

Contact: 

Charmane Powers
Botanist, Bend/Ft. Rock Ranger District
Deschutes National Forest
e-mail:  cpowers@fs.fed.us
541-383-4730