The High Desert Chapter is planning a very exciting annual meeting in a
remote location. We hope for a moist spring that will lead to carpets of
wildflowers at their peak. Meeting will be held at Hancock Field Station,
Clarno. Wheeler County – 2 miles from the John Day River. May 14-16, 2010
Maximum number for rooming and meals 109. Hancock is one of OMSI ’s field
camps.Saturday Evening Banquet & Speaker
Saturday evening banquet speaker Ellen Morris Bishop Phd. - Geologist,
Program Director Oregon Paleo Lands Institute and author of Ancient Oregon
and many other great books. Title: PLANTS ROCK. Ellen will discuss how
plants have influenced and controlled Earth’s climate and landscape for
the past 2 billion years.
Field trips:
Lawrence Memorial Grassland Preserve
Stu Garrett will lead field trip to The Nature Conservancy’s Lawrence
Memorial Grassland Preserve. The preserve is a rare remnant of the land
as it appeared to the pioneers. Tall native bunchgrasses are the dominant
vegetation on the deep soil biscuits. This time of the year bitterroot,
big headed clover and many species of lomatiums are blooming on the
shallow scablands. Drive ½ hour from Clarno. Hike fairly easy 3.5 miles.
Paleontology and Geology Trip
Leader: Ellen Morris Bishop Phd. Explore a unique badlands and fossil
locality near the John Day River south of Clarno. Requires driving on BLM
roads, and short but occasionally rigorous hikes. Includes discovery of
fossils, exploration of evidence for 45 million years of climate and
ecosystem change, and volcanic eruptions, as well as vast landslides that
changed the John Day River course. Short hikes, but wear boots. We will
have a local botanist on the trip.Warm Springs Confederated Tribe - Pine Creek Ranch
Trip led by Brigette Whipple (Tribal anthropologist) and Rick Hayes
(Conservation Area Manager). Members of the Confederated Tribes will
discuss cultural uses of plants. Ranch purchase, management and
restoration will be discussed. Ranch adjacent to Hancock Field Station.
Short hikes.
Spring Basin Wilderness Area
Trip will be led by Aaron Killgore of Oregon Natural Desert Association
(ONDA) and Berta Youtie, EOSS. Spring Basin, a gem in the John Day Basin,
is Oregon’s newest Wilderness Area. In spring the hills are covered with
blooming wildflowers several endemic or uncommon to Oregon such as barrel
cactus(Pediocactus nigrispinus). Drive 15 minutes to trailhead. Hike will
be moderately strenuous, lots of up and down for 5+ miles.
Hancock Field Station Hike
This hike will be led by Camp staff. We will also have a local botanist
on the trip to identify the blooming wildflowers. Hike from the Field
station uphill toward Iron Mountain possible 5+ mile. This may be the
most strenuous of hikes. See lots of wildflowers and paleo sites such as
the best preserved beds for fossilized nuts in North America.
Painted Hills
John Day Fossil Bed National Monument,educational coordinator and hobby
botanist, Michelle Ordway, will lead a a hike into the back country of the
Painted Hills. Expect a 3+ mile moderate loop hike with approximately 800
feet of elevation gain while exploring the diverse micro-habitats of clay
hills, basalt canyons and rocky slopes. Several John Day Valley endemic
species such as barrel cactus, John Day chaenactis and yellow hairy
paintbrush should be blooming. This is an unusual opportunity to have
permission to visit the back country. 1 hour and 25 minute drive from
Hancock. This trip will have a van for transport.
