What's Happening

For those who attended the field trips near Pasco, Washington, here are my locality data. Corrections are welcome.

April 3:

Gentle slope with old Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata

suburban fringe between the end of Evanslee Court and I-182,

Richland

Elevation: 205 m       46.24785^o N 119.33042^oW  Datum: WGS84

USA:  WASHINGTON:  BENTON COUNTY

April 4:

Lower slope with Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata and basalt outcrops and erratics, Saddle Mountain, ca. 20 km W of Othello

Elevation: ca. 225 m     46.8077^o N 119.4026^oW  Datum: WGS84

USA:  WASHINGTON:  GRANT COUNTY

grassy, rocky ridge with basalt outcrops

Saddle Mountain, ca. 20 km W of Othello

Elevation: ca. 352 m     46.8032^o N 119.4010^oW  Datum: WGS84

USA:  WASHINGTON:  GRANT COUNTY

Lichens are a vital yet overlooked part of the ecology in our urban areas. 

Dr. Katherine Glew will introduce lichens, explain what they are and how they grow.  She will also address common lichens found in Seattle and provide a list. You will find out what their presence in the city tells us about your plants and air quality. Bring your hand lens if you have one, since there will be plenty of lichens to find. We will spend part of the day in Washington Park Arboretum, University of Washington Botanical Garden. To Study lichens in more detail, we will have an opportunity to use microscopes to see their fascinating details.

Katherine Glew has researched lichens in Norway, the Russian Far East, and throughout Washington State.  

Date: Saturday, June 20

Time: 9:00am - 4pm

Location: Washington Park Arboretum and Hitchcock Hall, University of Washington campus.

Tuition:  $95

http://ncascades.org/signup/programs/urban-lichens

Dr. Katherine Glew will lead a lichen tour in the Cedar River Watershed, east of Seattle to introduce the fascinating lichens of the forest. If you have wondered about what a lichen is and why they are in the forest, this will be a great opportunity to view the lichen diversity in the watershed and learn the names of our most common species. There will be a short classroom session, followed by visits in the watershed, identifying and studying specimens collected from various forest habitats.

Date: Sunday, June 14

Time: 10am to 3pm

Bring: a and lens and a few paper bags for collecting

Cost:  $20

The Colorful World of Lichens •

Naturalist Certificate • Adults, Kids 12+ Instructors: Roger Rosentreter PhD and Ann DeBolt

Date: Saturday-Sunday, April 18-19, 2015

Location: Deer Creek Center, Selma Tuition: $110 From meadows to woodlands, lichens find homes on many different substrates, including rocks, soil, humus, stumps and trees. Explore their colorful world on a series of hikes and excursions throughout the valley. Students will become familiar with these small plants’ distinguishing structures both in the classroom and during outdoor sessions. They’ll learn common lichens of the bioregion and explore the ecology and cultural uses of these symbiotic plants. 

This summer, the Eagle Hill Institute (Steuben, Maine) is offering several one week-long workshops that may be of interest to your group (see below). Eagle Hill field courses are of special interest because they focus on the natural history of one of North America’s most spectacular and pristine natural areas, the coast of eastern Maine from Acadia National Park to Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge and beyond. Our summer field courses are taught by experts in their respective fields. Course participants include beginning to advanced amateurs, graduate and undergraduate students, teachers, professional field biologists, university professors, and personnel from federal and state agencies and numerous environmental organizations.

Eagle Hill’s Summer Field Courses 2015

Taught in Steuben, Me by experts from the United States, Canada, and Europe

For general program information, go to  http://www.eaglehill.us/programs/nhs/natural-history-seminars.shtml
For more information, contact Marilyn Mayer:    marilyn@eaglehill.us    or    207-546-2821


June 21 – June 27       Lichens and Lichen Ecology
                                         David Richardson and Mark Seaward

June 28 – July 4           Crustose Lichens: Identification using Morphology, Anatomy, and SimpleChemistry
 Irwin Brodo

July 5 – July 11            Calicioid Lichens and Fungi of the Acadian Forest
                                         Steven Selva

Aug 16 – Aug 22          Lichens, Biofilms, and Stone
Judy Jacob and Michaela Schmull

Aug 30 ‐   Sept 5        How to Know the Lichen Genus Cladonia and Its Parasites
Richard Harris

The March 2015 newsletter has just been posted on the NW Lichenologists website.

The deadline for abstracts for talks or posters at the NWSA/NWL meeting has been extended to Feb. 28. See http://www.northwestscience.org/abstracts

Jenny von Reis sent the following information to me on the upcoming field trip at the NWL/NWSA meeting in early April: "The present plan for the lichenology field trip on 4 April 2015 is to lichenize in the Saddle Mountains, with a small group driving on the road through the Monument to the ridge and heading west; and a larger group traveling from the east, west on Crab Creek Rd and stopping at outcroppings and walking uphill as desired. "

These should be interesting spots, a nice supplement to an interesting meeting. For more information, see the Events section. NW Scientific Association is hosting the meeting, so please find meeting details on their website.

Saturday Feb 28th 2015, The Siskiyou Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon is sponsoring a hike to Upper Table Rock near Medford. The focus of the hike is to observe lichens, bryophytes and terrestrial algae. This is a great time to visit Upper Table Rock as it is prime time for ephemeral bryophytes, and terrestrial algae associated with the vernal pools on the top of the rock. Some lichenological highlights include: vagrant forms of Xanthoparmelia and Dermatocarpon, and local rarities such as Parmelina and Peltula.  Also there is a chance to observe early flowering wildflowers and there should be fairy shrimp in the pools.   Meet at Shop n' Kart in Ashland at 9:30 AM or the Upper Table Rock parking lot at 10 AM. The hike will be led by John Villella. 

Hope to see ya there!