The Nature Conservancy in Iowa - 2002 Annual Meeting

2002 Annual Meeting *The Nature Conservancy of Iowa, Iowa Prairie Network and Iowa Native Plant Society* Please join The Nature Conservancy of Iowa, Iowa Prairie Network and the Iowa Native Plant Society for their annual meetings on September 20-22, 2002 at Iowa Lakeside Laboratory, 1838 Highway 86, Milford, located on the west side of West Lake Okoboji. Keynote Speaker Silent Auction and Photo Display Particulars Housing Directions Field Trips Keynote Speaker Douglas Ladd is Director of Conservation Science for the Missouri Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. He has been involved with conservation planning, natural area assessment, management, restoration, and research for more than 25 years, with particular emphasis on vegetation, and fire ecology. Recent work has concentrated on vegetation and fire ecology of midwestern prairies and woodlands, developing assessment and ecological monitoring protocols for terrestrial vegetation, and ecoregional conservation planning. He has also worked on lichen floristics and ecology in the midwest for over a decade, and is currently collaborating with Richard Harris of the New York Botanical Garden on a treatment of the lichens of the Ozarks. He has undergraduate degrees in botany and chemistry, and a master’s degree in botany from Southern Illinois University, where his thesis research was conducted under Dr. Robert Mohlenbrock. He is the author of two plant field guides, North Woods Wildflowers and Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers, and co-author of Discover Natural Missouri and Distribution of Illinois Vascular Plants.		Schedule *Friday, September 20, 2002* 3:00-5:00pm The Nature Conservancy Board of Trustees Meeting - Offsite 6:00-9:30pm Registration - Iowa Lakeside Lab 6:00pm Pre-conference Field Trips Saturday, September 21, 2002 7:00-9:00 Registration Table Open 7:30-8:30 Breakfast & IPN Annual Meeting 8:45 Welcome 9:00-9:45 Keynote Speaker -Doug Ladd, The Nature Conservancy of Missouri "Conservation by Design in a Prairie Landscape" 10:00-11:30 Prairie Presentations 11:30-12:30 Lunch & TNC Annual Meeting 12:30-5:30 Field Trips 6:00-7:00 Dinner & INPS Annual Meeting 7:30-9:00 Prairie Fire Within - A Night of Storytelling and Music *Sunday, September 22, 2002* 8:00-10:00 Breakfast & more discussions on Prairie Presentations
Silent Auction and Photo Display To help cover the cost of the annual meeting, a silent auction will be held. Six matted nature prints were donated from featured photographers Carl Kurtz, Tom Rosburg, Linda and Robert Scarth, Ty Smedes, Larry Stone, , and Bill Witt. The photographers will also have displays of their work up throughout the weekend and will be taking orders. Particulars Long pants and long-sleeved shirts are recommended for added protection from insects. Some preserves may be wet, so bring hiking boots or shoes that can get wet. Other items you may want to bring include binoculars, a hat or visor, camera, sunscreen and insect repellent. Housing Lakeside housing consists of small cottages with screened-in porches. The cottages are furnished with the essentials: a bed, dresser and lamps. Two bathhouses serve lakeside housing - one on the north side and one on the south side of campus. Motel-style housing also is available which includes bathrooms with showers, air conditioning and heat. Individuals must provide their own linens, blankets, sleeping bags and towels for either housing option or pay an extra $7.50 per person. All meals are served in the dining hall, and no cooking is allowed. Since Lakeside is a wildlife refuge, no pets of any kind are allowed. Camping and motels also are available nearby.
RV Accommodations Emerson Bay Park Access On Hwy. 86, East of Treasure Village 3100 Emerson Street West Okoboji, IA 51351 Summer: 712-337-3805 Winter: 712-337-3211 $11-18 per night Tent sites available Gull Point State Park Off Hwy. 86, turn at Crescent Beach turnoff 1500 Harpen Street Wahpeton, IA 51351 Summer: 712-337-3870 Winter: 712-337-3211 $11-16 per night Tent sites Available		Other Hotel Accommodations American Inn Motel & Suites 1005 Brooks Park Drive, Okoboji, IA 712-332-9000 Reservations 1-800-634-3444 http://www.discoverokoboji.com Village West Resort 16010 Hwy. 86 Spirit Lake, IA 712-337-3223 villagewestresort.com Cresent Beach Lodge 1620 Lakeshore Drive Milford, IA 51351 1-800-417-1117 www.crescentbeachlodge.com **Condo Units only
Directions Lakeside Laboratory is located on Highway 86, which runs on the west side of West Lake Okoboji. The silver water tower on the other (west) side of the road from the Laboratory is the easiest way to tell that you have reached the campus. There are three entrances, but only the northern entrance, which is adjacent to the resident manager’s house, is normally open. When you arrive you need to check in at the at the Mess Hall. There is plenty of free parking. Field Trips From wetland to dry prairie habitats, the annual meeting will be a chance to explore several wonderful areas with leaders who know about these jewels in the Iowa landscape. There will be two field trips on Friday evening, four guided trips on Saturday afternoon and suggestions for stops on your way home Sunday afternoon. Friday Evening 6:00-8:30 There will be two field trips on Friday night for early arrivers to the annual meeting. No pre-registraion is necessary, but please meet at the Mess Hall at 6:00pm. *Twilight at the Kettlehole* A group of eager prairie enthusiasts will be caravaning to Freda Haffner Kettlehole to explore the kettleholes that were formed when gravel deposits settled around a large, isolated block of glacial ice left behind during the last glacial advance. *Pontoon on the Lake* Join Jane Schuttleworth, the Environmental Educator for Friends of Lakeside Lab, for a pontoon boat ride to learn about the aquatic ecology of West Lake Okoboji. Saturday 12:30-5:30 A variety of excellent field trips are being planned for Saturday afternoon in this area rich with prairies and wetlands. Seating on the buses is limited, so please read the descriptions below and sign up for a field trip on the registration form, indicating your first and second choices. Trip 1: Waterman Creek Prairie The Nature Conservancy of Iowa and the DNR’s Wildlife Bureau worked together to protect this prairie in O’Brien County along Waterman Creek which runs into the Little Sioux River. The Prairies of the Waterman Valley were identified as protection priorities by Ada Hayden in the mid 1940’s. The Nature Conservancy’s recent acquisition is part of her O’Brien #1 site. It is currently being grazed, but we expect that in time it will look like the DNR land to the east. *Trip 2: Silver Lake Fen State Preserve & Cayler Prairie State Preserve* Silver Lake Fen is one of the best fens in Iowa. Fens are groundwater fed wetlands with an organic soil and special plants and animals. Silver Lake has three of these upwellings that are highly mineralized and produce the tufa found on the water’s surface and surrounding plant material. Cayler Prairie exhibits a complex of landforms typical of glacial end moraines, with potholes, ridges and eskers. Plant communities on the preserve range from dry to wet prairie and marsh. Forbs are abundant. Forty-three species of butterflies have been inventoried here, including several now rare in iowa. Cayler Prairie is a National Natural Landmark. *Trip 3: Kirchner Prairie* Kirchner Prairie, in Clay County, is about 160 acres- the west half is a former pasture and the east half is a former hay meadow. It is protected because of the joint efforts of the DNR Wildlife Bureau, Pheasants Forever and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. It has mesic to wet prairie, sedge meadow and pothole marshes. It is a good birding and botanizing location. *Trip 4: Anderson Prairie, & Fort Defiance State Park* Anderson Prairie is on the Altamont Moraine and has a wide variety of plant communities on the dry prairie, wetland, oak savanna and floodplain forests. Fort Defiance State Park has a small prairie with native grasses and flowers, including the rare prairie bush clover, on a secluded knoll within the park.

Starts : SEPTEMBER - 20 at ( 06:00 PM )
Ends : SEPTEMBER - 22 at (12:00 PM )

Location :
Iowa Lakeside Laboratory
Milford, Iowa

Contact :
Jan Frazier
515-244-5044
jfrazier@tnc.org