Idaho  Native  Plant  Society

P.O. Box 9451 Boise, ID 83707

Category Archive - Field Trips

March 25, 2008

Boise Foothills Wildflower Walks

We have some dates for the Boise Foothills Wildflower Walks-

starting at 6:30 pm at the Foothills Learning Center --

May 1 and May 15.

April 26, 2007

Foothills Wildflower Walks in May

Boise, Idaho - As part of national Celebrating Wildflowers month, three wildflower walks will be held in May at the Foothills Learning Center. On Thursday, May 3, 10, and 17, walks will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Foothills Learning Center by the Lower Hulls Gulch trailhead. To reach the meeting place, take 8th Street 0.3 miles past the end of the pavement to the parking area on the right. Parking is limited, so please carpool, walk, or ride your bike if possible. For more information, call the Boise National Forest Supervisor s Office at 373-4100.

An additional wildflower walk will be held on Tuesday, May 1, at Lucky Peak Nursery. The walk will begin at 6:30 p.m. Visitors should meet by the main office building at the nursery. Take Idaho 21 from Boise; at two miles past the Hilltop Cafe, turn right at the nursery sign between milepost markers 16 and 17. For more information on the Lucky Peak Nursery walk, call Kay Beall at 208-392-6681.

The walks are open to the public, admission is free, and pre-registration is not required. The walks will be about one to two hours long on moderately steep but well-maintained trails.

Comfortable walking shoes are adequate. Bring drinking water, sunscreen, hat, etc. A light jacket is recommended. Please leave pets at home.

June 17, 2006

Trip To STEENS MOUNTAIN in SE OREGON

Third Annual Idaho Native Plant Society Trip To

STEENS MOUNTAIN in SE OREGON

July 15-16, 2006

Saturday 7:00 am - 7:00 pm; Sunday 7:00 a.m. - noon, afternoon optional

Trip leader Dr. Karl E. Holte, Emeritus Professor of Botany, Idaho State University

Sponsored by SE Idaho's Sah-Wah-Be chapter of INPS

Anyone interested is welcome to participate, but ALL participants must mail a copy of the reservation form as soon as possible.

Steens Mountain is located approximately 70 miles SE of Burns, OR. This singular fault block mountain rises above the plain approximately one mile. A gravel loop road begins at Frenchglen, elevation 4500 feet, and winds eastward approximately 25 miles up to the East Rim, where the mountain drops off almost a vertical mile to the Alvord Desert Plain below. The road parallels the rim southward to the highest point on the Steens at 9733 feet, then winds westward, dropping down approximately 5000 feet again to Hwy. 205, which connects the towns of Burns, Frenchglen, and Fields and continues on south to Denio Junction, NV. Steens Mountain Field Trip Details...

May 03, 2006

Boise Foothills Wildflower Walks 2006

Boise Foothills
May 4, 11, & 18 at 6:30 p.m. • Hulls Gulch

• Explore Boise Foothills native plants & wildflowers!
• Support "National Celebrating Wildflowers Week" - the whole month of May!
• Open to the public — free! No pre-registration.

How to participate
• Meet at the Foothills Learning Center near Lower Hulls Gulch Trailhead
• Directions: take 8th Street (Sunset Peak Rd.) 0.3 miles past the end of the pavement
• Parking is limited, so please carpool, walk, or ride your bike
• Walks will take 1.5 to 2 hours, on moderately steep but well-maintained trails
• Comfortable walking shoes are adequate
• Wear a light jacket. No dogs, please
• For more information: Alexis Collins, 514-3757; Gina Glenne, 685-6958; Edna Rey-Vizgirdas, 373-4100

Lucky Peak Nursery Walk • At the Nursery Shrub Garden
Tuesday, May 23, 2006 at 6:30 p.m.

• Nursery staff will lead you through this diverse garden, which should be primed for spring!
• Drive out Highway 21 • Go 2 miles past Hilltop Cafe
• Turn right at Lucky Peak Nursery sign (located halfway between Mile Post Markers 16 and 17)
• Meet by main office building
• For more information on the Lucky Peak Walk, contact Kay Beall at 392-3738

August 04, 2005

Forest Management and Lichens

Come meet the mysterious world of forest lichens! Tree-growing lichens are in many ways the first indicators of environmental change in forests: they decline or disappear with air pollution, their species change with increased ventilation or desiccation, and many are intimately linked with the presence of dead wood, a commodity that is at a fraction of its former abundance in managed woodlands.

Workshop -- Friday August 19, 2005, 5:30pm to 7:00pm
Panhandle Health District Meeting Room, 322 Marion Street, Sandpoint, Idaho

Field Trip -- Saturday August 20, 2005, 9:00am to 2:00pm
Meet at the county courthouse parking lot, Sandpoint, Idaho at 9am.

Toby Spribille, lichenologist, will present an evening workshop on lichens and forest ecology. Learn how to tell lichens apart and learn about their relevance to forest management. During the evening workshop Toby will present:

• What are lichens,­ basic biology, physiology, main groups
  
• Lichens in forests,­ interactions with plants, animals and the trees they call home
  
• Rare species and biodiversity
  
• Ongoing research projects involving lichens in the Inland Northwest: round-up of what's being done
  
• Clear cuts, selective harvest or old growth: what the lichens have to say
  

On Saturday Toby will lead us on a Field Excursion to see different lichen species in managed and unmanaged forest stands, emphasizing biodiversity patterns on dead wood (rotten logs, snags, etc.) in forest ecosystems. Different harvest types will be compared within a small area. We will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different cutting strategies, and what planning measures may be important for preserving lichen diversity.

This program has been underwritten with a generous grant from the Idaho Native Plant Society. It is open to the public. There is no charge to participate, but space is limited so please RSVP to:

Phil Hough
208-255-2780
email: nowhere_man97 at hotmail dot com

June 13, 2005

Sah-Wah-Be Chapter (Southeast Idaho) Events

Sah-Wah-Be Chapter has four more group opportunities in June to enjoy our great outdoors and its flora. The first two (*) are sponsored by groups other than INPS, but we're invited to participate with them. July features a very special opportunity for a longer trip to Steens Mountain in SE-Central Oregon. All INPS chapter members and other interested folks are invited to participate. See below.

*June 16 - Thursday - Audubon meeting featuring slide show about native plants in our area and how they affect the wildlife, especially the birds. Presenter, Dr. Karl Holte. 7:30 pm in the lecture room of the Idaho Museum of Natural History at ISU. (Use the door in the SW corner of the building.) All INPS members and the public are invited.

*June 18 - Saturday, 6-10 pm - Idaho Music & Wildflower Festival at Pebble Creek. See the press release in the Idaho State Journal (www.journalnet.com) from Pebble Creek. Enjoy the music, flowers, and the view for a nominal fee.

June 20 - Monday - The changing flowers of the Scout Mountain area. Dick Anderson will be our guide to see the changing flowers of the West Fork of Mink Creek and Scout Mountain campground. Karl Holte led our group through this area a month ago. Let's go see what has replaced the Spring Beauties and Glacier Lilies. This will be an easy, slow walking trip. To carpool and caravan, meet at 6:00 pm by the Bison in the ISU Student Union parking lot.

June 25 - Saturday - Flower walk including Cress Creek Nature Trail, Heise Hot Springs, and the Kelly Canyon Area. This will be a full day outing led by Wendy Velman, BLM botanist and former president of our chapter. The highlight of this trip will be seeing one of the most interesting orchids in the West, the Giant Helleborine (Epipactis gigantea). Call or e-mail Wendy for more detailed information: 208-237-7549, pooh at 07 dot myrf dot net.

July 16, 17 - Saturday, Sunday a.m. - See the wonders of STEENS MOUNTAIN in SE Oregon with leader and botanist Dr. Karl Holte. Karl taught Field Botany on Steens Mountain for over 30 summers and still enjoys revisiting the area as often as possible. This year's trip will be similar to the 2004 trip, except that it is three weeks earlier in the season and thus should afford a better display of flowers. Read the details about this trip in the Sah-Wah-Be chapter section listed at the top of the home page. For more details e-mail Karl at ardysholte at cableone dot net or phone 232-6563 or 241-8358. Please advise Karl asap if you intend to participate in this trip! See the chapter page for more details.

July 25 - Monday - Summer Flowers on Scout Mountain, starting at Crestline Trail. This evening walk will be our third visit to the Scount Mountain area to see the seasonal progression of flowers. To carpool and caravan, meet at 6:00 pm by the Bison in the ISU Student Union parking lot.

May 12, 2005

Pahove Chapter Field Trips for May and June 2005

May 12 & 19, Boise foothills: Catch the season's two remaining "Celebrate Wildflowers" walks at 6:30 p.m. Meet at the Foothills Learning Center, 0.3 miles past the end of the 8th Street pavement in Boise (turn right into the parking area). After 1.5 to 2 hours (on moderately steep, well-maintained trails), you'll "walk away" more impressed than ever with the sheer pluck of Idaho's splendid native plants.

June 4-5, Cambridge area: Indian Valley sedge (Carex aboriginum) is one of Idaho's rarest species. Of high conservation concern, it's known to occur in only eight sites in the world-and its range is centered smack-dab in the colorful, diverse foothills of west central Idaho. We need your help in collecting long-term monitoring data that will guide future conservation actions, so plan to join botanists Chris Murphy and Gillian Crymes for a weekend campout full of rare-plant stewardship, monitoring and hunting and just plain fun wildflower botanizing.

Meet at the Idaho Department of Fish & Game, 600 S. Walnut St., Boise, at 8:30 a.m. June 4. Bring your family, food, camping/cooking gear, sturdy hiking boots, raingear, water bottle, sunscreen, your favorite botanizing materials and your smiling face. Plan to hike 2 miles roundtrip on a dirt road and to drive on gravel roads. Expected return time: 5 p.m. June 5. Contact Gillian Crymes at 345-0283 or gillmatt at earthlink dot net for more information and to let her know to expect you.

July 26, 2004

Steens Mountain Field Trip - August 7-8, 2004

Our tour of Steens Mountain, Oregon has been preempted by a "Rim Run" on Saturday, August 7, which will close the roads to vehicular traffic and likely create a shortage of accommodations in Frenchglen. Join DR. KARL HOLTE for a fun alternate tour – a visit to Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge ON SATURDAY and Steens Mountain ON SUNDAY, with a family-style DINNER AT Hotel Diamond SATURDAY EVENING. See the maps on the reverse side of this flyer for location proximities.

April 19, 2004

IDAHO NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY STATEWIDE ANNUAL MEETING JULY 16-18, 2004, Priest Lake, Idaho

This summer the three northern INPS chapters (White Pine, Calypso, and Kinnikinnick) will host the statewide INPS Annual Meeting July 16-18. In addition to the meeting there will be camping at Priest Lake and field trips to visit Idaho old growth forest near the Canadian border. See this link for complete details.

April 16, 2004

Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument Field Trip

The Pahove Chapter is sponsoring a field trip to explore the flora of Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument. There is an optional trip to Box Canyon State Park. See the flier for complete details (pdf format).

DEPARTURE: 9:00 a.m., Saturday May 15, from MK Nature Center Parking Lot, 600 S. Walnut (on the south side of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game parking lot). Carpooling options will be available. To pre-register for this field trip, contact Chris Murphy at 208-761-5022.