NATIVE NOTES
WEST VIRGINIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY
The annual meeting was held on September 11, 2004 at Laneville cabin. Trustees present were: Romie Hughart, Helen Gibbins, Mary Sansom, Bill Grafton, Dick Thompson, Lawrence Beckerle, Lois Kuhl, Donna Ford-Werntz, Chris Gatens, and Sally Anderson.
Officers and Trustees elected for 2005 were:
Emily Grafton - President
Mary Sansom -Vice President
Helen Gibbins - Recording Secretary
Treasurer - Steve Mace
Trustee-at-large -Bob Burrell
The treasurer's report showed a balance of:
$1134.37 Checking & petty cash
$5965.32 Savings
$7099.69 Total
Two amendments to the bylaws were approved.
Article IV. Board of Trustees. Sec. 7. Quorum for Board meetings. Four board members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
Article VIII. Meetings. Sec. 3 Membership Meeting Quorum. The presence of 5 % of the members in good standing at any statewide meeting shall be necessary to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
Lawrence Beckerle will contact Larry Stritch to find out the status of the lists sent to him by Lawrence, Donna Ford-Werntz, and Bill Grafton. Bill reiterated the importance of developing a list of the most egregious invasive plants so they will not be sold and planted in West Virginia.
Donna Ford-Werntz and Bill Grafton are working on research for the Dept. of Highways to find native plants that can be used to reclaim roadsides and road banks.
WVU's Bryophyte Herbarium- The WVNPS donation was used to buy 16 storage boxes and tape for the boxes. The Kanawha Valley Chapter also donated $50 to this project.
KinderGardening with Native Plants- Mary Sansom and Lois Kuhl reported on the native plant gardening with children at the South Charleston library. From May 22-August 14 they conducted six sessions which included site preparation, plantings, and maintenance. The children ranged in age from 6-12, and some parents also assisted. Literature was also handed out to the participants. The source of plants was Frank Porter, Riverview Nursery, Pomeroy, Ohio.
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The West Virginia Noxious Weed Act of 1976
A report of some key provisions with a few comments
By Lawrence T. Beckerle
(pronounced Becker-lee)
As per the request of the Board of Trustees I make the following layman's report on West Virginia' Noxious Weed Act. This is intended for educational purposes and might seem to be BORING, but as you read on, I am certain that you will reach a very different conclusion. Chapter 19, Article 12-D of the West Virginia Code provides "for the suppression of noxious weeds which have proven to be or which scientific evidence indicates may become detrimental factors affecting the public health or economy of the state."
19-12D-3(e) "Noxious weed" means any living plant, or part thereof, declared by the commissioner, after public hearing to be detrimental to crops, other desirable plants, waterways, livestock, land or other property, or to be injurious to public health or the economy.
19-12D-4 Administration of Article; promulgation of regulations.
(a) The commissioner shall administer and enforce the provisions of this article and shall have authority to issue regulations after a public hearing following due notice to all interested parties in conformance with the provisions of the state administrative procedures set forth in chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
(b) In issuing such regulations, the commissioner shall give consideration to pertinent research findings and recommendations of other state agencies of the state, the federal government, and other reliable sources.
19-12D-5 Surveys for noxious weeds; multiflora rose
(a) The commissioner shall make surveys for noxious weeds and when it is determined that an infestation exists within the state he may, by regulation after a public hearing held in accordance with procedures set forth in chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, declare the weed to be noxious.
(b) Multiflora rose, (Rosa multiflora), is a detriment to agriculture in West Virginia and is hereby declared to be a noxious weed.
Penalties for violating the restrictions against multiflora rose include a fine of "not less than one thousand dollars, or confined in jail not more than one year or both fined and imprisoned." For violating the provisions against other declared noxious weeds the fine shall be "not less than ten dollars nor more than one hundred dollars." "It shall be the duty of the prosecuting attorney of the county in which the violation occurred to represent the commissioner, to institute proceedings and to prosecute the person charged with such violation. In the event a county or prosecuting attorney refuses to act on behalf of the
commissioner, the attorney general shall also act.
Since the law was passed it has become the practice in West Virginia for rules promulgated by state agencies to be ratified by the legislature. To the best of my
knowledge the last effective revision was made May 31, 1985. It is known as: Title 61, LEGISLATIVE RULES, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, SERIES 14A, RULES AND REGULATIONS DEALING WITH NOXIOUS WEEDS. Sections 5 and 6 are reprinted here
61-14A-5. Declaration of noxious weeds.
5.1 Surveys have shown that the following plants are a detriment to agriculture in West Virginia and are hereby declared to be noxious weeds: Johnson Grass (Sorghum halapense L.), Plumeless Thistle (Carduus acanthoides L.) Curled Thistle (C. crispus L.) and Musk Thistle (C. nutans L.)
5.2 The plant known as Kudzu (Pueraria thumbergiana (S and Z) Benth.) is a detriment to agriculture in West Virginia and is hereby declared to be noxious, however, because Kudzu has a potential as a forage crop, the Commissioner may issue a permit for its
cultivation. Such permit shall be issued by the commissioner upon application by a prospective grower who agrees to follow cropping practices prescribed by the Commissioner. Such cropping practices shall include but not limited to, measures to prevent the spread of Kudzu to roadsides, rights-of-way or woodlands.
5.3 The plant known as Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata Thumb.) has become a detriment to agriculture in Barbour, Braxton, Cabell, Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer, Harrison, Jackson, Kanawha, Lewis, Marion, Mason, Monongalia, Pleasants, Putnam,
Ritchie, Roane, Taylor, Tyler, Upshur, Wetzel, Wirt and Wood counties and is hereby declared to be a noxious weed in these counties.
5.4 This section reserved for drug producing plants other than those listed in the West Virginia Noxious Weed Act. (W. Va. Code 19-12D-7)
61-14A-6 Sale, use for distribution of noxious weeds prohibited. The sale, use or distribution of noxious weed plants, except as provided for in 5.2 is prohibited in accordance with W. Va. Code 19-12D-7.
Note: Getting rules ratified by the legislature is sometimes just a mere formality. At other times there is considerable debate, but this appears to me to be the rare exception, being generally limited to rules that have to do with coal mining My observation is
that legislators do not like to deal with the details and prefer to have something that they can just vote up or down.
If you have not heard of the noxious Weed Law, part of that is due to the fact that funding to enforce the law reportedly ended in 1987. What progress was made in updating the law to include more noxious weeds seems to have been because of efforts made mostly by farmers. There was support from those in the timber industry to restrict the planting of Autumn Olive. (What little I knew at the time of the Noxious Weed Act I learned of through the West Virginia Forestry Association.) But those in the mining industry and
those in the DNR who believed and in many cases still believe that Autumn Olive is good for wildlife countered this at the time and in later years as well. My recollection is that other organizations with an interest in protecting the environment abstained from any involvement in the process and continue to stand by the sidelines on this issue. Why?
Part of that may be due to confusion on what to do to affect the process. Here are some possible ideas for discussion in light of recent changes.
Because of money that become available through the Homeland Security Act, the Plant Industries section of the Department of Agriculture hired Mr. David Dick in 2003 to at least begin surveys on noxious weeds in West Virginia. He has been involved in getting
articles into newspapers to alert the general public about the problems that highly invasive non-native weeds pose for West Virginia. His immediate supervisor is Charlie Coffman, but Mr. Coffman is retiring at the end of October.
Needed approaches
1.) To establish the West Virginia Native Plant Society as a "reliable source" for the record, the society must begin by making proposals for needed changes.
2.) Propose a more detailed listing of plants that should be grown only with a permit: for example common Bermuda grass is very invasive and reported to be highly allergenic. In spite of the problems reported for Bermuda grass one federal agency is still promoting this grass and subsidizing the establishment of Bermuda grass. Achieving an outright statewide ban on common Bermuda grass is probably not possible at this time. The next best approach is to propose that it be treated the same as Kudzu, which can be legally grown in West Virginia if the grower obtains a permit and takes steps to keep it from spreading to other properties.
3.) Submit non-native invasives to be included in an outright ban where there is no strong commercial interest in growing the plant or do a better job of reporting problems. Among the most important things to do when submitting plants for inclusion on the
noxious weed list is to where possible detail health hazards and threats to other property. Ogren's Plant Allergy Scale (OPALS) is useful for reporting the relative health risk to allergy and asthma sufferers. For more information go to Thomas Ogren's Web site www.allergyfree-gardening.com and at www.allegra.com
From Chris Gatens:
Annual Meeting Hikes
Canaan Valley- Camp 70
Spiraea alba - pipestem Physocarpus opulifolius-ninebark
Viburnum cassinoides-Wild raisin Ilex montana-mountain holly
Athyrium angustum v. rubellum-red-stemmed lady fern
Hypericum canadense-Canadian St. John's-wort
Hypericum densiflorum-Glade St. John's-wort
Glyceria grandis-American mannagrass
Populus tremuloides- Quaking aspen
Aster puniceus-Purple-stem aster
Juncus subcaudatus-Rush
Juncus brevidaudatus-Rush
Juncus secundus-Rush
Solidago uliginosa-bog goldenrod
Carex folliculata-Sedge
Deschampsia flexuosa-Crinkled hairgrass
Danthonia compressa-Allegheny fly-back
Spiranthes cernua-Nodding Ladies' Tresses
Dulichium arundinaceum-Three-square
Olsen (Big Run Bog
Sarracenia purpurea-Pitcher plant
Drosera rotundifolia-Round-leaved sundew
Eriophorum virginicum-Cotton grass
Solidago uliginosa-Bog goldenrod
Menyanthes trifoliata- Buckbean
Vaccinium oxycoccos- Small cranberry
Vaccinium macrocarpon-Large cranberry
Scirpus atrocinctus- Black-girdled bulrush
Dulichium arundinaceum-Three-square
Dolly Sods
Hamamelis virginiana-Witch hazel (bloom)
Nemopanthus mucronata-Mountain-Holly
Sorbus americana-Mountain-ash
Ilex montana- Mountain holly
Quercus ilicifolia-Scrub oak
Dicentra eximia-Wild bleeding heart
Mensziesia pilosa-Minnie-bush
Zigadenus leimanthoides-Oceanorus
Gentiana quinquefolia-5-flowered gentian
Gentiana linearis- Narrowleaf gentian
Houstonia serpyllifolia- Bluets
Vaccinium oxycoccos- Small cranberry
Crepis capillaris- Smooth hawksbeard
Prunus virginiana- Choke cherry
Cornus alternifolia- Alternate-lvd. Dogwood
Ribes glandulosum- Skunk currant
Dicentra eximia-Wild bleeding heart
Cornus canadensis-Bunchberry (fruit)
Dalibarda repens-Star Violet
Menziesia pilosa-Minnie-bush
Nemopanthus mucronata-Wild holly
Aronia(Pyrus) melanocarpa-Black chokeberry
Coptis groenlandicum-gold thread
Zigadenus leimanthoides-Oceanorus
Picea rubens-Red spruce
4.Boardwalk on Northland Loop Trail
Drosera rotundifolia- Round-leaved sundew
Lycopodium inundatum-bog clubmoss
Rhyncospora alba-White beakrush
Zigadenus leimanthoides-Oceanorus
Eriophorum virginicum-Cotton grass
Pinus rigida-Pitch pine
Anaphalis margaritacea-Pearly everlasting
Clematis verticillaris-Purple virgin's bower
Found at Hindleg Creek, ghost town of Henry, in Grant
County along WV 90 south of Bayard: Date: September, 2004
Platanthera clavellata, Eupatorium pilosum & Alnus glutinosa
Found at Jennings Randolph Lake: Spiranthes gracilis & Sprianthes cernua
Found at Lonaconing in Garrett County, MD - Spiranthes gracilis & S. cernua
Found in Berkeley County on October 2nd trip to Eastern Panhandle
Spiranthes cernua, Platanther ciliaris, and Platanthera lacera in wet mossy corner of field near headwaters of Sleepy Creek Lake
Spiranthes ochroleuca 2 plants along roads on lower Sleepy Creek Lake
Spiranthes ovalis 1 plant in Yankauer Nature Preserve
BOTANICAL BONANZAS OF WEST VIRGINIA
(bogs, balds, and beaver ponds to barrens, bedrock, and bluffs)
Canaan Valley
The valley is a true crown jewel of WV for natural areas. But "natural" only if you accept the massive changes that have occurred since the valley was first traversed in 1743 by a party surveying the Fairfax Line. They noted the wonderful grass bald along the top of Cabin Mountain where their horses could find grass to eat and they could relax in the grassy openings. They cursed the laurels (rhododendrons), the thick spruce and hemlock forest and the swamps that engulfed them on the valley floor.
From 1884 until 1924 timber barons cut virtually every acre of trees in and adjacent to Canaan Valley. High quality red spruce, black cherry, sugar maple, and yellow birch were manufactured into lumber and shipped throughout the US. Low quality trees were processed into pulp to make paper and the bark of hemlock trees was used to manufacture leather products. In the aftermath, the forest floor was littered with slash and debris. Forest fires raved the cutover lands and burned the slash and dried out organic soils. Many fires were intentionally set in hopes of creating pastures for cattle. Thousands of acres were seeded with non-native grasses and clovers to improve forage for cattle. Some better soils were cultivated to grow potatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower. For better or worse, fires and farming changed Canaan Valley forever.
The valley floor is about 13 miles long and averages 2-3 miles wide. Near the center, the valley floor is dissected by Middle Ridge. The valley floor averages about 3280 feet elevation. Higher mountains encircle the valley except where the Blackwater river flows out of the valley and they range from 3200 to 4200 feet.
The earliest visitors, in the 1700s and early 1800s, do not mention open bogs or shrub thickets that were almost surely present. They mention dense forests of hemlock and spruce on the valley floor and magnificent stands of black cherry on the slopes.
Today, the spruce, hemlock, and balsam fir exist in small pockets. The rest of the valley floor is open shrubby thickets, areas of ferns, grasses, tall fall wildflowers, and open bogs of mosses, cranberries, sedges, cottongrass and sundew. Numerous seeps and swales extend from the valley floor up into the black cherry and northern hardwood forests. The are probably very similar to primeval conditions and are excellent places to look for rare species.
Over 150 active and old beaver ponds create excellent places to exlore for rare plants and plant communities. Old oxbows along the bigger streams also offer enticing habitats.
Ron Fortney listed 523 plants in the valley in 1975. This number has surely increased over the past 30 years as botanists and naturalists have explored the various nooks and crannies. We also know that there are about 107 exotic plants growing in the valley.
Rare plants and that are frequent in Canaan Valley but are seldom found elsewhere in WV and general locations, include the following:
Rare plants of swamp forest & thickets at headwaters of Mill Run in Canaan Valley State Park:
Additional rare plants known to occur on the valley floor of CV and general locations where you might look for them are as follows:
Carex brunnescens and Chamomile grapefern (Botrychium matricariaefolium) have been found in the grass balds. American fly honeysuckle was found in 1941 on the slopes of Canaan Valley, but not since.
One of the strangest spots is the low gap between the north end of Canaan Valley and Stony River where very small populations of 2 Scottish highland heaths are known to grow. These plants are Heather (Calluna vulgaris) and Crossleaf heath (Erica tetralix). Nearby are 30-40 shrubs of the Mountain paper birch (Betula papyrifera var. cordifolia).
Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge was established as the 500th refuge in 1994. The refuge now contains 15,245 acres. The largest acquisition was approximately 12,000 acres from Allegheny Power (formerly Monongahela Power Co.). Some of the wetlands in the northern end of the valley known as Big Cove were also purchased from Western Pocahontas Land Corp. However the Big Cove is land-locked except for a right-of-way for refuge personnel. Other important wetlands in the refuge are along Freeland Run, Timberline Road, and Cortland Road.
Access to the refuge is limited to a series of trails that occur primarily on upland areas around the Valley and along Middle Ridge. A permit is necessary to hike, birdwatch, or botanize in the wetlands off the designated trails.
Canaan valley State Park is public land open to exploration along the headwaters of the Blackwater River, Club Run and Mill Run. There are trails along the streams, in woods, swamps and open fields.
There are few places in West Virginia with as many rare or unusual plants as Canaan Valley. The "big sky" vistas of the open valley and grass balds offer neat plants, super photography, birdwatching, and a great place to meditate. The beaver ponds and mucky swamps and swales can offer challenges. More than one individual has had to be pulled out of the sticky mud by fellow explorers. It is a challenge and a spectacle, but you will love it!!
Name(s) ______________________________________________________________
Address_______________________________________________________________
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Phone (H)___________________________(W)_______________________________
E-mail __________________________________________
Membership dues: Calendar year (Jan. 1 -Dec. 31)
______Regular membership $12 (includes all members of a household)
______Student membership $ 8 (any student college age or below)
______Life membership $200
______ $10 Eastern Panhandle ______ $6 Kanawha Valley (Charleston)
______ $ 6 Tri-State (Huntington)
** You must be a member of the State WV-NPS organization in order to join chapters.
WV NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY
P.O. BOX 808
NEW HAVEN, WV 25265-0808