Event: Ice Mountain field trip.

Date: Saturday, May 3

Time: Meet at 12:30 p.m.

Place: Meet at the general store complex in Slanesville, WV

Description: This weekend, the Eastern Panhandle Native Plant Society will host two field trips to unique plant communities for the WVNPS. Ice Mountain has been described as the finest example of an "algific" (cold-producing) talus slope ecosystem in eastern North America (Ice Mountain: An Ice Age Remnant,1991, Dr. Larry Morse, Chief Botanist, The Nature Conservancy) Join us for an opportunity to see this rare environment, and the plants that live there. It will also be a chance to (hopefully) meet some of your fellow WVNPS members from other parts of the state. The field trip will be led by Ice Mountain docent Lisa LaCivita, and EPNPS President Larry Stritch. This is a steep walk, and rugged in places. Be prepared for a more rigorous walk than usual. Wear sturdy shoes. Bring water, notebook, and hand lens if you have one.

Directions:

--From Martinsburg, WV take 81 south to Exit 317. Do not go into the town of Winchester.

--Take Rte. 522 towards Berkeley Springs.

--Turn left onto Rte. 127. This 8-12 mile stretch of road ends and turns into 29.

--Go west towards Romney.

--Slanesville is about another 8-10 miles. Look for a sign about Slanesville, and the general store/gas station/Post Office complex. We will meet there.

Event: WVNPS Board meeting/Dinner

Date: Saturday, May 7

Time: 7:00 p.m.

Place: TBA

Description: All WVNPS members are invited. We will determine the location once we know where those who are staying overnight have chosen to stay, and what would be the best central location.

Event: Altona Marsh field trip

Date: Sunday, May 4

Time: 1:00 p.m.

Place: Charles Town, WV

Description: Altona is a marl marsh, home to several species of rare plants, and some that are unique to this wetland. This is a sensitive ecosystem on private land, with a TNC conservation easement. The size of the group will be limited, so it will be necessary to register for this event by responding to this e-mail and letting me know you’ll be attending and the number in your group if more than one. Our leader will be EPNPS President Larry Stritch. Directions will be provided to participants only, closer to the date of the field trip. So if you plan to go, please RSVP, so that I will be sure to include you on the list of participants to receive directions. This is part of our special WVNPS weekend.

Accomodations:

Hilltop House Hotel (on a cliff overlooking the river)

Harper’s Ferry, WV

304-535-2132

Rooms start at $70

Northgate Inn

Rte. 340

Charles Town, WV

304-725-1402

Rooms at $55

Days Inn

Rt. 45

Shepherdstown, WV

304-263-1800

Rooms at $60

Directions:

These directions are from I-81. If someone is coming from a different main artery and needs a different set of directions, please contact me at lwagner@intrepid.net or 304-876-7027.

--To the Day’s Inn in Shepherdstown:

-Take exit 16 east (Edwin Miller Blvd.) into Martinsburg.

-Stay on that road, which turns into Queen St.

-At the light for the turnoff to Rte. 45, turn left.

-Stay on Rte. 45 until you see a McDonalds on the left. Turn left at that light. The Day’s Inn is in that shopping center area.

--To the Northgate Inn in Charles Town:

-Take exit 13 (I think, it might be 12) for Rtes. 45 and 9.

-Take 9 east towards Charles Town

-Take Rte. 340 in the direction of Harpers Ferry. Turn left onto Rte. 340 and look for Northgate Inn on left (If you pass a Walmart on your left, you’ve gone too far).

--To the Hilltop House Hotel in Harpers Ferry:

-Follow the same directions as above, but continue on Rte. 340 (go past the Walmart), to a light that will take you into a Harper’s Ferry (it’s a few miles away).

NOTE: If you turn right at that light, you would go into Harper’s Ferry Park, and you will see signs for the park before you get to the light. Turning left will take you onto Washington St. and through Harper’s Ferry.

-Watch for signs on the left of Washington St. to Hilltop House Hotel and follow them.

--Native Notes submissions are welcome! Have you taken an interesting field trip, or come across some other information that you’d like to write up for the WVNPS Native Notes newsletter? Contact newsletter editor Bill Grafton, at egrafton@labyrinth.net. Here are the newsletter deadlines for the remainder of the year:

-June newsletter: May 31 deadline

-September newsletter: August 10 deadline

-December newsletter: November 15 deadline

--A wildflower walk is planned in the Parkersburg area for Sat. April 26. For details about this field trip, and about efforts to launch a WVNPS chapter in this area, contact Steve Mace at mace12@marshall.edu or 674-5523. Please join this event if you can to show your support for the prospect of a new chapter!

--The Tri State Native Plant Society is sponsoring the following field trips:

-Thursday, April 10, 2003 at 5:30 p.m. to look at the Salt Rock indian petroglyphs, toadshade trillium, and other spring wildflowers. Meet at the new Subway restaurant at Salt Rock before crossing the Guyandotte River. Everyone welcome—bring a guest!

-Saturday, July 26, 9:30 am,Yatesville Lake, KY, Arrington Rd.

-August 16, 9 a.m. Department of Highways Mitigation Area near Ft. Gay. Meet at the Pit Stop, Rte. 52, before you get to Ft. Gay. Mike Marks will get directions to the mitigation area.

For more information, contact Romie Hughart, 523-1049 or rch25704@yahoo.com

--For the latest events scheduled by the Eastern Panhandle Native Plant Society, go to www.epnps.org and click on the link for the latest EPNPS bulletin (the April bulletin is available, but it may take a couple of days to get it posted—so check back if you don’t see it).

EPNPS Chapter Wins Award

We’re proud to announce that the Eastern Panhandle Native Plant Society’s SNIP (Save Our Natives From Invasive Plants) program is this year’s recipient of the West Virginia Master Gardeners’ Community Service Award. The group won for its invasive removal and education efforts last year. This award belongs to everyone who helped out with these projects—so pat yourselves on the back for a job well done!! And thanks so much to WV Master Gardeners for much-appreciated recognition. Last year, WVNPS gave a $300 grant to SNIP, which facilitated the purchase of tools and gloves.

--Forest Legacy Program

Here is a link to information about a WV Forest Legacy Program, to protect certain areas from development. http://www.wvnps.org/forestlegacyprogram.html

From Julian Martin, Outreach Chairman, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy
The West Virginia DNR is considering eliminating the 113,000 acre Cranberry Black Bear Sanctuary in the Monongahela National Forest that has been in effect for over 35 years. The Commission is meeting May 4th, when a decision is expected to be made.
Bear Hunting is done using bear dogs equipped with radio transmitting collars. Packs of them are sent on the trail of a bear. When the bear finally gets tired, it will climb up a tree. The dogs, in coon hound fashion, then keep the bear treed. The "hunter" then uses his radio telemetry equipment to locate the dogs, then shoots the bear out of the tree. If one pack of dogs is unsuccessful in treeing a bear, they take those dogs off and put a fresh pack on the trail. Sometimes they chase a bear for days across several counties. Of course the whole sport is oblivious to private property. A large bear will often stand and fight, killing the dogs. West Virginia is one of only a couple states to still allow this barbaric search and destroy tactic to kill bears. In 1997 some of the last holdouts, Oregon, Massachusetts and Washington, outlawed it.
The dogs are trained year round, even when cubs are young, often causing them to be separated from their mothers. The conflicts between these hunters, their dogs, and other recreational users of the forest are numerous and not pretty. It is a nocturnal sport, where alcohol and motorized vehicles play a big part. Since these "hunters" don't actually
walk, but use their telemetry equipment from their pick up trucks or ATVs, where they are also in radio contact with the rest of the pose. They regularly trespass on gated Forest Service Roads roads and trails. If the DNR Commission decides to eliminate the Sanctuary and allow bear dogs, The Cranberry Wilderness, Cranberry Backcountry, and Glades will never be the place to find peace and quiet again. Instead, you will find
packs of hounds howling 24/7 and the Bears that have known one place of refuge from such pursuit for years, will now be on the run. Bear dogs are inhumane, unsporting and un-necessary. Please express your concerns to the WV DNR Director, and ask him to
encourage the Commission to keep the Cranberry Black bear Sanctuary in effect, and not allow bear dogs to destroy the peace and tranquility this area enjoys and shares with thousands of visitors.

Please direct your comments to:
Ed Hamrick, Director
State Capitol
Building 3, Room 669
Charleston WV 25305
(304) 558-2754
pmullins@dnr.state.wv.us

From Emily Roberson, NPCC director

The NPCC is a project of the Center for Biological Diversity and the California Native Plant Society. WVNPS is an affiliate of the project.

This link takes you to the WVNPS website, and the latest March and April reports from NPCC, as well congressional testimony on botany budget issues. http://www.wvnps.org/NPCC.html

--Spotted knapweed may offer natural herbicide

Tuesday, March 04, 2003
By Katherine Vogt, Associated Press
DENVER — An invasive weed that has taken over vast swaths of grazing land in the West may hold the key to creating an effective, natural herbicide.
A Colorado State University study found that a chemical compound secreted from the roots of spotted knapweed is toxic to surrounding plants and has potential to wipe out other unwanted weeds.
"This is a herbicide that is as potent as a commercial chemical but it comes from a natural plant," said study author Jorge Vivanco, an assistant professor of horticulture biotechnology at CSU. "It's considered an environmentally friendly herbicide."
Vivanco's research — and a separate study at the University of Colorado in which bugs stopped the spread of diffuse knapweed — are among the latest efforts to find natural ways of controlling invasive plants that have bedeviled farmers and ranchers for centuries.
Eric Lane, who carries the unlikely title of "state weed coordinator," says there is a growing emphasis on nonchemical ways to fend off weeds. He called the knapweed study exciting because it would encourage others to try similar efforts.
At least three knapweed species are found in Colorado, and forms of the invasive weed have taken over millions of acres in the West. The plant is capable of wiping out all other surrounding plants, effectively ruining grazing lands.
Because they are not native to Colorado, they have few predators. Originally from eastern Europe and western Asia, the most common knapweed species in the West are believed to have arrived in the late 1800s in contaminated crop seed or possibly discarded soil from ships. Common forms feature tiny white or purple flowers on spindly, leafed green stalks.
Two years ago, Vivanco read about a knapweed species that invades and colonizes by secreting a toxic compound into the soil through its roots. His team tried to become the first to isolate the chemical from spotted knapweed — a feat complicated by the complex jumble of contaminants, microbes, and chemicals found in soil. The team grew spotted knapweed plants in flasks in the lab. The roots were submerged in a water-based solution while the plant floated on top. The plants secreted the toxic chemical compound into the liquid, making it easier for the researchers to isolate each compound in it.
They found nearly 30 compounds, including two forms of catechin. One type had antibacterial properties, and the other had a toxic effect on other plants. The researchers found that spraying toxic catechin on plants or adding it to soil was as effective against some weeds as common synthetic herbicides, typically killing the plants within a week.
Vivanco said no one previously knew about catechin's toxic effect on plants. His findings were published last year in the journal Plant Physiology. Because there is no evidence that catechin is toxic to humans or animals, Vivanco hopes it will eventually be fast-tracked for approval by the Environmental Protection Agency.
CSU has licensed the catechin technology patent to a company, and Vivanco hopes to see it on the market in two or three years.
Ragan Callaway, an associate professor of biology at the University of Montana and a plant ecologist who specializes in invasive weeds, said Vivanco's research is exciting but should be carefully studied. "Just because it's produced organically doesn't mean it won't kill you. On the other hand, I think that because Jorge is trying to use natural processes to control how plants interact with each other is fantastic," Callaway said.
Vivanco said the discovery has several potential applications as a herbicide. In reduced concentrations the chemical only kills select plants while sparing others. That could allow farmers to protect a crop while killing a weed. Or it could be used as a preventive agent by mixing it with soil before weeds emerge.
Source: Associated Press

From an article in the Cornell Daily Sun:
http://www.cornelldailysun.com/articles/7831/