Event: Please mark you calendars now for a regional native plant society meeting that you won’t want to miss! The West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia native plant societies are sponsoring a joint two-day conference October 4-5, at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, WV.

Description: This exciting event will bring these three native plant societies together to explore the native plant communites and natural areas that we have in common. Please join us for a weekend of speakers, field trips, workshops and exhibits.

Field trip leaders will include: Larry Stritch, Joe Metzger, Cris Fleming, John Parrish, and Bob Pickett, Carol Bergman, and Rod Simmons.

-Avery Drake, USGS Scientist Emeritus, who will present an overview of the geology of the Blue Ridge Province.

-Gary Fleming, Community Ecologist, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), Division of Natural Heritage, who will speak on the diverse natural communities and flora of the Blue Ridge.

Exhibits: There will be an exhibit area and environmental groups are invited to display! Also, we will be putting together conference packets, and would like to enclose brochures from your environmental organization. If you are interested in booth space or submitting a brochure, please

contact Lynn Wagner at lwagner@intrepid.net, 304-876-7027, or Larry Stritch at plstritch@msn.com.

Accomodations: Rooms at NCTC are $84.00 per night based on a one person occupancy. The fee includes 3 meals per day - dinner on the evening of your arrival, breakfast, and lunch. Selections include vegetarian options. Meal fees cannot be subtracted, even if you choose not to attend a dinner there. A room for two has an added $36.00 per day meal fee, but the room fee itself is not higher. So, a shared room and meals for two will cost $120.00 per day. Their food selections sound very nice with several choices at each meal, including vegetarian options.

Registration fee: WVNPS/EPNPS/MNPS/VNPS Members: $45.00 per person (+$16.50 per person for Saturday Social reservations); Non-member Fee: $55.00 per person (+$16.50 per person for Saturday Social reservations).

Contact Info: Checks should be made payable to the Maryland Native Plant Society and mailed to:

For more details about the meeting, go to: http://www.wvnps.org/multistatenpsmeeting.html, or contact Lynn Wagner at lwagner@intrepid.net, 304-876-7027. Details about the conference will be updated and posted on the homepage of the WVNPS, www.wvnps.org.

Event: WVNPS Annual Meeting/Field Trip

Date: September 12-14

Location: Elkins, WV

Description: WVNPS will hold its annual meeting at the Day’s Inn in Elkins, WV

Elkins area. Join us for a weekend of field trips in this richly diverse area!

The annual meeting will be held Sept. 13 at the Day’s Inn in Elkins, starting at 5:00 p.m., and will feature a speaker, Matt Keller from the Highlands Conservancy Wilderness campaign.

Accomodations: WVNPS room rates at the Day’s Inn are $54 for a single, $58.50 for a double. Don’t forget to say you are with the group to get that rate.

Watch the August bulletin for more details!

Event: Field trip to Wetland Mitigation WV DOT property

Date: August 16

Time: Meet at 9:00 a.m.

Location: Meet at Chevron convenient store, The Pit Stop, which is along Rt. 52 at Fort Gay.
which the WV DOT purchased near Fort Gay in Wayne County.

Description: The property was purchased to serve as a mitigation site to restore wetland
values for those lost or impacted by construction activities to upgrade US
Rt. 52 in Wayne County. The site has recently abandoned hayland and pastureland as well as woodland. We would especially like to inventory the plants in along the stream and in
the abandoned hayland and pastureland. This can be used as a reference to
compare the effectiveness of planned wetland creation activities.

--Eastern Panhandle Native Plant Society:

Event: Native Plant Landscaping

Date: Saturday, July 26

Time: 10:00 a.m.

Place: Spaulding Landscaping’s HomeView Nursery, Shepherdstown, WV

Description: Local landscaper and nursery owner Peter Spaulding will conduct a program on using native plants in the landscape. (Scroll down bulletin for list of native plants available at Spaulding Nursery)

From the four-way stop in Shepherdstown:

--Take Alt 34, in the direction of the bridge and Sharpsburg.

--Turn left onto Shepherd Grade Road, which is the road that takes you to the National Conservation Training Center. If you pass the Bavarian Inn or cross the bridge, you’ve gone too far.

--Take the first road on the right, which is South Hills. The turn is less than a ¼ mile on Shepherd Grade.

--Take the first driveway on the right. You’ll see a mailbox with flowers and a sign that says Homeview Farm.

Event: Morgan County Fair

Date: August 2-3

Place: Berkeley Springs

Description: This year the fair will feature an environmental alley inside the elementary school. EPNPS members Gail Foulds and Abby Chapple are in charge of the alley, which will feature between six and 15 groups with a booth, including Friends of the Cacapon River, Sleepy Creek Watershed Association, Cacapon State Park Foundation, Master Gardeners, etc.

EPNPS will be there with our SNIP invasive plants display. Please contact Lynn Wagner if you can help staff the booth for any part of this weekend!

Event: Field trip through the Paw Paw tunnel along the tow path

Date: Saturday, August 23.

Time: 1:00 p.m.

Description: We hope to see trailing arbutus, iris, ferns, and more.

Leader: Sally Anderson

Directions: Take Route 9 west from Martinsburg and bear right where the road connects to Route 29 (it will still be Route 9). Go through the town of Paw Paw, cross the Potomac, and watch for the parking lot for Paw Paw Tunnel on the right. Meet in the picnic area.

Event: Field trip to Snavely Ford and Ferry Hill (near Antietam)

Date: Saturday, Sept. 27

Time: 10:00-12:00, Ferry Hill; 1:00-3:00, Snavely Ford

Leader: Joe Metzger

Watch the bulletin for further details!

--National Forst Service report on fire and rare plants: http://cnps.org/NPCC/PDFs/Fire_and_Rare_PlantsFINAL7.03.pdf

--July NPCC report:

A complete July report from NPCC on the administration’s "Healthy Forests Intiatives" includes the LA Times article referenced in the synopsis below and can be found at: http://www.wvnps.org/NPCCJuly03report.html

Synopsis: The Bush Administration has finalized two key regulatory components of its sweeping "Healthy Forests Initiative", a large complex of legislation, regulation and policy changes which restrict environmental, scientific and public oversight of National Forests - ostensibly to reduce fire hazard. At the same time the Administration proposed new regulations to reduce protections for federally listed species on National Forests. Pasted below, find a Los Angeles Times story on the proposals. More information on the Healthy Forests Initiative can be found on the Forest Service web site: http://www.fs.fed.us/projects/HFI.shtml.

To see the complete bill, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/ and plug in the bill number, H.R. 1081.

In early June, H.R.1081 cleared the House Science Committee. It was introduced 3/5/03, sponsored by Rep Ehlers, Vernon J. [MI-3] and has 85 cosponsors. The bill would establish marine and freshwater research, development, anddemonstration programs to support efforts to prevent, control, and eradicate invasive species, as well as to educate citizens and stakeholders
and restore ecosystems. The measure still awaits consideration by the Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee and Resources Committee.
As approved by the Science Committee, the bill would dedicate $180 million over four years toward fighting aquatic invasive species. It would call for initiating a research program run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Geological Survey and Smithsonian Environmental Research Center to determine how harmful species enter U.S. waterways and to study whether policy efforts are helping reduce their entry. The bill also would fund an
Environmental Protection Agency program to develop tools for federal, state and local managers to fight invasive species; support Coast Guard efforts to lessen the risk ships pose in transporting the pests; and create grant programs for research into identifying and controlling invasive species.
Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.), one of 85 cosponsors of the bill, said his panel will work with the other committees with jurisdiction and he is hopeful the legislation will pass Congress either as a stand-alone measure or as part of a larger invasive species bill.

--Create a Backyard Wildlife Habit

Many of you are familiar with National Wildlife Federation's Backyard Wildlife Habitat program, which is celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year.. This program is designed to help people restore wildlife habitat in their yards, gardens, and throughout the community by providing food, water, cover, places to raise young, restoring native plants, and using chemical free gardening practices.

NWF recognizes these wildlife oases by certifying them as Backyard Wildlife Habitat sites. Once certified, participants get a certificate with a unique habitat number, a subscription to the newsletter filled with wildlife tips and projects, and are added to NWF's national registry of habitats. Participants are also eligible to post a Backyard Wildlife Habitat sign outside in their habitat.

You can certify your habitat two ways: online and via mail.

--Go to http://www.enature.com/backyardwildlife/nwf_bwh_home.asp for online certification. You can also print out a paper application to mail in from this site.

--To get a paper application mailed to you call us at 800-822-9919.

We can also provide public facilities or educators with free copies of our information booklet and application for certification for distribution.

Let me know if you have any questions!

David Mizejewski
National Wildlife Federation
11100 Wildlife Center Drive
Reston, VA 20190
(703) 438-6499
fax 703-438-6468
www.nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat

--Beetles fight pesky plant Battle: Loosestrife is crowding out native Maryland plants, and the insects might be the only way to control its spread.

http://www.wvnps.org/invasivesarticle2.html

--Audubon Calls for Congressional Action on Invasives

INVASIVE SPECIES A MAJOR THREAT TO AMERICA'S DECLINING BIRDS
Audubon Society Calls on Congress to Control Invasive Species "Hot
Spots"
Washington, D.C., Tuesday, June 24, 2003 – Today, the National Audubon Society launched a major effort to control and contain invasive species, emphasizing that invasive species are the world's leading cause of bird extinctions and a major threat to America's
declining bird populations. Like the proverbial canary in the coalmine, birds are primary indicators of environmental health.
"Invasive species are like a buzz-saw cutting through some of America's most valuable bird and wildlife habitat," said Bob Perciasepe, Audubon's Senior Vice President for Public Policy. "If
invasive species are not controlled, they will continue to wreak havoc on America's already declining birds and the natural places they inhabit."
A new report released today by Audubon, "Cooling the Hot Spots," recommends immediate investments to protect ten critical areas from invasive species. The ten Hot Spots highlighted by Audubon are: Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Florida, Willapa Refuge in
Washington, Wertheim Refuge in New York, Aransas Refuge in Texas, San Luis Refuge in California, Browns Park Refuge in Colorado, Waubay Refuge in South Dakota, Bosque del Apache Refuge in New Mexico, Blackwater Refuge in Maryland, and Mississippi Sandhill
Crane Refuge in Mississippi.
"We need to target federal efforts in the most critical areas, where progress can be made toward meaningful conservation results," said Perciasepe. "That is why we identified these ten invasive species Hot Spots: it is a science-based road map toward meaningful protection of America's birds, wildlife, and habitat, on the ground where it counts."
Invasives like the northern snakehead fish, kudzu, and saltcedar have infested more than 100 million acres of the American landscape and continue to spread across 3 million additional acres yearly – the equivalent of a strip of land two miles wide stretching coast to
coast. Migratory shorebirds like the Short-billed Dowitcher, grassland-dependent birds like the Short-eared Owl, and wetland species like Black Rail, are all experiencing population declines
while much of their remaining habitat is lost to invasive species.
To see the "Cooling the Hot Spots" go to http://www.stopinvasives.org/news.asp

http://www.wvnps.org/invasivesarticle1.html

--New GAO report on invasive species:

Invasive Species: Federal Efforts and State Perspectives on Challenges and National Leadership. GAO-03-916T, June 17, 2003 http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-03-916T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d03916thigh.pdf
--Buttefly weed, pictures and description: http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek030622.html.

--Native tree nursery: http://www.nativetrees.net.

http://www.wvnps.org/Altonamarsh03.html

http://www.wvnps.org/Shannondale.html