West Virginia Native Plant Society
June Bulletin
Special 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.
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 more!
****For details about the meeting, go to: http://www.wvnps.org/multistatenpsmeeting.html, or contact Lynn Wagner at lwagner@intrepid.net, 304-876-7027. Be sure to register by July 1 for the Early Bird Discount Rate!!****
The meeting will include exhibits--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.
Details about the event will be updated and posted on the homepage of the WVNPS, www.wvnps.org.
Upcoming WVNPS Events
Event: Handley Field Trip/Quarterly WVNPS Meeting
Date: Saturday, June 27, Sunday June 28
Time: 8:30 a.m. Sat., meet at the Cranberry Mountain Visitors' Center, located on WV 39/55 between Richwood and Marlinton.
Place: Handley Wildlife Management Area, near Marlinton
Description: WVNPS will host a weekend of botanizing in and around the Handley Wildlife Management Area, located in the headwaters of the Williams River, about eight miles west of Marlinton. The Handley WMA consists of 800 acres of fields and woods-some of which are fairly old growth-surrounded by the Monogahela National Forest. In addition to the renowned Cranberry Glades, Hills Creek Falls, the Highland Scenic Highway, and Watoga State Park are located nearby.
From there, we will go to Cranberry Glades, and hopefully can tackle part of the Cow Pasture Trail which encircles the glades. The trail is 7 miles long. Plan on packing a lunch and eating along the trail. If time and energy permits, we can walk to an area of old growth spruce/hemlock in the Handley WMA. We'll have dinner in a restaurant in Marlinton, or prepare a meal at the cabin. The WVNPS meeting will be at 7:00 p.m. at the cabin. During the meeting, we will decide where to go for a Sunday morning outing (stops along Williams River, Highland Scenic Highway, HIlls Creek Falls, or perhaps Watoga State Park).
Directions:
Handley WMA is on county route 17, which intersects US route 219 four miles north of Marlinton.
--From the Highland Scenic Highway, turn south (right) onto Forest Service Road 86.
--Turn left onto Co. Rt. 17/4, then left onto Co. Rt. 17.
--There should be DNR signs on both of these routes leading to the WMA. At the end of Co. Rt. 17 (inside the WMA), there is a 4-way intersection. Go straight through to get to the cabin. Turn right to get to the campground.
Accomodations: The cabin at Handley sleeps 10, and there is a nice, but rustic (no hookups, pit toilets, well water) campground. We won’t know until a couple of weeks before the field trip whether the cabin will be available. PLEASE RSVP FOR CABIN RESERVATIONS.
The closest hotels are 15 minutes away: the Marlinton Motor Inn at Edray, 800-354-0821; the Rustic Inn & Café at Marlinton, 304-799-4204; the Four Seasons Lodge at Richwood (45 min. away), 304-846-4605.
Date: June 14, field trip. Group meet evening of June 13.
Time: Meet 7:00 p.m., June 13 in the lobby of Canaan Valley Resort (recommended for accomodations).
Leader: WVNPS member Martha Oliver
Description: This trip is sponsored by the Western Pennsylvania Botanical Society. Information on other accomodations in the area is available from WV state parks, and rates are reasonable. There is also camping nearby.
For more information, contact Martha Oliver at 724-887-6756, or primrose@alusa.net; www.theprimrosepath.com
Event: Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council Conference
Date: August 6-7
Place: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Description: This year’s MA-EPPC conference is jammed with programs by experts in the field of invasive plants. For details and registration information, go to: http://www.wvnps.org/MA-EPPC03conference.html.
WV Native Plant-related News
--Allegheny Energy Sells Land
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Friday May 30, 2003, Hagerstown Morning Herald
A scenic 16-mile stretch of the densely forested and ecologically sensitive Cheat River canyon in West Virginia will be sold to a logging company for $9.75 million, despite a higher, last-minute offer from state officials who wanted to preserve the land.
Allegheny Wood Products of Petersburg, which also owns 2,800 acres in the Blackwater Canyon, submitted the highest qualified bid May 8 and has since signed an agreement of sale, Allegheny Energy spokesman Allen Staggers said Thursday.
The state of West Virginia, collaborating with the Conservation Fund of Arlington, Va., and private recreational users, had hoped to outbid timber companies and developers to protect the canyon permanently.
But its initial offer was $9.4 million - $350,000 less than the logging company's bid.
Susan Small-Plante, who was handling the negotiations for Gov. Bob Wise, said the state offered the utility an additional $500,000 Thursday morning, but the offer was rejected.
"We're very surprised and very disappointed that this land that is so widely appreciated by West
Virginians won't receive the protection it deserves," Small-Plante said.
Staggers would not comment on what the state or any other bidder offered, or what negotiations occurred after the bids were unsealed.
"Our intention all along was to sell to the highest qualified bidder, and that was Allegheny Wood Products," he said. "The bidding process was very clearly outlined, and the bids
were due on a certain date. When the bids were opened, Allegheny Wood Products had the highest bid."
The financially struggling, Maryland-based utility has owned the Preston County land since the 1920s.
-- Government reports more than 700 miles of Appalachian Streams burried by coal-mining valley fills.
May 29, Charleston WVGazette: http://www.wvgazette.com/section/Series/Mining+the+Mountains/2003052827
--WVU joins study of medicinal plants
Sunday June 1, 2003, Gazette-Mail
By Tara Tuckwiller
http://www.sundaygazettemail.com/news/Valley+%26+State/2003053118/
--Article on Ice Mountain
http://aaaworld.com/pages/articles.asp?id=47
--Invasive Species in WV
Here’s a web link to the full report, described in last month’s bulletin, by the Union of Concerned Scientists on invasive species in WV.
http://www.ucsusa.org/global_environment/invasive_species/wv_invasive_lr.pdf
--News from Friends of Blackwater Canyon
Friends of Blackwater has been awarded two grants totaling $3,500 to help us continue in our outreach/preservation efforts-a $2,500 NiSource grant to research the biota of the Blackwater environs as well as a $1,000 West Virginia Humanities Council grant to research the historic coal &coke industry along the North Fork of the Blackwater River. · The Friends of Blackwater Canyon’s North Fork Watershed Project office is currently searching for two summer interns to work at our Thomas, WV location. Activities shall include a water quality analysis project and an historical inventory of the resources of the Canyon research/writing project. If you are interested, please contact us at info@saveblackwater.org or info@northforkwatershed.org. · Finally, you can check out our newly redesigned websites located at: www.saveblackwater.org. and www.northforkwatershed.org ·
Native Plant Conservation Campaign News
--Lawmaker backs down on attempts to weaken ESA; Report details federal programs that threaten environment.
http://www.wvnps.org/NPCCMay03report.html
Web Links
See page 9 of the TNC paper for information about Garlic Mustard as a "death trap" for the West Virginia White and Falcate Orange Tip Butterflies.
-http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/esadocs/documnts/allipet.pdf
--New Maryland Invasives Species site
The Maryland Invasive Species Council Web site is now fully functional. Point your browser to http://www.mdinvasivesp.org to see the information
and resources now available.