September 5-12, 2018

Table of Contents

Introduction

It may seem odd that a trek looking for native plants, which had typically been conducted in the arid or semi-arid West would be conducted where the vegetative King and Queen is corn and soybean. Ask anyone what they think of when they think of Iowa, and images of corn fields come to mind.

Farming has always been a dominant means of survival for the people who called Iowa home, from the Native American tribes, to American pioneers, and today’s Iowa citizens. However, Iowa’s soils and climate encouraged the growth of a tallgrass prairie, where grasses could grow to over six feet tall! This prairie ecosystem dominated the majority of Iowa land, covering up to three fourths of it. Forests of pine and hardwood trees grew along rivers and other water bodies, but timber was scarce in the open prairie. The maps show the contrast between prairie and crop land between 1832-1859 and 2002.

Advancing technology explains it all!

Because very few original prairie sites still exist we were obligated to seek out ruminate sites for our inventory. Our objective was to go to the site, identify every plant and and depart only when we felt complement that our objective had been realized. Each plant that was identified was recorded, pictures taken of a few, and specimens collected on those which require additional investigation. Our group of seven broke out into three categories.

Trek XI convened on Des Moines, IA on September 4, consisting of Jack Carlson, Fred Gaffney, Wendell Hassell, Larry Holzworth Scott Lambert, Wendall Oaks, and Curtis Sharp. Only Bob MacLauchlan of the original Trek was not able to join us. From Des Moines we traveled east a few miles east to an outstanding site which gave us an excellent start. From there we headed north to Hayden Prairie State Wildlife Management Area. That completed our first day. Our day two, Friday, was enjoyable but the intended inventory side, Hogback Prairie State Natural Area in Crawford Co., was not accessible because of stream/road flooding.

We entered Wisconsin at Prairie du Chien. There we learned of the exploration of Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit missionary, and Louis Joliet. In 1673 they undertook an expedition to explore the unsettled territory in North America from the Great Lakes region to the Gulf of Mexico for the colonial power of France. Leaving with several men in two bark canoes, Marquette and Joliet entered the Mississippi River from the north and arrived in present-day Arkansas in June 1673. They were considered the first Europeans to come into contact with the Indians of east Arkansas since Hernando de Soto’s expedition in the 1540s.

Along the voyage south, Marquette and Joliet talked with local American Indian tribes and made maps of the region. Arriving in Arkansas, they stopped at Kappa, a Quapaw village about twenty miles from the mouth of the Arkansas River. The Quapaw greeted the travelers with reluctance but finally warmed up to them, the first Europeans seen in the area in over 100 years. As a gesture of friendship, the Quapaw offered Marquette a ceremonial pipe, the calumet, which he smoked with tribal leaders. Marquette remarked the Quapaw men were “strong, well made” and beaux homes (handsome men). After three days and nights of feasting, both Marquette and Joliet were able to comment that the Quapaw were likeable and could become possible French allies in the settlement of the lower Mississippi River Valley.

Marquette and Joliet’s journey were curtailed when the Quapaw warned the explorers that Spanish colonials were located further south. Not wishing to lose the observations they had noted about the region to the Spanish if they came into contact with them, Marquette and Joliet returned to the Great Lakes region at the head of Green Bay, secure in the knowledge that the Mississippi River did indeed empty into the Gulf of Mexico. This was based on reports from Arkansas’s Quapaw Indians.

Abandoning Hogback Prairie State Natural Area, we drove east in the direction of Madison. On the way we made a picture stop as well as a quick inventory of the plants, which our plant scribe named Bible Study Group. It was a beautiful spot and outstanding conservation practices were visible.

From that location we continued east to the Avoca Prairie and Savanna State Natural Area – Iowa County, Wisconsin, and the Spring Green State Natural Area – Sauk County, Wisconsin. This concluded Day 3. We remain in the area where the next inventory side the next day. It was the Thomson Memorial Prairie – Dane County, Wisconsin. From there we went south into Illinois and conducted an inventory on a diverse and easily accessible site, Nachusa Grassland – Lee County, Illinois. On our 5^th day we visited Manito Prairie, in Tazewell County, Il, then to Revis Hill Prairie, in Mason County IL, a challenging site. This finished day 5 and we headed SW for a river crossing into Missouri. Day six was spent at the Elsberry Plant Materials Center, which we left about 4:00PM for an overnight in Hannibal, MO. After an enjoyable review of the boyhood home of Mark Twain we headed north for our inventory at Steyermark Sand Prairie in Clark County, MO, a productive site, arriving in Des Moines around 6:00 PM.

One more brief LOG related activity which I ask Fred Gaffney to share with me a. This is it.

“I am working on a plant list of the Flora in and around Lower Beverley Lake in Ontario, Canada, the location I have camped at since 1980. I had many notations in my plant books and had made a few herbarium specimens randomly since the 1990’s. The idea to publish a plant list came from our ‘Love of Grass’ treks and the desire to obtain plant lists from the various sites we visit. Currently there is no list specific for the Lower Beverley Lake area. In 2015, I began recording plants I observed with the intent to publish. Most of the plants on my list will be supported by voucher herbarium specimens, a decision made in 2016 to provide credibility. I soon recognized that I needed some help in identification and a place to deposit the herbarium specimens upon completion. I reached out to Queens Univ. (Kingston, Ont.). I approached the Director of Queens Univ. Biological Station in Elgin, Ont., about 20 miles from my camp site and Lower Beverley Lake. He directed me to a botanist at the Kingston Campus and suggested the Fowler Herbarium at the Biological Station would be appropriate to house the herbarium specimens for reference and use by future researchers and students. My plant list will contain all the plants I find through December, 2018, totaling about 500 species from over 100 plant families. I will be writing up the project in 2019.” Pretty cool, huh?

As with previous inventories, we used the nomenclature of the PLANTS database (http://plants.usda.gov), the PLANTS county lists, and other published and online herbaria databases

Over the six days we identified ____ plants of ____ species at the 11inventory sites. The most frequently encountered plants were: (other. noteworthy inventory facts).

Day 1 – Thursday, September 6, 2018

Inventory Site 1 – Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, Jasper County, Iowa

It was a short drive from our motel to our first inventory site, adequate distance for all of us to become accustomed to wall-to-wall corn and soybeans. Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge s a federal refuge located in Jasper County, Iowa. The refuge, formerly known as Walnut Creek, is named after Congressman Neal Edward Smith, who championed its creation. The core of the refuge was a 3,600-acre block of land originally acquired by Iowa Power and Light (now part of MidAmerican Energy) for a nuclear power plant. The Fish and Wildlife Service was able to acquire this land in 1990. Today the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has acquired about 6,000 more acres.

Although the Neal Smith refuge includes a patchwork of small and seriously degraded native prairies, most of the refuge is the result of prairie restoration or reconstruction efforts. The restoration work has been done with local ecotype seed harvested from nearby native prairie remnants or from other restoration efforts that have used acceptable local ecotype seed.

The Refuge serves as a major environmental education, volunteer and outdoor recreation hub for people of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy. The Refuge also strives to aid local landowners as they improve their lands for wildlife habitat. Lastly, the Refuge tries to increase scientific knowledge and understanding of the prairie and savanna through ongoing, targeted and innovative research. The Refuge achieves all of these goals through community involvement and by working and partnering with others.

The mission of Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge is to actively protect, restore, reconstruct and manage the diverse native ecosystems of tallgrass prairie, oak savanna, and sedge meadow.

Scientific Name	Common Name	Type	Origin
Achillea millefolium L.	common yarrow	Forb	Native

Inventory Site 2 – Hayden Prairie State Wildlife Management Area, Howard County, Iowa

After his epic exploration in 1673, Louis Joliet reported the tall grass prairie to be “three, six, ten, and twenty leagues in length. Expansive and diverse, Judge James Hall wrote about the same prairies in 1839 saying that although the plains may appear level they should be called “rolling” since they resembled “the long, heavy swell of the ocean when its waves are subsiding to rest after the agitation of a storm.

Today, only tiny fragments of the tall grass prairie are left on the landscape and what was once likened to an ocean, the Hayden Prairie, a National Landmark site, is a remnant of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem that once made up the majority of the land of what is now the state of Iowa. Although this remnant is only 240 acres (0.97 km²) in size – less than a half section of land – it is the largest remaining parcel of tallgrass prairies surviving in Iowa outside of the Loess Hills on the western border of the state.

This prairie commemorates botanist Ada Hayden (1884–1950).^[2] An Iowa farm girl, Hayden studied at the Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG) and Iowa State University (ISU) and earned a PhD in biology in 1918, one of the first women to earn this distinction in the U.S. She became an assistant professor of botany at ISU, devoting her personal and professional life to the defense of the fast-disappearing tallgrass prairies of her native state. During her working lifetime, most of the remaining patches of tallgrass that had survived the rush of Euro-American settlement in the 1800s were falling to the plowshare. Finally, in 1940, the state of Iowa allocated $100 to Hayden for gasoline to drive around Iowa and identify what was left.

A small number of remaining prairie patches were identified, including the parcel of land that was to become Hayden Prairie. In 1945, the state of Iowa purchased this parcel for $10,001, approximately $42/acre. This land has been owned by the state ever since.

After Hayden’s death in 1950, the Hayden Prairie was renamed in her honor. It was listed as a National Natural Landmark in 1965, and as an Iowa State Preserve in 1968. It has been managed by controlled burning since 1971.

More than 200 plant species, including 100 species of wildflowers, have been identified in Hayden Prairie. Hayden Prairie is especially noted for a display of shooting stars peaking around Memorial Day. 46 species of birds, and over 20 species of butterflies, have also been identified in Hayden Prairie.

Scientific Name	Common Name	Type	Origin
Achillea millefolium L.	common yarrow	Forb	Native

Day 2 – Friday, September 7, 2018

Inventory Site 3 – County Road E Roadside, Crawford County Wisconsin

Unfortunately, the planned site Hogback Prairie State Natural Area could not be reached because of high water. Because it sounded like such an interesting site a brief description is follows.

Hogback Prairie is situated on an impressive geological formation – a narrow, steep-sided limestone-capped ridge that rises 300′ above the Citron Valley, a former oxbow of the nearby Kickapoo River (no doubt named after Kipling’s elephant story). The hogback’s western and eastern slopes support dry prairie vegetation from the ridge’s crest down to its bases. There is also a small segment of north-facing prairie. The multiple aspects of the prairie have resulted in an unusual mix of plants, blending typical dry prairie species such as side oats grama, little blue-stem, purple prairie-clover and hoary vervain with species such as needle grass and mountain mint that are more characteristic of moister prairies. The aspect variability has also contributed to the existence of excellent populations of the many rare plants and animals found here. To the south the ridge widens and the prairie grades into oak woods and an overgrown savanna with several savanna indicator plant species. Management activities such as controlled burning and brush removal are helping restore the integrity of the savanna and prairie. The terrain is steep and chiggers are abundant – take necessary precautions. Hogback Prairie is owned by the DNR and was designated a State Natural Area in 2002.

The substitute site used for Inventory No. Three was selected only because the location along the route represented an excellent view of the countryside and the application of conservation farming. While at this site all plants that could be identified were, and recorded.

The site, in addition to the plants, offered some additional activity. The oldest tracker while reaching downhill for an unknown plant, tilted forward onto the plant he was reaching for. After a short discussion about what to do a decision was reached and he was quickly elected by fellow trackers, one giving him a lecture on ‘Self Compassion’ whatever that means.

Several excellent photos were taken and Carlson recorded the list of plants below.

Scientific Name	Common Name	Type	Origin
Achillea millefolium L.	common yarrow	Forb	Native

Inventory Site 4 – Avoca Prairie and Savanna State Natural Area Entrance, Iowa County, Wisconsin

Avoca Prairie and Savanna

Located on an extensive outwash sand terrace along the Wisconsin River, Avoca Prairie and Savanna contains the largest natural tallgrass prairie east of the Mississippi River. Frequent flooding has created braided stream topography characterized by low, sandy ridges interspersed with small linear wetlands giving a local relief of 4 feet. The moist prairie and wetland swales contain more than 200 species of vascular plants including large number of rattlesnake master, Michigan lily, and prairie blazing-star. Big blue-stem, prairie cord grass, Indian grass, and sedges dominate the wet areas while little blue-stem, prairie drop-seed, and June grass are common on the drier ridges. Permanent and ephemeral swales contain aquatic species such as sweet-flag, yellow water buttercup, and common bur-reed. Some of the showy species include sweet grass, white wild indigo, flowering spurge, prairie smoke, bottle gentian, cardinal flower, and swamp candles. Oak openings, with large open-grown black and bur oaks, are an outstanding feature of this natural area looking much as they did during the original land survey of 1833. Even today, from many points on the prairie, the same presettlement character has been preserved, with completely natural vistas still accessible in all directions.

Site objectives

Manage the site as a reserve for prairie, oak opening and floodplain forest, as an aquatic reserve and wetland protection site, and as an ecological reference area. Allow for a shifting mosaic of dry-mesic to wet-mesic prairie, southern sedge meadow, shrub-carr and oak opening. Natural processes (especially fluctuating water levels) and prescribed fire will determine the structure of the native communities represented here. Provide opportunities for research and education on the highest quality native prairies and oak openings.

Management approach

The ecological characteristics of the site will be primarily shaped by an intensive fire management program. The native prairie and wetland species are managed actively through tree/shrub control using tree harvest, brushing and especially fire to mimic natural disturbance patterns. Occasional fire-tolerant oaks and native shrubs such as meadowsweet may be retained at low densities. The native dominant savanna tree species (primarily oaks) are managed passively. However, some thinning of the canopy, understory manipulation and shrub control via harvest, brushing or fire may be needed to mimic natural disturbance patterns. The mostly passive canopy management and understory manipulation will determine the ecological characteristics of the oak opening. The native floodplain forest species are managed passively, which allows nature to determine their ecological characteristics. Prescribed fire, however, will be allowed to pass through the floodplain forest, though consumption of fuel here will not be facilitated, other than to secure fire breaks. Other allowable activities throughout the site include control of invasive plants and animals, augmentation of native savanna species after careful review, maintenance of existing facilities, and access to suppress wildfires.

Site-specific considerations

Although removal of hazardous trees from over and near trails and field lanes is an allowed activity, manipulation/removal of vegetation and soil disturbance should be minimized to the extent possible.
An access lane with a ford across a backwater lake is maintained to Department standards.
A decades-long tradition of visitors driving on the prairie has caused extensive environmental degradation to portions of the site. Reclamation activities are addressing this chronic problem.

Scientific Name	Common Name	Type			Origin
Achillea millefolium L.	common yarrow		Forb	Native

Inventory Site 5 – Spring Green State Natural Area, Sauk County, Wisconsin

Spring Green Preserve, known as the ‘Wisconsin Desert’, features a rolling sand prairie on an old Wisconsin River terrace and harbors a unique flora and fauna that are adapted to the hot, droughty environment. The dry sandy soils contain many desert-like plants such as false heather, three-awn grass, and prickly pear cactus. Nearly 40 species of annuals and biennials thrive here, a high number for a prairie, including plains snake-cotton, Venus’-looking-glass, and dwarf dandelion. Several sand blows, with shifting dunes and open sand, are scattered throughout. Bird life is diverse and includes large numbers of rare open country birds such as the dickcissel. The invertebrates, however, are the most unusual of the Spring Green fauna. Several of the spiders and insects are not known from any other site in Wisconsin. Of special interest are the black widow and several wolf spiders, five species of cicada, eight species of tiger beetles, and predatory wasps. A large pocket gopher population has created patches of open ground where short-lived plants grow. Spring Green Reserve is owned by The Nature Conservancy and was designated a State Natural Area in 1972.

This was a most accessible and enjoyable site and prevented great opportunities for the inventory team, including challenges relative to the correct identification of species. For example, early on a debate arose regarding the dominate oak on the site. The debate centered on whether the oak in question was pin oak or the more locally dominate black oak. The debate continued following our return home. It will only be resolved when the report editor decides for inclusion in the species lists. Other species such as the dismodium species presented equal challenges and that debates continues.

As the Greater Power Botanist continued to roam the hillside seeking out that last unknown species, the Lesser Power Botanist discussed what could be more enjoyable than this; a beautiful day, with long-term friends, surrounded by a multitude of known and unknown items of our first love, PLANTS. We concluded ‘very little’.

Scientific Name	Common Name	Type			Origin
Achillea millefolium L.	common yarrow		Forb	Native

Day 3 – Saturday, September 8, 2018

Inventory Site 6 – Thomson Memorial Prairie, Dane County, Wisconsin

Thomson Memorial Prairie consists of rolling hills with excellent stands of native species. Our inventories were made easier as a result of large swaths having been mowed. It is owned and managed by The Nature Conservativancy. Rare plants, such as pomme de prairie and green milkweed, thrive among a profusion of other prairie grasses and wildflowers. Many prairie plants grace this undulating landscape,

This is a great place to see as a result of the native prairie wildflowers, butterflies and grassland birds. This preserve is a remnant of dry prairie that has managed to survive in a mostly agricultural landscape, probably because the limestone bedrock beneath the soil lies too close to the surface to permit cultivation.

Thompson Memorial Prairie is located in Southwestern Wisconsin: 30 miles west of Madison in Dane and Iowa counties, in the “Driftless Area” — the only region in the state left untouched by the glaciers.

Thomson is a remnant of the past. Prior to settlement, many hilltops and steep slopes in this part of the state were covered with dry prairie vegetation. Today, this is one of the few remaining dry prairies in the state. In addition, the prairie is home to a diverse natural community: More than 68 species of plants grow here, and 34 species of bird’s nest or feed here.Little remains of Wisconsin’s once extensive grasslands. Those that have managed to survive, like Thomson Memorial Prairie, are small, isolated and fragmented. To recreate a larger grassland ecosystem, these prairie remnants must be carefully managed and expanded.

The Conservancy owns and manages 706 acres at Thomson Memorial Prairie. With the help of volunteers, we are working to restore the degraded prairie and agricultural land surrounding the preserve through a combination of planting, prescribed burning and exotic species control.

The Conservancy named the area Thomson Memorial Prairie in recognition of John and Olive Thomson, longtime friends and stewards of the prairie. In honor of their deceased son Douglas, the Thomson’s established a fund for land acquisition at the prairie.

From this site we enjoyed a BBQ lunch followed by ice cream. The shop displayed this non-guilt sign.

Scientific Name	Common Name	Type	Origin
Achillea millefolium L.	common yarrow	Forb	Native

Inventory Site 7 – Nachusa Grassland, Lee County, Illinois

Illinois was once blanketed with abundant grasslands where bison, badgers and songbirds lived among the prairie plants. But after two centuries of farming and development, little remains of this famed “sea of grass.”

However, at the Nachusa Grasslands Preserve, prairie now stretches as far as the eye can see and visitors can simultaneously take a step back in time and view the future of conservation in the Prairie State.

From the start, Nachusa existed because of people who care for this land. In the 1980s, volunteer prairie enthusiasts told The Nature Conservancy’s scientists about a tract of former farmland nearly 100 miles west of Chicago, near rural Franklin Grove, Illinois. All saw the potential in the many remnant prairies and woodlands nestled among corn fields.

Thanks to decades of stewardship and devoted volunteers who have meticulously reconstructed its native habitats, Nachusa now resembles the rich grassland of earlier ages. Rare animals and birds — such as bison, Blanding’s turtles, bobolinks and Henslow’s sparrows — are found alongside one of the state’s largest populations of federally-threatened prairie bush clover.

The achievements have not come easily. According to Nachusa Project Director, Bill Kleiman, conservation and restoration are, by their very nature, slow and steady.

“Our staff is part of the community, meeting landowners and talking with local people, doing what the Conservancy does best. We identify a tract, find the funds to purchase it, move on to the next tract, and keep doing that for years,” he says. “We also have to take a blank slate like these agricultural fields and turn them into a diverse community of native grasses, flowers and animals, which requires countless hours of detailed work. Persistence and patience are probably our most important tools.”

Habitat restoration is as much art as science, and the notion of bringing a landscape back to a former state is still a new one. Methods used at Nachusa Grasslands, including prescribed fire, serve as a much-needed model for Conservancy projects in other regions. In fact, a 2007 conservation peer review proclaimed, “The restoration approach and techniques… are outstanding. In terms of large-scale, high-diversity sites, no one is getting better results.”

Nachusa serves many other important roles, including one as a resource for the Dixon National Tallgrass Prairie Seed Bank, at the Chicago Botanic Garden. It collects and stores the seeds of tallgrass prairie region flora and is part of the global Millennium Seed Bank organized by the Royal Botanic Gardens. Nachusa is considered an exemplary source of seeds which may one day be the foundation of restoration efforts in other preserves around the world.

Today, the preserve extends more than 3,500 acres. “For Illinois, this is conservation at an enormous scale,” states Kleiman. But restoration efforts take place at an extremely micro level.

This is truly a wonderful site for grass and all plant lovers. Although we did not see them, there are some roaming buffalo in the area.

Scientific Name	Common Name	Type			Origin
Achillea millefolium L.	common yarrow		Forb	Native

Day 4 – Sunday, September 9, 2018

Inventory Site 8 – Manito Prairie, Tazewell County, Illinois

Manito Prairie is located on a sand and gravel terrace above the Illinois River floodplain. The bulk of the terrace was formed during the post-glacial period of the Wisconsinan glaciation with some sand deposition occurring later. This preserve is the last remaining area in Illinois containing high quality gravel hill prairie and sand prairie that represent the Illinois River Section of the Illinois River and Mississippi River Sand Area Natural Division. Dry-mesic forest and successional field communities also occur at the site. Over 200 species of vascular plants have been observed within the preserve. Two of the prairie species, Tennessee milk vetch and kitten-tails are rare. Franklin’s ground squirrel is one of the more unusual mammals. Current management practices include prescribed burning, brush cutting, fencing and monitoring rare species.

According to “Vascular Flora of Manito Prairie Nature Preserve, Tazewell County, Illinois” Schizachyrium scoparium is by far the most frequently occurring species on the site. Indian grass appears dominate in this picture. The same publication offers a distribution information of gravel terrace prairie. “Gravel prairies are rare in the midwestern United States, many having been destroyed by mining and farming operations. Some occur on kames or eskers mostly in the Northeastern Morainal Division of Illinois, but most occur in the northern half of Illinois on glacial outwash plains that resulted from erosional events during Wisconsin glaciation (Willman and Frye 1970, Willman 1973, King 1981). Here they are associated with valley train deposits along major river systems.”

Scientific Name	Common Name	Type	Origin
Achillea millefolium L.	common yarrow	Forb	Native

Inventory Site 9 – Revis Hill Prairie, Mason County, Illinois

Revis Hill is managed as a fragile ecosystem of loess, a loose, powdered loamy soil type formed from silt ground fine by glaciation and other events. After the loess was wind-deposited on the terrain of what became southern Mason County, Illinois to form a low hill, it was subject to rapid erosion and Revis Hill was dissected by ravines that drained into nearby Salt Creek.

Tallgrass prairie plants, such as little bluestem grass, purple coneflower, and leadplant countered the erosion by developing significant, interlaced root systems that held much of the loessy dust in place in the uplands. Meanwhile, in the dissected ravines, an upland oak-hickory forest grew. The transition belts between the loessy hill prairie and the ravine woodlands developed into oak savanna. Animals adapted to Revis Hill include whitetail deer, turkey vultures and bank swallows. The Illinois Nature Preserves Commission advises visitors to be on the lookout for bluebirds, western hognose snakes, and prairie walking stick insects.

Most of the Illinois hill prairie ecosystems that resembled Revis Hill were lost to the moldboard plow. Revis Hill re-entered the public domain and was dedicated by the state of Illinois as a natural area in August 1973. Land management practices utilized at Revis Hill include prescribed burning and the control of invasive species. The preserve is also managed for archery and firearm deer hunting, by permit only. IDNR supervises the unstaffed Revis Hill Prairie State Natural Area as a disjunct area of another Mason County state park that is staffed full-time, Sand Ridge State Forest.

Revis Hill Prairie is one of the largest and finest loess hill prairies in the state. Geologically, the area was created after the retreat of the last glacier when meltwaters carried finely ground silt or “rock flour” which was deposited throughout the river valleys as mud flats. During periods of drought, the dried loess was blown onto adjacent uplands. Revis Hill Prairie is located on one of these ancient loess bluffs above the Sangamon River. Much of the vegetation found at Revis is typical of hill prairies, although several rare species do occur. Little bluestem, side oats grama, silky aster, scurf pea, ladies’ tresses orchid, purple coneflower, tickseed and leadplant are just a few of the common grasses and forbs, while oaks and hickories dominate the upland forest communities. In between the prairie and the upland forest, a band of savanna occurs. Unusual animals present at this preserve include turkey vulture, bank swallow, bluebird, western hognose snake, western slender glass lizard, prairie walking stick and Ottoe skipper. Management practices currently being implemented at the preserve include prescribed burning, brush removal and alien species control.

As the site picture shows much of this site was covered by woody plants. The inventory took place primarily on the slope. The top was dominated by trees.

Scientific Name	Common Name	Type			Origin
Achillea millefolium L.	common yarrow		Forb	Native

Day 5 – Monday, September 10, 2018

Inventory Site 10 – Elsberry Plant Materials Center, Lincoln County, Missouri

The We arrived at the PMC about 9:00AM and was greeted by manager Ron Cordsiemon and agronomist Mollie Herget who provided an excellent overview of their program and facilities. They are an enthusiastic team faced with a challenging task.

origin of what became the Elsberry PMC happened in 1934 when the Bureau of Plant Industry established a nursery there. The Nursery then was transferred to SCS in 1935, and it survived the closing of most nurseries in 1953 to become a PMC. This may have been partly due to the lobbying efforts of Hugh Stevenson, the first nursery manager, who later developed a large nursery in Elsberry.

The present plant center had its origin as part of the first SCS national network of production and observational nurseries. The Elsberry site was producing seedlings as early as 1934. Its first director was Hugh Stevenson, who started with the Bureau in 1934, transferring first to the Soil Erosion Service and then to SCS. His leadership continued until 1939 when he resigned and opened the Forest Keeling Nursery.

By 1937 the production of trees and shrubs reached 2,398,000 shipped and 2,278,000 carried over, at an annual cost of $10.23 per 1000 shipped.

In 1953 when the nurseries were closed, USDA was mandated to find a non-federal entry to operate them. This was not possible with Elsberry. Consequently, it remained under SCS control and became the first SCS-operated PMC. Roger E. Sherman, who entered employment at the nursery in 1936 as a Junior Horticulturist, became the first PMC manager, and continued in that position until 1958. Although the nursery had carried out an observational study program throughout the 1936 – 1953 periods, their first release was not until 1961. It was ‘Emerald’ crownvetch, released cooperatively with the Iowa Agriculture Experiment Station, through the leadership of Dr. Virgil Hawk, a long-term PM Specialist located in Ames, Iowa. It had been under evaluation prior to the nursery closing, but the work was primarily conducted at Iowa State University. Hawk had returned to Iowa State to pursue his doctorate degree. He graduated in 1946 and returned full-time to SCS employment.

The PMC currently has 243 acres.

The area served by the Elsberry PMC has a humid climate with precipitation ranging from twenty inches in the northwest regions to fifty inches in the southeast regions. Precipitation is unevenly distributed throughout the year with major portions received during the growing season. The average yearly high temperature for the region is between sixty- and seventy-degrees Fahrenheit. The average low temperature is between thirty-five- and fifty-degrees Fahrenheit. Topography of the area served by the Elsberry PMC includes glacial till prairies, Mississippi valley loess hills, Iowa and Mississippi deep loess heavy till plains, thin loess hills and plains, Mississippi valley slopes, and the Ozark highlands. $C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Word\mopmcgs.jpg$

The PMC has a long history of the release of valuable cultivars, including three major native grass releases. The remain on the market today. They additionally conducted important plant use studies.

In the 1990’s a major PMC study was to determine which of twelve PMC switchgrass cultivars produce the most biomass at three locations over a five-year harvest period. Here are the results.

Cultivar	3 Year, 3 Locations Pounds per Acre	Cultivar Source
Kanlow	11,800	Kansas
Alamo	10,700	Texas
Blackwell	9,300	Oklahoma
Carthage	9,200	North Carolina
Pathfinder	8,700	Nebraska
Cave-In-Rock	8,300	Southern IL
Shelter	8,200	West Virginia
Trailblazer	8,000	Nebraska and Kansas
Sunburst	7,100	South Dakota
Nebraska 28	6,800	Nebraska
Greenville	5,400	New Mexico
Forestburg	5,200	North Dakota

Currently the PMC program is emphazing the following (from their web site)

Increase use of native plant material for government and non-government programs through

Multiple native plants developed for roadside plantings, prairie restoration, wildlife, and urban landscaping. Partnerships are established with other agencies in developing ecotype programs.
Central Region Seedling ID Guide for Native Prairie Plants used by landowners and conservationists for NRCS programs, education, and by homeowners.
Plants developed for conservation cover to promote plant diversity, such as pollinator habitat.
Compatibility of species with seeding mixtures of native grasses, forbs, and legumes based on seeds per square foot.

At the present time this boils down to the evaluation of cover crops and their use as pollinators.

No visit to the PMC could avoid observing the major lack of maintaince of the grounds. However, with only two employees and 243 acres of bottomland and multiple plantings that must be kept clean, it is not a surprise. Ron anticipates some partial relief soon.

Scientific Name	Common Name	Type	Origin
Achillea millefolium L.	common yarrow	Forb	Native

Day 6 – Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Inventory Site 11 – Steyermark Sand Prairie, Clark County, Missouri

Sand Prairie Conservation Area is a 200-acre upland area located in Scott County near Benton, Missouri. This area is managed for natural communities including sand prairie, sand savanna, and sandy swale ephemeral wetlands. Management on the area is intended to promote species that historically occupied native sand prairies on the Blodgett Terrace. Natural community restorations and habitat management are currently underway on the area.

Upon arriving at Sand Prairie Conservation Area, you may wonder if you’ve ended up in a desert. The sand and dunes of the area are characteristic of a rare and unique type of Missouri prairie, the sand prairie, after which the area is named. The area is managed for sand prairie, sand savanna, and sandy-swale ephemeral wetlands. Sand prairies are home to drought-resistant plants and animals that look quite out of place in southeast Missouri. On the prairie, you will find typical grassland birds including Eastern Meadowlark, Blue Grosbeak, and Dickcissel. You’ll get good looks at Horned Lark and American Pipit on the open areas with short vegetation and bare dirt. Sparrow diversity is excellent here. It’s a sure bet for Grasshopper and Lark Sparrows especially, but you may also spot Vespers, Savannahs, and Le Conte’s in the grassy, weedy fields interspersed with shrubs and stunted trees. Orchard Oriole and Summer Tanager can be seen in the spring and summer months. Birding for sparrows is also great in the winter.

This was the first site where chiggers were encountered.

Scientific Name	Common Name	Type			Origin
Achillea millefolium L.	common yarrow		Forb	Native

Summary

Following the Steyermark Sand Prairie site we returned to Des Moines.

There are no standards to measure the success or failure of such a sojourn. Expectations, yes. On that score card, it certainly met those if not all.

With all members safely accounted for, Fred directed us to the Machine Shop for our final dinner. Oaks ordered the most recent I Phone and Sharp a one row seeder. Our eleventh trek was over, and just like the past ten; a great experience. Plans for 2019 were firmed up: Southern New Mexico and maybe West Texas, rendezvousing in Albuquerque. Yet to be resolved is starting date.