MPF, NATIONAL & STATE
PRAIRIE-RELATED NEWS
MPF Tote Bags for Sale!
Support MPF and show off your love of prairies with a beautiful tote bag!
New MPF tote bags display our beautiful logo. Bags are all cotton, durable, large, and practical with long handles for grocery shopping and lots of other purposes.
Available for $12 at upcoming prairie events where MPF has a booth, or send $15 (for bag and shipping), and your mailing address, to
Susan Parrish
204 East 550th Road
Walnut Grove, MO 65770
Phone: 417-788-2308
Susan will be happy to mail you a tote bag!
OCTOBER 26-29, 2010 ~ SAVE THE DATE!!
37th Annual National Natural Areas Conference in Missouri
This annual national conference brings together natural area conservation professionals, students and other dedicated, passionate conservationists.
There will be a special MPF-cosponsored Prairie Ecology and Management workshop on Oct. 27 and a guided prairie field trip on Oct. 28.
Register now--early bird full and daily registration rates available until September 15--for this national conference held this year at Tan-Tar-A Resort at Lake of the Ozarks. There is an impressive schedule of speakers, workshops, poster session, vendors, field trips and other activities. The last time this conference was held in Missouri was 2000--so don't miss this one! Full and daily registration is available. Visit the conference web site for full details and to register.
Workshop speakers include:
Patch-Burn Grazing & Grassland Conservation--Samuel Fuhlendorf, Oklahoma State University
Nesting Ecology of Grassland Birds--James Herkert, Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources
Prairie Plant Ecology--Kevin James, National Park Service
Mead's Milkweed Occurrence & Management--Emily Horner, biologist
Hydrology & Water Quality Characteristics of Tallgrass vs. Agricultural Soils--David Heimann, USGS
Prairie Invertebrate Ecology and Management--James Trager, Shaw Nature Reserve
posted August 2, 2010
Conserving Prairie in Missouri helps conserve the biodiversity of the planet!
2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity. Watch the VIDEO!
posted August 8, 2010
FRIDAY, AUGUST 27 & SATURDAY, AUGUST 28-28
MoBCI Conference; Conference theme: How does climate impact birds and "weather" we can make a difference.
The Missouri Bird Conservation Initiative, of which MPF is a member, will hold its annual conference in Columbia, MO, August 27 and 28. The conference focus is on climate change and effects on birds; speakers include University of Missouri Climatologist Pat Guinan and Greg Butcher, Director of Bird Conservation for the National Audubon Society. For a complete conference schedule and to register, visit Missouri Bird Conservation Initiative.
posted August 2, 2010
OCTOBER 5 - 8, 2010, Knoxville Marriott Hotel, Knoxville, TN
ANNOUNCEMENT AND FINAL CALL FOR PAPERS Flyer (PDF)
7th Eastern Native Grass Symposium
“Native Grasses on Working and Natural Landscapes”
Submission Deadline Extended!!
We are now accepting submissions for oral, full papers, and posters.
Authors must submit an abstract by going to the website and clicking on the links named “Native Grass Symposium” and “Abstract Submission Form.” Abstracts are limited to 250 words.
Abstracts must be submitted by August 16, 2010. Authors will be notified by September 3, 2010 if the submission is accepted. Final abstracts and full papers for approved submissions must be received by September 17, 2010
The Eastern Native Grass Symposium features a special emphasis on working landscapes that will include sessions on biofuels, ecosystem restoration, forage, seed production/landscaping, land reclamation (mines, landfills, etc.) wildlife management and other topics of interest for native grasses in the eastern United States and Canada.
Several field trips are being planned to sites in East Tennessee that will include the recently completed cellulosic biofuels production facility, the first of its kind in the United States, associated biomass production fields (switchgrass), forage production fields, the largest oak savannah restoration project east of the Mississippi, a pine savannah restoration site, wildlife management areas, and more.
The symposium will be held in downtown Knoxville,Tennessee at the Knoxville Marriott. Reservations may be made by contacting them at 800-228-9290 or at the same web page where you register for the meeting and clicking on the link named “Hotel.” (make sure to use the group code "gragraa" to receive the discounted rate)
You may register on-line and click on the links named “Native Grass Symposium” and “Register On-Line Now.” Rates will go up after August 25. A credit card is required to register on-line. If you would prefer to pre-register using a check, you may do so by sending your payment, along with a printed registration form (see above link to obtain a copy) to: Eastern Native Grass Symposium Registration, Attn: Lisa Cashion, 2431 Joe Johnson Drive, Rm 274 EPSB, Knoxville, TN 37996-4563
Please plan to join us in East Tennessee for an excellent program, greatfield trips, and an outstanding opportunity to network with leaders and practitioners in the native grass field!
posted July 23, 2010
JUNCTION CITY, Kan. | A Kansas rancher has granted a permanent conservation easement on nearly 7,000 acres of Flint Hills native tallgrass prairie near Fort Riley. Kansas Land Trust says the grant by Rod Moyer of Junction City will protect the land from development.
Read more at the Kansas City Star.
posted July 20, 2010
Visit an MPF Prairie!
Our prairies are in their full glory during the warm months. Especially showy this year are Penn-Sylvania Prairie and Schwartz Prairie. Blooming in the summer are bee balm, coreopsis, lead plant, false sunflower, milkweeds, mountain mint, ashy sunflower, blazing stars, royal catchfly, obedient plant, compass plant, the warm-season grasses, asters, and many, many other species. Directions are on-line or call 888-843-6739 if you need help.
posted June 26, 2010
Happy 4th Annual National Pollinator Week, June 21-27!
A sweat bee (from the Halictidae family) visiting a sunflower, collecting pollen in the process. Photo by James Trager
This week is dedicated to raising awareness of the value of hard-working pollinators that account for every third bite of food people eat.
These pollinators include the many bees and other insects that help our native prairies in Missouri thrive by transporting pollen from flower to flower across the prairie landscape---many by ingenious and strategic methods.
Read about bee pollination in the summer issue of the Missouri Prairie Journal, which will soon appear in members' mailboxes. See the St. Louis Zoo Web site and the Xerces Society Web site for more information as well.
Also, read about the Native Pollinators Workshop to be held in Columbia, Mo., on August 13, organized by Lincoln University with support from MPF, the Xerces Society, and others.
Many thanks to the 98+ participants of the Penn-Sylvania Prairie BioBlitz!
Debbie Fantz, mammalogist with the Mo. Dept. of Conservation, prepares to release a small mammal from a trap during the BioBlitz.
The weather and wildflowers were lovely, and the enthusiasm of all the participants for prairie wildlife made for a very fun weekend.
In addition, the biological sleuthing of the participants helped uncover many species--from snails to ants to plants--from this 160-acre tract of original prairie owned and managed by MPF in Dade County. Information on species found and identified will be provided in a future issue of the Missouri Prairie Journal.
Those who attended: please send photos from the event to info@moprairie.com for potential use on the MPF web site and the Missouri Prairie Journal.
If you are newly acquainted with MPF because of the BioBlitz, please consider becoming a member--member support is vital to our prairie conservation efforts--and join us for future events as well. Thank you!
posted June 26, 2010
The Xerces Society initiates new project to protect Monarch Butterflies
As spring moves into summer, you may be seeing monarch butterflies pausing to lay eggs on milkweed or to drink nectar from flowers....CONTINUE READING HERE.
posted May 27, 2010
Midwest Voices | The diversity of our prairie provides a lesson to politicians
About 10 years ago in a moment of midlife madness, my husband and I decided to buy land in the country. We had never lived in the country, nor did we have farming experience, but we were drawn to its natural beauty. After closing on the property, we discovered that it included about 25 acres of native prairie....CONTINUE READING HERE
posted May 14, 2010
MPF board member and wildlife videographer Tim Barksdale was the guest speaker at the St. Louis Audubon Society's awards dinner on Saturday, April 10, 2010. Barksdale has been filming wildlife for more than 20 years and has built the largest stock footage library of North American birds in the world. He is currently working on a film project about prairie chickens that's tentatively set to air on PBS in December.
A Brown University researcher plans to study effect of climate change on grasslands. Even though she will not study a site in Missouri, there still may be an opportunity to collaborate.
USDA Releases Long-Awaited Biomass Crop Proposal (BCAP)
While BCAP is a mechanism for producing sources of alternative energy, some prairie conservationists fear the BCAP program could convert remaining prairie to monoculture energy crops. The BCAP public comment period ends April 9. Send comments to: cepdmail@wdc.usda.gov
On February 8, 2010, the U.S.D.A. issued its proposed rule to implement the 2008 Farm Bill Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP). This bill would provide funding for agriculture and forest land owners and operators to receive matching payments for eligible biomass materials sold to qualified biomass conversion facilities for the production of heat, power, bio-based products or advanced biofuels. The payment rate is intended to assist producers with the cost of collection, harvest, storage and transportation of the biomass to the facility, for up to two years.
Additionally, BCAP would provide funding for some producers of eligible renewable crops to receive payments up to 75 percent of the cost of establishing the crop and annual payments for up to 15 years for crop production.
Some prairie conservationists are concerned that BCAP could cause a buying spree on marginal pasture ground containing prairie remnants, to be converted to monoculture energy crops like nonnative Miscanthus grass, as well as the spread of planted species like Miscanthus that may have the potential to invade nearby prairies. Research on the use of a diversity of prairie plants for biofuels has been conducted by the University of Minnesota and has shown positive results. Such native, diverse prairie energy crops provide feedstock for biofuels AND provide habitat for wildlife.
USDA is accepting public comments on the BCAP proposal through April 9, 2010. Go here for full details.
Send comments to: cepdmail@wdc.usda.gov
Scientists exploring cup plant as potential new biomass and carbon storing crop
Washington, March 20, 2010 (ANI): A new research by scientists at South Dakota State University (SDSU) is exploring a native perennial called cup plant as a potential new biomass crop that could also store carbon in its extensive root system and add biodiversity to biomass plantings.
Researchers are exploring whether cup plant could be grown in low, moist prairies generally unfit for cropland.
It would be grown and processed along with native grasses grown for biomass.
"We anticipate down the road there's going to be a need and maybe even a market for plants that can store carbon under ground and be part of a biomass production system," SDSU professor Arvid Boe said.
Boe, a plant breeder, is the lead investigator on a grant of 324,336 dollars from the US Department of Energy channeled through the SDSU-based North Central Sun Grant Center.
Project goals include studying genetic variation and developing molecular markers in cup plant populations from the eastern Great Plains; developing new cultivars that can be grown in combination with other biomass crops; determining best practices such as seeding rate, row spacing, harvest timing and nutrient management so that producers will know how to grow the plant; determining life histories of insect pests; and determining biochemical composition.
According to Boe, cup plant, or Silphium perfoliatum, is a member of the sunflower family found in moist low ground in the eastern Great Plains, where it can grow more than 7 feet tall.
It has large seeds and good seedling vigor, and it yields a lot of biomass.
"It's conspicuous in the prairie as a very productive forb in a tallgrass prairie where you have your major grasses such as big bluestem, switchgrass and prairie cordgrass," Boe said.
"We haven't come up with too many things to grow with our grasses to add biodiversity to these biofuel mixtures that we're anticipating growing down the road. It's very compatible with such things as switchgrass and prairie cordgrass and big bluestem," he added.
Boe said that scientists don't envision planting entire fields of cup plant.
Instead, they view it as one in a mix of biomass species that would be seeded in zones best suited for them, just as in the original tallgrass prairie.
Cup plant is likely to increase biodiversity in a plant community because it attracts a variety of insects and even birds. (ANI)
Plant Buffers Can Limit Spread of Antibiotics in Animal Waste
February 11, 2010
Springfield Plateau Master Naturalists Help MPF Burn Penn-Sylvania Prairie December 1, 2009
North America's Great Carbon Ocean by John H. Davidson
Protecting Prairie Grasslands Keeps Carbon in the Soil and Slows the Pace of Climate Change
(Winter 2010 Saving Land magazine of The Land Trust Alliance)
published USGS report: Comparison of Hydrologic and Water-Quality Characteristics of Two Native Tallgrass Prairie Streams with Agricultural Streams in Missouri and Kansas October, 2009
Can Dirt Really Save Us From Global Warming? NPR, September 3, 2009
Our Endangered Tallgrass Prairie Kansas City Star, August 22, 2009
Letter to the KC Star Editor by Carol Davit
Letter to The KC Star Editor by Larry Rizzo
Prairie Grouse Protections May Threaten Wind Energy in Oklahoma
News OK, August 6, 2009
Toxic Invader Revealing its Presence in Missouri
Missouri Department of Conservation News, July 23, 2009
Mounting Evidence Shows Native Grasses Could Destroy Explosives Kansas City Star, June 15, 2009
Schwartz and Penn-Sylvania Prairies Burned
Many thanks to volunteers in southwestern Missouri who helped conduct prescribed burns at MPF's Schwartz and Penn-Sylvania Prairies on Dec. 1. MPF President Stan Parrish and Prairie Operations Manager Richard Datema organized the burn. Burn conditions were perfect, Stan said, and the fire will help keep invasive species at bay and should result in fabulous wildflower displays in 2010.
If you can volunteer to help with future prescribed burns on MPF prairies and would like to be placed on a call list, please contact Stan Parrish at 417-788-2308.
Volunteers Make Space for Natives at Jerry Smith Park
Clearing invasive honeysuckle and cedar makes way for more native
prairie plants and better habitat for prairie birds.
Many thanks to the more than 30 volunteers who participated in the
Missouri Prairie Foundation workday at Jerry Smith Park in Kansas City
on Nov. 22. Volunteers—including members of MPF, Burroughs Audubon,
Sierra Club, Kansas City Meetup Hiking group, Missouri Native Plant
Society and Kansas City WildLands; UMB employees; Missouri Master
Naturalists; and students with the Johnson County Community College,
Center for Equitable Education and Pembroke Hill High School—gave an
afternoon of their time cutting and treating invasive honeysuckle and
cutting cedar from this 40-acre original remnant prairie at the 320-acre Jerry Smith Park, owned by Kansas City Parks and Recreation.
Special thanks are due to Doris and Bob Sherrick and Paul and Karen
Cox with the Missouri Prairie Foundation, and Linda Lehrbaum with
Kansas City WildLands who coordinated the event.
Jerry Smith Park Prairie is a remnant of Jackson County’s once vast
prairie landscape. It is home to showy wildflowers—including
Missouri’s largest population of the state imperiled eared false
foxglove—grassland birds and other wildlife. The area will be burned
this fall/winter to further help restoration efforts. Be sure to visit
the prairie this spring and summer and enjoy the restoration progress.
To see more photos from the work day, visit MPF on Facebook.
For information on other prairies and glades in the Kansas City area, see pages 8-15 of the Missouri Prairie Journal, Vol. 28 #1, 2007
Stargazing at Schwartz Prairie
MPF members and guests enjoyed great company and food, wildflowers, songs of grassland birds, prairie hikes, star gazing and camping at MPF's Schwartz Prairie on August 8. Pictured here is Harold Adams, left, with Dan Zarlenga, amateur astronomer who lent his telescope and his expertise to interpret the night sky.
Explore Prairies
Now is the time to take a break and visit an MPF prairie--teeming with birds, butterflies and other wildlife. Explore two MPF prairies more easily with trails established by Board member and volunteer Stan Parrish. The two prairies are: Schwartz and Golden. At Golden, in Barton County, the 2-mile mown trail begins at the northwest parking lot (at the corner of SE 90 and SE 80 roads) and is routed to the center of the prairie with a loop.
New Field Guide
MPF member and author Don Kurz has a new book available, Shrubs and Woody Vines of Missouri Field Guide, published by the Missouri Department of Conservation. Based on his original, larger-format sized Shrubs and Woody Vines of Missouri, this concise,easy-to-carry field guide features 170 species. Included are 133 shrubs and 37 vines, including several that are native to and desirable on our prairies, such as prairie willow, New Jersey tea, lead plant and the rare meadowsweet from northern Missouri wet prairies.
The book is organized visually by leaf arrangement and shape. Each species entry includes easy-to-understand descriptions and range maps. Colorized illustrations add to the book’s appeal. Shrubs and Woody Vines of Missouri Field Guide is available at Conservation Nature Centers and other book sellers. You also may order by calling 877-521-8632, or on-line at www.mdcnatureshop.com. The price is $7.50, plus shipping and handling and sales tax (where applicable)
Record Sales at 2009 MPF Plant Sale
Despite a soggy beginning, MPF’s annual native plant sale this past April at the City Market in Kansas City, set a record for the number of plants sold. Thanks to the excellent volunteer help provided by Dr. Jim Wells, Lori Wohlschlaeger, Dennis Gredell, Ronnie Berry, Marty Schuettpelz, Susan Appel, Spencer Ernst, Paul Cox, Loree Weber, Van Wiskur, and Bob and Doris Sherrick, and the hard work of Mervin Wallace of Missouri Wildflower Nursery, in loading, delivering and setting up the plants each day, more than $7,200 worth of plants were sold during the two-day fundraiser. Be sure to mark your calendar for next year's sale at the City Market on April 17 and 18, 2010.
Friendly Prairie Work Day a Success
On April 4, volunteers cleared a brushy fencerow in only a few hours at this MPF prairie in Pettis County, opening the prairie vista and improving grassland habitat. Justin Rottger, radio journalist from NPR-affiliate KBIA in Columbia, Missouri, covered the event. Listen to his report in the 4/23/09 edition of KBIA’s Under the Microscope (story follows Bradford pear report). Requires Real Player.
Kemper Foundation Grant Completes Coyne Prairie Acquisition
The Missouri Prairie Foundation was awarded a $25,000 Challenge Grant by the William T. Kemper Foundation of St. Louis. Coyne Prairie, which serves as the background for our website, is one of the best examples of tallgrass prairie in North America. MPF acquired the property in June 2006 for $98,000. Thanks to the generous Kemper Foundation grant, matching funds from the Edward K. Love Foundation and the contributions of our members, the Coyne Prairie acquisition project is now complete. Thank you.
Norcross Foundation and National Wild Turkey Federation Grants Support MPF's Prairie Management Program
Recent grants from the Norcross Wildlife Foundation and the National Wild Turkey Federation's Superfund program will allow MPF to acquire new prairie management equipment for our Prairie Operations Manager Richard Datema. This spring, MPF will purchase a new ATV for Richard and is considering other equipment, such as a seed spreader for small acreage restoration projects and a spray rig for help with invasive species treatment or prescribed burns.