ARKANSAS NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY
Spring Meeting 2008
April 4 – 6, 2008
Harrison, Arkansas
This year’s spring meeting will be the first weekend of April, with Harrison as the base for our meeting and field trips. Plan now to join the Arkansas Native Plant Society in Harrison this weekend. We’re excited about the joint spring meeting with members of the Missouri Native Plant Society, and encourage everyone to share the native plants and spring wildflowers of the Arkansas Ozarks with our guests from Missouri. Early April in the Ozarks holds the promise of woodland wildflowers, shrubs and showy flowering trees in the forests, and the glade and prairie plants on the rock outcrops and thinner soils. The early spring flora should be peaking, with mid-spring plants beginning to emerge and flower. (And the chiggers should still be hibernating!) It’s a great time of the year to be hiking through the Ozarks with a group of knowledgeable native plant enthusiasts. Also, our friends from Missouri will return the favor in late May of 2009 by hosting the ANPS to a joint meeting in Missouri where they’ll show us around the prairies of the Osage Plains!
LOCATION
We will meet in the Conference Center of the Comfort Inn at 1210 Hwy 62-65 N, in Harrison, Arkansas (phone: 870.741.7676), web site (www.harrisoncomfortinn.com). The Comfort Inn is located just off Hwy 62/65/412 in Harrison.
REGISTRATION
Registration costs $5.00 and occurs on-site Friday from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM, in the Comfort Inn Conference Center. At the registration table we’ll have sign-up sheets for various field trips throughout the weekend in addition to handouts, local restaurant recommendations, and other attractions in the Harrison area.
A NOTE ABOUT THE FIELD TRIPS
Several field trips are listed below but others are likely to occur as well. Up to date information will be provided at the Friday evening program. If you would like to lead a field trip on Saturday or Sunday, please contact the Claytonia editor or Staria Vanderpool and let us know. The more trips the better…
AGENDA
FRIDAY, APRIL 4
OPTIONAL PRE-MEETING FIELD TRIP: Greers Ferry Lake Area/Mossy Bluff Trail
With our Missouri friends in mind, a special pre-meeting field trip is being planned this year to see a number of species in the southern Ozarks that are either not known from Missouri, are uncommon there, or were only known there historically. Species include the newly-described Ozark spring beauty (Claytonia ozarkensis), Palmer’s saxifrage (Saxifraga palmeri), Arkansas alumroot (Heuchera villosa var. arkansana), Riddell’s spikemoss (Selaginella arenicola ssp. riddellii), and others. We will meet at the Greer’s Ferry Dam Visitor’s Center at 10:00 am. Those staying in Harrison Thursday evening have the option of meeting at the Comfort Inn at 7:30 am to carpool/caravan to the Visitor’s Center (115 miles each way). For more info on this trip call Theo Witsell at 501.831.7473.
7:00 pm: Evening program at the Comfort Inn in Harrison on some aspect of the flora of the Ozarks. Details to be announced.
8:30 pm: Arkansas Native Plant Society Executive Board Meeting
SATURDAY, APRIL 5
8:00 am: Field trips depart from the Comfort Inn
Some trips will be held concurrently in the morning and will be offered again in the afternoon, so people should be able to make two of these half day trips. Other trips will likely be all day, or take most of the day. As of press time, people have committed to lead the following trips:
1) Buffalo National River (Pruitt and Lost Valley)
Explore the spectacular spring flora of Lost Valley, the legendary hollow along the Buffalo River that was a state park in another lifetime, before the establishment of the Buffalo National River. In addition to high quality mesic hardwood forest and rare plant species like Ozark wake robin and Arkansas alumroot, there are spectacular landforms including a natural bridge, a waterfall issuing from a cave, spectacular bluffs, and Cob Cave, a large prehistoric Native American bluff shelter. We’ll also stop at Pruitt to see Alabama snow wreath (Neviusia alabamensis), one of the rarest shrubs in North America which will hopefully be in flower. If time permits, there are also some sandstone and limestone glades at Pruitt too that are worth exploring. Half day. Leaders are Burnetta Hinterthuer and Brent Baker.
2) Baker Prairie Natural Area
Baker Prairie Natural Area is the highest quality example of chert prairie left in Arkansas and is a rare remnant of the once 5,000 acre prairie centered around the town of Harrison. Baker Prairie is renowned for its incredible wildflower displays, including a number of rare species. In April we will likely see prairie trout lily, prairie violet, prairie pussy toes, Ozark wake robin, and others. Joe Woolbright of Ozark Ecological Restorations Inc., who has done much of the management work on the prairie in recent years, will be on hand to give a tour. Birders should bring their binoculars! Half day.
3) Ozark Natural Science Center/Bear Hollow Natural Area/Madison County Wildlife Management Area
The Ozark Natural Science Center (ONSC) is a residential environmental education center nestled on 80 acres within Bear Hollow Natural Area and the Madison County Wildlife Management Area (MCWMA). It provides programs for young people from NW Arkansas schools and other programs for kids and adults around Arkansas. ONSC staff will be available to give a short tour of their facilities (including restroom facilities after the car trip!) before we explore Bear Hollow Natural Area. A system of trails will take us through a wide variety of habitats including dolomite glades, sandstone glades, bluffs, woodlands, and a variety of forest types. A number of interesting ferns will be seen including powdery cloak fern, hairy lip fern, woolly lip fern, Alabama lip fern, purple cliff brake, Bradley’s spleenwort, etc. If time permits, we can tour woodland restoration areas in the MCWMA and some large sandstone flatrocks (glades) at the south end of the area. All day (bring a lunch).
1:30 pm: Afternoon field trips depart from the Comfort Inn
7:00 pm: Joint presentation by Paul McKenzie of MONPS and Theo Witsell from ANPS examining habitats and species in the border regions of both Arkansas and Missouri. Emphasis will be on species known from one state but not the other and on habitats in each state likely to be of interest to those in the other. The hope is that NPS members from each state might then be able to turn up new state records or relocate species only known historically in their state.
8:30 pm: Arkansas Native Plant Society General Meeting & Missouri Native Plant Society Board Meeting
SUNDAY, 6 APRIL
8:00 am: Field trips depart from the Comfort Inn
Lower Buffalo Wilderness/Turkey Mountain Savanna
On Sunday, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission botanist Theo Witsell will lead a hike into the edge of the 40,000 acre Lower Buffalo/Leatherwood Wilderness Area near the mouth of the Buffalo River to visit the Turkey Mountain Savanna. See more than 1000 acres of old-growth post oak savanna and glades that are being restored with prescribed fire. This area has a number of rare species in the summer and fall but has not been botanized much in the spring. A moderately strenuous trail leads into the site but we will also go off-trail to see some of the more impressive areas.
CONTACTS
If you have places in the region that you want to share, questions about the meeting, or need assistance, contact Staria Vanderpool at Arkansas State University (870.972.3151) or by cell phone (870.926.5793 – although I can’t promise good reception in the Ozarks), or by email (svand@astate.edu). Or contact Theo Witsell at 501.831.7473. We look forward to seeing you all in the Ozark Mountains in April!
ACCOMODATIONS
The Comfort Inn, located at 1210 Hwy 62-65 N, Harrison (phone: 870.741.7676), web site (www. harrisoncomfortinn.com) is the meeting center. The Comfort Inn is located just off Hwy 62/65/412 in Harrison. We have 25 rooms blocked for the meeting, for the conference rate of $71.99 + tax. You must mention ANPS to get this rate, and must reserve by March 25, 2008, by credit card.
A few of the many other lodging facilities are available in the Harrison area, including:
Camping:
Buffalo National River (several campsites in the general area, but Pruitt is probably the closest)
Dogwood Springs RV and Campground, Jasper, AR 72641; phone: 870 446 2163; Web site www.jasperandnewtoncountyresorts.com.
Harrison Village Campground & RV Park, 2364 Hwy 65 S; phone: 870 743 3388; Web site www.harrisonvillagervpark.com.
Hog Heaven RV Park & Café, Jasper, AR 72604; phone: 870 428 5540; Web site www.hogheavenrvpark.com.
Parkers RV Park; 3659 Hwy 65 N; phone 888 590 2267; Web site www.parkersvinc.com.
Parkway Travel Park, Hwy 7 South; phone 870 743 2198; Web site www.passport-america.com/campgrounds.
Shady Oaks, 906 Hwy 206E; phone 870 743 2343; Web site www.camptheoaks.com.
Motels:
Days Inn of Harrison; 1425 Hwy 62/65 North, Harrison; phone 870 391 3297 or 888 391 3297; Web site www.the.daysinn.colm/harrison04766.
Family Budget Inn: 401 S. Main, Harrison; phone 870 743 1000; Web site www.familybudgetinn.com
Holiday Inn Express: 117 Hwy 43 F, Harrison; phone 870 741 3636; Web site www.harrisonexpress.com
Ozark Mountain Inn; 1222 N Main, Harrison; phone 870 743 1949; Web site www.arkweb.com/ozmtninn
Super 8 Motel: 1330 hwy 62/65 N, Harrison; phone 870 741 1741; Web site www.super8.com
Bed and Breakfast Inns:
The Queen Anne House: 610 West Central Avenue – Harrison; phone 870 365 0888 or 1 800 419 9907; Web site www.queenannehouse.net
Harrison House Bed & Breakfast: 205 Jerry Street; phone 8707 741 6946.
3 Oaks Bed & Breakfast: 10205 Devore Dr., Harrison; 870 743 4093; Web site www.3oaksbb.com
Cedarhouse Bed & Breakfast: 373 Hwy 14 West, Lead Hill, AR 72644; phone 870 436 3903, toll free 1 800 764 9816
The Arkansas House Bed and Breakfast: Jasper Downtown Square; phone 1 888 ARHOUSE (274-6873) or 870 446 5900; Web site www.thearkhouse.com