Fall & Winter 2012: Volume 33, Numbers 3 & 4 - Missouri Prairie ...

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MPF p r a i r i e protection, education, and outreach Dr. Tallamy’s lecture was followed by a book signing, tour of Lincoln University’s Native Plant Outdoor Laboratory and reception with an impressive variety of appetizers made with native plant ingredients, including honey and mountain mint ice cream, persimmon cookies, and stinging nettle cornbread. Pictured above are from left, Mervin Wallace, owner of Missouri Wildflowers Nursery, and Carol Davit with MPF, two sponsors of the event, with Dr. Nadia Navarette-Tindall, director of Lincoln’s Native Plant Program, and Dr. Douglas Tallamy. Top, native plant enthusiasts admire Lincoln’s Native Plant Outdoor Laboratory as they line up to have their books signed by the author. Congratulations, Dr. Navarette-Tindall and Lincoln University! 8 Missouri Prairie Journal Vol. 33 Nos. 3 & 4 An enthusiastic audience of 300 attended Lincoln University’s event with Dr. Douglas Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home— How You Can Sustain Wildlife in your Backyard, on August 30 in Jefferson City. MPF was a sponsor of the event organized by Lincoln’s Native Plants Program in the Cooperative Extension Department. Dr. Tallamy, professor and chair of the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, studies plant and insect interactions and how these interactions determine the diversity of animal communities. Dr. Tallamy’s factfilled and entertaining presentation elucidated the crucial role we have in choosing native plants, which are food for native insects, and which are in turn vital food for birds and other wildlife, for landscaping projects. Following the lecture, MPF President Stan Parrish, Missouri Department of Conservation Assistant Director Tim Ripperger, and MPF Executive Director Carol Davit announced the transfer of the Grow Native! native landscaping marketing and education program from the Department of Conservation to MPF, complete with a native plant transplanting ceremony to symbolically give the program a new home. Grow Native! committee members and Grow Native! professional members were recognized during the announcement, and Lincoln hosted a Grow Native! committee meeting following the program. The Grow Native! committee, made up of native landscaping professionals and MPF board members, is hard at work to carry out the program. Learn more at www. grownative.org. Corey Hale Bringing Nature Home Event a Great Success! Randy Tindall Prairie Protection Highlights of June–August Prairie Management Work MPF’s Prairie Operations Manager Richard Datema controlled sericea lespedeza, tall fescue, and Johnson grass this past summer, searching for these invasive, non-native plants on more than 1,600 acres of prairie. This acreage included MPF’s Friendly, Drovers, Gayfeather, Schwartz, Golden, Denison, and Lattner Prairies, as well as land owned by several partners: the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Grandfather Prairie and Saeger Woods Conservation Area, Powell Gardens, Jerry Smith Park owned by Kansas City Parks and Recreation, and two private prairie landowners. Richard also controlled woody growth on Grandfather Prairie and along a mile of fence line at MPF’s Stilwell Prairie. From January through August 2012, Richard controlled invading trees from a total of 9,580 feet along fence lines and drainage draws on MPF prairies and private land neighboring MPF’s Golden Prairie. Also in 2012, Richard prepared fire lines and he and volunteers applied prescribed fire at MPF’s Coyne, Denison, Lattner, Pennsylvania, and Golden Prairies, as well as at the Ozark Regional Land Trust’s Woods Prairie and two tracts owned by private individuals. At Stilwell Prairie, Richard oversaw the clearing of approximately 25 acres of trees by a private contractor, making way for more prairiedependent plants and animals. Richard also cut the large elm tree from Friendly Prairie, which recently died, eliminating this ground-nesting bird predator perch. Besides his on-the-ground work, Richard does much work that no one sees: he removes internal fencing from various tracts and has the wire recycled, maintains equipment, mixes herbi- Richard Datema Blue dye marks sericea lespedeza that has been sprayed.
Brian Edmond ATCHISON HOLT NODAWAY ANDREW BUCHANAN PLATTE BARTON WORTH GENTRY DEKALB CASS BATES NEWTON VERNON JASPER MCDONALD HARRISON DAVIESS CALDWELL LIVINGSTON CLINTON RALLS CHARITON MONROE CARROLL RANDOLPH PIKE RAY CLAY AUDRAIN HOWARD BOONE SALINE JACKSON LAFAYETTE LINCOLN CALLAWAY MONT GOMERY HENRY CEDAR DADE LAWRENCE BARRY MAP DATA PROVIDED BY CHRIS WIEBERG, MDC. JOHNSON ST CLAIR MERCER GRUNDY POLK STONE PETTIS BENTON HICKORY GREENE PUTNAM SULLIVAN LINN DALLAS CHRISTIAN TANEY COOPER MORGAN CAMDEN WEBSTER MACON SCHUYLER SCOTLAND ADAIR MONITEAU LACLEDE MILLER WRIGHT DOUGLAS OZARK COLE PULASKI HOWELL SHANNON OREGON These prairies by MPF and later sold to the Missouri Department of Conservation Presettlement Prairie. Of these original 15 million acres, fewer than 90,000 acres remain. KNOX SHELBY MARIES TEXAS CLARK OSAGE LEWIS MARION GASCONADE Throughout its 46 years, MPF has acquired more than 3,300 acres of prairie for permanent protection. With the conveyance of more than 700 of these acres to the Missouri Department of Conservation, MPF currently ST CHARLES WARREN owns more than 2,600 acres in 15 tracts of land, clears trees ST LOUIS FRANKLIN on properties neighboring JEFFERSON MPF land to expand grassland habitat, and provides CRAWFORD WASHINGTON PHELPS STE GENEVIEVE management services for ST FRANCOIS PERRY IRON thousands of additional DENT MADISON CAPE acres REYNOLDS owned by other GIRARDEAUprairie partners. CARTER RIPLEY WAYNE BUTLER BOLLINGER DUNKLIN STODDARD NEW MADRID PEMISCOT SCOTT MISSISSIPPI Ecologists rank temperate grasslands—which include Missouri’s tallgrass prairies—as the least conserved, most threatened major habitat type on earth. Prairie protection efforts in Missouri, therefore, are not only essential to preserving our state’s natural heritage, but also are significant to national and even global conservation work. MPF is the only organization in the state dedicated exclusively to the conservation of prairie and other native grasslands. MPF’s Friendly Prairie cide to the proper concentration, documents his work, and many other important tasks. Funding for our prairie protection work in 2012 was provided by you, our valued members, grants from the Audubon Society of Missouri, the National Wild Turkey Federation, the Missouri Bird Conservation Initiative grant program, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners for Wildlife Program, the Wildlife Diversity Fund grant program, and cost-share funds from the Missouri Department of Conservation. Bruce Schuette Illustration of lark sparrow by Kristen Williams, published in Birds in Missouri by Brad Jacobs, 2001 Conservation Commission of the State of Missouri Lark sparrows are uncommon summer residents in Missouri, where they can be seen foraging on the ground for insects and seeds in open farmland, prairies, roadsides and woodland edges. MPF Technical Advisor documented two breeding pairs of the birds at MPF’s Stilwell Prairie in June, as well as two fledglings. MPF Bird Survey Reveals Lark Sparrows and More! Last June, MPF Technical Advisor Jeff Cantrell conducted bird surveys on nine MPF prairies, private land next to MPF’s Golden Prairie, and Prairie State Park. The survey, part of MPF’s Fiscal Year 2012 Missouri Bird Conservation Initiative grant obligation, provided helpful data on the presence and abundance of grassland bird species. Jeff documented 45 total bird species, including lark sparrows, northern bobwhites, and grasshopper sparrows. Jeff will conduct similar surveys on the same prairies this winter to document bird presence and abundance. Many thanks to Jeff, who took vacation time from his work to conduct the surveys. Vol. 33 Nos. 3 & 4 Missouri Prairie Journal 9
Page 1 and 2: Fall/winter 2012 Volume 33 Numbers
Page 3 and 4: Contents Fall/Winter 2012 Volume 33
Page 5 and 6: MPF’s Third Annual Prairie BioBli
Page 7: Carol Davit Carol Davit carol davit
Page 11 and 12: 2012 Campaign for Prairies Please k
Page 13 and 14: allow mosquitoes to swarm. We used
Page 15 and 16: Fate of 67 nests of radio-collared
Page 17 and 18: Max ALleger For the rest of our ann
Page 19 and 20: “The purpose of the park is to ma
Page 21 and 22: DNR FILE PRAIRIE STATE PARK JUSTIN
Page 23 and 24: SCOTT WOODBURY Carol Davit SCOTT WO
Page 25 and 26: Susan Hilty Moving Forward from the
Page 27 and 28: Cattle producers can benefit both c
Page 29 and 30: Prairie Postings Cécile Lagandré
Page 31 and 32: tion Lifetime Members Don Lowry Kay

Fall & Winter 2012: Volume 33, Numbers 3 & 4 - Missouri Prairie ...

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