Thanks and Volunteering 9/29

This is from Jessica Gist at AZ Game and Fish.   

Hello volunteers,

From all of us at Centennial Forest, Arizona Game & Fish, Arizona Wildlife Federation, and Arizona State Land Department, we want to thank all of the volunteers who came out to clean up Budweiser Tank on Saturday. We managed to fill two 20-yard dumpsters and several more garbage bags full of trash from the tank area, makeshift camp sites, and three illegal shooting sites. Great work!

For those interested in helping out with our final work day of the season, we will meet at the Arboretum on Woody Mountain Road at 8AM this Saturday, September 29^th. We will repair over one mile of fencing around the Arboretum property. Learn how proper fencing techniques can minimize the negative impacts of wildlife and allow animals safe passage in and out of the meadow. This project will improve more of the Woody Ridge Wildlife Corridor, Coconino County’s most critical movement area for wildlife. We will provide tools, work gloves, and materials. Please bring a lunch, water, sunscreen, and bug spray (if desired). Long pants and sturdy shoes are essential. To reach the Arboretum, drive west on Route 66 from town and turn left (south) on Woody Mountain Rd. Signs indicate the Arboretum is 4 miles down Woody Mountain Road.

Again thank you all for participating in the Woody Ridge Wildlife Corridor improvement project this summer. We hope you will spread the word for this final event and join us if you are able.

Sincerely,

Jessica Gist

Wildlife Biologist

Arizona Game and Fish Department, Region II

3500 S. Lake Mary Rd

Flagstaff, AZ 86001

office: (928) 214-1274

cell: (831) 521-7916

jgist@azgfd.gov

Your Resource to the Outdoors

 http://www.azgfd.gov/h_f/getoutside.shtml

AZ Native Plant Society Happenings

Greetings, friends,  Here are four items for your consideration:   

1.  There will not be the usual monthly meeting at the Deaver Herbarium on Tuesday, September 18.  Instead, there will be a planning meeting at 7:00pm at the Campus Coffee Bean to brainstorm ideas for talks/walks/events/etc. for 2013.  If you are not able to come, please respond to this email with any thoughts/ideas/wishes/etc. that you may have for the chapter, and I will present them at the Campus Coffee Bean.    

2.  Also, please let me know if you would like to join the planning committee for the annual Garden Showcase by responding to this email.  I will be leaving the committee this year, and many hands are needed to make light work, as the old expression goes.  It's a fabulous event, and this year we raised $475 for the chapter.    

3.  Sunday, September 30, 2012  (Please note the date - one week later than the usual Sunday walk)

Moss Walk: Join Theresa Clark for a walk to fabulous Viet Springs off the Snowbowl Road to learn field identification of common genera and species of mosses in the Mixed Conifer forest on the San Francisco Peaks. Theresa Clark recently graduated with her Master's in biology at NAU and is a fascinating instructor. Her thesis focused on the flora and ecology of bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) in Grand Canyon National Park.  As usual, we will meet at the Credit Union on the corner of Butler and Beaver on Sunday morning at 10AM and carpool.  Bring a bag lunch, 1-2 L of water, a 10x -15x hand lens, and a permanent marker to write on collection baggies, which will be provided. Learning each taxon will be done as a group and elaborated with brief lessons about morphology and taxonomy on a dry-erase board. Lastly, Theresa will explain proper storage of moss collections (for later use in her moss workshop in 2013), which can be easily completed at home after specimens have fully dried. Bryologists don't travel very far or very quickly, so we won't expect to travel much more than 1 mile and the plan is to head home in the afternoon.  4.  Tuesday, October 16, 2012  (This is the last AZNPS talk of the 2012 season.)   Laura Moser, Botanist and Pesticide Coordinator with the Coconino National Forest, will explain the challenges of treating invasive plants such as salt cedar and giant reed along the Verde River. A field trip in the Verde Valley will later demonstrate some of the invasives and the restoration opportunities there. More details to follow.   Posted by Dorothy Lamm

Make a Difference Day Volunteer Project

The Little Rio de Flag

Revitalization and Restoration Project

National Make a Difference Day

Saturday, October 27th, 2012 8:00 am - 1:30 pm

Organized by the Flagstaff Area Stream Team F.A.S.T.

Our Make A Difference Day FAST-sponsored project this year is The Little Rio de Flag at the confluence of Rio de Flag and Sinclair Wash (Lonetree and O’Leary). This community-based project is focused on revitalizing and restoring a very important part of our Flagstaff watershed. The selected area was inventoried and had a high ranking for restoration and maintenance.

Please contact Kyle Brown to get on the team of your choice: kbrown@flagstaffaz.gov

So far the project includes:

· Tree Trimming and Chipping

· Community Outreach

· Fence Construction

· Invasive species removal (weeds)

· Trash Removal

· Planting/Seeding/Soil Amendment

· FREE FOOD and a FREE RAFFLE!!!

Pioneer Museum Weed Eradication

I just took a look around the Pioneer Museum grounds to be sure there hasn't been a resurgence of Diffuse knapweed there since our last weed-out in June, and I was rewarded with a profusion of native Four O'clocks and native Cosmos, plus all kinds of other natives that will be blossoming again next year. What a delight.  
 
The hard work of Master Gardeners, members of the Native Plant Society, Grand Canyon Trust volunteers, and Pioneer Museum volunteers has paid off.  Many, many thanks to all the volunteers who have worked so faithfully and hard to make this amazing transformation at the Pioneer Museum!!  
 
It would be wonderful to have one more weed-out this season to get the few remaining Diffuse knapweed and those nasty annuals that have come up since the monsoons.  Please join us on Friday, September 21 from 8 until noon.  Come when you can, stay as long as you like.  Most of our work will be easy hand pulling.  You'll need the usual items:  water, sunscreen, sturdy shoes, long sleeved shirt, gloves, snacks, and your favorite hand tools, such as snippers.  We'll provide plastic bags and shovels, which will probably not see much use.  
 
Dorothy Lamm 

Fall Master Gardener Class

The 2012 fall Master Gardener class will start on September 19 and run thru December 12.  It will be held Wednesday evenings from 5:30 to 8:30 at the East Flagstaff Community Library.   The cost for the class is $200.  This does not include the AZ Manual Gardener Manual as it is available online.  I can place orders for anyone that wants a hard copy.  If you are interested in the class, call or e-mail Hattie ASAP as we have 23 already signup for the class.

(928)774-1868 ext. 170

hbraun@cals.arizona.edu

Highland Garden Conference

The regional annual Highlands Garden Conference in being held in Flagstaff this year. The theme is "Gardening in Light Air". It will be held over 2  days, October 5th & 6th. The first day includes tours of gardens and the second an array of speakers at Dubois Auditorium at NAU. It is a great opportunity to learn from national as well as local garden experts. If you are interested in more information or registering follow this link.  Reminder - early registration ($75) ends on Sept. 14, so get your registration in. If you are interested in helping with the conference contact Ann Eagan - ann.eagan@nau.edu.

Loni Shapiro
Co-secretary CMGA

Volunteer Restoration Activities

Fun volunteer opportunities with Game and Fish:  

Hi everyone,

We have scheduled two work days in September (probably the last for this grant project) for the Woody Ridge Wildlife Corridor Restoration project, funded by National Forest Foundation, Arizona Wildlife Federation, and Coconino Sportsmen. Please mark your calendars and spread the word. Flyers to come shortly – sorry for any redundant emails coming your way!

Saturday, Sept 22^nd 8AM – 4PM: Clean up Budweiser Tank! This should be a fun, all-day affair with groups from NAU Forestry, Wildlife Society, and more. We will remove trash and rehab sites that have been badly degraded by off-roading and target shooting. We hope this will launch a conversation about long-term stewardship for this site. Getting there: (GoogleMaps recognizes Budweiser Tank) Bud Tank is ~9miles from downtown Flagstaff. Travel West on Old Rt 66, turn right onto West Naval Observatory Rd, continue onto Observatory Access Rd. We will sign the work site.

Saturday, Sept 29^th 8AM – 4PM: Wildlife-friendly fence repair at the Arboretum. We will repair approximately 1.5 miles of fencing and add wildlife jumps, making it permeable to elk, deer, pronghorn, and other species. The Festival of Science will be in full swing, so come learn and volunteer at the same time. Signs near the Arb entrance will guide you to parking.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have.

Jessica Gist

Wildlife Biologist

Arizona Game and Fish Department, Region II

3500 S. Lake Mary Rd

Flagstaff, AZ 86001

office: (928) 214-1274

cell: (831) 521-7916

jgist@azgfd.gov

Your Resource to the Outdoors

 http://www.azgfd.gov/h_f/getoutside.shtml