TOURSTentative hikes and tours, led by Laurie Yahr and/or Rich Kahl, are listed just below the chapter meeting schedule. Contact Laurie as dates approach, since last-minute changes may occur.

    Jul 10, 2008 (Thu)    

Note: Very Tentative Dates Two late afternoons approx 10 days apart: Help with the ongoing Prairie Fringed Orchid Survey. Meet at the Grady Tract Parking Lot south off Beltline, UW Arboretum. "This could be the year..." Sign up in advance via email to Laurie Yahr.

    Jul 31, 2008 (Thu)    

Arrive at 7:00 p.m. Prairie and Pond Tour - Cedar Creek Farm, 2631 County Road J, Verona. Carpool info forthcoming, meet at about 6:20.

Walk along with Bruce Wachholz through his 16- & 8-year-old prairie restorations, plus 4 ponds, and also a wetland restoration. The history of these restorations incorporates what Bruce calls "lessons learned." He will explain pond-building with native wetland plant species. 3 ponds have been left natural with no chemical treatments, while the other has been treated for both aquatic weeds and algae. One pond has Largemouth Bass and Bluegills, and we'll learn how fish change a pond environment. Note: All walking areas are level and mowed with some small hills, but may be damp/wet. Please wear appropriate waterproof footwear. The tour will be approximately 1 mile in length from start to finish.

Directions: For a map, go to Cedar Creek Farm's website Directions: From Madison: Take 151 south, but before Verona, turn right [west] on PD for about 5 miles. You will cross M and ignore a right turn onto J. Instead, turn Left [south] onto J, drive ½ mile to the entrance... For more information call Bruce: 608-845-7077

To carpool, meet at the south end of Cub Foods parking lot at 6:30. Cub Foods is just south of the Beltline, on the west side of Verona Road [AKA Hwy 151], next to Home Depot. Phone Barb Glassel 819-0087 or e-mail Laurie Yahr yahrkahl@sbcglobal.net for further carpool questions.

Agrecol sells native plants. www.agrecol.com.

Taylor Creek sells native plants. www.appliedeco.com/tcrn.

Prairie Nursery sells native plants. www.prairienursery.com.

Prairie Ridge Nursery sells native plants. www.prairieridgenursery.com.

Prairie Moon Nursery sells native plants. www.prairiemoonnursery.com.

Madison's Edible Forest Nursery sells hardy fruit and nut trees. To check the wares, go to www.edibleforestnursery.com.

An Indiana nursery, Woody Warehouse www.woodywarehouse.com, offers native shrubs and trees.

The Wild Ones mission is to educate and share information with members and community at the "plant-roots" level and to promote biodiversity and environmentally sound practices.

Vegetation of Wisconsin, An Ordination of Plant Communities. John T.
Curtis, 1959. University of Wisconsin Press. Original comprehensive treatise but a
lot of the Latin names of plants have been changed. ($44.95)

Wisconsin's Natural Communities: How to Recognize Them, Where to Find
Them. Randy Hoffman, 2002. University of Wisconsin Press. 375 pages.
Thirty-five plant community descriptions including distribution maps and lists of
special and uncommon species of plants (including, mosses and lichens and mushrooms)
and animals (including reptiles and amphibians, mollusks and snails, birds,
mammals, insects, spiders, and invertebrates and fish when applicable). ($24.95)

Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Wisconsin, Technical Bulletin
No. 192. Mark Allen Wetter, Theodore S. Cochrane, Merel R. Black, Hugh H. Iltis,
and Paul E Berry. 2001. Few plant drawings; this is not an I. D. book. Lists
native plant species and variants of Wisconsin, identifying those of special
concern, threatened, endangered as well as introduced; noting also spreading,
adventive and invasive exotics and natives. (http://www.botany.wisc.edu/wisflora/)

Invading Weeds-A Growing Threat to Wisconsin's Biological Diversity.

Elizabeth J. Czarapata, 1999. 62 pages. Drawings, photos, and descriptions of 22
common invasives and control methods. (P.O. Box 565, Muskego, WI 53150)

Lakescaping for Wildlife and Water Quality. Carrol L. Henderson,
Carolyn J. Dindorf, and Fred J. Roumlski. Minnesota Department of Natural
Resources. Lovely color photographs, drawings and species lists for shoreline
restoration. (1-800-657-3757)

A Practical Guide to Prairie Reconstruction. Carl Kurtz. ($12.95)

Restoring Prairie Wetlands. S. M. Galatowitsch and A. G. van der Valk,
1994. ($34.99)

Wisconsin Manual of Control Recommendations for Ecologically Invasive
Plants. Randy Hoffman and Kelly Kearns, editors, 1997. Wisconsin Department of
Natural Resources, Bureau of Endangered Resources. Line drawings of 20 exotics and
10 native translocated or opportunistic species with recommended control methods,
and a checklist of potentially invasive exotic trees, shrubs, vines, forbs, grasses
and aquatics plus several other natives to keep an eye on.
(http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/er/invasive/manual_toc.htm)

The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern
Region. W. A. Niering and N. C. Olmstead. 2001. ($19.95)

Fern Finder, a guide to native ferns of northeastern and central North
America. Anne C. Hallowell and Barbara G. Hallowell. 1981. Nature Study
Guild, Berkley Ca. A tiny format (only 4x5.5") including maps and drawings. ($3.50)

A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and Northcentral North
America. Roger Tory Peterson, and Margaret McKenny. Houghton Mifflin Company.
420 pages. ($17.10)

Growing and Propagating Wild Flowers. Harry R. Phillips. 1985. The
University of North Carolina Press. Practical advice on propagation and
cultivation including designs for sun and shade locations and companion plants for
about 100 plants with drawings, including some carnivorous plants and ferns. (Few
photos). ($19.95)

A Guide to Wildflowers in Winter. Carol Levine. 1995. Yale
University Press. Black and white photos of basil rosettes and drawings of seeds,
seed heads, seed pods, capsules, achenes, etc. for 391 species of herbaceous plants
including some grasses, sedges and ferns. ($17.95)

Illustrated Companion to Gleason and Cronquist's Manual. Noel H.
Holmgren. 1998. New York Botanical Garden. 937 pages. With approximately five
drawings per page this book provides representation of approximately 4135 species
with no text. ($125.00)

An Illustrated Flora of the Northern U. S. and Canada. Nathaniel Lord
Britton and Hon. Addison Brown. 1913. in 3 volumes. Vol.1 Ferns to buckwheat, 680
pages. Vol. 2 Amaranth to Polypreum, 735 pages. Vol. 3. Gentian to Thistle, 657
pages. ($18.95 each)

Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent
Canada. Henry A. Gleason and Arthur Cronquist 1991 Second Edition. New York
Botanical Garden. 910+ pages. This is a technical key, with no photos or drawings.
($69.00)

Newcomb's Wildflower Guide. L. Newcomb. 1977. Little Brown and Co. ($17.95)

The New England Wild Flower Society guide to Growing and Propagating
Wildflowers of the United States and Canada. William Cullina. 2000.
Houghton and Mifflin Company. Beautiful photos, excellent "related comments such as
insect interaction and soil preference" but lacks natural distribution
information. ($32.00)

North Woods Wildflowers. Doug Ladd. 2001. 271 pages. A Falcon photo
field guide to wild flowers of Northeastern US and southeastern Canada. ($24.95)

Orchids of the Western Great Lakes Region. Frederick W. Case Jr.
1987, revised 1997. Cranbrook Institute of Science Bulletin 48. ($29.00)

Spring Flora Of Wisconsin. Norman C. Fassett 4th revision. 1978. 413
pages. ($19.95)

Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers. Doug Ladd and Frank Oberle. 1995.
263 pages. A Falcon photo field guide to wild flowers of tall grass prairies.
($19.96)

Wildflowers and Weeds. Booth Courtney and James H. Zimmerman.
1978. 144 pages. A Fireside Book Simon and Schuster. Nice small photos. (Out of
print).

Wild Plant Family Cookbook. Patricia K. Armstrong. 1997. Prairie
Sun Consultants, Naperville, Il. Recipes and comments for the adventurous who can
positively identify plants. (Out of print.)

Amphibians of Wisconsin. Bebecca Christoffel, Robert Hay and
Michelle Wolfgram. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of
Endangered Resources. 2001. Small format with 44 pages of 19 frogs, toads, newts,
salamanders, and mudpuppies of the state. (Out of print.)

Color Guide to Common Dragonflies of Wisconsin. Karl and Dorothy
Legler, and Dave Westover. Revised 1998. Self produced, Sauk City Wi. If you
haven't looked closely at some of the 110 flying jewels we have in Wisconsin, you
don't know what you are missing. Close focusing binoculars recommended. ($19.95,
Karl Legler, 429 Franklin St., Sauk City, WI 53583,
http://userpages.itis.com/karlndot/)

Peterson First Guide to Caterpillars. Amy Bartlett Wright. 1993. 120
common and conspicuous caterpillars and the butterflies and moths they become.
Houghton Mifflin Company. ($5.95)

Wisconsin Frogs: Places to Hear Frogs and Toads Near Our Urban Areas.
Randy M. Korb 2001. Northeastern Wisconsin Audubon Society. Includes a CD of
Wisconsin frog and toad calls, color photos and maps, plus 11 recommended parks or
nature areas. ($18.45, Randy Korb, PO Box 1963, Green Bay, WI 54305,
randykorb@hotmail.com)

Snakes of Wisconsin. Bebecca Christoffel, Robert Hay, and Lisa
Ramirez. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Endangered Resources.
2000. Small format, 32 pages, photos and maps of the 20 snakes in the state.
(http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/er/publications/ordrform.htm)

Noah's Garden: Restoring the Ecology of our Own Backyard. Sara
Stein. Houghton Mifflin Co. ($12.60)

Planting Noah's Garden: Further Adventures in Backyard Ecology.
Sara Stein. 1997. Houghton Mifflin ($28)

A Sand County Almanac. Aldo Leopold. ($9.85)

Prices checked on http://www.amazon.com or http://www.bn.com.

Sustain Dane www.sustaindane.org has launched a news section
dedicated to providing community members with critical local
information regarding sustainability related issues. If you have a local
news story or press release to submit, please include your name, news source and
author of story and if possible a link to the entire story and a brief summary.

They also have a SUSTAINABILITY section allowing community members
to view pictures of sustainable or unsustainable elements in the area.

Prairie Restoration websites

The Savanna Oak Foundation announces a new web site
www.savannaoak.org which deals with the restoration
of the Pleasant Valley Conservancy, a complex of prairies, oak savannas, and
wetlands in the Driftless area of western Dane County. This attractive natural
area has been under restoration for the past eight years and the website describes
the progress that has been made. The well-illustrated website provides considerable
detail on restoration activities and techniques used, such as controlled burns,
weed eradication, brush cutting, aspen control, and removal of invasive trees.
Extensive illustrated species lists are given.

Landscape Demographics

Check out the U.S. Forest Service's "Changing Midwest Landscape" at
www.ncrs.fs.fed.us/4153/deltawest.
This is part of the website for the U.S. Forest Service's North Central Research Station and
chronicles the dramatic shifts in the Midwest's forests, plants, animals, and
people between 1980 and 2000. It shows you where and how the natural and human
landscape of the Midwest has changed over the last two decades. The website will
evolve with projections of future change and an interactive capability.