On May 17th, 2016, Kentucky lost one of its brightest and dearest conservation champions, Mary Carol Cooper. Mary Carol served KNPS for over 15 years in many different capacities, including director, Vice-president, field trip and hike leader, stewardship certification instructor, and newsletter contributor. In 2010, she retired as the director of Salato’s Native Plant Program, where she managed the greenhouses, propagated and cared for over 100 species of native plants, designed and installed native plant demonstration gardens, led workshops on developing backyard habitats, and inspired countless others to develop an interest in Kentucky’s plants and animals.
Tom Barnes passed away on October 12 after a long battle with illness. This is a great loss to the KNPS family and the conservation community of Kentucky as well as to his loved ones. Tom was not only a former KNPS president, but also a generous man who gave freely of his time and talents to this and many other conservation organizations. He regularly led field trips and gave presentation on biodiversity issues to groups of all types, from local garden clubs to the KNPS Wildflower Weekends. In many ways, Tom personified the KNPS; he was a respected academic whose invasive species management research influenced land managers in Kentucky and throughout the nation, including the graduate students he mentored, but his real passion was educating the general public about biodiversity issues. He truly loved nature for its beauty, as well as understanding its scientific importance. An accomplished photographer, his photographs appeared in books, websites, calendars, magazines, and other outlets all over the world, including at the Chicago Botanical Garden, the Audubon Aquarium, the Smithsonian and the Bronx Zoo—but he allowed groups like KNPS free access to his photos provided they were used to educate the public on biodiversity issues.
Ronald L. Jones Eastern Kentucky University Herbarium Richmond, Kentucky 40475
Ralph L. Thompson Berea College Herbarium Berea, Kentucky 40404, U.S.A.
Landon E. McKinney, a talented field botanist and naturalist, passed away on Thursday, June 5th, 2014, at the Wade Park Veteran’s Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, at the age of 65. Landon Earl McKinney was born May 17, 1949 in Nashville, Tennessee, to the late Lawrence Vern and Constance Joy McKinney. After graduating from Donelson High School in Nashville in 1967, Landon joined the Navy and served as a Marine Navy Corpsman from 1968–1970; he was a field combat corpsman in Vietnam during 1969. He earned a B.S. in Biology in 1973 from Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) and subsequently his M.S. in Botany in 1977 from MTSU. His master’s thesis was “Preliminary Studies of the Acaulescent Blue Violets (Viola) with Special Reference to Middle Tennessee,” which began his life-long fascination with the stemless blue violets. He was a Research Associate in Plant Taxonomy at Vanderbilt University from 1985–1989, where he worked with Dr. Robert Kral.
Charles J. Lapham (1934—2009) By Ronald L. Jones, Eastern Kentucky University
Charlie in the field.
Over the past decade Charles J. Lapham has been one of the most important figures in the Kentucky Native Plant Society, in Kentucky botany, and in the botany of the southeastern United States. Charlie, as he preferred to be called, passed away on October 26, 2009, of non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He had been in poor health for several years, mostly related to heart disease and diabetes, and was only recently diagnosed with lymphoma. In recent emails he informed his close acquaintances of his situation, and was characteristically matter-of-fact in describing his time remaining. He expected to have a few more months, or maybe a few years, but he suffered a major setback on Wednesday, the 21st, and never recovered. He was 75 years old.
Please join us for the KNPS Fall Meeting on October 27, 2018, from 9:15AM to 4PM, at the Bernheim Arboretum Visitor Center. If you want to learn more about your Society, if you want to meet other Kentucky native plant enthusiasts, if you want to provide your input to the future direction of the Society, or if you just want to spend some time outdoors in one of our state’s beautiful nature preserves, the KNPS Fall Meeting is for you.
From 9:15 AM to 9:45 AM, you can sign in, have coffee, and meet other KNPS members. During this time, you may also renew your KNPS membership for 2019 at a $5 discount. If you would like to bring a friend who is interested in joining the Society, they can become a member at the same discounted rate.
Starting at 9:45 AM, the KNPS leadership team will give a short overview of the Society’s activities in 2018. This should last no more then 30 minutes.
At 10:15AM we will have a couple of presentations. First, Andrew Berry, Bernheim Forest Manager, will present “Bernheim Plant Conservation Initiatives” Andrew will discuss Bernheim’s recent land acquisition projects to protect corridors for long term plant migrations and protection along with other recent plant conservation initiatives. He will also discuss his recent trip to Japan as a Bernheim representative and the relationship between Kentucky and Japan’s Flora.
Next, Dr. Alan Risk, Morehead State University professor, botanist, lichenologist, and herbarium curator will present “Lichen and Bryophyte Inventory Throughout Kentucky, With a Focus On the Parmotrema Genus”. Dr. Risk will discuss his recent projects inventorying lichens, mosses, liverworts, and hornworts across Kentucky in partnership with the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves. He will discuss in detail the lichen Genus Parmotrema.
Starting at around 11:00 AM, the group as a whole will discuss plans for the Society in 2019. We will discuss the 2019 Wildflower Weekend (scheduled for April 12 & 13, 2019 at Natural Bridge), the location of the 2020 Wildflower Weekend, 2019 Field Trips, and other topics.
After the meeting, around 11:45 AM, we will break for lunch. Attendees can prepay $10 for a lunch provided by Bernheim or do lunch on their own. The Bernheim lunch will be soup and chicken salad sandwiches with vegetarian options also available. We will contact registrants by email a couple of weeks before the meeting to get your lunch choices
After lunch we will drive the roughly 12 miles to Pine Creek Barrens Nature Preserve. Our hike leaders will take us on an approximately 1 mile, Easy hike. We will likely see the Great Plains ladies’ tresses orchid (Spiranthes magnicamporum), a rare species in KY, still in flower.
We are requesting that members pre-register for the meeting and hike. You can register online using the Registration Form at the KNPS website. From the form you can pay for your lunch using a credit or debit card.
If you have any questions, just send an email to info@knps.org.
Date of Trip: 05/05/2018 Start Time: 10:00 am Eastern Time Location: Clark Co., KY Register: REGISTRATION CLOSED
Shooting Star Dodecatheon meadia
Preserve manager Clare Sipple will lead us through this outstanding riparian site, situated along bothsides of Lower Howard’s Creek where it flows into the Kentucky River. It is home to some unusual, protected plant populations and irreplaceable historical and archaeological features. Many species of wildflowers could be sighted on this field trip, but it is timed to catch the rare water stitchwort (Stellaria fontinalis) in bloom. Hopefully, Mother Nature will cooperate! The terrain is steep and rocky, requiring sturdy footwear. Bring water and snacks. Restrooms are at the trailhead. Please note that Google directions may be erroneous.
Directions from Interstate 64: Take Exit 94, then KY 1958 to Boonesboro Road/KY 627; follow 627 south to Ford Road/KY 1924; turn left onto Ford Road, then the first right onto Athens-Boonesboro Road/KY 418. Follow 418 to Hall’s Restaurant. Continue 0.7 mile up the hill where you will see a stone wall between two metal gates with a sign that says Lower Howard’s Creek. Enter there and proceed up the driveway to a concrete building and a parking lot where we’ll meet.
Directions from Interstate 75: Take Exit 95, then east on KY 627 (Boonesborough Rd) to the Kentucky River and immediately turn right onto Ford Road/KY1924. Then take the first right onto Athens-Boonesboro Road/KY 418; follow 418 to Hall’s Restaurant. Continue 0.7 mile up the hill where you will see a stone wall between two metal gates with a sign that says Lower Howard’s Creek. Enter through the gates and proceed up the driveway to a concrete building and a parking lot where we’ll meet.
Directions from Lexington: Take Richmond Rd. to Jacobson Park and then after crossing over Interstate 75 continue straight on to the small community of Athens. There is a stop sign in Athens. There are no turns from Lexington until the second stop sign 7 miles past Athens. At the second stop sign, turn right then in exactly 0.2 mile you will see a stone wall on your left. The entrance to Lower Howard’s Creek is the gate between the two stone walls. Proceed up the driveway to a concrete building and a parking lot where we’ll meet. If you get to Hall’s Restaurant on the river, you have gone too far. Turn around and proceed 0.7 mile back up the hill and the entrance is then on the right.
When: April 13, 2018, 1PM to 8PM & April 14, 2018, 9AM to 9PM Where: Natural Bridge State Resort Park, Slade, Powell Co., KY Cost: $10 for adults, $3 for ages 12-17, free for ages 12 & under
Join us as we explore the Natural Bridge and the Red River Gorge in search of wildflowers with some of the best botanists in the state and listen to fascinating talks on native plants by regional experts. Most hikes are child friendly.
Door prizes/raffles will be offered during evening talks, including a lady-slipper wood carving by Bob Van Hoff. Come to the open members meeting on Saturday to learn more about the state of Kentucky plants, KNPS projects, and become a more active member! A tribute to Clara Weiland, a former KNPS officer and board member, will take place before the Lucy and Annett Braun Play on Saturday evening. Discounted KNPS memberships $10 for paid registrants
Register and sign up for hikes at a table next to the gift shop in the lobby of the Natural Bridge Lodge. Hikes start at the same location. Programs are in Woodland Activities Center.
