Join with other KNPS members and friends for our first, in-person fall meeting since 2019. Our 2022 Fall Meeting will be held at Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park on Saturday, October 15th. There will be a meeting in the morning, from 10am-noon, with interesting talks and updates from KNPS, and walks in the afternoon to look at some of the plants and plant communities that occur at the state park. The fall meeting will be held in tandem with the Short’s Goldenrod Festival being put on by the state park.
Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park is known as one of only a couple of locations in the world where the rare Short’s goldenrod (Solidago shortii) occurs, with the other known population occurring in Indiana. Short’s goldenrod is a perennial herb that grows in glades, along old bison traces, in old fields, and on rock cuts along roads. It has typical yellow goldenrod flowers and hairless foliage. It blooms from mid-August to late October, so it will be in full bloom for all to see at the fall meeting. Other potential flowers of note to see will be Agueweed (Gentianella occidentalis), Cream Gentian (Gentiana alba), and Great Plains Ladies’-tresses (Spiranthes magnicamporum).
Schedule of Events:
- Morning Session: 10:00am, Daniel Boone Room at the Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park
- 10:00 am- Welcome & Updates from the KNPS Board
- 10:15 am- ‘The ecology of the federally endangered species Solidago shortii‘ by Dr. Carol Baskin, Plant Ecologist at University of Kentucky
- 11:15am- ‘Short’s goldenrod today: recent management efforts, challenges, and successes‘ by Jess Slade, Native Plants Collection Manager and Curator at the UK-LFUCG Arboretum
- 12:00pm- Wrap Up and Thanks
- Lunch on your own
- Afternoon Plant Walks
- 1:00PM- Rare Plants and Native Flora of Blue Licks along the Buffalo Trace Trail, Heidi Braunreiter and Tara Littlefield, Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves
- 2:00PM- Management & Restoration of Short’s Goldenrod Habitat Walk, Jess Slade, Native Plants Collection Manager and Curator, UK-LFUCG Arboretum & Zach Beyer, Bluegrass Land Manager, Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves
All plant walks will start at the trailhead of the Buffalo Trace Trail in the parking lot of the Pioneer Museum (shown with a pink X on the map below). The walks should all be easy as the land is generally flat. The trails can be very rocky in some areas so it’d be good to wear hiking shoes with good ankle support. The walks will be out and back and will last around 45 minutes.
This event is open to KNPS members and friends alike. There is no cost for the event, but in order to plan effectively, we are requesting that folks pre-register for this event. If you are likely to attend, please fill out this form. Thanks, hope to see you there!