JACK L. CARTER
Dr. Carter is a Professor Emeritus at Colorado College, where he taught in the Department of Biology from 1968 until 1995. He received his PhD from the University of Iowa at Iowa City in 1960. He has over 80 publications to his name, including the popular Trees & Shrubs of New Mexico. He is currently studying the floristics of southwest New Mexico and the Gila National Forest. He is also very active in conservation efforts in New Mexico.
Saturday 3:20 - 4:20 Room A
SUMMARY: The Vascular Flora of the Gila National Forest: A Database
Jack L. Carter and Charles A. Huff
Many plant scientists and conservationists are concerned with understanding the distribution and diversity of plant species over the earth. As climates continue to change, species are destroyed, and the geography and ecosystems of existing plants are altered, baseline data will play an ever-increasing role. National forests provide opportunities for studying botanical diversity and for establishing data of plant migrations and extinctions. At the same time we are not protecting these forests from human intrusion and considerable destruction. Of equal importance, the local and regional herbaria have repeatedly failed to receive the financial and scientific support that is vital to understanding the history and future of earth's flora.
This program will describe a limited model, developed over the past 14 years, of the vascular flora of the Gila National Forest. Using a FileMaker Pro 6 database, we have continued to make additional collections, survey the major state herbaria, and gather information on species occurring in the Gila National Forest.
J. TRAVIS COLUMBUS
Ph. D., Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 1996
Major professor: Thomas O. Duncan
Dissertation: “Lemma micromorphology, leaf blade anatomy, and phylogenetics of Bouteloua, Hilaria, and relatives (Gramineae: Chloridoideae: Boutelouinae)”
M. S., Range Science (major), Biology (minor), New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, 1988
Major professor: Kelly W. Allred
Thesis: “Flora of Cooke's Range, southwestern New Mexico” (716 taxa)
B. S., Range Science (major), Biology (minor), New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, 1986
Silver High School, Silver City, New Mexico, 1980
Research Scientist, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden (1994-present)
Associate Professor of Biology, Claremont Graduate University (2002-present)
Assistant Professor of Biology, Claremont Graduate University (1994-present)
Friday 9:00 - 9:50 Room A
SUMMARY: Chloridoid Grasses of New Mexico: Evolution and Classification
The grass (Poaceae) subfamily Chloridoideae is represented in New Mexico by the large genera Bouteloua, Eragrostis, Muhlenbergia, and Sporobolus, as well as many smaller genera such as Calamovilfa, Chloris, Cottea, Dasyochloa, Distichlis, Enneapogon, Erioneuron, Hilaria, Leptochloa, Munroa, Pappophorum, Scleropogon, and Spartina. Chloridoid species are important, often dominant, elements in New Mexico’s arid grasslands, including Bouteloua gracilis (blue grama) and Hilaria mutica (tobosa). The morphologies and habitat preferences of these genera will be presented in the context of their evolutionary relationships. How the New Mexico taxa fit into the worldwide chloridoid tree of life and the biogeographic implications will also be discussed, as well as recent and upcoming changes to the classification.
DAVID CRISTIANI
David Cristiani has spent two decades designing exterior spaces celebrating what makes the Southwest great, since earning his degree from the University of Oklahoma. He is the owner of Quercus, a solo design practice based in Albuquerque. David is a registered landscape architect in New Mexico, Texas, and Nevada, where he provides designs that reflect their ecoregion, simply.
Friday 11:00 - 11:50 Room A
SUMMARY: Landscapes of Enchantment
Outdoor living spaces can greatly benefit by taking their design cues from the patterns found in one's natural environment, which look great and thrive on their own. While more common in low desert communities in southern Arizona, the potential for using native plants sustainably in the higher lands of New Mexico has barely been explored, especially further north. This talk will explore some of those patterns, successfully abstracted into their space, along with plants lists from some of our ecoregions.
GLENNA DEAN
What does a young girl grow up to be after a childhood spent as a tomboy, the middle child between two brothers, playing baseball in vacant lots, building forts out of scrap lumber in new housing subdivisions, sewing and beading leather bags and moccasins, modeling Aztec temples out of clay, trying to weave baskets and mats out of prairie grasses, searching (unsuccessfully) for arrowheads, and reading every book in the library about other people in other places in other times? Why, the New Mexico State Archaeologist!
Glenna Dean's fascination with archaeology was sparked by 1950's National Geographic and her mother's few recollections of her own grandmother's Cherokee childhood. Glenna acted on this fascination by beginning her college archaeological field school the week after graduating high school and on her 18th birthday, never doubting that her future lay in the past.
Holding graduate degrees in archaeology and botany, Glenna specializes in archeobotany, the study of people's interactions with plants as revealed in charred seeds, broken plant parts, pollen grains, basketry, sandals, and other textiles made of plant fibers. She worked as a private archaeobotanical consultant for years, talking to herself and the dog in a room with two microscopes, a fax machine, and a computer. Working with soil samples from prehistoric agricultural fields, Glenna made the first identification of pollen grains from cotton plants in northern New Mexico, certain evidence that cotton was grown at high elevations 800 years ago without visible means of irrigation. This startling evidence continues to work its way into current thinking about prehistoric trade routes, climate, farming techniques, and population and settlement patterns. She thinks it's ironic that her contributions to New Mexico archaeology are based on invisible evidence but hopes to make other contributions that are more readily apparent to other members of the bifocal set in the future.
Glenna came to the State Historic Preservation Division, Department of Cultural Affairs, in 1994 and became the New Mexico State Archaeologist in October 1997. Her wildly varying duties included public outreach, such as the annual New Mexico Archaeology Fair and sundry public presentations. In August 2008, Glenna resigned her position as State Archaeologist to become the Associate Director of the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area, Inc., a non-profit headquartered in Española, New Mexico. There she puts to use the experience gained from 14 years at the State Historic Preservation Office as she works with communities in Rio Arriba, Santa Fe, and Taos counties on ways to continue traditions and heritage through community development and sustainable tourism.
Her “other life” includes handspinning, plant-dyeing, and weaving using implements, fibers, and techniques from as many other cultures and times as possible. She may have left the profession of archaeology, but the past is always with her.
Saturday 1:30 - 2:20 Room A
SUMMARY: Dye Lichens of New Mexico
Lichens have been used for dye and medicine for centuries around the world, and still provide color for traditional woolen textiles in Scotland and for Navajo tapestries. Dean's presentation will include hands-on examples of common New Mexico lichens and the colors they yield.
DONALD R. FARRAR
Dr. Farrar is a Professor of Botany at Iowa State University in Ames.
He earned his Ph D at the University of Michigan, studying ferns under W. H.(Herb) Wagner. His special interest, other than Botrychium systematics, is the evolution and ecology of fern reproduction, with emphasis on the gametophyte generation.
Wednesday 9:00 - 3:00
Summary: This workshop will introduce the peculiarities of the fern genus Botrychium, followed by discussions of their ecology, evolution and identification. Hands on experience with identification will be provided through use of live plants and plant silhouettes. Participants will be guided through a key especially designed for species of the southern Rocky Mountains. A field trip will introduce methods of search for these
often tiny plants, and techniques for marking and monitoring populations. Participants will receive a booklet containing the information presented.
Friday 1:30 - 2:20 Room A
SUMMARY: Dr. Farrar will discuss adaptations in the fern life cycle that allow ferns to exploit dry habitats in the Southwest. These include adaptations in both the sporophyte and gametophyte generations that allow them to tolerate desiccation and a limited free water supply. He will discuss some recent research that shows the supposedly "delicate" gametophytes to be remarkably capable of avoiding and tolerating desiccation. A new perspective on the fern life cycle is emerging in which the fern gametophyte is no longer viewed as the "weak link" in the cycle, but in fact tests a broader range of habitats than the sporophyte can survive in.
RICHARD FELGER
Richard Felger is Adjunct Senior Research Scientist, Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona. Neil Logan is an ethnobotanist and agroforestry systems designer in Hawaii. Edward Glenn is a professor in the Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona. Susanna Pearlstein is a University of Arizona graduate student conducting research on Distichlis palmeri with Glenn and Felger. This team is collaborating with other scientists on the development of mesquite and nipa as global food crops.
Friday 11:00 - 11:50 Room B
SUMMARY: MESQUITE AND NIPA: NEW GLOBAL FOOD CROPS FROM THE AMERICAS
Richard Felger1
Edward Glenn2
Neil Logan3
Susanna Pearlstein4
David Hearn5
World hunger can be addressed by developing mesquite and nipa as new global aridland crops. These traditional wild food crops from the Americas offer agricultural independence for arid and semiarid regions of the world, including the present-day belts of misery encircling much of the globe. Like the major world food crops, mesquite (Prosopis spp., section Algarobia) is a nitrogen-fixing legume and nipa (Distichlis palmeri) is a member of the grass family. Nipa produces rice-sized grain and thrives with pure sea water as well as fresh water. Both nipa and mesquite are drought resistant. Mesquite and nipa have the potential for symbiotic intercropping, and high-yield and low-energy-input perennial non-tillage crops. We trace the prehistoric, traditional uses of the mesquites and nipa to a predicted near-future scenario.
1. Richard Felger is Adjunct Senior Research Scientist, Department of Soil, Water and Environment, University of Arizona, and Research Associate, San Diego Natural History Museum.
2. Edward Glenn is a professor in the Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science at the University of Arizona.
3. Neil Logan is an ethnobotanist and agroforestry systems designer in Hawaii.
4. Susanna Pearlstein is a University of Arizona graduate student conducting research on Distichlis palmeri with Glenn and Felger.
6. David Hearn is an assistant professor at Towson University in Baltimore an biodiversity informatics research associate at the University of Arizona
Our team is collaborating with other scientists on the development of mesquite and nipa as global food crops.
RONALD L. HARTMAN
Ron Hartman, a native of Illinois, received an MS from the University of Wyoming, a PhD from the University of Texas at Austin, and was a postdoc at Ohio State University. Since returning to Wyoming, he has initiated the Flora of the Rocky Mountains project and focuses revisionary research on the Asteraceae, Apiaceae, and the Caryophyllaceae. He is on the board of directors for Flora of North America.
Friday 10:00 - 10:50 Room B
SUMMARY: The Flora of the Rocky Mountains: An Overview with Emphasis on North Central New Mexico and the Greater Yellowstone Region of Wyoming and Montana
Ronald L. Hartman, Rocky Mountain Herbarium, University of Wyoming
During the past 32 years, 46 graduate students and the two staff members of the Rocky Mountain Herbarium (RM) have conducted 65 intensive inventories throughout the region. This work has led to the acquisition of more than 570,000 numbered collections. Following an overview of this work, attention will focus on projects conducted during the past nine years in north central New Mexico (42,000+ numbered collections) and the greater Yellowstone region (28,000+) of Wyoming and Montana. For New Mexico, this has included the Santa Fe and Carson National Forests, the Valles Caldera National Preserve, and associated BLM and state lands. In addition, the 2000+ collections at the Bandelier National Monument’s herbarium have been annotated. Fifty or more species new to that state and at least two species new to science have been documented. To the north in Wyoming and adjacent Montana, we have completed work on the east slope of the Wind River Range (9,500+ ), Grand Teton National Park and vicinity (8,500+), and the Beartooth area (Absaroka and Gallatin Ranges; 14,000+).
In the past few years, high resolution images of all specimens in the Grand Teton National Park herbarium (7,000+) have been captured, the associated information databased, and the identifications verified or corrected. Furthermore, Ben Legler has developed new software to manage the 700,000 specimen records at the RM. He has also constructed a new Web interface for porting these databases and images. The RM’s association with the UW libraries has been critical in these efforts.
GENE JERCINOVIC
Gene Jercinovic lives in Deming, NM, with his wife Betty and their black lab Bisco. He is a hunter-gatherer of plants in Hidalgo, Grant, and Luna Counties. Currently, his main project is the clarification of the flora of the Florida Mountains in Luna County.
Saturday 3:30 - 4:20 Room A
SUMMARY: The Flora of the Florida Mountains of Luna County
The Florida Mountains are one of the "Sky Islands" in New Mexico. The flora is markedly different from the surrounding high desert.
CINDY JOHNSON-GROH
Cindy Johnson-Groh is a Professor of Biology and the Executive Director of the Linnaeus Arboretum. She is a self-proclaimed "plant pusher" with a passion for plant biology, ecology, and the importance of plants in our world. Cindy's work has included plant demography, modeling, and management issues with particular reference to the underground ecology and population dynamics of Botrychium. Cindy teaches Conservation Biology, Plant Systematics, Environmental Justice, Organismal Biology, and the Natural History of Tanzania. In addition, Cindy has a strong interest in conservation biology of Tanzania (East Africa) and is currently a Fulbright Scholar at the College of African Wildlife and Management in Mweka, Tanzania. Cindy received her Ph.D. from Iowa State University studying bryophytes under Dr. Donald Farrar.
Saturday 2:30 - 3:20 Room A
SUMMARY: Mitigation/Salvation of Moonworts
Transplanting Botrychium (moonworts) has been suggested as a means of mitigating destruction of plants and habitats for development projects. Studies conducted on transplanting moonworts reveal low success. Long-term monitoring (decades) is required to ascertain the ultimate success of transplantation. At best, transplantation should be considered a salvation action and not a form of mitigation.
KELLY KINDSCHER
Dr. Kinscher is a senior scientist at the Kansas Biological Survey located at the University of Kansas. He also splits his time with teaching ethnobotany and other classes in the Environmental Studies Program. His research is focused on: 1) Prairie and Montane Meadow Plant Communities, 2) Ethnobotany-the science of studying cultural uses of plants, 3) Conservation of Midwest/Great Plains/Rocky Mountain ecosystems, and 4) Wetland and Prairie Restoration. Dr. Kindscher is well known for his study of prairie plants. He is the author of two books: Edible Wild Plants of the Prairie (1987) and Medicinal Wild Plants of the Prairie (1992), published by the University Press of Kansas. He has also published numerous scholarly articles and technical reports on plant ecology, prairie and wetland restoration, ethnobotany, land ownership, and agriculture. Among his most important recent accomplishments are working on a study of the Biodiversity of the Gila River riparian area, with Bill Norris, Randy Jennings, and Roland Shook, and in being a hiking partner for Russ Kleinman and helping with his Vascular Plants of the Gila Wilderness project. His most recent project is the study of the Medicinal Chemistry of Native Plants of the Great Plains and Southwest. All of these reasons bring Kelly to the Gila region.
Friday 2:30 - 3:20 Room A
SUMMARY: The Flora of Lake Roberts
The flora of Lake Roberts, in the Sapillo Creek valley of the Gila National Forest, is very diverse, with over 400 species. The study area is defined as the lake and lands within about one mile of the lake. It contains unique habitats representing higher elevations (including Douglas fir and pleated gentian), dry rocky habitats (agave and hedgehog cactus), and wet lakeside vegetation including Arizona alder, cattails, and eight sedge species. Mostly the flora reflects a moist valley in the mountains, surrounded by a pinon/juniper/ponderosa pine/grama grass vegetation community. The purpose of this flora project is to document the species of this part of the Gila Forest, supported by voucher specimens for the WNMU herbarium, so that the flora of this interesting habitat can be understood better and be studied for changes over time, and so that the public can learn what species are located here. The list will be made available on line.
CURT MEINE
Dr. Curt Meine is Director for Conservation Biology and History with the Chicago-based Center for Humans and Nature; Senior Fellow with the Aldo Leopold Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin; Research Associate with the International Crane Foundation, also located in Baraboo; and Associate Adjunct Professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Wildlife Ecology. Meine’s books include the biography Aldo Leopold: His Life and Work (1988) and Correction Lines: Essays on Land, Leopold, and Conservation (2004). Meine has served on the board of governors of the Society for Conservation Biology and on the editorial boards of the journals Conservation Biology and Environmental Ethics. In 2004 he was named one of six recipients of the Bay Foundation’s Biodiversity Leadership Award. He has worked on conservation projects with a wide range of agencies and organizations throughout North America, Asia, and Europe, and in his home territory of Wisconsin.
Saturday 6:00 Banquet, Copper Creek Ranch
SUMMARY: The diverse landscapes, ecosystems, and cultures of the American Southwest had a profound impact on the conservation vision that Aldo Leopold defined through his concept of a "land ethic." A century after Leopold arrived in the Southwest, that ethic continues to grow in new and important ways. Drawing upon his experience as Leopold's biographer and his work as a conservation biologist, Curt Meine will explore the deep New Mexican influence on the continuing evolution of land ethics and biodiversity conservation.
WILLIAM R. NORRIS
William (Bill) Norris is an Associate Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Western New Mexico University (9 years,) where he teaches six different botany classes, as well as classes in algae and fungi, ecology, and ornithology. He is currently working with colleagues to complete floristic studies of City of Rocks State Park, the Burro Mountains, and the Gila River in New Mexico, as well as a study of the avifauna of the Gila River. He is also working with another colleague on a study of the 120 species of Carex that occur in Iowa.
Friday 2:30 - 3:20 Room B
SUMMARY: If you have ever seen ancient paper in a museum, eaten water chestnuts, walked over the “grassy” ground cover of a Ponderosa pine forest in spring, or waded through a marsh, you have had a close encounter with a sedge. In this hands-on workshop, participants will first learn the basics of how to distinguish among the three major graminoid groups in New Mexico: sedges (Cyperaceae), grasses (Poaceae), and rushes (Juncaceae). Then, participants will work with freshly collected sedge specimens to learn recognition features of common (and some not so common) sedge genera in New Mexico: Bolboschoenus, Bulbostylis, Carex, Cyperus, Eleocharis, Schoenoplectus, and Scirpus. Finally, the co-leaders will discuss the fine points (strategies, written and on-line resources, etc.) of sedge identification in this state.
We will provide dissecting scopes for close study of these specimens. We recommend that you bring a 10X hand lens, a thin 8-1/2 x 11 spiral bound notebook, and a spool of scotch tape.
THOMAS W. SWETNAM
Tom Swetnam is Professor of Dendrochronology and Director of the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona. Tom’s research is on forest ecology, disturbance ecology, and climatology. He has worked extensively in National Parks and National Forests throughout the western U.S., using tree rings to reconstruct the history of forest fires, insect outbreaks, and climate. This work has provided basic understanding of the ecological role of fire and insects, the effects of past land uses, and insights on broad-scale climate patterns. As Director of the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research he works with interdisciplinary faculty, staff, and students to maintain the excellence of this premier and largest laboratory in the world dedicated to the use of tree rings to study environmental and cultural change.
Saturday 2:30 - 3:20 Room B
SUMMARY: People, Fire, and Climate in Southwestern Landscapes
Lightning and people are the primary causes of wildfires in the Southwest, and they have been for many millennia. Native peoples lived within and traveled through forest and woodlands, and undoubtedly they used fire for many purposes. But what specifically do we know about the history of human fire uses and their ecological effects within Southwestern landscapes? What might this history tell us about the relative roles of climate and people in controlling the dynamics of fire and forests? And what relevance does this history have for today's challenges of climate change and increasing wildfire problems? I will explore these questions using a combination of historical and modern evidence from tree rings, charcoal in sediments, and documentary records.
DANIELLE WALKUP
Danielle Walkup majored in Forestry and Wildlife at Western New Mexico University, graduating in 2008. She is currently pursuing a Masters of Arts in Teaching (Secondary Education). She has worked as a field technician for many different projects, including working with Dr. William Norris collecting plants along the Gila River as well as the San Vicente Creek area, and doing vegetation surveys for Abert’s Towhee habitat along the Gila River. She has also worked as a graduate assistant at WNMU for three semesters assisting in classes such as General Biology; Form, Function and Diversity of Plants; and Plant Taxonomy.
Friday 2:30 - 3:20 Room B
SUMMARY: Listed along with Dr. William Norris for the Carex Workshop
COURTNEY WHITE
A former archaeologist and Sierra Club activist, Courtney White voluntarily dropped out of the “conflict” industry in 1997 to co-found The Quivira Coalition, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building bridges between ranchers, conservationists, public land managers, scientists and others around the idea of land health (see www.quiviracoalition.org ). Since then, his work has expanded to include restoration, resilience, and local food production.
His writing has appeared in numerous publications, including Farming, Rangelands, and the Natural Resources Journal. His essay “The Working Wilderness: a Call for a Land Health Movement” was published by Wendell Berry in 2005 in his collection of essays titled “The Way of Ignorance.”
In 2008, Island Press published Courtney’s book Revolution on the Range: the Rise of a New Ranch in the American West. He co-edited, with Dr. Rick Knight, Conservation for a New Generation, also published by Island Press in 2008. For more information visit his web site: www.awestthatworks.com .
He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his family and a backyard full of chickens.
SUMMARY: The Carbon Ranch: Fighting Climate Change through Food and Stewardship
Climate change is the most pressing issue confronting humanity. It is also a tremendous opportunity. Right now, the only possibility of large-scale removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere is through plant photosynthesis and other land-based carbon sequestration activities. Strategies include: enriching soil carbon, farming with perennials, employing climate-friendly livestock practices, conserving natural habitat, restoring degraded watersheds and rangelands, and producing local food. Over the past decade, many of these strategies have been demonstrated to be both practical and profitable. A carbon ranch bundles them into an economic whole with the aim of creating climate-friendly landscapes that are both healthy ecologically and the source of healthy food.
Dr. Carter is a Professor Emeritus at Colorado College, where he taught in the Department of Biology from 1968 until 1995. He received his PhD from the University of Iowa at Iowa City in 1960. He has over 80 publications to his name, including the popular Trees & Shrubs of New Mexico. He is currently studying the floristics of southwest New Mexico and the Gila National Forest. He is also very active in conservation efforts in New Mexico.
Saturday 3:20 - 4:20 Room A
SUMMARY: The Vascular Flora of the Gila National Forest: A Database
Jack L. Carter and Charles A. Huff
Many plant scientists and conservationists are concerned with understanding the distribution and diversity of plant species over the earth. As climates continue to change, species are destroyed, and the geography and ecosystems of existing plants are altered, baseline data will play an ever-increasing role. National forests provide opportunities for studying botanical diversity and for establishing data of plant migrations and extinctions. At the same time we are not protecting these forests from human intrusion and considerable destruction. Of equal importance, the local and regional herbaria have repeatedly failed to receive the financial and scientific support that is vital to understanding the history and future of earth's flora.
This program will describe a limited model, developed over the past 14 years, of the vascular flora of the Gila National Forest. Using a FileMaker Pro 6 database, we have continued to make additional collections, survey the major state herbaria, and gather information on species occurring in the Gila National Forest.
J. TRAVIS COLUMBUS
Ph. D., Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 1996
Major professor: Thomas O. Duncan
Dissertation: “Lemma micromorphology, leaf blade anatomy, and phylogenetics of Bouteloua, Hilaria, and relatives (Gramineae: Chloridoideae: Boutelouinae)”
M. S., Range Science (major), Biology (minor), New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, 1988
Major professor: Kelly W. Allred
Thesis: “Flora of Cooke's Range, southwestern New Mexico” (716 taxa)
B. S., Range Science (major), Biology (minor), New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, 1986
Silver High School, Silver City, New Mexico, 1980
Research Scientist, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden (1994-present)
Associate Professor of Biology, Claremont Graduate University (2002-present)
Assistant Professor of Biology, Claremont Graduate University (1994-present)
Friday 9:00 - 9:50 Room A
SUMMARY: Chloridoid Grasses of New Mexico: Evolution and Classification
The grass (Poaceae) subfamily Chloridoideae is represented in New Mexico by the large genera Bouteloua, Eragrostis, Muhlenbergia, and Sporobolus, as well as many smaller genera such as Calamovilfa, Chloris, Cottea, Dasyochloa, Distichlis, Enneapogon, Erioneuron, Hilaria, Leptochloa, Munroa, Pappophorum, Scleropogon, and Spartina. Chloridoid species are important, often dominant, elements in New Mexico’s arid grasslands, including Bouteloua gracilis (blue grama) and Hilaria mutica (tobosa). The morphologies and habitat preferences of these genera will be presented in the context of their evolutionary relationships. How the New Mexico taxa fit into the worldwide chloridoid tree of life and the biogeographic implications will also be discussed, as well as recent and upcoming changes to the classification.
DAVID CRISTIANI
David Cristiani has spent two decades designing exterior spaces celebrating what makes the Southwest great, since earning his degree from the University of Oklahoma. He is the owner of Quercus, a solo design practice based in Albuquerque. David is a registered landscape architect in New Mexico, Texas, and Nevada, where he provides designs that reflect their ecoregion, simply.
Friday 11:00 - 11:50 Room A
SUMMARY: Landscapes of Enchantment
Outdoor living spaces can greatly benefit by taking their design cues from the patterns found in one's natural environment, which look great and thrive on their own. While more common in low desert communities in southern Arizona, the potential for using native plants sustainably in the higher lands of New Mexico has barely been explored, especially further north. This talk will explore some of those patterns, successfully abstracted into their space, along with plants lists from some of our ecoregions.
GLENNA DEAN
What does a young girl grow up to be after a childhood spent as a tomboy, the middle child between two brothers, playing baseball in vacant lots, building forts out of scrap lumber in new housing subdivisions, sewing and beading leather bags and moccasins, modeling Aztec temples out of clay, trying to weave baskets and mats out of prairie grasses, searching (unsuccessfully) for arrowheads, and reading every book in the library about other people in other places in other times? Why, the New Mexico State Archaeologist!
Glenna Dean's fascination with archaeology was sparked by 1950's National Geographic and her mother's few recollections of her own grandmother's Cherokee childhood. Glenna acted on this fascination by beginning her college archaeological field school the week after graduating high school and on her 18th birthday, never doubting that her future lay in the past.
Holding graduate degrees in archaeology and botany, Glenna specializes in archeobotany, the study of people's interactions with plants as revealed in charred seeds, broken plant parts, pollen grains, basketry, sandals, and other textiles made of plant fibers. She worked as a private archaeobotanical consultant for years, talking to herself and the dog in a room with two microscopes, a fax machine, and a computer. Working with soil samples from prehistoric agricultural fields, Glenna made the first identification of pollen grains from cotton plants in northern New Mexico, certain evidence that cotton was grown at high elevations 800 years ago without visible means of irrigation. This startling evidence continues to work its way into current thinking about prehistoric trade routes, climate, farming techniques, and population and settlement patterns. She thinks it's ironic that her contributions to New Mexico archaeology are based on invisible evidence but hopes to make other contributions that are more readily apparent to other members of the bifocal set in the future.
Glenna came to the State Historic Preservation Division, Department of Cultural Affairs, in 1994 and became the New Mexico State Archaeologist in October 1997. Her wildly varying duties included public outreach, such as the annual New Mexico Archaeology Fair and sundry public presentations. In August 2008, Glenna resigned her position as State Archaeologist to become the Associate Director of the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area, Inc., a non-profit headquartered in Española, New Mexico. There she puts to use the experience gained from 14 years at the State Historic Preservation Office as she works with communities in Rio Arriba, Santa Fe, and Taos counties on ways to continue traditions and heritage through community development and sustainable tourism.
Her “other life” includes handspinning, plant-dyeing, and weaving using implements, fibers, and techniques from as many other cultures and times as possible. She may have left the profession of archaeology, but the past is always with her.
Saturday 1:30 - 2:20 Room A
SUMMARY: Dye Lichens of New Mexico
Lichens have been used for dye and medicine for centuries around the world, and still provide color for traditional woolen textiles in Scotland and for Navajo tapestries. Dean's presentation will include hands-on examples of common New Mexico lichens and the colors they yield.
DONALD R. FARRAR
Dr. Farrar is a Professor of Botany at Iowa State University in Ames.
He earned his Ph D at the University of Michigan, studying ferns under W. H.(Herb) Wagner. His special interest, other than Botrychium systematics, is the evolution and ecology of fern reproduction, with emphasis on the gametophyte generation.
Wednesday 9:00 - 3:00
Summary: This workshop will introduce the peculiarities of the fern genus Botrychium, followed by discussions of their ecology, evolution and identification. Hands on experience with identification will be provided through use of live plants and plant silhouettes. Participants will be guided through a key especially designed for species of the southern Rocky Mountains. A field trip will introduce methods of search for these
often tiny plants, and techniques for marking and monitoring populations. Participants will receive a booklet containing the information presented.
Friday 1:30 - 2:20 Room A
SUMMARY: Dr. Farrar will discuss adaptations in the fern life cycle that allow ferns to exploit dry habitats in the Southwest. These include adaptations in both the sporophyte and gametophyte generations that allow them to tolerate desiccation and a limited free water supply. He will discuss some recent research that shows the supposedly "delicate" gametophytes to be remarkably capable of avoiding and tolerating desiccation. A new perspective on the fern life cycle is emerging in which the fern gametophyte is no longer viewed as the "weak link" in the cycle, but in fact tests a broader range of habitats than the sporophyte can survive in.
RICHARD FELGER
Richard Felger is Adjunct Senior Research Scientist, Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona. Neil Logan is an ethnobotanist and agroforestry systems designer in Hawaii. Edward Glenn is a professor in the Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona. Susanna Pearlstein is a University of Arizona graduate student conducting research on Distichlis palmeri with Glenn and Felger. This team is collaborating with other scientists on the development of mesquite and nipa as global food crops.
Friday 11:00 - 11:50 Room B
SUMMARY: MESQUITE AND NIPA: NEW GLOBAL FOOD CROPS FROM THE AMERICAS
Richard Felger1
Edward Glenn2
Neil Logan3
Susanna Pearlstein4
David Hearn5
World hunger can be addressed by developing mesquite and nipa as new global aridland crops. These traditional wild food crops from the Americas offer agricultural independence for arid and semiarid regions of the world, including the present-day belts of misery encircling much of the globe. Like the major world food crops, mesquite (Prosopis spp., section Algarobia) is a nitrogen-fixing legume and nipa (Distichlis palmeri) is a member of the grass family. Nipa produces rice-sized grain and thrives with pure sea water as well as fresh water. Both nipa and mesquite are drought resistant. Mesquite and nipa have the potential for symbiotic intercropping, and high-yield and low-energy-input perennial non-tillage crops. We trace the prehistoric, traditional uses of the mesquites and nipa to a predicted near-future scenario.
1. Richard Felger is Adjunct Senior Research Scientist, Department of Soil, Water and Environment, University of Arizona, and Research Associate, San Diego Natural History Museum.
2. Edward Glenn is a professor in the Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science at the University of Arizona.
3. Neil Logan is an ethnobotanist and agroforestry systems designer in Hawaii.
4. Susanna Pearlstein is a University of Arizona graduate student conducting research on Distichlis palmeri with Glenn and Felger.
6. David Hearn is an assistant professor at Towson University in Baltimore an biodiversity informatics research associate at the University of Arizona
Our team is collaborating with other scientists on the development of mesquite and nipa as global food crops.
RONALD L. HARTMAN
Ron Hartman, a native of Illinois, received an MS from the University of Wyoming, a PhD from the University of Texas at Austin, and was a postdoc at Ohio State University. Since returning to Wyoming, he has initiated the Flora of the Rocky Mountains project and focuses revisionary research on the Asteraceae, Apiaceae, and the Caryophyllaceae. He is on the board of directors for Flora of North America.
Friday 10:00 - 10:50 Room B
SUMMARY: The Flora of the Rocky Mountains: An Overview with Emphasis on North Central New Mexico and the Greater Yellowstone Region of Wyoming and Montana
Ronald L. Hartman, Rocky Mountain Herbarium, University of Wyoming
During the past 32 years, 46 graduate students and the two staff members of the Rocky Mountain Herbarium (RM) have conducted 65 intensive inventories throughout the region. This work has led to the acquisition of more than 570,000 numbered collections. Following an overview of this work, attention will focus on projects conducted during the past nine years in north central New Mexico (42,000+ numbered collections) and the greater Yellowstone region (28,000+) of Wyoming and Montana. For New Mexico, this has included the Santa Fe and Carson National Forests, the Valles Caldera National Preserve, and associated BLM and state lands. In addition, the 2000+ collections at the Bandelier National Monument’s herbarium have been annotated. Fifty or more species new to that state and at least two species new to science have been documented. To the north in Wyoming and adjacent Montana, we have completed work on the east slope of the Wind River Range (9,500+ ), Grand Teton National Park and vicinity (8,500+), and the Beartooth area (Absaroka and Gallatin Ranges; 14,000+).
In the past few years, high resolution images of all specimens in the Grand Teton National Park herbarium (7,000+) have been captured, the associated information databased, and the identifications verified or corrected. Furthermore, Ben Legler has developed new software to manage the 700,000 specimen records at the RM. He has also constructed a new Web interface for porting these databases and images. The RM’s association with the UW libraries has been critical in these efforts.
GENE JERCINOVIC
Gene Jercinovic lives in Deming, NM, with his wife Betty and their black lab Bisco. He is a hunter-gatherer of plants in Hidalgo, Grant, and Luna Counties. Currently, his main project is the clarification of the flora of the Florida Mountains in Luna County.
Saturday 3:30 - 4:20 Room A
SUMMARY: The Flora of the Florida Mountains of Luna County
The Florida Mountains are one of the "Sky Islands" in New Mexico. The flora is markedly different from the surrounding high desert.
CINDY JOHNSON-GROH
Cindy Johnson-Groh is a Professor of Biology and the Executive Director of the Linnaeus Arboretum. She is a self-proclaimed "plant pusher" with a passion for plant biology, ecology, and the importance of plants in our world. Cindy's work has included plant demography, modeling, and management issues with particular reference to the underground ecology and population dynamics of Botrychium. Cindy teaches Conservation Biology, Plant Systematics, Environmental Justice, Organismal Biology, and the Natural History of Tanzania. In addition, Cindy has a strong interest in conservation biology of Tanzania (East Africa) and is currently a Fulbright Scholar at the College of African Wildlife and Management in Mweka, Tanzania. Cindy received her Ph.D. from Iowa State University studying bryophytes under Dr. Donald Farrar.
Saturday 2:30 - 3:20 Room A
SUMMARY: Mitigation/Salvation of Moonworts
Transplanting Botrychium (moonworts) has been suggested as a means of mitigating destruction of plants and habitats for development projects. Studies conducted on transplanting moonworts reveal low success. Long-term monitoring (decades) is required to ascertain the ultimate success of transplantation. At best, transplantation should be considered a salvation action and not a form of mitigation.
KELLY KINDSCHER
Dr. Kinscher is a senior scientist at the Kansas Biological Survey located at the University of Kansas. He also splits his time with teaching ethnobotany and other classes in the Environmental Studies Program. His research is focused on: 1) Prairie and Montane Meadow Plant Communities, 2) Ethnobotany-the science of studying cultural uses of plants, 3) Conservation of Midwest/Great Plains/Rocky Mountain ecosystems, and 4) Wetland and Prairie Restoration. Dr. Kindscher is well known for his study of prairie plants. He is the author of two books: Edible Wild Plants of the Prairie (1987) and Medicinal Wild Plants of the Prairie (1992), published by the University Press of Kansas. He has also published numerous scholarly articles and technical reports on plant ecology, prairie and wetland restoration, ethnobotany, land ownership, and agriculture. Among his most important recent accomplishments are working on a study of the Biodiversity of the Gila River riparian area, with Bill Norris, Randy Jennings, and Roland Shook, and in being a hiking partner for Russ Kleinman and helping with his Vascular Plants of the Gila Wilderness project. His most recent project is the study of the Medicinal Chemistry of Native Plants of the Great Plains and Southwest. All of these reasons bring Kelly to the Gila region.
Friday 2:30 - 3:20 Room A
SUMMARY: The Flora of Lake Roberts
The flora of Lake Roberts, in the Sapillo Creek valley of the Gila National Forest, is very diverse, with over 400 species. The study area is defined as the lake and lands within about one mile of the lake. It contains unique habitats representing higher elevations (including Douglas fir and pleated gentian), dry rocky habitats (agave and hedgehog cactus), and wet lakeside vegetation including Arizona alder, cattails, and eight sedge species. Mostly the flora reflects a moist valley in the mountains, surrounded by a pinon/juniper/ponderosa pine/grama grass vegetation community. The purpose of this flora project is to document the species of this part of the Gila Forest, supported by voucher specimens for the WNMU herbarium, so that the flora of this interesting habitat can be understood better and be studied for changes over time, and so that the public can learn what species are located here. The list will be made available on line.
CURT MEINE
Dr. Curt Meine is Director for Conservation Biology and History with the Chicago-based Center for Humans and Nature; Senior Fellow with the Aldo Leopold Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin; Research Associate with the International Crane Foundation, also located in Baraboo; and Associate Adjunct Professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Wildlife Ecology. Meine’s books include the biography Aldo Leopold: His Life and Work (1988) and Correction Lines: Essays on Land, Leopold, and Conservation (2004). Meine has served on the board of governors of the Society for Conservation Biology and on the editorial boards of the journals Conservation Biology and Environmental Ethics. In 2004 he was named one of six recipients of the Bay Foundation’s Biodiversity Leadership Award. He has worked on conservation projects with a wide range of agencies and organizations throughout North America, Asia, and Europe, and in his home territory of Wisconsin.
Saturday 6:00 Banquet, Copper Creek Ranch
SUMMARY: The diverse landscapes, ecosystems, and cultures of the American Southwest had a profound impact on the conservation vision that Aldo Leopold defined through his concept of a "land ethic." A century after Leopold arrived in the Southwest, that ethic continues to grow in new and important ways. Drawing upon his experience as Leopold's biographer and his work as a conservation biologist, Curt Meine will explore the deep New Mexican influence on the continuing evolution of land ethics and biodiversity conservation.
WILLIAM R. NORRIS
William (Bill) Norris is an Associate Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Western New Mexico University (9 years,) where he teaches six different botany classes, as well as classes in algae and fungi, ecology, and ornithology. He is currently working with colleagues to complete floristic studies of City of Rocks State Park, the Burro Mountains, and the Gila River in New Mexico, as well as a study of the avifauna of the Gila River. He is also working with another colleague on a study of the 120 species of Carex that occur in Iowa.
Friday 2:30 - 3:20 Room B
SUMMARY: If you have ever seen ancient paper in a museum, eaten water chestnuts, walked over the “grassy” ground cover of a Ponderosa pine forest in spring, or waded through a marsh, you have had a close encounter with a sedge. In this hands-on workshop, participants will first learn the basics of how to distinguish among the three major graminoid groups in New Mexico: sedges (Cyperaceae), grasses (Poaceae), and rushes (Juncaceae). Then, participants will work with freshly collected sedge specimens to learn recognition features of common (and some not so common) sedge genera in New Mexico: Bolboschoenus, Bulbostylis, Carex, Cyperus, Eleocharis, Schoenoplectus, and Scirpus. Finally, the co-leaders will discuss the fine points (strategies, written and on-line resources, etc.) of sedge identification in this state.
We will provide dissecting scopes for close study of these specimens. We recommend that you bring a 10X hand lens, a thin 8-1/2 x 11 spiral bound notebook, and a spool of scotch tape.
THOMAS W. SWETNAM
Tom Swetnam is Professor of Dendrochronology and Director of the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona. Tom’s research is on forest ecology, disturbance ecology, and climatology. He has worked extensively in National Parks and National Forests throughout the western U.S., using tree rings to reconstruct the history of forest fires, insect outbreaks, and climate. This work has provided basic understanding of the ecological role of fire and insects, the effects of past land uses, and insights on broad-scale climate patterns. As Director of the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research he works with interdisciplinary faculty, staff, and students to maintain the excellence of this premier and largest laboratory in the world dedicated to the use of tree rings to study environmental and cultural change.
Saturday 2:30 - 3:20 Room B
SUMMARY: People, Fire, and Climate in Southwestern Landscapes
Lightning and people are the primary causes of wildfires in the Southwest, and they have been for many millennia. Native peoples lived within and traveled through forest and woodlands, and undoubtedly they used fire for many purposes. But what specifically do we know about the history of human fire uses and their ecological effects within Southwestern landscapes? What might this history tell us about the relative roles of climate and people in controlling the dynamics of fire and forests? And what relevance does this history have for today's challenges of climate change and increasing wildfire problems? I will explore these questions using a combination of historical and modern evidence from tree rings, charcoal in sediments, and documentary records.
DANIELLE WALKUP
Danielle Walkup majored in Forestry and Wildlife at Western New Mexico University, graduating in 2008. She is currently pursuing a Masters of Arts in Teaching (Secondary Education). She has worked as a field technician for many different projects, including working with Dr. William Norris collecting plants along the Gila River as well as the San Vicente Creek area, and doing vegetation surveys for Abert’s Towhee habitat along the Gila River. She has also worked as a graduate assistant at WNMU for three semesters assisting in classes such as General Biology; Form, Function and Diversity of Plants; and Plant Taxonomy.
Friday 2:30 - 3:20 Room B
SUMMARY: Listed along with Dr. William Norris for the Carex Workshop
COURTNEY WHITE
A former archaeologist and Sierra Club activist, Courtney White voluntarily dropped out of the “conflict” industry in 1997 to co-found The Quivira Coalition, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building bridges between ranchers, conservationists, public land managers, scientists and others around the idea of land health (see www.quiviracoalition.org ). Since then, his work has expanded to include restoration, resilience, and local food production.
His writing has appeared in numerous publications, including Farming, Rangelands, and the Natural Resources Journal. His essay “The Working Wilderness: a Call for a Land Health Movement” was published by Wendell Berry in 2005 in his collection of essays titled “The Way of Ignorance.”
In 2008, Island Press published Courtney’s book Revolution on the Range: the Rise of a New Ranch in the American West. He co-edited, with Dr. Rick Knight, Conservation for a New Generation, also published by Island Press in 2008. For more information visit his web site: www.awestthatworks.com .
He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his family and a backyard full of chickens.
SUMMARY: The Carbon Ranch: Fighting Climate Change through Food and Stewardship
Climate change is the most pressing issue confronting humanity. It is also a tremendous opportunity. Right now, the only possibility of large-scale removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere is through plant photosynthesis and other land-based carbon sequestration activities. Strategies include: enriching soil carbon, farming with perennials, employing climate-friendly livestock practices, conserving natural habitat, restoring degraded watersheds and rangelands, and producing local food. Over the past decade, many of these strategies have been demonstrated to be both practical and profitable. A carbon ranch bundles them into an economic whole with the aim of creating climate-friendly landscapes that are both healthy ecologically and the source of healthy food.
