Mar-Apr 2003 Issue:
In This Edition:
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Coming Events |
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NABA's MISSION STATEMENT: To promote nonconsumptive, recreational butterflying and to increase the public's enjoyment, knowledge and conservation of butterflies. *********************************************************** COMING EVENTS: Wed. March 19. "Butterfly Gardening." One-session class taught by Dennis Bozzay at Meramec Community College from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Call (314) 984-7777 to register. Tuesday, March 25 & April 1. "Local Butterflies: Habits and Habitats." Two-part class at Meramec Community College, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., plus field trip/butterfly walk at Busch Wildlife on Sat. April 26. Part I focuses on the natural history, physiology and ecology of butterflies. Call (314) 984-7777 to register. Instructors: Dr. Tom Bratkowski (entomologist), Jim Ziebol, Yvonne Homeyer. Thurs. March 27. "Butterfly Gardening." Class at Jefferson College, Fox High School, Arnold. 6:30 p.m. Room #118. $15.00 fee. Call (636) 797-3000 to register. Sunday, March 30, 1:00 p.m. Annual Meeting of Members and Election of Officers and Directors at Busch Wildlife Visitors Center. Program: Video of Local Butterflies by Jim Ziebol. The meeting and program will be followed by a visit to the Butterfly Garden and a nature walk to look at spring wildflowers and early butterflies. Limited walking. Leaders: Jim Zeibol, Yvonne Homeyer. The meeting will be held in a classroom at the Visitor's Center of Busch Wildlife in St. Charles County. To get to Busch from St. Louis County, take I-64 (Hwy. 40) across the Missouri River bridge and exit at Hwy. 94. Go left (south) on Hwy. 94 approximately 1 mile to Hwy. D. Turn right on Hwy. D and go about 2 miles to the Busch Wildlife entrance, which is on your right. Turn right to enter Busch and at the T intersection, turn right and proceed to the Visitors' Center parking lot. Tuesday, April 1. "Local Butterflies," Part II. The second session focuses on sight identification, teaches field marks of common local butterflies, offers tips on binoculars and field guides, and includes a video presentation. Meramec Community College, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sun. April 13. Butterfly Count, Busch Wildlife. Starts at 11:00 a.m. Meet at Visitors Center parking lot. (Directions below). This is the first of 4 counts sponsored by the Missouri Dept. of Conservation. Limited walking. Leader: Jim Ziebol. Sat. April 19. Botany Walk at St. Francois State Park sponsored by the Webster Groves Nature Study Society. Meet at 9:30 a.m. at the auto parking area near the showers and restrooms at RV camping area. Leader: Jack Harris. NABA members are welcome. Take advantage of this special opportunity to learn about spring wildflowers from a superb instructor! We will, of course, be on the lookout for butterflies as well. A one-two mile hike over unimproved trail along Big River flood plain and up the bluff to the uplands. Wildflowers expected: numerous bluebells, several species of violets, pawpaw, trillium, celandine poppy. DIRECTIONS TO: ST. FRANCOIS STATE PARK: From the intersection of I-55/I-270/I-255, go south on I-55 approx. 22 miles to Hwy. 67 (exit 174). Turn right (west/south) onto Hwy. 67 and travel 18.9 miles to the State Park entrance on left. Watch for State Park signs. Continue through the park on main entrance road to the RV camping area on the Big River. Meet at the auto parking area near the showers and restrooms at the RV camping area.: Sat. April 26. Butterfly Walk, Busch Wildlife. Starts at 10:00 a.m. Meet at Visitors Center parking lot. Note: This walk is open to members, even if you do not attend the Local Butterflies class. Limited walking. Leaders: Yvonne Homeyer, Jim Ziebol. DIRECTIONS TO BUSCH WILDLIFE: From St. Louis County, take I-64 (Hwy. 40) across the Missouri River bridge and exit at Hwy. 94. Go left (south) on Hwy. 94 approximately 1 mile to Hwy. D. Turn right onto Hwy. D and go about 2 miles to the entrance on your right. Turn right and at the T intersection, turn right again and proceed to the Visitors Center. Sun. April 27. Butterfly Walk, Valley View Glade. Starts at 11:00 a.m. Meet at gravel parking lot. (Directions below). A fair amount of walking, with option to turn around and return early to parking lot. Bring water; lunch optional. Leader: Ron Goetz. DIRECTIONS TO VALLEY VIEW GLADE: Option #1: From I-270 and Tesson Ferry Road (Hwy. 21), go south on Hwy. 21 for 26 miles to Hwy. B on the south side of Hillsboro. Turn right (west) onto Hwy. B at traffic signal and travel (west) approx. 5 miles to Valley View Glade parking lot on your right. Option #2: From I-270 and Gravois Road (Hwy. 30), travel south/west on Hwy. 30 for approx. 20 miles to Hwy. B. Turn left (east) at traffic signal onto Hwy. B. Continue for approx. 6 miles to Valley View Glade parking lot on your left. Special Caution: DO NOT turn onto Hwy. BB. Go past BB and look for B, which is the road you want. *********************************************************** PULL-OUT CALENDAR IN THIS ISSUE We have an exciting butterfly season planned for 2003! Eighteen butterfly activities to a variety of local areas and habitats can be found on the one-page Calendar included in this newsletter. (See below.) Simply pull it out and keep it in a handy place for easy reference. Then, starting in April, each issue of the newsletter will have detailed information about each field trip, including directions, like always. The season starts on Sunday, April 13. During the course of the butterfly season, we will visit Busch Wildlife, Valley View Glades, The Green Center, The Watershed in Edwardsville, Tyson Research Center, Hilda Young Conservation Area, Mark Peters' prairie, the Days' property in Alma, IL, Shaw Nature Reserve, Horseshoe Lake, and Mark Twain (Two Rivers) National Wildlife Refuge. Counts near Harrisburg and Springfield, IL will also take place. These locations offer a wide variety of habitat and butterfly species. Most outings are scheduled for Saturdays or Sundays, but we have two holiday weekend events scheduled for Mondays: Memorial Day and Labor Day. We might add one or two more activities as the summer goes on. So, save these dates, mark your calendars now, and plan to join us on all these outings! *********************************************************** ANNUAL MEETING & ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS: On Sunday, March 30, at 1:00 p.m., we will hold our annual meeting of members, when we elect our officers and directors for the coming year, at the Visitors' Center of Busch Wildlife. (See above for directions to Busch; see separate article about the Nominating Committee's Slate of Candidates.) Following the brief meeting, Jim Ziebol will present a video of St. Louis area butterflies to get us ready for the burst of butterflies that will start appearing in April. The video will be shown on a large screen so our ability to see detail will be enhanced. If the weather is nice, we will take a nature walk after the program to look for early butterflies, spring wildflowers and migrating songbirds. And of course we will stop by the Butterfly Garden to see what is coming up. Please mark March 30 on your calendar now. And look for the entire season's calendar of walks and counts in this newsletter. We will be visiting lots of interesting places covering a variety of habitats. (YH) 2003 SLATE OF CANDIDATES ANNOUNCED: The NABA Nominating Committee is pleased to announce the following slate of officers and directors that will be presented at the March 30 NABA meeting. Each person will serve for one year as a director and as the designated officer if elected. Position: President Ann Earley Thank you to these individuals who have volunteered to serve NABA if elected. Respectfully submitted, *********************************************************** MONARCHS RECOVER FROM POPULATION LOSS by Yvonne Homeyer The latest reports from Mexico indicate that the Monarchs that returned to the oyamel fir forests this winter are just slightly below the average density, which is one way of measuring total population. The average area occupied by the Monarchs at their overwintering sites is 9.6 hectares and this winter the Monarchs occupied an area of about 8 hectares (a hectare is slightly larger than 2 acres). Last winter, over 200 million Monarchs - about 80% of the Monarchs wintering at 2 of the reserves, Chincua and El Rosario - died due to cold and snow. Thanks to a successful breeding season and good weather in the eastern United States this summer, the Monarchs have rebounded. The long-term outlook, however, remains gloomy. Illegal logging continues, despite the efforts of the Mexican government and organizations such as World Wildlife Fund. This logging not only destroys the forests where the Monarch overwinter, but also thins the canopy of the forest, leaving the Monarchs more exposed to the elements. The combination of continued loss of habitat and exposure to storms is almost a guaranteed recipe for another overwintering disaster. If a bad winter is followed by a bad (dry) summer, the Monarchs will not be able to bounce back like they did this year. For more information, see the Monarch Watch Update, www.MonarchWatch.org., dated 2/21/03. *********************************************************** AND MORE... VISIT OUR WEB SITE at www.naba.org/chapters/nabasl/stlouis.htm. Dave Larson is our Webmaster. YOUR OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS: If you have questions or suggestions, e-mail Yvonne Homeyer NEWSLETTER ITEMS WELCOME MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION If you or someone you know would like to become a member of the St. Louis Chapter of NABA, please fill out this application: Name _____________________________________________ *********************************************************** *********************************************************** NABA-ST. LOUIS Sun. 4/13/03 State Count #1 (11:00 a.m.) Busch Wildlife (JZ, YH) NOTE: Check current newsletter or web site (www.naba.org/chapters/nabasl/stlouis.htm) to confirm outing and for travel directions. Leaders: Torrey Berger, Dennis Bozzay, Richard & Susan Day, Ron Goetz, Yvonne Homeyer, Dave Larson, Scott Marshall, Jeannie Moe, Mark Peters, Kathy Phelps, Jane Schaeffer, Betty Walters, Jim Ziebol. *********************************************************** NABA-ST. LOUIS Sun. 4/13/03 State Count #1 (11:00 a.m.) Busch Wildlife (JZ, YH) NOTE: Check current newsletter or web site (www.naba.org/chapters/nabasl/stlouis.htm) to confirm outing and for travel directions. Leaders: Torrey Berger, Dennis Bozzay, Richard & Susan Day, Ron Goetz, Yvonne Homeyer, Dave Larson, Scott Marshall, Jeannie Moe, Mark Peters, Kathy Phelps, Jane Schaeffer, Jim Ziebol. |
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