Events - Future Events View

Bring your favorite Pot Luck dish to share!

Norfork Trail, section 3 of 5, annual trail maintenance. The segment is 3 miles between Sycamore Highlands to George's Cove. Record your hours sponsor is US Army Corps of Engineers. Bring work gloves, loppers, clippers, or use our power tools. The 13-mile linear Norfork Trail is comprised of five moderately challenging sections, separated by six trailheads.

Directions. Most will assemble at Sycamore Highlands trailhead, aka “Devils Backbone”, located near Lake Norfork. From Mountain Home Bypass, drive 4.6 miles south on state highway 5, then turn left on highway 342. Highway 342 is known as Sycamore Springs Road. Drive 2.5 miles (stay right at fork), and turn right on Lake Heights Drive into the Sycamore Highlands subdivision. Follow Lake Heights Drive 0.7 mile straight through the subdivision, past dead end sign and the last house in the subdivision. Trailhead parking is just beyond the tree line. The trail will fork north and south 100 yards down the trail. GPS N36 16'55", W92 15'38".

Possibly, we may send a few volunteers to the next trailhead, depending on group size and turnout. Georges Cove trailhead is approx. 2 miles away by car, farther out on highway 342. Georges Cove trailhead is located near Lake Norfork. From Mountain Home Bypass, drive 4.6 miles south on Highway 5. Turn left on AR 342 (Sycamore Springs Road) and drive 3.2 miles. Turn right at Georges Cove boat launch sign and drive ¼ mile.

For more information, call Roy Stovall 87o/736-o5o5.

Where? Robert Fuhler’s House – 29 Ridgeview Drive, Conway (correctly located on Google Earth).

Larry Price has been leading forays for various Habitat Restoration projects since the Spring. Over forty species have been collected, most of which have already been processed. The target species during this party will require container shaking and screening (which is noisy and oddly therapeutic); this will be the final seed processing party. Participants will be instructed on the details on these processing techniques.

Activities will be both indoors and out; rain should not present a problem; there will also be a tea break that will involve the eating of snacks and, well, the sipping of tea.

As an added bonus, if anyone would like to stick around after the final processing, I am planning on having a bonfire and cooking weenies to celebrate our successful seed cleaning extravaganza! There will be quaffing materials on hand as well.

Anyway, please mark your calendars and make plans to attend! Registration is recommended.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by email or at 501.733.4019.

Reed will be hosting a Fourche Creek trash-boom cleanout
Bring your own water craft (canoe, kayak, jon boat).
Bring your own drinking water and snacks, if needed.

Record your hours as litter pick up and the sponsor is Stream Team!
Bring your own litter grabbers and Stream Team mesh bags if you have them..
Large 45 gallon trash bags will be provided.

For you landlubbers, there will be plenty of litter to pick up along the shoreline, up on
top of the bank in the riparian if you don‘t want to get on the water. We can shuttle you
across to the north side to work that, too. Lots of blackberries, greenbrier, etc. Wear thick,
protective clothing and tall boots. When ticks and mosquitoes are out, you‘ll want to have repellent along.

Join Karen Willard, field botanist and former herbarium manager at the University of Arkansas, to learn about the Carex genus of sedges.

ANPS will only be sending the Zoom links for these webinars to those who request them, so if you would like to sign up to be added to the ANSP Webinar Email List you will need to send an email to ANPS.Programs@gmail.com and request that you be added to the list.

Approved for 1 hour CE, sponsor ANPS

With most of the leaves gone and winter birds moving in, it is a delightful time to go birding. Many of you know Heather Cook (NWAMN) who will be leading us in a bird walk at the Fred Berry Crooked Creek Nature Center on Wednesday, December 14. This walk is for all birders at all levels. Ken Forman (AGFC) will be on hand to help you get the most out of your binoculars (setting the diopter, etc.)and to loan binoculars to anyone needing them. Matt Gideon (AGFC) will likely accompany us. Heather did a preliminary walk last weekend and saw 23 different species including Northern Harrier, Brown Creeper, Wilson’s Snipe, a variety of woodpeckers, and a Bald Eagle chasing Snow Geese. Heather used her e-bird account to share with me her list of birds along with pictures from the day. She has agreed to show us how to use e-bird to record what we see and contribute to data collection.

The walk starts at 8:30 and will go until 10:30. Some of that time will be spent inside. I plan to bring some treats to share and Ken usually has the coffee going, so come a little early if you want to socialize. We will start out at the classroom. For anyone new to the center, that is the building up the paved road from the pavilion. Also, if you are new to the place, there are bathrooms available just across from the classroom.

Mark your calendar and plan your pot luck contribution for the FAMN Holiday Party! If you are signed up as a trainee for next year, you are included. Spouses or significant others are welcome as well as others you think might make good Master Naturalists. Don't be shy if you haven't had time to come to a lot of stuff this year - pop out anyway.

If you have any questions, please contact Margaret Cline (margaret.cline@gmail.com)

First Baptist Church is located at Google Coordinates: 35.584809,-92.449290 (copy and paste the latitude and longitude into the search window in Google). The church is actually off of Factory Road and can be seen from the highway; the street address that is noted in Google may not be found on some automotive GPS maps.

Robert Fuhler will be coordinating carpooling from Conway. If you are interested in this, please feel free to text Robert at (501) 733-4019 or eMail: rafuhler@gmail.com

Thanks and see you all there!

NATIVES SEED DEPLOYMENT DAY!

Larry Price has been leading the harvest of a variety of seeds (north of 42 species) for the Camp Robinson Special Use Area (CRSUA) Native Wildflower Project (AGFC) since May of this year. After collecting, several seed cleaning parties were required to extract the seed from the heads and remove chaff. All this work has culminated to this day: deployment of the native seeds at the 1.7 acre site at the CRSUA!

Weather permitting, meet at the parking lot just west of the junction of Clinton And Nursery Pond Road (across Clinton Road from the Roger Maynard Practice Archery Range - 34.992289,-92.358940) at 1:00 p.m. If inclimate weather occurs, the alternate planting day will be: Thursday, January 12th.

Please bring water and gloves.

Parking at Google Coordinates (copy and paste into Google Earth search box):
34.992289,-92.358940

Joy Wasson

Garden and trail maintenance, and other duties as assigned

Hollie Sanders

Clear short easy trail, Bull Shoals White River S.P. just west of village of Lakeview across from the dam. Bring work gloves, loppers or favorite tool or use ours. Modern restrooms located nearby at other end of parking lot.
Record your hours code 211 Trail Cleanup/maintenance, sponsor = Bull Shoals White River State Park.

Directions. Lakeside Trail is located at the city limits of Lakeview, you can see Bull Shoals Dam to the west. Driving west on Highway 178, turn right into the park area just as you leave the village of Lakeview.

Trail maintenance Bull Shoals White River State Park, Oakridge Bicycle Trail.
Record your hours, sponsor BSWR State Park. Bring work gloves, loppers, clippers, or use our power tools. Modern restrooms are located nearby in the campground area.

Directions, from town of Lakeview, drive west on Highway 178, and turn left (down the hill) on Powerhouse Road. Drive down the hill short distance, trailhead on right. Located well before campground area.

Modern restrooms located nearby at campground. For more information, call Roy Stovall 8..736-o5o5.

garden and trail maintenance and other tasks as needed in natural area

Tate, a native Arkansawyer, received a Bachelor of Science from Arkansas Tech University in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology and a Master of Science from Arkansas State University in Aquatic Ecology. Tate has spent the last two decades studying Arkansas aquatic ecology and water quality. He spent 11 years working to improve water quality as an Aquatic Ecologist Coordinator at the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality where he supervised a staff of five to develop and implement water quality standards, specifically advancing numeric nutrient criteria and field-based conductivity criteria.
Tate then spent almost three years as a Stream Habitat Coordinator with Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. In the capacity, he used knowledge and skills regarding water quality to inform citizen scientists on its importance as well as assist landowners implement bank stabilization projects following Natural Channel Design techniques.
Since November 2021, Tate now manages the Water Quality Section of Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Division. In this capacity, Tate supervises a staff of six that work to implement Arkansas’s nonpoint source pollution program, Unpaved Roads Program, Nutrient Reduction Strategy, and the Wetland and Riparian Tax Credit Program.
Tate has also been involved with the Arkansas Stream Heritage Partnership (ASHP) since its inception in 2018. The ASHP is an aquatic connectivity team through the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership that is focused on improving communication, inventoried barriers, and working to prioritize barriers effectively for aquatic organism passage. He recently took the helm of leading the ASHP and will be working with team members to advance the mission of 140 member consortium of state, federal, academic, and private partners.

Two short easy lake trails ... Cranfield & Bidwell Point. Report hours Corps of Engineers.

Cranfield Park Trail, ¾ mile loop, walk time 40 mins. Directions: From Mountain Home (Walmart), drive 2 miles east on Highway 62, turn left at Cranfield Road. Drive 1.6 miles past various resorts, turn left into Cranfield Park. Trailhead on right side of road. Ample parking by pavilion and playground.

Big Tree – Gamaliel, 1-mile loop, 45 minutes walk time. Ample parking near trailhead, locked gate “road closed” but Roy has key. Directions: From Mountain Home, drive US Hwy 62 east 4½ miles, turn left on Hwy 101 and cross lake bridge, continue 5 miles east on Hwy 101 beyond bridge, turn right on BC 42 Fout Road, drive 2½ miles, turn left into Gamaliel Park. Trailhead on left beyond gatehouse. Gate closed “road closed” in winter, USACE provides us with key.

clear trail from Push Mtn Road down to the campground on the White River

garden and trail maintenance and other tasks as needed

Our very own Bri Olsen

placeholder trail TBD

location TBA, placeholder

Garden and trail maintenance and other tasks as needed

Digging into our Past: Archeological sites on the landscape, how to recognize them and what to do if you find one

Melissa (Mel) Zabecki is the Arkansas State Archeologist. She received her BA in Anthropology from Mount Holyoke College in Western Massachusetts and her MA and PhD from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. She began her career as an ancient Egyptian bioarcheologist, working at various cemeteries around Egypt learning about past lifeways while adjunct instructing at a few different universities. Then she became a Park Interpreter for Arkansas State Parks, where she not only became well-versed in educating the public, but learned about American archeology. Mel joined the Arkansas Archeological Survey as their Education Outreach Coordinator and then moved into the State Archeologist position. As State Archeologist, Mel collaborates with the Arkansas Archeological Survey station archeologists, multiple federal and state agencies, as well as private citizens to help spread awareness of the rich history of Arkansas and the importance of protecting archeological sites from destruction. A Washington County Master Gardener, a beekeeper, and an outdoor adventurer, Mel aspires to one day become a Master Naturalist.

Record meeting as CE, sponsor CAMN

placeholder, location TBA

Garden and trail maintenance and other tasks as needed

Garden and trail maintenance and other tasks as needed

Bob Beadel, Arkansas Forestry

Garden and trail maintenance and other tasks as needed

Hal Halverson and Felicia Osburn

Garden and trail maintenance and other tasks as needed

Tree rings (dendrochronology): a guide to native ecosystem restoration in the Ouachita Mountains

Will Flatley, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Department of Geography

University of Central Arkansas

Garden and trail maintenance and other tasks as needed

Trail maintenance Bull Shoals White River State Park, on Big Bluff Trail, also adjoining Oakridge Bicycle Trail. Record your hours, sponsor BSWR State Park. Bring work gloves, loppers, clippers, or use our power tools. Modern restrooms are located nearby in the campground area.

Directions. Big Bluff Trail is located on the Baxter County side of the river and lake, near the bottom of Bull Shoals Dam. From the town of Lakeview, drive west on Highway 178, and turn left (down the hill) on Powerhouse Road. Drive down the hill 1 mile to the fork. Do not drive into the campground area. Instead, take the right fork and continue on Powerhouse Road, ½ mile to a small parking lot on the left side of the road. The trailhead begins at the parking lot.

Garden and trail maintenance and other tasks as needed

Michael DeAngelis
In addition to the research focus areas above, Dr. DeAngelis has worked with undergraduate and graduate students on several projects related to Arkansas geology. These projects have ranged from examination of rocks associated with the Magnet Cove Alkaline Intrusive Complex located near Malvern, AR to examination of diamonds and garnets associated with the Prairie Creek lamproite located at Crater of Diamonds State Park near Murfreesburo, AR. Dr. DeAngelis is always interested in working with students to do the type of petrology or mineralogy research that THEY want to do! With this in mind, he has also advised projects ranging from pegmatites in Maine to volcanic rocks from SE Missouri.

Approved for 2 hours CE

Trail maintenance on Ozark Highlands Trail (OHT), location to be determined, either Matney or Brush Creek trailhead.

Rendezvous at Brush Creek trailhead, divide into two groups, shuttle up Brush Creek Road to half-way point. Section is 4.2 miles, but you’ll walk only half and mostly downhill. No restrooms. Report hours US Forest Service.

Directions. From Mtn Home, drive SE towards Norfork approx. 15 minutes on either Highway 5 or 201. Before Norfork, turn right/south on Highway 341 (Push Mountain Road) across the White River. Follow Push Mountain Road (AR Highway 341) 14½ miles south of Sheid Bridge, Brush Creek trailhead is on left side of the highway.