2020 NPSO Annual Meeting Cancelled Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in the best interests for the health and safety of our members, the Cheahmill Chapter has decided to cancel the Annual Meeting this year. While the number of new cases should decline over the next several weeks and months, subsequent waves of COVID-19 are likely to recur once social distancing is relaxed. We are exploring hosting the meeting next year (2021) at Spirit Mountain Lodge and offering much the same program. If you have already sent in your registration form and payment, your checks will be shredded. Those whose checks were already deposited will receive a refund. We look forward to seeing all of you in 2021, hopefully at Spirit Mountain. Please stay safe and healthy through this difficult time.

NPSO 2020 Annual Meeting

May 29 - 31     Spirit Mountain Lodge, Grand Ronde, Oregon

Field Trips

Saturday May 18, 2024    9 a.m. - 4 p.m.                    Field Trip # 20

Difficulty:     Fairly easy  (4 miles at refuge) - Loose rock on the uphill section of refuge trail, areas of poison oak along trail.

Elevation:     Gradual 400 feet elevation gain at the refuge.

Group Size Limit:     15

Trip Description:     Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1965 to protect wintering habitat for dusky Canada geese. The US Fish & Wildlife Service manages the site that is designated a grassland bird conservation area. It works with surrounding landowners to conserve habitat for rare and declining species through permanent conservation easements.

Open habitat is maintained with fire, mowing, and mechanical and chemical controls of invasive species. The Refuge includes 1,173 acres of forests, grasslands, shallow-water seasonal wetlands, permanent open water, and forage cropland for wintering geese. The sweeping view from Baskett Butte stretches from the farmlands of the Willamette Valley to the foothills of the Cascade Range.

Ten federally and state listed species use the varied habitats, including wetland and wet prairie, upland prairie, oak woodland and savanna, and mixed forest.

The refuge hosts a large population of Fender's blue butterfly and its larval host plant Kincaid's lupine (Lupinus oreganus); golden paintbrush (Castilleja levisecta), extirpated from its historic range in Oregon and reintroduced to this area; Nelson's checkermallow (Sidalcea nelsoniana); Willamette fleabane (Erigeron decumbens); and streaked horned lark. Trip leaders will discuss efforts to improve habitat, reintroduce plant species, and restore plant communities.

After Baskett Slough we will drive to Dallas to have lunch and visit the Delbert Hunter Arboretum and Botanical Garden. The garden is described as follows: “Here is a unique opportunity to see a living museum of native plants. The arboretum provides ecological niches for some of Oregon’s flora and fauna ranging from wetlands and riparian eco-systems to rock gardens and rare shrubs and flowers.” http://www.delberthunterarboretum.org/

Appropriate Clothing and Footwear:     Sturdy footwear, hiking poles advisable.

Meeting Place and Time:     Trip # 20 leaves at 9 a.m. from parking lot west of Hotel. Plan to arrive 30 minutes before departure time to meet your group and arrange carpools.

Alternate Meeting:     Participants may also meet the trip at 9:30 a.m at Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge - the upper parking lot on Coville Road, west of Highway 99W. Be sure to email your trip leader of your intentions.

Driving Miles and Time from Spirit Mountain Hotel:     19 miles, 31 minutes to refuge, 1.5 miles on Coville Road is gravel.

Driving Directions:     Trip leaders will provide detailed driving instructions.

Leaders:       Tom Kaye, Esther McEvoy

Tom Kaye, Executive Director and Senior Ecologist at the Institute for Applied Ecology. Esther McEvoy, Corvallis Chapter and Willamette Gardens.

Plant Lists and Other Information:     Clink on the links below for more information about this trip.

Photo: U.S Fish and Wildlife Service.
Entrance

Photo: U.S Fish and Wildlife Service.
View to the west from Baskett Butte extends to the Coast Range.

Photo: U.S Fish and Wildlife Services.
View to the east from Baskett Butte extends to the Cascade Range.

Photo: Amie Loop-Frison
A Fender's Blue Butterfly feeding on Kincaid's Lupine (Lupinus oreganus)

Photo: Judi Sanders
Delbert Hunter Arboretum and Botanical Garden