2010 Field Trips

Two upcoming fieldtrips to Pennsylvania. These are not BSW trips but all BSW members are welcome to come on the trips. Both will be led by Lou Aronica.
• Saturday, May 8 - Mothers' Day Weekend in Pennsylvania's Ridge & Valley Province
• Saturday, June 5 - Sweetbay Magnolia in Central Pennsylvania

  OLD

• Saturday, April 3 - Bear Island - C and O Canal - Mile 12.6 (Maryland), meet at 9:00 a.m. at the parking area across from Old Angler's Inn.

  Here is a list of spring-blooming species for the area of the park we will be visiting. It's based on Dan Nicolson's list, with some additions by Alan Whittemore. Bear_Island_list_March_2010.pdf And here is a key to the species. Bear_Island_key_March_2010.pdf

• Saturday, April 10 - same as for April 3.

  The plan is for these trips to be led by the group members themselves, most of whom have been to this site a multitude of times over the past years.

• Saturday, April 17

  When: Saturday, 17 April 2010, 9:30 a.m ? 12:30 p.m.

  Where: Turkey Run Park, part of the national park The George Washington Memorial Parkway (http://www.nps.gov/archive/gwmp/vapa/turkey.htm)

  Cost: Free, open to the public.

  Notes: The walk involves level paths and paths downhill and up a low hill. We will meet in the parking lot by the Ziz-zag Stairs, walk down the Stairs, and walk on the Potomac Heritage Trail west to near the American Legion Bridge. We?ll visit a riverine floodplain forest, upland forest, cliff habitat, and a sandy area. The organisms that we?ll note range from archaeans and bacteria through protistans (algae) through fungi, plants, and animals. Emphasis is on plants and insects. Many of the the spring wildflowers should be at their peak during our visit. We will likely see several bird species. Edd will have a downloadable handout for the adventure.

  Contact: Edd Barrows, barrowse@georgetown.edu

  More information: Turkey Run Park is located in McLean, Virginia, two miles south of the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495) in the national park the George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP). From Beltway Exit 14, follow the GWMP south 2 miles to the Turkey Run Park exit on the right. Follow signs into the Park. From Washington, D.C., and Old Town Alexandria, take the GWMP north approximately 8 miles and exit right at the Turkey Run Park sign. Make the first right turn into the Park.

  Sponsor(s): Botanical Society of Washington; GU Biology Club; GU Center for the Environment (GUCFE); GU Department of Biology; GU EcoAction; GU Outdoor Education; GU Science, Technology, and International Affairs (STIA)

• Saturday, April 4 - Bear Island - C and O Canal - Mile 12.6 (Maryland), meet at 9:00 a.m. at the parking area across from Old Angler's Inn.
  Details - Maps, plantlists, etc.     

  A few Pictures from the trip. And some more pictures.

• Saturday, April 11 - Turkey Run Park (Virginia), meeting at parking lot C-1 at 9:30 a.m.
  

  Each person should have a map so we can study plant communities together. People who want the long handout for the trip are certainly welcome to print it. I put a table of contents in the handout?s beginning to help people pick and choose what they might wish to print for themselves.

  • The Biodiversity workbook for our Saturday biodiversity walk is at:
    https://gushare.georgetown.edu/xythoswfs/webui/_xy-5698700_1-t_KnPgwL56

  • Our plant communities map is at
    https://gushare.georgetown.edu/xythoswfs/webui/_xy-5698701_1-t_QZ6qxgZ4

    The key to the map is at the end of the handout (workbook) or can be found here.

  • The various stops on the trip.

  • A map of parking and trails at TRP is here.
  • Pictures from Turkey Run two days after the trip.

  • Victoria Batista's pictures from the April 11 turkey Run trip:

• April 25-26 - St. Anthony's Wilderness, PA, - oak-heath forest in the Ridge and Valley: rare orchids; heaths; maybe get to a high-elevation black spruce peatland.

  Directions: Proceed to Harrisburg, PA via I-83 (Baltimore Area) or I-270 and Route 15 (D.C. area). Take Route 22-322 about 7 miles north to the town of Dauphin ? exit into town about 1000 feet ? and gather in front of small shopping area on left.
  Meeting Time: 10 a.m.
  Bring: Lunch, water, and footwear for some moist but rocky terrain.
  Contact: If you are late or lost, call Lou Aronica's cell phone 703-597-3711 to hook up.

  Rob Soreng also sent location of a campground where he and Nancy are planning to camp:

  Swatara State Park
  N40 32.414 W76 27.788 NE pt.
  N40 29.839 W76 31.980 SE pt. on Gold Mine Run rd.
  ca 23 to 28 mi ENE of Duncannon, just off and N of hwy 81

  This trip could be a one day or an 2-day overnight trip, depending on folks' interest. There's a nice place to stay and eat nearby for overnighters:

  Doyle Hotel in Duncannon, PA http://www.doylehotel.com (717)834-6789. The place caters especially to AT hikers and has nice rooms for $25 a night.

  Someone recommended: “ The Stardust Motel on Rte 15 in Duncannon, 717-834-4433, is also a good choice. Not quite as cheap as Doyle Hotel, but very reasonable and you get your own bathroom.”

• May 9 - Join MNPS and VNPS to survey pristine wildlands along the Mattawoman Creek in Charles County, MD.

  10 AM meeting time

  Directions: From the Capital Beltway (495), take Indian Head Highway (Rt. 210) south approximately 22 miles to the Rt. 227 (Livingston Road) intersection at Bryans Road (at the intersection and not surprisingly, a McDonald's and Burger King will be on your right and a builders' supply will be on left - don't take PG County versions of Livingston Road many miles before this intersection!). Turn left at Rt. 227 and almost immediately look for entrance on right to "Banquet Parking" behind Fire House, just past gas station and adjacent to Fire House entrance. We'll park and meet towards back of "Banquet Parking" lot at 10:00 am.

  Wear waterproof footware!!

  • Mattawoman Watershed Society
  • MNPS Mattawoman Creek Photo Gallery
  • Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Mattawoman Creek Page - details problems with the proposed Cross County Connector and its impact on the area.

• May 30-31 - State College-Lewisburg, PA area. Visit an old-growth forest.

  Go to http://dcnr.state.pa.us/FORESTRY/oldgrowth

  Find the cluster of D4, D3, and D5 in lower center of PA map and click on each to see photos and descriptions of different field trip sites that are in very close proximity to each other, including one to a black spruce mountain peatland - Bear Meadows Natural Area (D4).

  Full details are here.

• Saturday June 20 - 10:00-4:00 or later

  Summer Solstice Walk at Chapman Forest South

  Jointly sponsored by MNPS, VNPS, and the Botanical Society of Washington

  The south tributary of Chapman Forest South is a pristine, spring-fed stream that begins as a series of Magnolia Bogs and seeps and flows through steep, forested ravines to Mattawoman Creek. ?We will walk along the floodplain of this stream from near its convergence with Mattawoman Creek upstream to a large series of wet meadows formed by beaver dams. ?This is a wild and pristine area with a great diversity of wildlife (migratory fish spawn in the stream and evidence of bobcat has been observed, among many others). ?In addition to discovering new things, we should see the state-rare Deciduous Holly (Ilex decidua) and Camphorweed (Pluchea camphorata); extensive fern belts and clubmoss colonies and many species of ferns, including Adder's Tongue; numerous wildflowers and species of Carex; and a diversity of trees and shrubs. ?Most of the vegetation here is typical of the Coastal Plain, but some of the stream passes through beds of calcareous marine sands and marl, which give rise to a distinctive flora with montane elements.

  Moderate though lengthy walk on fairly level ground. ?

  Bring lunch, water, and good shoes. ?Some wet ground or occasional very shallow stream crossing may be encountered. ?Afterwards, a group of us will meet at Chinese restaurant in Bryans Road shopping center for dinner.

  Directions: From the Capital Beltway (495), take Indian Head Highway (Rt. 210) south approximately 15 miles to the Rt. 227 intersection at Bryans Road (at the intersection and not surprisingly, a McDonald's and Burger King will be on your right and a builders supply will be on left - don't take PG County versions of Rt. 227 many miles before this intersection!). ?Turn left at Rt. 227 and proceed south for approximately 3-4 miles. ?Slow down as road begins to descend down big hill to Mattawoman Creek (Lamont's will be on left about here) and be prepared to turn right just after stream crossing at Buteaux Crossing and before abandoned railroad tracks. ?Parking area will be on right at railroad tracks. ?We'll meet in parking lot. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

• Saturday, October 17 - Crow's Nest - Stafford County, Virginia [Had to be postponed because of extremely wet weather which would have caused damage to the area had the trip gone as scheduled.]

Ideas for other fieldtrips:

(At the April meeting we will seek the interest of members by taking a vote on the sites and firming up the dates.)

• May or June - Crow's Nest in Stafford County, VA., approximately 40 miles south of D.C. Crow's Nest is a 4,000 acre, deeply dissected forested peninsula on the coastal plain, with calcareous marine sands at lower elevations and acidic terrace gravel deposits on ridges and high elevations. The site has a remarkably diverse flora with numerous rare species, sections of old-age forest, wetlands, and pristine tidal marshes.

• Mid-June - Huntley Meadows Park in mid-June, Fairfax County, VA. The park has probably Virginia's largest colonies of purple milkweed. It has the state co-champ wild plum, great diversity of wildflowers, grasses, sedges, ferns, and wildlife. Easy walking for all folks.

2008 Field Trips Revised Schedule (September 13)

• April 12 - Bear Island
• April 19 - Gold Mine Tract - Great Falls
• April 26 - Susquahanna Gorge
• August 2-3 - Delmarva
• August 16 - Chicamuxen Wildlife Area
• November 8- Chapman's Landing

Created on ... December 06, 2008