ARKANSAS NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY
FALL 2014 MEETING & PLANT AUCTION
October 10-12, 2014
TEXARKANA, ARKANSAS
The fall meeting of the Arkansas Native Plant Society (ANPS) will be held in Texarkana, Arkansas with field trips to surrounding parks and natural areas. Please plan to join us as we tour some of the unique habitats of the West Gulf Coastal Plain, including chalk woodlands, blackland prairies, and sandhills.
HOTEL AND MEETING LOCATION
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Hotel Texarkana East
5210 Crossroads Pkwy, Texarkana, AR 71854
Phone: (870) 216-0083 http://www.texarkanaeasthotel.com
ANPS has reserved a block of 30 rooms (25 double queens and 5 kings) at the reduced rate of $89.00 plus tax per night. This rate includes high-speed wireless internet and a hot breakfast each morning. Reservations must be received by September 26, 2014 to guarantee the reduced rate. Be sure to mention that you are attending the Arkansas Native Plant Society meeting when making your reservation.
Several other hotels are located in the immediate area, including:
Comfort Suites – (870) 216-8084
Hampton Inn – (870) 774-4267
Best Western Plus – (870) 774-1534
Meals: Potluck snacks will be offered on Friday and Saturday evenings. Drinks will be provided by ANPS. Please feel free to bring a dish or snack to share. All other meals are on your own. Texarkana has many restaurant options, including well-known local spots such as Bryce’s Cafeteria and Cattleman’s Steakhouse, and a couple large grocery stores near the hotel.
Some notes about the field trips: We will provide full information about field trip locations on Friday evening. If you would like to lead a field trip, or if you have suggestions for an interesting place for a field trip in the area, please contact Jennifer Ogle.
Some of the prospective field trips are located in areas that have very few restaurant options. You may want to come prepared with lunch supplies in case we aren’t able to find a place to eat between the morning and afternoon walks on Saturday.
AGENDA
Friday, October 10
5:30-7:00 pm: REGISTRATION
Registration costs $5.00 per person and occurs in the Newcrest Meeting Room of the Holiday Inn and Suites. (no preregistration is required).
Sign-up sheets for Saturday and Sunday field trips will also be available, along with descriptions of each trip.
7:00 pm: NATIVE PLANT AUCTION
The fall meeting begins with the annual native plant auction, which raises funds for our scholarships and grants program. This informal and fun auction features native plants grown by our members. Items such as books, seeds, plant presses, jams and jellies, and crafts are also often included in the auction. If you have something to donate, please bring it with you and give it to one of the meeting organizers to add to the auction.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11
8:30 A.M. Field trips depart from the hotel parking lot.
7:00 P.M: EVENING PROGRAM
Theo Witsell, botanist with the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, will talk on the subject, “Habitats and Rare Plants of Southwest Arkansas”.
Business Meeting will follow the evening presentation.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12
8:30 A.M. Field trips depart from the hotel parking lot.
ANPS T-Shirts: Remember, T-Shirts are only available for sale at the Spring and Fall meetings. Please do not ask to reserve one or that we mail you one. We can’t. For more information about the ANPS T-Shirts, click here. (See website under About)
Questions? Contact Jennifer Ogle at ranunculus73@gmail.com and 479-957-6859.
2014 FALL MEETING FIELD TRIPS – TEXARKANA, ARKANSAS
FIELD TRIP SCHEDULE
SATURDAY MORNING (depart from the hotel parking lot at 8:30 a.m.)
- Miller County Sandhills Natural Area – Trip Leaders: Joe Stuckey and Meredith York
- Millwood Lake State Park – Trip Leader: Jennifer Ogle
- White Cliffs Natural Area – Trip Leaders: Brent Baker and Virginia McDaniel
SATURDAY AFTERNOON (meet at the trailhead at 1:30 p.m.)
- Millwood Lake State Park – Trip Leader: Jennifer Ogle
- White Cliffs Natural Area – Trip Leaders: Brent Baker and Virginia McDaniel
SUNDAY MORNING (depart from the hotel parking lot at 8:30 a.m.)
- Miller County Sandhills Natural Area – Trip Leader: Theo Witsell
- Terre Noire Natural Area – Trip Leader: Brent Baker
FIELD TRIP DESCRIPTIONS
MILLER COUNTY SANDHILLS NATURAL AREA
Miller County Sandhills Natural Area is one of the few remaining examples of relatively undisturbed sandhill vegetation in southwestern Arkansas. The area is marked by rolling topography and sandy soils. The dry sandy soils support a distinctive flora, which includes a number of species characteristic of similar sites in eastern Texas. Some of the area is open and supports sandhill grasslands, while the remainder supports wooded and open seeps, pine forest, and oak woodlands characterized by a number of “scrub species.” This natural area supports more rare plant species than any other area in the System of Natural Areas. The Nature Conservancy shares ownership on a portion of the area and also owns additional land adjacent to the natural area. More information at http://www.naturalheritage.com/natural-area/miller-county-sandhills/.
MILLWOOD LAKE STATE PARK – WATERFOWL WAY TRAIL
This level, 1.5 mile trail is rated easy. It meanders through a mixed pine-hardwood forest along the edge of Millwood Lake, where visitors can see dwarf palmetto, bald cypress trees, several aquatic plant species, and many forest understory herbs, shrubs, and vines.
The trail crosses a bog and prairie bumps and meanders through both pine and hardwood stands. Fishing, waterfowl observation and photography are popular activities for hikers on this trail. At Cypress Point, a picnic table is available for those wanting to rest or enjoy a picnic lunch. On its return loop the trail passes an active beaver lodge and an alligator ‘hole’. Many species of migratory waterfowl use Millwood Lake as a resting site along their long journeys in the fall and winter. More information as well as a downloadable brochure at http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/millwood/.
TERRE NOIRE NATURAL AREA
Terre Noire Natural Area is one of the highest-quality blackland prairies and woodland complexes remaining in the state. The site is a mosaic of native herbaceous and woody vegetation that includes high-quality prairie as well as prairie in various stages of restoration. It also includes wooded areas that illustrate the forest and woodland matrix within which the prairie openings existed in southwestern Arkansas. The site is home to a number of rare plant and animal species. The Nature Conservancy shares ownership on portions of the area. More information at http://www.naturalheritage.com/natural-area/terre-noire/.
WHITE CLIFFS NATURAL AREA
White Cliffs Natural Area occurs on a large outcrop of Annona Chalk, rising out of the Little River floodplain (now Millwood Lake) and includes a 100-foot high chalk bluff over the Little River, from which the area derives its name. A continuum of plant communities reflects a range of elevations at the site from the floodplain to the ridgetop. The area includes the largest, and least disturbed, Arkansas occurrences of chalk woodland. This community type is unusual for Arkansas as it is more typical of vegetation found on the Edwards Plateau of Texas. The area is also of historic significance as the site of a late 19th century settlement. More information at http://www.naturalheritage.com/natural-area/white-cliffs/.
APPROXIMATE DRIVING TIMES TO EACH FIELD TRIP LOCATION
From the hotel to
- Miller County Sandhills Natural Area: 30 minutes
- Millwood Lake State Park: 30 minutes
- Terre Noire Natural Area: 1 ¼ hours
- White Cliffs Natural Area: 50 minutes
From Miller County Sandhills Natural Area to
- Millwood Lake State Park: 50 minutes
- White Cliffs Natural Area: 1 ¼ hours
From White Cliffs Natural Area to
- Millwood Lake State Park: 45 minutes
From Millwood Lake State Park to
- White Cliffs Natural Area: 45 minutes
LUNCH OPTIONS ON SATURDAY
For those heading to Miller County Sandhills Natural Area, there are many lunch options as you drive back through Texarkana on your way to the afternoon field trip sites. A few include:
- 237 Grocery, 10749 Blackman Ferry Rd, Texarkana, AR 71854 (serving hot lunches; about 4 miles north of Miller County Sandhills)
- Old Tyme Burger Shoppe, 1205 Arkansas Blvd
- Subway, 3639 E 9th St
- Amigo Juan, 607 E 51st ST, Interstate 30 Frontage Rd (next to hotel)
For those visiting either White Cliffs Natural Area or Millwood Lake, Ashdown offers several lunch options, including:
- Big Jakes BBQ, 170 N. Constitution Ave.
- Herb’s, 116 Dutch Webster Dr.
- Medrano’s Mexican Restaurant, 1420 N. Constitution Ave.
- Subway, 1160 S. Constitution Ave.
- McDonald’s, 1260 S. Constitution Ave.
- Burger King, 720 S. Constitution Ave.
If you prefer to take the eastern route around the lake from White Cliffs to Millwood Lake State Park (or vice versa), the town of Mineral Springs has a well-reviewed Mexican restaurant:
- El Potrero, 405 W. Runnels St.
Arkansas Native Plant Society 