Field work, education and outreach, volunteer activities, restoration work, networking, and much more are some of the many activities that SGI has been involved with this month. Read this newsletter to hear about all our exciting news and announcements, find out about upcoming events, and be reminded of our recent blog articles.

News and Announcements

• A paper that our Chief Science Advisor, Reed Noss, coauthored was published in the open access journal, Ecosphere. Locating potential historical fire-maintained grasslands of the eastern United States based on topographic roughness and wind speed. Ecosphere. DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4098.

• Ted Brancheau, Quail Forever and SGI Farm Bill Wildlife Biologist, began a new video series on invasive species. The first video was on Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica) and his second video was on Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii).

• Marcello DeVitis, Director of SGI’s Seeds Program, visited the Bureau of Land Management’s seed warehouse facility and common garden experiments in Idaho. Marcello was able to network with several other seed specialists during the event.

• Laura Hunt, SGI Volunteer Coordinator, and her team of dedicated volunteers continued their work at the Dunbar Cave Grasslands and the Austin Peay State University Native Plant Teaching and Research Garden.

• Jeremy French, Quail Forever and SGI Interior Low Plateau Ecoregion Coordinator, shared a video on redring milkweed (Asclepias variegata).

• The Mississippi Entomological Museum (MEM) and SGI extended the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) we have in place through 2032. The MOA allows us to collaborate on projects, promote each other’s organizations, and share resources. SGI and MEM are currently working on several projects for the National Park Service in the Washington D.C. area, as well as projects on private lands.

• Artemis Sportswomen, the Tennessee Wildlife Federation, and the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative hosted a field trip to Catoosa Wildlife Management Area for women in conservation. Dr. Dwayne Estes, SGI Executive Director, and Brittney Georgic, SGI / Austin Peay State University Graduate Research Assistant, co-led the discussions about savanna ecosystems.

• An open-access article that Marcello DeVitis, Director of SGI’s Seeds Program, co-authored was published in the Native Plants Journal. Seed collection, storage, and germination practices may affect Viola reintroduction outcomes. Native Plants Journal. doi: 10.3368/npj.23.1.40.

• Zach Wood, Georgia State Botanical Gardens at UGA and SGI Georgia Grasslands Coordinator, led the Georgia Native Plant Society Athens/East Piedmont Chapter on a prairie walk at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia at UGA and gave a presentation on restoration of grasslands in Georgia

• Dwayne Estes, SGI Executive Director, gave a virtual presentation titled, Over the river and through the prairie, from Pennsylvania to Texas we go!, to the Houston Chapter of the Native Prairie Association of Texas.

July Events

• Multiple volunteer activities are planned throughout the month in the Clarksville / Nashville, TN area.

  • Please sign up for the Volunteer emails to find out more about these events.

• Anytime: Georgia Grasslands Initiative Project.

  • Help identify remnant grassland communities in Georgia, with a special emphasis in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests and nearby areas.

• July 18: North American Congress for Conservation Biology (Society for Conservation Biology)

  • Reed Noss will be presenting a paper, coauthored with SGI staff Dwayne Estes, Theo Witsell, and Alan Weakley, as well as Pat Comer with NatureServe, in the symposium "Identifying Endangered Ecosystems – Implications for North American Conservation"

• July 26: In the Field: Bridgestone Firestone Wildlife Management Area, Sparta, TN

  • Dwayne Estes (SGI) and Larry Weaner will be co-leading this New Directions in the American Landscape (NDAL) workshop. Visit the workshop webpage for more information and to register.

Recent Blog Articles

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Thank you to all of our partners, volunteers, supporters, and friends!