August was an especially exciting month for us. We were involved with two major papers that were published this month and documented the second record of a globally threatened species in Tennessee. That’s in addition to all our usual field work, educational opportunities, and networking experiences.
This month’s newsletter includes just a few of the many exciting activities that our team has been working on during August. We also wanted to remind you that we have a free workshop coming up in a couple of weeks and are accepting applications for two full-time positions.
We’re hiring!
Love what we do? Want to join us? We are hiring 2 full-time positions - a Seed Program Manager and a Southern Appalachian Grasslands Coordinator. Details for both positions can be found at https://www.segrasslands.org/jobs .
News and Announcements
The globally threatened, grassland-dependent snowy orchid is now known from 2 sites in Tennessee.
Claire Ciafré (SGI and Austin Peay State University alumnus) and co-author Robert Naczi, published a paper describing a new and globally-rare species of beak-sedge (Rhynchospora stiletto) known from rare wet calcareous grasslands at just seven sites in the world - all in the SGI focal region.
Claire discovered this sedge while she was a graduate student under Dwayne Estes (SGI Executive Director and co-founder) at APSU.
Theo Witsell (SGI Chief Ecologist and co-founder), Dwayne, Zach Irick (SGI Southern Appalachian Grasslands Ecologist), and Mason Brock (SGI Botanist and APSU Herbarium Manager) all contributed specimens and associated data to that study.
Tennessee's second record of snowy orchid (Platanthera nivea) was found at an Eastern Highland Rim prairie in Warren County, Tennessee by Jared Gorrell (SGI and Austin Peay State University Graduate Research Assistant).
This Coastal Plains disjunct species was formerly known only from Coffee County Tennessee and is a globally threatened species dependent on remnant Southeastern grasslands.
Diana Soteropoulos (Arkansas Natural Heritage Program Botanist) and co-authors published a comprehensive floristic study of Pine City Natural Area in eastern Arkansas. The study was done as part of her doctoral dissertation at Arkansas State University.
Dwayne Estes (SGI Executive Director and co-founder) served on Diana's PhD committee and Theo Witsell (SGI Chief Ecologist and co-founder) advised on the study, contributed specimens, and reviewed the paper.
The site includes several rare grassland types and numerous grassland species of conservation concern.
SGI team members recently collected data and seeds for the first two seed collections in Tennessee for the federal Seeds of Success program.
Marcello DeVitis (Director of SGI’s Seeds Program) completed the first two seed collections in Tennessee for the federal Seeds of Success program.
Cooper Breeden (SGI Plant Conservation Manager) assisted with scouting the populations and collecting data about the site, the plant community and the source populations.
Zach Wood (Georgia Grasslands Coordinator for SGI and the State Botanical Garden of Georgia at the University of Georgia) participated in the final population count for the season of the natural royal catchfly (Silene regia) population in Georgia.
Several SGI Volunteers represented SGI as they assisted the USFWS with Price’s potato bean (Apios priceana) surveys in Kentucky.
Chip Morgan (SGI GIS Analyst) attended the virtual ESRI Users Conference.
Theo Witsell (SGI Chief Ecologist and co-founder) presented a webinar, The Grassland Initiative: Plant and Pollinator Biodiversity Under Tennessee Valley Authority Powerlines on the Cumberland Plateau, as part of a Rare Plants and Biodiversity of Rights of Way Research Roundtable.
The Grassland Restoration Network recently hosted a workshop that SGI’s Volunteer Coordinator attended.
Laura Hunt (SGI Volunteer Coordinator) attended the Grassland Restoration Network workshop hosted by Citizens for Conservation in Barrington, IL.
At this workshop, grassland restoration professionals and volunteers from across the upper and Midwest prairie country gathered to share encouragement and tips about their restoration efforts.
Jodi Morgan (SGI Youth Outreach Coordinator) participated in the Great Georgia Pollinator Census. The Great Georgia Pollinator Census is a University of Georgia, Athens Extension event.
Marcello DeVitis (Director of SGI’s Seeds Program) accepted an invitation to serve on the Program Committee for the 2023 International Conference on Ecological Restoration (SER2023).
Reed Noss (SGI Chief Science Advisor) gave a virtual keynote address, From Missouri to Florida: The conservation significance of southeastern grasslands, to the Missouri Prairie Foundation.
SGI team members and partners conducted invasive species removal and other maintenance at restoration sites in multiple states across our focal region.
Brittney Georgic (SGI and Austin Peay State University Graduate Research Assistant) conducted field work including collecting specimens associated with an ongoing insect survey in North Chickamauga.
Porter’s goldenrod population monitoring at one of the Tennessee sites.
Cooper Breeden (SGI Plant Conservation Manager), Marcello DeVitis (Director of SGI’s Seeds Program), and Layla Dunlap (Director of Finance and Operations) conducted annual population monitoring at one of the Porter’s goldenrod (Solidago porteri) sites in Tennessee.
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.
Zach Wood (Georgia Grasslands Coordinator for SGI and the State Botanical Garden of Georgia at the University of Georgia) had a table at Insectival, a public outreach event at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia focused on educated kids about insects.
The table highlighted a few grassland plants and the “bugs” that might be found on those plants.
September 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.
Sept. 17, 2022: Grassland Restoration for Private Landowners Workshop
SGI is hosting a free workshop on September 17 from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. in Clarksville, TN.
Registration is required because lunch and light refreshments will be provided. Details can be found in the flier below.
Sept. 19, 2022: Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Symposium
Marcello DeVitis (Director of SGI’s Seeds Program) will be presenting a poster about SGI’s goals in restoration.
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