BCNWP Annual Meeting & Potluck Dinner

Please join us for our annual meeting and dinner on Tuesday, February 7th, 2012, 6:30 at the Field House located behind the Nashville Christian Church.  Chili, beverages, table service will be provided.  Please bring a dish to share.

Steve Cotter, Bloomington Parks & Rec, will be the guest speaker.  Steve will talk about the Go Green, Go Native! project initiated by Monroe County’s Identify and Reduce Invasive Species group, http://mc-iris.org.

To RSVP click the button below or call 812-988-2211:

Snow (or ice) date, Tuesday, February 21st.

Winter Tree ID and Winter Botany Workshop

Do trees in winter leave you cold? Don’t know a poplar from pine? Well now is the chance to learn more about the winter woodlands through a “Winter Tree ID and Winter Botany Workshop” at Brown County State Park on Saturday, Feb. 11th from 10 am to noon (EST).

Presenters for the workshop will be Dan Shaver from The Nature Conservancy, Dan McGuckin, Consulting Forester, Habitat Solutions and Jim Eagleman, Brown County State Park Interpretive Naturalist.

Light refreshments will be provided.

This event is sponsored by the Brown County Native Woodlands Project and will take place at Brown County State Park Lower Shelter House. Please be sure to dress for the weather. Park admission fee charged: $ 5/IN resident, $ 7, out-of-state. Enter at North gate entrance.

Need more information? Please contact Jim Eagleman, 812-988-5240, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

To register for this free event click the button below or visit http://bcnwp-2012winter-treeid.eventbrite.com/.

NRCS Programs Meeting

Join us on February 28, 2012 at the Brown County Public Library at 6:30 p.m. Our District Conservationist, Rafael Vega will be there to explain the NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) Programs. You do NOT have to be a farmer to benefit from some of these programs. You will have a chance to ask questions and find out if any of the NRCS programs will benefit you and your land. Light refreshments will be served. If any questions please contact Rafael at 812-334-4325.

Conservation Happenings in Southern Indiana

This event is sponsored by the Muscatatuck Wildlife Society and the  Big Oaks Conservation Society:

• Date:  Tuesday, March 6, 2012
• Time:  9am - mid-afternoon
• Location:  Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge, 12985 East U. S. Highway 50, Seymour, IN 47274
• RSVP: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Goals:

• to facilitate a meeting to create an opportunity to keep the conservation community connected, increase dialogue about landscape level conservation and all the things happening for conservation in southern Indiana
• brainstorm ideas, promote, and create awareness of all that is happening and connect the dots for good landscape level conservation
• to widen the audience to work with partners, stakeholders, and landowners and to increase awareness of landscape and watershed conservation issues, opportunities, and benefits through environmental education, outreach, and technical assistance.

Agenda:

• Welcome: 9:00AM – Susan Knowles Private Lands Biologist, USFWS
• The Landscape Conservation Cooperatives Network and what it means to Conservation - Glen Salmon, Eastern Tallgrass Prairie and Big Rivers Landscape Conservation Cooperative Coordinator USFWS
• Strengthening Conservation by Community Involvement Oxbow Land Trust - Jon Seymour, President Oxbow, Inc.
• America’s Great Outdoors Initiative - Jeff Kiefer, State Coordinator, Partners for Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Indian Creek Watershed Project including Student Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring: Authentic Project-Based Learning - ICWP Switzerland County High School Advanced Placement Environmental Science students: Chelsea Duvall, Samantha Helt, Antonio (Tony) Hernandez, Bonnie Fancher, ICWP Steering Committee President/ AP Environmental Science Teacher, Cary Louderback, ICWP Coordinator
• Public Access in Indiana - Jamie Smyth, Public Access Coordinator IDNR/Division of Fish and Wildlife
• What’s up with Fisheries in Indiana - Debra King, IDNR Fish Management
• Increasing Disturbance Dependent Wildlife by Creating Young Forest on the Hoosier National Forest - Chris Thornton Forester Hoosier NF
• Challenges of Deer Management from an Ecosystem Perspective - Chad Stewart, Deer Research Biologist, IDNR
• Updates and Q & A panel Discussion: National Wildlife Refuges and Partners for Fish and Wildlife in Southern Indiana; Refuge Managers Jandro Galvan Muscatatuck NWR, Joe Robb Big Oaks NWR, Bill McCoy Patoka NWR, and Jeff Kiefer, State Coordinator, Partners for Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Refuge Tour
• Lunch will be served at the refuge, please RSVP by contacting Susan Knowles, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Annual Soil & Water Conservation District Meeting

Join us for an evening of education and fun! There will be a presentation on the Monarch Butterfly, with Backyard Conservation and information to help you get your yard ready for spring and summer. We will make gardening pumice soap and kids can make a butterfly. There will be an election of a supervisor and an appointment of a supervisor. Sugar Maple seedlings will be handed out and a great dinner will be served. Make your reservations to help us plan plenty of food! 988-2211 Tickets for the dinner are only $5.00 for adults, $2.00 for children under 12 and free for those 5 and under. Hope to see you there!

• Date:  March 10, 2012
• Time:  5:00 pm
• Cost:  $5 per person for the Dinner Meeting
• Topic: Backyard Conservation: Butterflies
• Location: Parkview Nazarene Church
• More info:  Soil & Water, 812-988-2211 or Purdue Extension, 812-988-5495

Annual Agriculture Breakfast

• Date:  March 14, 2012
• Time:  8:30 am
• Cost:  $5 per person - All proceeds to benefit Mother's Cupboard
• Topic: Giving Back to your Community - Mother's Cupboard
• Location: Parkview Nazarene Church
• More info:  Soil & Water, 812-988-2211 or Purdue Extension, 812-988-5495
• Please BRING a non-perishable food item for Mother's Cupboard

INPAWS Events

To learn more about these events and membership visit inpaws.org

February 12, Central Chapter Annual Icebreaker
Shake off the winter blahs at this popular annual get-together for INPAWS members. 2:00 to 5:00 pm at the home of Amy Smith. Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

March through October, INPAWS Hikes & Field Trips
Visit Indiana natives where they live, led by knowledgable guides hand picked by our state botanist/plant ecologist Mike Homoya. Preview of locations and leaders April date TBA, Native Plant Garden Tour A change of season for this annual tour brings opportunities to view a different set of native plants used in the landscape.

May 12, INPAWS Native Plant Sale & Auction
New venue this year: Park Tudor School gymnasium. Pre-sale presentation, plant sale, book sale, and friendly auction competition. Something for everyone.