28 September 2001

FALL MEETING  9 and 10 November
    Neil Bernstein has again agreed to serve as host in Cedar Rapids.  We will have dinner Friday night at 6:00 at the Great Dragon Buffet, 3911 Center Point Road NE.  From I-380, you want the 29th St NE-32nd St NE/ Glass Road Coldstream Rd exit.  If you were going south on I-380, turn left.  If you were going north on I-380, turn right.  You should be on 29th St NE.  Cross the railroad tracks.  The first major road you encounter is Center Point Road, turn left.  At 32nd St NE, there will be a Handimart on the right, continue straight.  You will pass a Fin and Feather on the right and eventually come to a hardware store on the left.  The Great Dragon Buffet driveway is in the strip mall just beyond the hardware store (left side of road).

    After dinner, we will go back to Mount Mercy College for the evening presentation. Jim Demastes will present aspects of his research on genetic variation in populations and Randy Mercer talk about his work on insect-borne diseases.  To get to Mount Mercy, go back to 32nd St, turn left. Cross Oakland Road (Hy-Vee/Drug Town corner) and continue to Prairie Drive, turn right. Continue on Prairie until you bump into Mount Mercy College. Continue on Prairie. There will be a driveway on your right, but continue. Take the next driveway on your right. Parking at the top of the hill on Friday night will be tight.  It will be best to park by the recreation center and walk uphill a bit.  We will meet in 230 McAuley Hall. McAuley Hall is at the top of the hill.  There are two towers with a connector between them.  We are on the second floor of the connector.  The two towers are dorms, so it could be an interesting walk to my lab.

Here is a link to the directions to MMC with a map for Adobe Acrobat reader:
http://www2.mtmercy.edu/Visitor%20Guide.pdf

Saturday morning, we will meet in the lower level of the Busse Library at 9. I will have coffee, juice, and rolls available. The library opens at 9, so no sense arriving too early.

The most reasonable motels that are easy to get to are slightly south of town off of I-380. They are about 10 minutes from campus, and all are off of 33rd Ave SW.  Neil has included 800 numbers if they are listed, however, most of these have 800 numbers that you can call and they are on the web:

    Excel Inn  800-367-3935
    Farifield Inn  364-2000
    Comfort Inn South 363-7934
    Red Roof Inn  800-733-7663
    Super 8  800-800-8000
    Econolodge 363-8888

ADDRESS QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MEETING TO:  Neil Bernstein
    neil@mmc.mtmercy.edu

    On Saturday morning (10 Nov.), the Geological Society is holding a field trip at Maquoketa Caves State Park, from 10am to about 4:30 (that's a guess). I would guess that it would take about 1 hour to get there from our INHA meeting. Interested people could possibly join the trip late, around 1300h.

The Rathbun Destination Park Project
 In our short meeting with the Iowa Academy of Science this spring we put out the call for scientists to work on the first big INHA research project since the Loess Hills study.  As a result of supreme effort by the members with interest in that project, we were able to submit on time, the most competitive research proposal and were awarded the contract.  The purpose of the $50,172 study is to determine the biological composition of the area and in particular, to locate threatened or endangered species.  Tom Rosburg is Project Coordinator and is working on plants and with Neil Burnstein on Birds.  Jim Christiansen is doing Amphibians and Reptiles.  David McCullough (New Member) is doing mammals and Dennis Schlicht is doing butterflies.  Studies have already begun and are showing some surprising diversity.

The Loess Hills Project
 It is extremely important that a follow-up to our landmark 1975 Loess Hills Study be organized and funded.  I am as much at fault as anyone for not talking to enough people to figure out how to get this done.  The land area is large and I think the cost would be in the $80 000- $90,000 range to do a thorough job.  It would require parts of at least two years and heavy involvement of INHA members.  If you have contact with anyone in the National Park Service or other potential funding agencies and can inquire as to funding, please make inquiries and do what you can to generate interest.

Other Projects Announced by the Iowa DNR
1. Plant and animal surveys of a complex of public lands along the Wapsipinicon River in Clinton and Scott counties.  Several in the INHA are interested in that but the deadline for proposals is 9 November so we need to have a proposal in by then.  Other projects include:

2.  Plant survey of the Paint Creek Unit of the Yellow River State Forest in Allamakee
     County
3. Plant survey of a complex of privately owned fens and prairies in Fayette and Clayton
      counties
The DNR has had some difficulty in finding interest in surveys of some properties in the past.  The INHA can help by examining the areas for the scientific value the work could contribute beyond the actual survey.  For example the Wapsi study includes populations of massasaugas, Blanding's turtles, Ornate Box Turtles, and Western Hognose Snakes.  People working on a species found in the area may find the study and its associated funding a big help for their research.

10 Nov.  Suggested Meeting Agenda (Busse Library, lower Level at 0900h)
0900 Coffee, juice, and doughnuts
0915 Call to order, welcoming comments
 Approval of minutes of last meeting (Tom R)
 Accomplishments of past year (Jim C)
 Treasurers Report (Tom R)
 Update on Invasive Species Symposium Publication (Neil)
 Other old business
0930 New Business
 Brainstorming on needed research in Iowa.
(Examples) Changes in Iowa's Wetlands in the last 100 years and their impact on species distributions.  Soils and pool bottoms, insularization, plant changes, animal changes.
 Symposia for the IAS
 Election of Officers
 Next Meeting

Thanks to Connie Mutel for her help with the newsletter and planning, Thanks to Neil Bernstein for again hosting the meeting.  Thanks to Tom Rosburg for spearheading the Rathbun Project.

       Jim Christiansen, President