SPRING MEETING IN CEDAR FALLS

The spring meeting of the INHA will be held on Friday, April 23 in conjunction with the Iowa Academy of Science meetings at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. The meeting will begin following the Friday evening speaker, and will be at:
Tony’s LaPizzaria
2210 College Street (just northeast of campus)
 

JOINT INHA/IOWA DOT WETLAND PROJECT UPDATE

The US EPA has a grant program to fund wetland related research and has encouraged DOT to apply for some of the money in the past.  The INHA wetland committee is currently working with the Iowa DOT to prepare a grant proposal to apply for a large grant under the EPA program to take a comprehensive look at the community structure of 12 DOT wetland mitigation sites as a way of evaluating the success of mitigation.  The community structure/composition of the mitigation sites will then be compared to natural wetlands in the vicinity of the mitigation sites.  Surveys will include plants, vertebrates, some invertebrates, water quality and landscape position.  Fieldwork for the project would be completed mostly by INHA members with support from DOT wetland staff.  The RFP for the proposal came out in March and proposals are due April 30, 2004.  The project would be completed over three years, with fieldwork completed over two field seasons and the final report completed the third year.
 

INHA WEB PAGE

Last year, Jeff Parmelee designed an INHA web page for us. Have you checked it out? http://www.simpson.edu/~parmelee/INHA.html It’s off to a great start, but Jeff has needed information and images from the rest of us to make it comprehensive and up-to-date.  Please look it over and send Jeff any suggestions and information that should be included; Jeff’s e-mail address is: parmelee@simpson.edu.
 

WHITETAIL: TREASURE, TROPHY OR TROUBLE?
A HISTORY OF DEER IN IOWA
by Larry Stone

Virtually gone by 1900, Iowa white-tailed deer have rebounded to the point of over-abundance. Whitetails have thrived in a state dominated by intensive agriculture and altered habitat.
While many people enjoy watching the animals, deer also have damaged natural areas, caused thousands of motor vehicle accidents, and eaten farm crops and suburban shrubbery. When the hunting season was reopened in 1953, no one could have imagined that by start of the 21st century Iowa would be known for its deer hunting. Hunters last season killed more than 160,000 whitetails.
Larry Stone’s new, 80-page book, written for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, traces the surprising history of an adaptable animal’s co-existence with modern society. It includes many striking photos by wildlife photographer Roger Hill.

Whitetail can be ordered from vendors where hunting licenses are sold, or from Larry A. Stone, 23312 295th St., Elkader, IA 52043, 888-807-1828, lstone@alpinecom.net. The cost is $10. Please add $2 postage.
 

OUR NEWEST MEMBERS

Dr. Keith Summerville is one of our newest members of INHA. He is in his second year as a member of the Biology Department faculty at Drake University. The information that he provided for last year’s directory shows his interest in the lepidoptera.

Ms. Rosanne Healy is also a new member. She is a research associate in the Genetics, Cellular and Developmental Biology Department at Iowa State. Her research interests include mycology, and you can see mention of one of her projects, surveying Iowa’s truffles, in an article below.

NEW GRANT PROGRAM OFFERED BY THE IOWA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY

The Iowa Native Plant Society has just initiated a small grant program, and will consider proposals for projects in two areas: 1) acquisition of land that will significantly contribute to the conservation of Iowa’s native flora; and 2) research, training and education that will contribute to conservation, appreciation and increased knowledge of Iowa’s native flora. Both non-profit institutions and individuals may apply. INPS will award each year – land acquisition grants up to $1250; research grants up to $500, and training and education related grants totaling $250. More information is available at the website: www.public.iastate.edu/~herbarium/inps/grantinfo.htm
 

LOIS TIFFANY HONORED IN NAMING OF NEWLY DISCOVERED IOWA TRUFFLE

If you attended last spring’s dinner honoring Lois Tiffany’s 50-plus years on the faculty at ISU, then you heard the announcement (and saw the illustration) that a new species of fungus was being named in her honor. Now it’s official – Mattirolomyces tiffanyae Healy has been published!

Rosanne Healy and “Dr. T” have been conducting a survey of Iowa’s truffles, and this was just one of the exciting results of their study. For those who aren’t “up” on truffles (other than the yummy chocolate ones or those mentioned on the menus of expensive restaurants), M. tiffanyae is only distantly related to the edible, very expensive truffles (fungi) of southern Europe. First collected in late summer of 1998, M. tiffanyae has been found at several locations in Story Co. in mixed deciduous upland woods.