Itinerary:

Friday, June 20, 8 a.m. - Meet at the Mound City Super 8 parking lot for a field trip to visit various sites on Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge to add to the plant species list begun last year.

Friday, June 20, 7 p.m. - Meet at the Squaw Creek NWR Visitor Center. Dr. David Ashley of Missouri Westem State University will give us a presentation on his work with the federally listed threattened plant, westem prairie fringed orchid.

Saturday, June 21, 8 a.m. - Meet at the Mound City Super 8 parking lot for field trip to Star School Hill Prairie, about 14 miles north of Rock Port on Highway 275. We should see a good assortment of loess hill prairie species as well as recently discovered wolfberry plants (Symphoricarpos occidentalis). We will later visit Little Tarkio Prairie, about 5 miles northwest of Mound City, to see westem prairie fringed orchids (hopefully, in flower) as well as other prairie species. Bring a picnic lunch, as we will stop for lunch around midday and may not have good options for restaurants nearby. Retum to Mound City by 5 p.m.

Saturday, June 21, 7 p.m. - Meet at the Squaw Creek NWR visitor center for the MoNPS Annual Meeting followed immediately by a board meeting.

Sunday, June 22, 8 a.m. - Meet at the Mound City Super 8 parking lot for a morning field trip. Location not yet determined but will be an area south or southeast of Mound City so as to be on the way home for most folks.

Lodging: The Super 8 Motel at 109 West 8th St. in Mound City quoted a price of $65.96 for a room with two people and two beds. Call (660) 442-4000.

SQUAW CREEK NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE: The 7,350 acre refuge in the Missouri River floodplain was established in 1935 as a resting, feeding, and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife.

LITTLE TARKIO PRAIRIE: Little Tarkio Prairie Conservation Area is about 5 miles northwest of Mound City. The Missouri Department of Conservation purchased 129-acre area in 1999. The area contains 15 acres of high-quality prairie, one of the last remnants of this type of habitat in the glaciated plains of northwestem Missouri.

STAR SCHOOL PRAIRIE: Dry prairie on steep loess mounds that support many species that have reached their eastem geographiical range limit. We should find blue grama, hairy grama, large beard-tongue and scarlet gaura.

Directions:

• To Mound City: On Interstate 29, take Highway 118, Exit 84, and turn right. Highway 118 intersects with Highway 59 and the Super 8 is on 59.
• To Squaw Creek National Refuge: Take Interstate 29 to Exit 79, and drive 3 miles west on Highway 159.

Plant list:

Attached below is the Squaw Creek plant list to be used if you are planning to arrive on Friday for the Summer field trip at Mound City.