AMERICAN PENSTEMON SOCIETY

2021 Schedule

2021 APS ANNUAL MEETING Schedule Outline

Friday

2:30 – 4:00 pm – Board Meeting (Riverwoods Conference Center: Conference Room). 
5:00 pm – Welcome reception (Riverwoods Conference Center: Mahogany Room). 
6:00 pm – Dinner served
7:00 pm – Dr. Leila Shultz will present “What’s so special about Logan Canyon?”

Saturday

Breakfast on your own and bring a lunch.

6:30 am – Assemble in the parking area of the Marriott TownePlace Suites at 7:30 am and began carpooling and immediately sending them to the base of the Tony Grove Road.
8:00 am – Meet at the base of Tony Grove Lake road (41.884863 N, 111.565298 W).
5:00 pm – Reception (Riverwoods Conference Center: Mahogany Room)
6:00 pm – Banquet, annual business meeting,
7:00 pm – Keynote address Tony McCammon will present “Ethnobotany of Penstemons”.

Sunday

Breakfast on your own and bring a sack lunch.

7:30 am – Assemble in the parking area of the Marriott TownePlace Suites at 7:30 am and began carpooling and immediately sending them to appropriate town meeting sites.
9:30 am – Meet at Bloomington, ID (42.1839 N, 111.4014 W) for tour to Bloomington Lake.
9:30 am – Meet at Paris, ID (42.2224 N, 111.4007 W) for tour to Paris Ice Cave. Evening meal on your own.

Monday

Breakfast on your own and bring a sack lunch.

8:00 am – Depart for the post-meeting tour to Monte Cristo. We will adjourn from the field after the tour is complete.

 

APS 2021 Annual Meeting Evening Activities

Friday, July 9, Welcome Reception at 5:00 pm; Dinner at 6:00 pm; followed by our guest presenter, Dr. Leila Shultz at 7:00 pm.

Dr. Leila Shultz will present “What’s so special about Logan Canyon?” Leila will discuss geological features and plant distributions that are unique in the region. Primary focus will be on the dozen+ endemic plant species found in the Bear River Range. Among others, this area harbors the rare Penstemon compactus and Orthocarpus holmgreniorum.

Leila came to Utah in 1973, starting a career of field exploration, curation, teaching, and research. She obtained degrees from the University of Tulsa (B.S.), University of Colorado (M.A.), and Claremont Graduate School (Ph.D.). She is a co-author of the Atlas of Vascular Plants of Utah and the Woody Plants of Utah, and a taxon editor for the Flora of North America for 25 years. Additionally, Leila served as curator of the Intermountain Herbarium for 20 years and on the Board of Directors for the Utah Native Plant Society and the Teton Science Schools. “I completed a monograph of Artemisia subgenus Tridentatae (Sagebrush) in 2009 and have since distributed about 30,000 copies of a Pocket Guide to Sagebrush. My retirement home is with the Intermountain Herbarium at Utah State University and my heart is with the conservation of the rare flora of Utah.” Leila is responsible for naming and describing P. pinorum and P. ammophilus with John S. Shultz and Noel H. Holmgren respectively.

 

Saturday, July 10, APS Reception at 5:00 pm; Annual Banquet and Annual APS Business Meeting beginning at 6:00 pm; followed by our keynote speaker Tony McCammon at 7:00 pm.

Tony McCammon, co-author of The Heart of Penstemon Country: A Natural History of Penstemons in the Utah Region will speak on “Ethnobotanical History of the Penstemon”. Since completing graduate work at Utah State, Tony has been fascinated by and a self-educated forager of native plants. His love of nature connects him to the Native American way of life and “our brothers and sisters in the plant kingdom. Penstemon enthusiasts love to admire specimens in their native environment. Some take pictures, others propagate them into their own yards. I have even seen some add them to their own peyote mixture. Native American Tribes of the Intermountain West were familiar with penstemon as a beautiful and useful plant. And although it is the king of the wildflowers, packed inside every plant is a history, a life, and even a power forgotten.” Tony will share an ethnobotanical history of Penstemon.

Tony is the founder of Bloom Horticulture Specialists, the leader in inspiring landscape stewardship and helping gardeners connect to nature’s healing power. His passion for plants carries into his landscape architecture studio, speaking engagements, and consulting opportunities. Tony has worked in the horticultural field for over 15 years. He received a MS in Plant Science from Utah State University and retired from the University of Idaho to start his business. Tony has specialized expertise in woody plants, turfgrass, native plants, permaculture, floriculture, aq uaponics, and pest management. He has spoken to many groups nationwide and has appeared on several garden shows. Tony loves hiking, canyoneering, playing soccer with his friends, and relishes writing in the third person. He is a featured speaker on greatgardenspeakers.com, The Association for Garden Communicators, Idaho and Utah Nursery and Landscape Association, local/state/and international Native Plant Associations, and frequently offers community classes through Dixie State University.

 

APS Field Trip Info

Saturday, July 10 Tony Grove field trip: We will assemble in the parking area of the Marriott TownePlace Suites at 7:30 am and begin sending as few as possible cars immediately to the base of the Tony Grove parking area.

Meet at 8:00 am SHARP or before at Parking area at the base of Tony Grove Road. This location is at the turn off Highway 89 to FR141 (see attached mapping info [GPS coordinates 41.884863 N, 111.565298 W]). After assembling in this parking lot, we will attempt to further carpool the last ~7 miles or ~20 minutes to Tony Grove Lake (narrow, steep, paved road). There is a parking fee and limited “first come first serve” parking at the lake (your APS Meeting registration covers this parking fee). Restroom facilities are available in the parking lot area.

1- James (Jim) Kane will provide a presentation on penstemons and pollinators.

  • Jim is a native bee and pollination ecologist, emeritus USDA-ARS Bee Lab, Logan, Utah
  • We plan to take a short walk to the north side of the Tony Grove Lake and sit on the rocks for this presentation.

2- Tony McCammon, will lead a hike to Mount Naomi (if we have some takers).

3- Mikel Stevens will lead a short hike to the P. compactus site.

4- Stephen Love will take the short hikes around the lake and explore nearby sites.

Sunday, July 11 Bloomington Lakes and Paris Ice Caves field trips: We will assemble in the parking area of the Marriott TownePlace Suites at 7:30 am and begin sending cars immediately to either Bloomington Canyon or Paris Ice Caves to avoid congestion in Logan Canyon.

1-      Bloomington Lakes: Make your own way to the town of Bloomington by 9:30 am at the latest. Meet at a roadside turnout on Highway 89 at the south edge of town to form a caravan before continuing on to the trailhead. Turnout GPS coordinates: 42.1839 N, 111.4014 W. Mikel Stevens will meet the participants at this location and direct the caravan to the trailhead. Restroom facilities are available at Bloomington Lake.

  1. The road to Bloomington Lake is a little over 10 miles long and starts from the town on a well maintained dirt road; however, be aware the last 2-3 miles will challenge a vehicle with low clearance! There are at least 3 areas that a car can be parked and individuals can combine in vehicles with higher road clearance.
  2. Additionally, Bloomington Lake is a fee area. We will provide envelopes and money for each vehicle, which ends up parking at Bloomington Lake parking. Thus, doubling up in vehicles pays another dividend beyond the danger to the undercarriage of a vehicle.
    1. Mike Mancuso and Rose Lehman will lead a field trip to Bloomington Lakes. They will meet us at the Bloomington Lakes trailhead.
    2. A short hike of about ½ mile is required to access Bloomington Lakes. The hike is rated “easy.” At the lake, Michael Mancuso and Rose Lehman will split the group. One group will hike to the cirque (moderately strenuous), the other will visit sites around the lake.

2-      Paris Ice Caves: Make your own way to Paris, Idaho by 9:30 am at the latest. Meet up with the field trip leaders at the Sinclair service station on the corner of Highway 89 and South 2nd Street (GPS coordinates: 42.2224 N, 111.4007 W). Be sure to use the restroom at this location as facilities will be limited during much of the day. From there the group will caravan up Paris Canyon Road to the area of the ice cave.

  1. Tony McCammon and Stephen Love will leading the second field trip to Paris Ice Caves.
  2. This field trip will be primarily an auto tour with some stops where short floral hikes will be planned.

Monday, July 12 Monte Cristo field trip

Please make your own way to the McDonalds parking lot in Hyrum Utah by 7:45 am where we will assemble to begin this trip (GPS coordinates: 41.633385 N, 111.831688 W).

We will meet our guide at the corner of Ant Flat Road and State RD 39 (GPS coordinates: 41.408248 N, 111.594337 W) at 9:00 a.m.

This field trip will spend many miles on dirt roads and the roads into where we will see the most recent discoveries of healthy populations of Penstemon compactus will definitely need higher clearance vehicles to pass safely. Our guide to the areas native flora will be Trent Draper. Please be aware there is only one public restroom on this trip and our reconnaissance trip of July 8th found that it was not well kept.

Trent Draper earned a B.S. degree from Weber State University majoring in Botany and minoring in chemistry. After graduation, he worked for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources doing rangeland studies and then for the USGS doing botanical research projects in Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California and Hawaii. He currently works as a chemist for a vitamin supplement company where he uses both botany and chemistry. He and his wife enjoy hiking with their kids and teaching the scientific names of plants to them. Along with the genus Penstemon, he enjoys studying Astragalus, Eriogonum, the Asteraceae and the Poaceae family.