[MAIPC] Bioblitz at Jamboree October 16-18 including invasive species, open space and deer control workshop

[Marc Imlay]

Hi Nature Lovers,

 

Would you like to help enjoy the Catoctin Mountain National Park MD  bioblitz at the Sierra Club Jamboree and experience bats, frogs, butterflies, mushrooms, bats, ferns, flowers, mammals, birds, and snails all together.  How about that!  You are welcome to participate in the bioblitz during the Maryland Chapter Sierra Club 2015 Jamboree, Friday October 16th to Sunday October 18th, 2015.  There is a great reduction in deer density. 20/square mile is a natural level. 35/square mile is excellent work by the Catoctin Mountain National Park staff.  Could you forward this announcement to potential participants.

 


The Jamboree is the Maryland Sierra Club's biennial gathering. It's a great chance to get involved in our campaigns to protect our air, water, and natural places, and to meet your fellow Sierrans. Hear from amazing keynote speakers, participate in grassroots organizing training, and enjoy the outdoors on one of our guided nature hikes in Maryland's treasured Catoctin Mountain National Park.  <http://action.sierraclub.org/site/Ticketing/1110268681;jsessionid=20370FC8235804CB6C3C59DECC636E05.app201a?view=Tickets&id=178041> Join us for this fun-filled weekend with live music, environmental workshops, and great people!


Highlights & Features

*	Workshops on energy resources, waste, land use including invasive species and deer control, agriculture and clean water
*	Guided nature hikes with experts
*	Educational workshops
*	Campfire, live music, and games
*	Grassroots organizing trainings
*	Auctions to benefit the MD Sierra Club
*	.... and much more!

We are seeking all folks who know some of the plants, animals, and fungi to share their findings on the bioblitz with everone that participates. Please respond if you can participate on any day at any time, including early morning and late evening. 

 Bioblitzes were first started by Kenilworth Gardens in Maryland. A bioblitz is a biological tour of a natural area during which people who can identify some of the plants or animals (or fungi) share their knowledge with hikers as well as each other as they come across the critters. The information is also used for scientific and conservation purposes.    


BioBlitz, (from Wikipedia) is an intense period of biological surveying in an attempt to record all the living species within a designated area. Groups of scientists, naturalists and volunteers conduct an intensive field study over a short period of time.  

Special features

Enjoyment. Instead of a highly structured and measured field survey, this sort of event has the atmosphere of a festival. The short time frame makes the searching more exciting.

Local. The concept of biodiversity tends to be associated with coral reefs or tropical rain forests. A BioBlitz offers the chance for people to visit a nearby setting and see that local parks also have biodiversity and are important to conserve.

Science. These one-day events gather basic taxonomic information on some groups of species.

Meet the Scientists. A BioBlitz encourages people to meet working scientists and ask them questions.

Identifying Rare and Unique Species/Groups. When volunteers and scientists work together, they are able to identify uncommon or special habitats for protection and management, and in some cases rare species may be uncovered.

Documenting Species Occurrence. BioBlitzes do not provide a complete species inventory for a site, but they provide a species list which makes a basis for a more complete inventory and will often show what area, or what taxon would benefit from a further study. 

 Marc Imlay, PhD 

Conservation biologist, MNCPPC, 3014425657 

Board member of the Mid-Atlantic Invasive Plant Council, 

Chair of the Biodiversity and Habitat Stewardship Committee for the Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club. 

 



---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.maipc.org/pipermail/maipc-maipc.org/attachments/20150910/c868c4c5/attachment.htm>