Bozeman, Ennis, Livingston Area
For more information contact Beth Madden (406) 224-1012; bethmadden64@gmail.com
We meet on the second Tuesday of the month, November through April, at 7:00 p.m. in Room 108, Plant Bioscience Building, MSU campus (unless otherwise noted). April – August we have monthly plant field trips. Non-members are welcome! More details on workshops and reminders will be shared in monthly emails and on Facebook.
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Interested in Native Plant Landscaping in our area? Click here
Programs and Activities
All programs and field trips are free and open to the public – non-members are welcome
Saturday April 20 — Earth Day Plant Cleanup (Bozeman) 9:00 am. To commemorate Earth Day, we’ll resume our annual combat with spotted knapweed on the Kagy Boulevard roadcut, then move over to the Pollinator Garden in Langohr Park (~11 am) for its spring cleanup. Meet at the roadcut, just east of Kagy & South Church, at 9:00 a.m.; we’ll finish up by noon. Bring gloves, a digger, and hand pruners for the garden. We will be joining other groups for an afternoon Earth Day festival at the Bozeman Public Library at 1 PM. Info: Gretchen Rupp <beesgrmt@gmail.com> 586-8363.
Sunday May 19 — Wild About Wildflowers (Belgrade) 10 am – 2 pm. Join Ryan Quire, botanist for Confluence Consulting, for a stroll through the lush spring wildflower display in the sagebrush steppe and forested slopes of the Bridger Mountains. The North Cottonwood trail offers a diversity of spring bloomers along with spectacular views of the Tobacco Root, Gallatin, and Bridger Mountain Ranges. The approximately 4-mile loop hike is moderately strenuous, starting at 5600 feet and climbing to an elevation of 7,000 feet. There will be a small creek crossing along the trail that will be approximately 1-foot deep and may soak your hiking boots. To avoid wet feet for the remainder of the hike, we recommend folks bring a pair of sandals, a walking stick, an extra pair of socks, or whatever other attire is preferred for this small creek crossing. Meet at the north end of the old K-mart parking lot at 10:00 am (across Oak St from Bozeman Walmart) to carpool, or meet Ryan at the North Cottonwood Trailhead around 10:15 am. Bring a lunch and we’ll snack amongst the wildflowers! Info: Ryan, rquire@confluenceinc.com 502-330-8433.
Saturday June 1 — Blooming at the Buffalo Jump (Bozeman) 9:30 am. Join Kelly Ranch owner and Montana Land Reliance Greater Yellowstone Manager Kathryn Kelly to explore the Kelly Ranch along the Gallatin River west of Bozeman. This private ranch includes lush cottonwood gallery forest, grassland, and sagebrush/juniper steppe habitats. The functioning ranch, which includes well preserved historic buildings and a pre-historic buffalo jump, is protected by a conservation easement with the Montana Land Reliance. Easy 2-3 hour walk on two-tracks and cattle trails. Meet at 9:30 AM to carpool, in the southwest corner of the Gallatin Valley Mall parking lot (behind the pet store). Info: Jeff Copeland. jouzelcopeland@gmail.com 406.539.6029
Saturday July 13 — An Intro to Habitat Types & Plant Communities of Montana’s High Plains (Three Forks) 9:00 am. Join MSU plant ecologist Tad Weaver in a visit to the Headwaters State Park vicinity, an area representative of Montana’s High Plains. We will see & compare plant communities/vegetation types with respect to composition, processes, and environmental differences (water, temps, soil, & disturbance). We will observe plant communities including shortgrass prairie, greasewood, mountain mahogany, and cottonwood. During short walks at a few (~5) sites we will observe dominant species, and environmental and successional relationships. We can discuss system dynamics and management, and identify lesser species. The tour will take much of the day (bring lunch), especially for any participants who want to extend it to the nearby Madison Buffalo Jump. Meet at Museum of the Rockies parking lot at 9:00 am for carpooling. Info: Tad Weaver tweaver@montana.edu 406.586-3270, call only near 8 am.
Wed July 17 — Tour of the Cannery District Landscape (Bozeman) 6:00 pm. Linda Iverson, landscape designer for the Cannery, will walk us through areas of the landscape that were seeded with native grasses and forbs and look at plantings of natives in beds and bioswales. We will meet in front of the Daily Coffee Bar at Oak and Rouse at 6 pm. After the tour we are planning to have dinner at one of the restaurants in the Cannery District. Info: Linda Iverson, lilandscape@mtintouch.net 406.930.1682.
Sat and/or Sunday, July 20-21 — Centennial Valley Explorations (Lakeview). In preparation for hosting the 2020 MNPS Annual Meeting, we will be camping and exploring in the Centennial Valley. Those who might lead a field trip during next year’s event are especially encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to scout a trip. Join us for all or part of this. For field trips, we will meet at Red Rocks Lake National Wildlife Refuge headquarters at 9:30 AM on both July 20 and July 21 for carpooling. Camping is on your own. Some members plan to camp at Red Rocks Lakes NWR. There is also lodging/camping at Elk Lake Resort. Be prepared for the remoteness of the valley: fill your vehicle’s fuel tank before leaving the paved highways – it is nearly 50 miles to the nearest gas station. Dirt and gravel roads are rough and flat tires are not uncommon. Drive slowly and carry a good spare tire. Info: Beth Madden bethmadden64@gmail.com 406.224.1012.
Sunday August 4 — Deep Creek, Paradise Valley (Livingston). We will visit the habitats of the South Fork of Deep Creek via a Forest Service trail that begins in the foothills of the Paradise Valley. We begin with a moderate climb (half-mile) through open grassland and shrub-dotted hills. The trail then drops into a forested canyon as it crosses the south fork of Deep Creek and heads into the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, climbing from approximately 6,000 feet to over 9,600 feet elevation, over 5 miles, reaching an alpine pass into Davis Gulch. This area was thoroughly burned during the 2012 Pine Creek Fire so we will be observing the continuing post-fire plant succession and ecology. Moderate to difficult (depending on how far we make it toward the pass). Meet at 9:00 am in the Albertson’s parking lot in Livingston. Info: Jeff Copeland. jouzelcopeland@gmail.com 406.539.6029
Monday August 5 — Bird-Friendly Gardens Walk (Bozeman) 6:30 pm. This exciting tour includes two in-town yards that have been designed to attract birds, pollinators and other wildlife as well as create inviting outdoor living spaces. Join Paulette Epple from Sacajawea Audubon as we visit Marlena Renwyk’s and Mary Keck’s gardens. Marlena’s gardens feature an entire front yard beautifully planted with native, drought-tolerant plants that are also pollinator and bird friendly. Then we will tour Mary Keck’s yard where a mature landscape of trees, bird-attracting shrubs, vines, berries, gardens, perennials, and ground covers combine to create the multi-layered, dense habitat so valuable to birds. Meet on the north side of Beall Park (E. Short Street). Info: Paulette Epple, conservation@sacajaweaaudubon.org; 406.580.6186
Wednesday August 7 — Story Mill Park Wetland Walk (Bozeman) 7:00 pm. Stalk the wily wetland plants in Story Mill Park during the prime wetland plant ID season, with retired NRCS biologist Pete Husby. After meeting at the trailhead, we’ll take a look at willows, sedges, rushes and forbs growing in wetland habitat. Bring a hand lens and Montana flora guide if you have them, and take a leisurely stroll while we share our knowledge and appreciation of these valuable plants. Meet at the Story Mill Park Trailhead parking lot, on Story Mill Road approximately 0.2 miles south of the old Story Mill Elevators and next to the new West Paw Dog Park. Info: Pete Husby peterohusby@yahoo.com 406.451.1521
Projects
The Valley Flowers Chapter maintains a native-plant garden in central Bozeman, to demonstrate the principles of gardening to benefit pollinators. Here is a fact sheet about the garden.
Field Trip Report
On a May day a while back, 9 curious folk joined Jeff Copeland to see what was in bloom in the foothills east of Bozeman. Quite a lot, as it turned out – Denise Montgomery compiled a list of 48 bloomers, nearly all of which the collective brain was able to identify to species. Chapter members look forward to these field trips, and newcomers are very welcome!
BLOOMS OF MOUNT ELLIS TRAIL – GALLATIN COUNTY, MONTANA
MAY 23, 2015
BOTANICAL NAME COMMON NAME
Amelanchier alnifolia – Serviceberry
Anemone multifida – Cut-leaf Anemone
Anemone patens (Pulsitilla patens) – Pasque Flower
Antennaria microphylla rosea – Rosy pussytoes
Antennaria microphylla – Pussytoes
Arabis lyallii – Lyall’s Rockcress
Arnica cordifolia – Heartleaf Arnica
Balsamorhiza sagittata – Arrowleaf balsamroot
Castilleja suphurea – Sulphur Paintbrush
Cerastium sp. – Chickweed
Claytonia sp. – Spring beauty
Clematis hirsuitissima – Sugar Bowl Clematis
Clematis occidentalis – Western Blue Virgin’s Bower
Delphinium bicolor – Little Larkspur
Dodecatheon sp. – Shooting Star
Draba sp.
Erythronium grandiflorum – Glacier Lily
Fragaria virginiana – Strawberry
Frasera speciosa – Green Gentian/Monument Plant
Fritillaria pudica – Yellow Bells
Geranium viscossisimum – Sticky geranium
Geum triflorum – Prairie smoke
Hackelia floribunda – Many -flowered Stickseed/Forget-me-not
Hydrophyllum capitatum – Ball-headed waterleaf
