2014 State of the Prairie Conference Agenda - March 21 2014 update

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State

5 th !

ANNUAL

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!! of THE

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Prairie

CONFERENCE

May 29-31, 2014

Fort Worth, Texas

PRAIRIES IN A C HANGING WORLD

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CONFERENCE AGENDA

Day !1 - Conference Field Experiences

Thursday 29, 2014

Cost: Cost | $30 per participant Time: All Field Experiences from 10 am - 4 pm

Field Experience 1: Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge Description: The Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge is a 3,621 acre site that has most of North Central Texas’ representative habitats from the Fort Worth Prairie, Western Cross Timbers savanna & woods, wetlands & riparian corridors. Natural Resource staff manages this property for the benefit of wildlife and for public recreational opportunities. Learn about habitat management techniques applied on the property including prescribed fire, invasive species monitoring & removal, restoration projects, restoration greenhouse & seed collection, the bison herd & its management, public education & outreach. Focus: Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge – focus: bison, fire, restoration, restoration greenhouse, education, park management, rare species (Yucca necopina), invasive species management, hayride.

Leader: Michelle Villafranca

Field Experience 2: Tandy Hills Natural Area/Southwest + Blackland Preserve More information coming soon.

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Day 1 - Conference Field Experiences - continued Thursday ! 29, 2014

Field Experience 3: Hillman Ranch + D Bar B Ranch Hillmont Ranch in Parker County, Texas!

This 120-acre property on the edge of suburban development is used as an equestrian ranch, with 40 acres of Cross Timbers forest and pocket prairie environments on the hilly terrain. The prairie sites are established on both rocky limestone benches with tallgrass prairies and around sandy prairie seeps. The property contains outcrops of the Walnut Formation; the habitat for the endangered Comanche Peak prairie clover, although none has yet been observed on the property. The ranch site is permanently preserved under a conservation easement with a local land trust.! !

McFarland Ranch in Aledo, Texas!

2,260-acre ranch with Fort Worth prairie habitat. Historical family cattle ranch which has been operated on this large property by the McFarland family since the 1800’s when it was established as an even more extensive ranch. One of their main goals is to preserve the western heritage upon which Fort Worth was founded. The landowners have conducted native prairie restoration activity on the pastures and the ranch has been used to teach ranching skills to women.

The ranch has received numerous awards and recognition from the NRCS, the soil and water conservation district and other groups, along with being a host for many cattle ranching groups. The Fort Worth Council of World Affairs uses the ranch to show foreign visitors a “real Texas ranch.”!

!Field trip lead: JR Taylor!

Field Experience 4: Dallas and LLELA in Afternoon A two-part field experience focused on a prairie restoration site in Dallas and a trip to Lake Lewisville Environmental Learning Area.

!Stop 1: Dallas, TX

10:00 am - 12:00 pm!

Details coming soon.!

Stop 2: Lewisville, TX - Lake Lewisville Environmental Learning Area 12:30pm – 4pm The prairies of Texas were once as vast as the night sky. Today what remains are isolated stars. As progress moves forward more and more of these stars have shown their last bits of light and gone out forever. At LLELA we are doing what we can on our 2,000 acre natural area to reverse this trend. Using both standard and innovative restoration methods, we are capturing some of the last lights of the north Texas region and giving them a chance to continue shining. Come share the afternoon with us as we tour you through our native plant nursery where both common and rare plants can be found. We will take you out to our prairie restoration sites and give you a chance to see stars reigniting. You will leave knowing that the work all of us do to preserve what little we have left of the Texas prairies is not only worthwhile but vital to the human spirit.!

!Field trip lead: Richard Freiheit!

Reception Dinner: To Be Held at Blue Mesa Grill Speaker: Quentin McGown – Tarrant County Judge & local Fort Worth historian

Day 2 - Fort Worth Botanical Garden ! May 30, 2014 from 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM + Dinner Friday,

MAIN AUDITORIUM - ROOM 241

8:15 AM - 9:00 AM

Registration | Light Breakfast Available

9:00 AM - 9:15 AM

Opening Remarks Introductory remarks by Pat Merkord, Executive Director, Native Prairies Association of Texas

9:15 AM - 10:00 AM

Keynote Address Speaker: Tony Burgess, PhD - Professor Emeritus - Texas Christian University!

Prairies for the People MORNING CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Main Auditorium PRARIE BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

Red Bud Hall Azalea Room

Red Bud Hall Camellia Room

CHALLENGES IN CONSERVATION & RESTORATION

COMMUNITY !

CONNECTIONS

10:10 AM - 11:00 AM

Ken Gee – Oaks and Prairies Joint Venture - The GRIP Program and Conserving Grassland Birds

John Lloyd Riley (NRCSKingsville) – Challenges of restoring prairie in an age of climate change

Jaime Gonzalez (Katy Prairie Conservancy/Coastal Prairie Partnership) - Victorious!: How Social Media Help Save Houston’s Newest Prairie.

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Rob Denkhaus (Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge and TCU Adjunct Professor)-bison ecology & prairie interactions

Forrest Smith, PhD (Director, South Texas Natives) - After the Drilling: Rebuilding Biodiversity after oil & gas production & prairies South Texas Natives Model

BRIT Staff - The SEEDS Program and connecting children to prairies.

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

LUNCH

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FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014

AFTERNOON CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Continued

Main Auditorium PRARIE BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

Red Bud Hall Azalea Room

Red Bud Hall Camellia Room

CHALLENGES IN CONSERVATION & RESTORATION

COMMUNITY !

CONNECTIONS

Jim Giocomo, PhD (Oaks and Prairies Joint Venture) Grassland Bird Conservation!

Russell Stevens Challenge of prescribed burning:finding partners

LLELA Connecting to youth through prairie restoration!

2:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Louisiana Prairie Expert.

Chris Reid (Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries) - Balancing Immediate conservation action with long-term, research-based planning

Ed Fair (Commons Ford) Connecting with communities to restore urban prairies - the Commons Ford experience.

3:30 PM - 4:30 PM

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS IN MAIN AUDITORIUM

6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

DINNER AT BOTANIC GARDENS AND AWARDS CEREMONY Speaker: Matt White – Author of Prairie Time and College Instructor!

1:30 PM - 2:30 PM

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Day ! 3 - Fort Worth Botanical Garden

Saturday May 31, 2014 from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

MAIN AUDITORIUM - ROOM 241

8:15 AM - 9:00 AM

Registration | Light Breakfast Available

9:00 AM - 9:15 AM

Opening Remarks Jaime Gonzalez - Introductory Remarks

9:15 AM - 10:00 AM

Keynote Address Speaker: Matt Wagner, PhD, Deputy Director, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department!

Regional Efforts to Conserve Prairies - An Update

Main Auditorium PRARIE BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

Red Bud Hall Azalea Room

Red Bud Hall Camellia Room

CHALLENGES IN CONSERVATION & RESTORATION

COMMUNITY !

CONNECTIONS

10:10 AM - 11:00 AM

Kyle Brazil (Wildlife Habitat Federation) - Natives First Program for bobwhite quail conservation on virgin and restored grasslands!

Sam Fuhlendorf (Oklahoma State University) The challenge of Invasive woody species management

Tandy Hills Staff or Volunteers PrairieFest: Connecting to the general public through festivals and education offerings.

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Gene Miller (National Wild Turkey Federation) - Conservation of wild turkey on LBJ and Caddo National Grasslands

Aviva Glaser {National Wildlife Federation} - Updates of the new farm bill’s connections to prairies.

RJ Taylor/Pat Merkord (Connamara Conservancy and NPAT) - Connecting with private landowners through conservation easement agreements!

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

LUNCH

SATURDAY MAY 31, 2014

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AFTERNOON CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Continued

Main Auditorium

Red Bud Hall Azalea Room!

PRARIE BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

CHALLENGES IN CONSERVATION & RESTORATION

1:30 PM - 2:30 PM

Dan Jones/Rusty Pliar (Texas A&M Forest Service) - Conservation of rare grassland ecosystems in forests

Bill Bartush and Cynthia Edwards {Gulf Coastal LLC} - The challenge and promise of mapping prairie remnants!

2:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Ann Mayo (University of Texas Arlington PhD candidate) - Invertebrate Prairie Biodiversity: Comanche Harvester Ants.

Bill Neiman/George Cates ( Native American Seed) - The challenge of finding and using appropriate seeds for prairie restoration.

Main Auditorium WRAP-UP REMARKS AND LAST SPEAKER

3:30 PM - 4:00 PM

Jason Singhurst (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department) - Closing Address

4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Optional Field Trip to Botanical Research Institute of Texas

Post-Conference Field Experience 


Sunday, June 1, 2014 from 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Field Experience: Fort Worth Prairie Park Description: The effort to save this land is a local grassroots movement By drawing attention to the Fort Worth Prairie the land will be a regional refuge center for study and ecological health. You will see the mosaic nature and uncommon diversity of this unique prairie. !

!Cost: Free!

Directions: Directions: Physical Address is close to: 10700 Old Granbury Road, Fort Worth, Texas, 76036, north of FM 1187 (Due to road closure, the park can only be accessed from the north. There is no access from FM1187.)(Most GPS directions try to send you to the south access which is blocked by the tollway construction.) Participants will be given a Google Maps link.