I think Noel and Alan have most of the data. I am hoping Noel finds the time to, at least, do some kind of draft of the whole event & I will share it with you, Alan and others for review.
Valparaiso Chain of Lakes
Watershed
Group, Inc. (501-C-3)
News about Phil Rowe:
Our close friend, Vice President, and over-all
great guy,
Phil Rowe, has become very ill and has been admitted to the V.N.A.
Hospice
Center at 2404 Valparaiso St., Valpo 48383 (Room # 121).
Phil has been dedicating substantial time to
conservation efforts around Long Lake and supporting the board and
membership
by motivating (and “gently persuading “) volunteers, donating equipment
and
know-how, and soliciting funds for our many projects.
He has also been working full time as a civil
engineer while operating the Rowe-Ling Acres Nursery on West Long Lake
Road. Please consider sending Phil a note
or
“Thinking of You” card to cheer him up during this tough time. Instead
of just using his favorite lakes and rivers here and in Michigan for
his own
enjoyment, Phil has the rare qualities and insight to work hard to
protect and
conserve those environments for future generations.
BioBlitz
Success
Exceeds Expectations
The theme, “Bio-diversity in Your Neighborhood” was enhanced by presentations by Therese Davis of the Porter County Solid Waste District on the topic of composting, Ed Spanopolous of J.F. New on constructing rain gardens, and Purdue Ag. Extension Agent Eric Biddinger on invasive species. The lectures were interspersed by plenty of opportunities to visit with the BioBlitz scientists and about 15 organizations who set up booths and displays describing their roles in helping protect our lakes and surrounding watersheds or promote related environmental issues. The exhibitors included the following:
Ducks Unlimited, Friends of Silver Lake, Hoosier
Riverwatch, Indiana Lake Management Association, Isaac Walton League,
J.F. New & Associates
Porter County Conservation Club, Porter County Solid Waste Department,
Shirley Heinze Land Trust, Valparaiso University Earthtones, Windy
Ridge Farms Nursery, Woodland Savanna Land Conservancy
Visitors of all ages were welcomed by a special visit from the Field Museum of Natural History’s Soil Adventure Mobile which provided interesting interactive lessons. Students from the Valparaiso University Meteorology Department displayed a “storm chase” vehicle and weather data collection apparatus. Other ongoing activities included nature hikes through the 139 acre grounds, bird walks, microscope viewing of tiny living critters from water samples, and testing the water quality of their wetland home.
Describing the BioBlitz at its conclusion, Alan
Resetar of
the Chicago Field Museum, stated “ I considered the Camp Lawrence BioBlitz a
rite of spring for biologists and naturalists weary of spending winter
weekends
hunched over microscopes or the collected works of Chuck Darwin, Hank
Thoreau
and Johnny Appleseed.
Our goal during the
mini-BioBlitz was to find as many species of plants and animals as
possible in a limited amount of time. Our hope is to use the
BioBlitz
concept as a means to eventually compile an A to Z list of local
biodiversity
in the Valparaiso Chain of Lakes area. The Camp
Lawrence BioBlitz
was a great start since we found species ranging from Bufo
americanus
(American toad) to Ondatra zibethicus (muskrat). However,
even
though we found 350 species of plants and animals, we are just
scratching the
surface of the total biodiversity of the area.”
Alan Resetar - reptiles, amphibians, crawfish (animal team leader)
Laurie Eberhardt – birds & bird watching hike
Jamie Ladonski - fish, aquatic invertebrates
George Smolka - aquatic invertebrates
Jim Louderman - terrestrial insects
Bonnie Swarner - mammals
Gary Merrill - mosses
Paul Quinlan - vascular plants
Dave Hamilla - vascular plants (plant team leader)
Robin Scribailo - aquatic plants (former survey)
Eric Biddinger - exotic plants
Donna Resetar - shrubs, vines & nature hike leader
Jonathan Bauer – protozoa and phytoplankton
And many thanks to Mary Lou and Harry Phillips for purchasing and preparing all the food, Mr. and Mrs. John Thorstad and Camp Lawrence for donating the use of Camp Lawrence, Jim Rowe, Chris, and Sarah for helping with set-up and crowd control, Mike De St. Jean for donating bird houses for the raffle, making and posting all the signs, acting as guide and expert boatman and the fish species display, Cindy and Max Breitinger for helping with the raffle and reception and Noel Evans for her endless work of coordinating and organizing the whole event.
Thanks also to Rowe-Ling Acres for the donation of a beautiful star magnolia for the raffle, the Porter County Wildlife Management Advisory Board for the donation of a South Shore poster and t-shirts for the raffle, Treasurer Warren Webb & Ducks Unlimited for the duck house building event, and to the many members who helped pass out fliers. Thanks also to the American Legion, Natural Ovens Bakery and the businesses yet to be acknowledged who donated food and financial support. .
And now for the very preliminary results of the BioBlitz :
Animals identified:
centipedes - 4
millipedes - 3
spiders - 7
amphibians and reptiles - 8
fish - 8
aquatic invertebrates - 44
mammals - 9
birds - 44
zooplankton - 2
Plants Identified:
algae - 2
diatoms -1
deciduous trees - 25
grasses - 8
shrubs - 17
ferns - 4
flowering plants - 66
sedges - 6
vines - 4
mosses - 31
Walt Breitinger