2011 Ruby Restoration: Alive & Doing Well!

While the CSR Team was in Utah treating weeds along the Ruby Pipeline, they took a glance at the 2011 restoration plantings. The CSR Ruby Team had installed approximately 170,000 native plants in Wyoming and Utah, and as you can see, they are alive and doing well!

Barley to Help Stabilize Soil, Reduce Weeds

This field of barley growing at the CSR southern Idaho Farm facility was planted as a way to help stabilize the soil and reduce weed pressure. After the seed is harvested, it will be shipped to our Rifle, Colorado Nursery and used in the same manner.

Native Plants = Pollinators

Just another beautiful day at the CSR native plant farm!

Visit the CSR website to learn more about native plants and pollinators.

Soil Health Workshop

Soil Health Workshop

August 30, 2012 9am – 3pm

Con Paulos, Chevrolet. Jerome, Idaho

Healthy functioning soils reduce the use of costly chemical fertilizers,
pesticides, fuel, and water. Learn how to “farm in nature’s image” by applying agroecology principles to your land.

Speakers include:
Ray Archuleta, Soil Health Specialist / Agronomist, NRCS National Tech Center
Dr. Rick Haney, Soil Scientist, USDA Agricultural Research Service
Marlon Winger, State Agronomist Idaho NRCS

Topics:
- Demonstration of soil structure
- Changing the way we view soil
- Cover crops in Idaho
- Soil chemistry – the living soil

Join CSR in attending this (FREE) informative workshop!

National Moth Week Celebration at the City of Rocks, ID

Taking part in National Moth Week of North America, the 1st annual black lighting event at the City of Rocks was held July 28, 2012. It was a celebration of moths (and other insects) and we were pleased to see several youngsters in attendance and having fun!

More than just moths came out to visit during the black light event:

Kelly Tindal, CSR Biologist- “When I was a child, my father showed me a small hole in the dirt and then stuck a piece of pine straw down in the hole and proceeded to say, “Doodlebug, Doodlebug, come out, come out – your house is on fire.” And then a prehistoric looking creature came out of the hole, it was an antlion.” (photos above)

As larvae, these insects live underground and wait for ants or other small insects to crawl over the hole. The insect above ground disturbs the dirt causing some to fall on top of the antlion larva in it’s hole. The antlion pops out of the hole and captures the prey. To check out a video of the larval behavior, click here.

Mantispids are cool because they look like a baby preying mantis, but with wings. They have the raptorial front legs of a preying mantis, but have membranous wings instead of leathery/parchment-like wings. Larvae are parasitic on eggs sacs of spiders. You can watch a video of the metamorphosis of a mantid fly by clicking on this link.

June bugs, dung beetles, chafers are all scarab beetles. This group has individuals that are the largest insects on the planet (although, the big guys aren’t found in Idaho). This was the prize of the night – a 10-lined June Beetle (Polyphylla decemlineata). See how the antennae look like little fans? This increases the surface area of the antenna so they can smell better! These little guys feed underground for several years and feed on foliage as adults. As a defense, if you touch them, they will expel all of the air out of it’s body, making a hissing sound.

A pretty neat fact about scarab beetles: scarabs are also responsible for the rising and setting of the sun, at least according to the ancient Egyptians. This myth stems from the dung beetle forming perfectly round balls of dung and rolling them. The Egyptians saw the sun as a perfectly round ball that was rolled from one side of the sky to the other.

Sage Grouse Habitat Project in Utah

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, in conjunction with the U.S. Forest Service, acquired CSR’s services for habitat improvement in the Randolph, Utah area. The project area is located within Greater Sage Grouse nesting and brood rearing habitat where the sagebrush has reached higher than optimal density coverage. The project consisted of pulling a 24 foot chain harrow over 410 acres. Of that 410 acres of disturbance, 205 acres would be dragged twice to maximize the kill of the decadent sagebrush.

The thinning and removal of sagebrush stimulates grass and forb growth providing forage for other wildlife such as antelope, mule deer, and elk. The lower densities of sagebrush created after treatment will become optimal sage grouse nesting and brood rearing habitat, stimulating higher sage-grouse populations.

The Nidulariaceae, Bird’s Nest Fungi

These Nidulariaceae (Bird’s Nest Fungi) were photographed in the Picabo Idaho area.

“These odd and fascinating little fungi look for all the world like tiny birds’ nests. The fruiting bodies form little cuplike nests which contain spore-filled eggs. The nests are called “peridia” (“peridium” in the singular), and serve as splash cups; when raindrops strike the nest, the eggs (called “periodoles”) are projected into the air, and they latch onto twigs, branches, leaves, and so on. What exactly happens next is not completely clear, but eventually the spores are dispersed from the egg. They then germinate and create mycelia, which eventually hook up with other mycelia and produce more fruiting bodies.”

Shared from the MushroomExpert.com, by Michael Kuo

Darkthroat Shooting Star

Darkthroat shooting star (Dodecatheon pulchellum) growing in the CSR nursery.

“The unusual shape of the shooting star flower reveals biological significance. The flower has adopted to be “buzz” pollinated by bumblebees. These clever insects grasp the base of the stamens, marked by a bright yellow band, hang upside down, and vibrate, or buzz, the flowers. In this way the pollen shakes out of the tube of anthers onto the abdomen of the bee.The bee then combs the pollen into sacs to carry it back to the hive. Some of the pollen remains on the bee, and when she visits another flower, the elongated style positions the stigma precisely where the residual pollen is located. The flowers get pollinated, the bees gets food for the larvae.”

Shared from the book: Sagebrush Country, A Wildflower Sanctuary by Ronald J. Taylor

Photo credit: Mrs. W.D. Bransford

Life in a Soybean Stem

On Saturday, August 4th, CSR’s Kelly Tindall and Kent Fothergill presented a lunch seminar at the Orma J. Smith Museum of Natural History’s monthly volunteer work day. Their presentation, entitled: “Life in a Soybean Stem” focused on some of the exciting things they have found since beginning their work with the native stem-boring beetle, Dectes texanus. This native beetle has begun utilizing a non-native host: soybeans.

Native Restoration

Native Restoration happens in the Picabo, Idaho area!