Tara Littlefield, Author at Kentucky Native Plant Society

Wood Lily (Lilium phildelphicum) Conservation in the Cumberland Plateau

**^{Wood lily (Lilium philadelphicum), Laurel County, Kentucky. @Littlefield}**

By Tara Littlefield, Botanist and Plant Conservation Manager

The Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves and partners have been working on a project to protect, connect, and restore populations of the state endangered wood lily (Lilium phildelphicum), and its Pine Barrens and woodland habitat over the past decade in Kentucky. The wood lily, while globally secure and wide ranging, is state endangered in Kentucky despite once being more common. This charismatic plant of the Cumberland Plateau grassland and woodlands (barrens) has declined by over 90% in the past 40 years due to habitat loss, lack of fire, mowing, and herbivory. The wood lily, along with numerous other plants it grows with, make up critical pollinator habitat for species such as the monarch butterfly and native bees. We are working with partners to bring this plant and its habitat back from the brink of extinction by coordinating and implementing monitoring, management and restoration efforts. I am excited to announce that the wood lily has finally come full circle as a plant conservation alliance project from monitoring, collaboration, seed collection, site preparation and management, to now translocation back in managed pine barrens habitat in the Cumberland plateau!

A catalyst for the creation of the Kentucky Plant Conservation Alliance

The conservation efforts for the wood lily represents a shift in plant conservation direction in our state that has happened over the past decade. Funding and targeted conservation efforts have traditionally been focused on globally rare plants, plants that are listed under the Endangered Species Act and have specific federal funding tied to their recover efforts. Since I have worked at Kentucky Nature Preserves in 2005, the lack of staff and funding has always limited the number of projects and species we could reasonably work on outside of our federally listed plant program and state nature preserves site monitoring and management programs. Our efforts for federally listed plants were successful ,and we managed with limited monitoring on our state nature preserves and associated rare species that occurred on these lands. In addition to this work, we had identified so many other plant conservation needs for state listed species across the state that were falling through the cracks due to lack of staff, funding, time outreach and education. Our rare plant records were becoming historic, and the state listed rare plants that we were able to visit on private and public lands were rapidly declining or becoming extirpated since they were originally discovered in the 70s-90s due to various threats. The wood lily is one example of a species that was falling through the cracks.

How do you tackle issue of lack of staff, time and funding to accomplish larger missions beyond the feasible efforts of just a few dedicated staff? What was our approach to addressing these serious plant conservation issues? The key is partnerships and collaboration, and creating an outreach focus of spreading the mission into other organizations and individuals.

Wood lily Conservation History

The majority of the wood lily populations were discovered and documented in the 1970s and 1980s in over 10 counties scattered in the Cumberland plateau region. They were primarily found in powerlines and roadsides and nearby pine oak woodlands and barrens. Over the years, due to habitat loss, lack of fire, summer mowing, and herbivory the populations dwindled down to just a handful of populations. I worked on a project from 2011-2013 updating roadside rare plant populations in the Cumberland plateau region on and near the Daniel Boone National Forest and collected this data. It was alarming. If trends did not change, if threats were not mitigated, we may lose one of our beautiful native lily’s, among many other rare species and habitat, from our state in the near future. With some outreach, new partnerships were formed with KYTC transportation staff and roadside maintenance crews to alter mowing and other management of the rare plant populations. We partnered with David Taylor with the Daniel Boone National Forest and Jim Scheff and Tina Johnson of Kentucky Heartwood on additional monitoring and seed collection efforts. After a failed attempt at seed collection in 2016 due to extreme herbivory, we caged 27 plants scattered in the southern Cumberland plateau region to ensure seed collection in the fall. We knew it was important to propagate and seedbank these plants as soon as possible in order to transplant future plants into suitable habitat in the future. We needed to increase the number of viable populations and make up for some of of the many lost populations over the years.

**^{Jim Scheff of Kentucky Heartwood and Kendall McDonald of OKNP cage wood lily’s to prevent herbivory to ensure seed collection, June 2017. @ T. Littlefield}**

Seed was successfully collected in 2017 by OKNP, Heartwood, and KNPS volunteers and a new project with Margaret Shea of Dropseed Nursery began. Margaret is a amazing native plant horticulturalist with a rare plant conservation background. Her success at propagating the seeds, growing and safeguarding the plants until we are able to transplant into recipient pine barrens sites is crucial to the restoration and transplantation process.

**^{Margaret Shea @ Dropseed Nursery @H. Braunreiter}**

At the same time, land managers at the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves, led by Josh Lillpop, began pine barrens restoration projects at on OKNP state nature preserves and natural areas in order to create more suitable pine barrens habiat for rare plants like the wood lily (Lilium phildelphicum), pine aster (Symphyotrichum concolor) and hairy snoutbean (Rhynchosia tomentosa). We partnered with staff at the Daniel Boone National Forest, including David Taylor, Claudia Cotton, Christy Wampler, and Jacob Royse who helped with population monitoring and connecting with existing pine barrens restoration efforts that could also provide future habitat for the wood lily. While our goal continued to be increasing networking with roadside and utility companies and staff on appropriate management practices for the existing rare pine barrens species, we also strived to create new populations within interior pine barrens restoration sites that are being managed with fire and mechanical removal of canopy, the pine barrens and savannah communities.

In the fall of 2021, 5 years after we began the project to protect the remaining populations and to propagate them for future introductions, the first transplantations finally began! A team from the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves and Kentucky Plant Conservation Alliance volunteers transplanted wood lily bulbs into new several sites in Powell, Pulaski and Rockcastle counties that are being managed and restored to the pine barrens woodland community.

The November 2021 wood lily bulb planting team consisted of Tara Littlefield, Heidi Braunreiter, Rachel Cook, Vanessa Voelker, Ryan Fortenberry, Lexi Schoenloab, Dale Bonk, Jim Scheff and Tina Johnson. We quickly realized that a great planting tool for these tiny wood lily bulbs were spoons, hence the spoons in some of the group photos. We planted over 500 bulbs across 5 sites with plans to expand on our plantings and sites next year. Monitoring plots were installed and data was collected. Our team will be measuring the success of these plantings over the course of the next year and networking with land managers on future scheduled burns at these sites. Fingers crossed our wood lilies survive and flourish! Stay tuned!

Recovering the globally rare Kentucky Clover in the Inner Bluegrass Region

By: Tara Littlefield

Long term monitoring of Kentucky Clover in Franklin County @T. LIttlefield

Big news for native clover conservation in the Bluegrass State! Several years of conservation collaboration has resulted in the first transplants of the globally rare Kentucky Clover back into the Bluegrass Woodlands this fall! This endangered clover was discovered (2010) and described (2013) recently and was known from only two privately owned limestone woodlands in the Inner bluegrass of Kentucky. Since its discovery, the Kentucky clover had disappeared from both sites despite annual monitoring and management efforts conducted by Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves Botanist Tara Littlefield and KDFWR biologist Joe Lacefield. Luckily, seed collection and propagation efforts were successful due to our collaborative efforts with Valerie Pence, Kristine Lindsey, and Mairead Kennedy from the Cincinnati zoo CREWs plant program, among many other partners, and the first batch of Kentucky Clover plants was transferred to OKNP in order to transplant into high quality, managed limestone woodlands.

Mairead Kennedy and Valerie Pence present propagated Kentucky Clover Plants at CREW @T. Littlefield

After several years of managing transplant sites for removal of invasive species such as bush honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii), OKNP staff and partners transplanted 75 Kentucky clover plants back into the original Franklin county site as well as transplanted new populations into 3 additional protected high-quality natural areas in Franklin county. OKNP botanists and partners will be monitoring the success of these transplants over the next several years and conducting quantitative studies on how best to manage for this rare clover and its unique limestone woodland habitat.

The power of partnership is key to conserving rare plants and the collaborative approach of the Kentucky Plant Conservation Alliance has made these recovery efforts possible. if you would like to help with these or other plant conservation alliance projects, please contact tara.littlefield@ky.gov.

Save the Date! The annual Kentucky Botanical Symposium (virtual) December 8, 9am-12pm

KNPS is hosting a virtual botanical symposium on Wednesday, December 8^th from 9AM-12PM EST. For several years, KNPS has organized a botanical symposium in the fall/winter with a goal of bringing together professionals, citizen scientists, academics, gardeners and students in order to learn about what’s going on in the world of Kentucky Botany. Please join us to learn about all things botanical in Kentucky and the surrounding region.

Topics that will be covered will include, but will not be limited to, KNPS updates, plant conservation alliance updates, conservation horticulture and native plant propagation; monitoring and managing native and rare plants and natural communities,; native plant research; plant biodiversity in Kentucky and the surrounding regions and exciting new botanical discoveries.

Mountain Lover (Paxistima canbyi) in Kentucky: Ancient flora, limestone outcrops, and Conservation Efforts

By: Tara Littlefield, Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves Botanist/Kentucky Plant Conservation Manager

Mountain lover (*Paxistima canby*i) in Carter County, Kentucky (Photo by T. Littlefield)

Mountain Lover (Paxistima canbyi) is a globally rare (G2), small evergreen shrub in the bittersweet family (Celastraceae). This shrub is occurs in Kentucky (S2), Maryland (S1), Ohio (S1), Pennsylvania (S2), Tennessee (S1), Virginia (S2), and West Virginia (S2), and is listed as state threatened or endangered throughout its range. This interesting shrub grows clonally and can form dense patches with stems reaching 6-12 inches. Fruit development and seed production are reportedly quite rare in the wild and there may be fewer than sixty genetically distinct plants throughout its entire range due to its clonal nature, further compounding its rarity.

One interesting note about the mountain lover is that it is thought to be an ancient glacial relict species, a remnant from a long lost ecosystem that occurred in this region prior to the last glaciation some 20,000 years ago. The late Dr. E. Lucy Braun, the esteemed plant ecologist from Cincinnati, had an interest in this plant and speculated that the mountain lover was an ancient glacial relict species that occurred along a pre glacial river system called the Teays River. I wonder how long these remnant populations have been clinging to the limestone cliffs and how old the root systems are of these clonal shrubs, perhaps thousands, even tens of thousands of years old?

Mountain lover has very small green/marron flowers with four sepals
and four petals arising from upper leaf axils. While I occasionally see it flower, i have never found any fruits (photo by: T. Littlefield)

I have long been fascinated by this plant and the limestone cliff and outcrop habitats where it grows. In Kentucky, It occurs in several sub regions of the interior low and Appalachian plateaus, including the inner bluegrass, the knobs, and the cliff section/intersection of the eastern highland rim and Cumberland Plateau. It is associated with limestone rocky ledges and cliffs, with an overstory/midstory of Chinkapin oak (Quercus muehlenbergia), Blue Ash (Fraxinus quadrandulata), Eastern Red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), and eastern hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana). The herbaceous/shrub layer includes shrubby st. johns wort (Hypericum prolificum), fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica), smooth rockcress (Boechera laevigata), limestone cliff sedge (Carex eburnia), purple cliff break fern (Pellaea atropurpurea), and wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis). The limestone cliffs and outcrops typically occur in deep ravine gorges that form unique microclimates that also provide habitat for other glacial relict disjunct rare species such as Canada yew (Taxus canadensis), walter’s violet (Viola walteri), northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis), glade phlox (Phlox bifida var. stellaria), purple oat grass (Schizachne purpurscens) and snow trillium (Trillium nivale). The overall community assemblages of the mountain lover sites are unique between the various regions, and we are currently working with NatureServe to classify these plant communities to determine global rarity and classifications.

Walters violet (*Viola walteri*, S1) grows with mountain lover in Carter county, KY, Photo: T. Littlefield

Another common name of this plant is the “rat stripper” due to its relationship with eastern wood rats (Neotoma magister) that co-occur in the limestone outcrop habitats. These animals have been known to sever the woody stems to utilize in nests building along the cliffs. I have personally observed this phenomena at one of our Kentucky sites in Estill County, where I came upon a population with hundreds of freshly severed stems, wood rat tracks and nesting signs. I collected a few of the fresh cut stems and rooted them in potting mix after that trip. Could wood rats also play a role in expanding mountain lover populations along the cliff lines by inadvertently planting some as they drop stems along the cliff lines?

Major threats to the mountain lover include invasive plants such as bush honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii), Euonymus scale (Unaspis euonymi, a small non-native aphid-like bug), timber removal, deer browsing and climate change. The majority of populations occur on private lands so development of the cliff tops has impacted a few populations and could be a threat to several more. Perhaps the greatest threat in Kentucky appears to be from the Euonymus scale, with over 50% of our populations experiencing declines due to this nonnative bug. Euonymus scale not only effects populations of mountain lover, but most species in the bittersweet family are affected as well, such as the eastern wahoo (Euonymus americana) and American bittersweet (Celastris americana). Due to the steep, cliff habitat where mountain lover occurs, there could be undiscovered populations that are inaccessible to humans. Additional surveys for new populations could further our understanding of the species and help evaluate its conservation status.

Euonymus scale infestation on Mountain Lover population in Madison County, Kentucky. Photo by T. Littlefield. For more info on Euonymus scale visit https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef428

We know that mountain lover is globally rare, has numerous threats, and occurs primarily on private land. So how can we work together to preserve this unique species? Conservation measures include networking with landowners that harbor mountain lover populations, targeting land acquisition projects to include these priority private sites, manage populations for the euonymus scale, and increase ex situ conservation efforts with horticulturalists. In June of 2021, recent efforts by the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves, Kentucky Plant Conservation Alliance, and the Atlanta Botanical Garden along with partners at the Daniel Boone National Forest, Berea College forest and several private landowners focused on visiting populations in all of the sub regions in Kentucky and collecting living samples to propagate for ex situ conservation and future introductions. Site evaluations, natural community assessments and rare plant updates were also conducted as a part of this collection trip. Having additional sites on public lands would allow researchers and biologists more opportunities for monitoring and managing these populations into the future. Conservation horticulturalist John Evans at the Atlanta Botanical Garden is now currently growing plants from 5 populations in Kentucky for future introductions within OKNP natural areas in the inner Bluegrass, Daniel Boone national Forest lands in the Cumberland Plateau, and Berea college forest sites in the knobs region.

Calab Evans, Atlanta Botanical Garden Horticultural technician, roots cuttings of Mountain lover from recent collection trips

If you would like to know more about these efforts or other Kentucky Plant Conservation Alliance efforts to conserve the rare plants and communities in Kentucky, please contact tara.littlefield@ky.gov.

KNPS Announces 2021 Fall Research Grants for Students and Citizen Scientists!

Did you know that the Kentucky Native Plant Society offers small grants to help defer the costs of botanical research, inventory and native plant restoration? Since 2012, KNPS has awarded $8,100 to students working in these areas. Another $750 was awarded in prior years. The total number of grants awarded in any given year is based on the number of proposals received, the quality of proposals and available funding. The graph below shows the kinds of projects that have been funded.

The second type of grant is new and is open to anyone. It will fund

1. native plant inventory, or

2. rare and native plant restoration.

Native plant inventory grants are limited to Kentucky locations and successful applicants will receive a maximum of $250. Rare and native plant restoration grants are awarded to applicants working with native Kentucky plants, preferentially those which are globally rare (G1, G2). Successful applicants will be awarded a maximum of $500. All rare and native plant restoration grants require coordination with the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves (OKNP) and the Kentucky Native Plant Conservation Alliance coordinators prior to application.

A grant proposal must include:

A current curriculum vitae;
A proposal (not to exceed two single-spaced typed pages) describing the proposed research and the role the grant would play in the research;
An itemized budget;
A letter of recommendation from the applicant’s major professor or project director; and
Indicate whether the grant request is for a student research grant, a native plant inventory grant or a rare and native plant restoration grant.
If the grant is for rare and native plant restoration, include a letter of support from OKNP.

Budget items typically funded include travel to research sites and supplies such as herbarium paper and lab consumables. No personnel time will be funded.

All Grant Proposals are due by October 15, 2021.

If you are interested in applying for any of the KNPS grants, visit the Grants page at the KNPS website. If, after reading the grants page, you have any questions, please email them to: grants@knps.org.

Adopt a Rockhouse in the Red River Gorge!

Volunteers Needed for Upcoming Sandstone Rockhouse Monitoring Project to help protect native plants, animals and archeological resources

Figure 1: Sandstone rockhouses in the Red River Gorge are home to many cultural and biological resources

The Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves and U.S. Forest Service are seeking to partner with citizen scientists to monitor culturally and ecologically significant sandstone rockhouses and cliffline communities that occur in the Red River Gorge Geological Area. These communities contain many rare and endemic plants and animal species, as well as archeological resources that need your help! Volunteers must submit an application for review, and will be notified of selection in the fall of 2021. Training will be provided and volunteers will begin to help monitor and conserve their assigned rockhouse in 2022. Time commitment is estimated to be approximately 5 working days throughout the year, as well as email correspondence and other requirements listed below. Groups or individuals are welcome to apply.

Why are sandstone rockhouses and cliffline communities in the Red River Gorge Geological Area significant?

Ecology: Sandstone rockhouses are cave like recesses in sandstone cliffs formed by erosion. Dry by nature, they are almost completely sheltered from precipitation; getting water from windblown rain, waterfalls from above or ground water seepage through the sandstone. Compared to the surrounding conditions of the mixed mesophytic forest, rockhouses are warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer, and have lower evaporation rates and higher humidity. Soils found in rockhouses are mostly low pH sand with high levels of some nutrients from saltpeter earth and prehistoric human activities. Due to these conditions, rockhouses have their own unique flora and fauna that include several rockhouse endemic species. Sandstone rockhouses are home to the Federally Delisted White-haired Goldenrod, a species that only occurs in the RRGGA.

Figure 2: OKNP technician surveys a sandstone rockhouse at the Red River Gorge

Cultural Heritage:

The structure of the rockhouses naturally provide protection from precipitation,

making them valuable as archeological sites. Artifacts and plant materials decompose in other conditions, but are well preserved in the dry, nitrate-rich soils of rockhouses.

Humans have been utilizing rockhouses for thousands of years, and leaving traces of their lives behind. Approximately 12,000 years ago, Native peoples used them as encampments, locations for special activities, bivouacs, and burial sites. Within the last several centuries, rockhouses have been used as dwellings, barns, campsites, schoolhouses, saltpeter mines, shelters for whiskey stills and more. In addition, faunal and flora remains found in rockhouses have helped archeologists better understand the development of agriculture in eastern North America.

Figure 3: Recently Federally Delisted White-haired Goldenrod

What is the impact of recreation on clifflines and rockhouses?

Clifflines and rockhouses are extremely sensitive to human impacts, yet these locations have seen a continued surge in recreational use. In the last 10 years, visitation to the Red River Gorge Geological Area has increased by almost 40%. There has been extensive documentation of the area on social media, guidebooks, and outdoor websites that have increased visitation of hikers, campers, photographers, and other outdoorspeople. The RRGGA is also one of the most popular climbing destinations in the Eastern United States, therefore the rising popularity of rock climbing and bouldering across the country has led to an influx of visitors wishing to climb at “The Red.”

Increased and prolonged recreational presence in the rockhouse and cliffline communities can cause habitat loss and degradation, erosion, eradication of species, and loss of cultural resources. The growing recreational use has increased the need to monitor cliffline and rockshelter sites that are known to contain populations of rare plant and animal species, and/or heritage resources. The data from the monitoring will be used to ensure that appropriate mitigations are in place to protect these sensitive habitats and significant cultural sites.

How do I get involved?

First, check the list of basic Volunteer Requirements and see if this program is right for you:

Adopt a Rockshelter Program Volunteers must:

1. Have an interest in conserving and protecting biological and cultural resources.

2. Be willing to complete required training provided by the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves and U.S. Forest Service. Training is being developed by OKNP, USFS and Dan Doursan, and will be provided to volunteers in 2022.

3. Be able to fulfill the time commitment required by the program. Adopting 1 rockshelter carries a 5-day commitment that will include training and site visits.

4. Be able to hike long distances on uneven terrain along designated and user defined trails.

5. Feel comfortable working with, or being willing to learn, a touchscreen tablet for data collection.

6. Be able to remove invasive species.

If the ARP is something you’d like to be involved with, please email naturepreserves@ky.gov to receive an application. OKNP and USFS staff will review all volunteer applications and contact those who have been admitted.

Biologists, land managers and researchers meet to discuss native Clover conservation in Kentucky

By: Tara Littlefield

Clovers (Trifolium sp.) are well recognized by the public primarily because of their role as a forage crop and lawn weed. In Kentucky, we have 12 species of clover, but only 3 are native to our state, Kentucky Clover (Trifolium kentuckiense), running buffalo clover (Trifolium stoloniferum), and buffalo clover (Trifolium reflexum). All of our native clovers have declined greatly since European settlement and are state or federally listed as threatened or endangered. Historic accounts from pioneers and historic collections of native clovers indicate that our native clovers may have been more common in the woodlands of our state, particularly in the Bluegrass Region. Our native clovers have common names associated with buffalo since their associated habitat historically occurred mostly along buffalo/animal trails through the forest, which the Bluegrass Region is known for, large ungulates grazing on the grasses and forbs in our woodland systems.

In an effort to increase coordination and collaboration focused on priority native clover (Trifolium sp.) conservation projects in Kentucky, close to 30 botanists, ecologists, researchers, students, and land managers met in late February 2021 to discuss all things native clover (Trifolium sp.). Species of focus included the globally rare and newly described Kentucky Clover (Trifolium kentuckiense), the federally endangered running buffalo clover (Trifolium stoloniferum), and the state threatened buffalo clover (Trifolium reflexum).

The Kentucky Plant Conservation Alliance coordinated the meeting and facilitators from the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves, Virginia Tech University, Eastern Kentucky University, Austin Peay University, University of Michigan, and Cincinnati Zoo presented information on the current status (population ranks and trends), current conservation measures (land protection and management efforts), current research (life history, management needs, and genetics), as well as seedbanking and propagation efforts The goal of the group is to work more collaboratively together to prevent the extinction or extirpation of these native clovers. If you missed the meeting, here is the agenda, and recorded version and meeting notes

If you are interested in joining our clover conservation group and helping with some of the existing working groups involving research, monitoring, management, propagation, seedbanking, and fundraising for priority clover projects, please contact Tara Littlefield, tara.littlefield@ky.gov. We will continue to provide updates on existing Trifolium projects through the ladyslipper newsletter and at the Kentucky Botanical Symposium this fall. We will also be organizing various volunteer days this summer to help with monitoring and managing running buffalo clover, so be on the lookout for future volunteer work day announcements.