Kentucky Pollinator Protection and Monarch Conservation group hold stakeholders meeting

By Michaela Rogers, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and Tammy Potter, Kentucky State Apiarist with Kentucky Department of Agriculture

Kentucky Department of Agriculture stakeholders with the Kentucky Pollinator Protection and Monarch Conservation group met on July 20^th at the Louisville Zoo and Botanical Gardens. This group meets annually to discuss pollinator conservation topics and projects dedicated to improving pollinator habitat and public knowledge on the plight of pollinators in our state. Members include representatives from a variety of sectors: agriculture, education, transportation right of ways, state and local government, federal government, nonprofits, private and public nature preserves, garden clubs, beekeepers, private businesses, and interested members of the public.

This July, 65 attendees came together to learn about the Louisville Zoo’s pollinator work and hear updates from various stakeholders including the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Cave Hill Cemetery, and the Waterfront Botanical Gardens.

This photo shows participants at the pollinator stakeholders meeting. — Photo: Joe Omielan

After a tour of the zoo’s gardens, led by Matthew Lahm of the Louisville Zoo, participants in this year’s meeting heard from several experts:

Tony Romano, Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves: Roadside Remnants and Pollinator Habitat
Katie Cody, Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves: Pollinators in the Forest
Michaela Rogers, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and Shelby Fulton, Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves: State Wildlife Action Plan Insect Update and Partner Engagement
Christy Wampler and Nathan Lind, United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service: USDA-NRCS Updates
Michael Higgs, Cave Hill Cemetery: Cave Hill is More than a Cemetery
Kat Rivers, Waterfront Botanical Gardens: Planning for Pollinators

Stakeholders made connections with others pursuing pollinator projects throughout Kentucky and learn about resources offered through various programs highlighted by presenters. Columbia Gas and Roundstone Native Seed Company have worked to convert natural gas rights-of-way to pollinator habitat, and the Transportation Cabinet and the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves are working on similar projects.

This year, members of this group also learned about the Pollinator Protection Program Web App, which allows farmers and other chemical applicators to communicate via text or email with beekeepers when a label requires communication. This app assists with EPA compliancy and is free to farmers, applicators, landowners, beekeepers, etc.

This group meets annually and tries to find a new site each year.  Last year, they met at James Audubon State Park.  The Kentucky Pollinator Stakeholders group plans to meet again in Berea Kentucky in 2024, with a date and location to be announced later.

Michael Rogers, Kentucky Dapartment of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

Michaela Rogers is an Environmental Scientist with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. She serves as the Monarch and Pollinator Coordinator for the agency and manages implementation of the Kentucky Monarch Conservation Plan.

After working for six years with coal companies to establish pollinator habitat on former surface mine sites and working in the queen bee season in the winters, Tammy Horn Potter became Kentucky’s State Apiarist in 2014. She collects honey bee samples for the USDA Honey Bee Health Survey and has worked extensively to improve genetic diversity of queen bees with the Kentucky Queen Bee Breeders Association. She has also worked to improve honey label information with the Kentucky State Beekeepers Association. She is particularly proud of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture Pollinator Protection Plan both for its diversity of stakeholders and for the department’s creation of an app, which coordinates spray information between applicators and beekeepers.

Monarchs and Milkweed in Kentucky

By Sandra Elliott, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources

Monarch butterfly (*Danaus plexippus*) caterpillar on common milkweed (*Asclepias syriaca*) leaf.
Photo by Sandra Elliott.

Of all the pollinators native to Kentucky, the monarch is likely one of the most recognized. This universally known insect is one of the first to come to mind when someone says “butterfly.” These striking orange and black butterflies will migrate up to 3,000 miles each year, spanning three to four generations.

The starting line of this year-long marathon is in the mountains of Mexico where adult butterflies that have migrated south have overwintered in oyamel fir forests. These monarchs take flight in early spring and reproduce in northern Mexico and the southern US to create Generation 1.

This generation of monarchs will head north as adults and breed along the way. Generation 2, the offspring of the previous migratory parents, will grow and head north as well in early summer. Generations 3 and 4 will be laid in the northern US and southern Canada. This last generation will become adults at the northern limits of their range and will begin their travels south to the overwintering grounds in Mexico in late summer and early fall. These are the butterflies that will kick off the next round of migrations like their great-great grandparents.

Milkweed for monarch success

In order for this year long migration of multiple generations to be successful, monarch butterflies depend on flowering plants to first fuel their own bodies for flight and reproduction, and second to be a breeding ground and food source for their offspring. The most important of these plants are the milkweeds that are the obligatory nursery plants of monarch caterpillars. Monarchs will only lay eggs on the leaves of milkweed, and these are the only plants that sustain the growing caterpillars. Unfortunately, there has been a great loss of monarch habitat and the monarch butterfly is being considered for listing as a threatened species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act.

Within the state of Kentucky, there is a great deal of support for the conservation of the monarch butterfly. Both agencies and individuals are putting forth efforts to increase habitat area for monarchs, and for other pollinators native to the state as well. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources set forth by developing the Kentucky Monarch Conservation Plan in collaboration with other monarch stakeholders.

The Plan outlines goals and strategies for the conservation of the butterfly and its habitat. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture developed the Kentucky Pollinator Protection Plan, and a multitude of other state agencies, entities and private organizations participate in the Kentucky Pollinator Stakeholder Group to conserve both monarchs and pollinators in the state. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) has had a large hand in developing about 200 acres of pollinator habitat. Roadsides, interstate rest areas, and interchanges are a few places that KYTC has developed for pollinators. You can see these eye-catching Pollinator Habitat Zones on the sides of interstates, and you can even see these bright pops of color bordering elevated lanes in the heart of Louisville.

Even organizations that specialize in native game birds and that have initiatives to restore native grassland habitat for quail and pheasants also have the monarch in mind. There are so many animals that benefit from promoting the regeneration of grasslands native to Kentucky just by virtue of being native; native pollinator plants are able to thrive when lands are managed to maintain these grasslands. These agencies and organizations have the ultimate goal of improving habitats for all native species, not just the few they are targeting for conservation.

Monarchs are also assisted by individuals like you. Planting small monarch gardens wherever there is space for them is one way people help boost pollinator habitat area. These gardens can also be registered with MonarchWatch.org as waystations so all contributions can be tracked and appreciated. In Kentucky alone, there are currently 957 waystations registered! The most crucial part of planting and maintaining a monarch garden is including milkweed. Much of it grows wild across the state! Butterfly milkweed (A. tuberosa), common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), and swamp milkweed (A. incarnata) are three that are common in Kentucky.

Monarchs will also utilize other flowers as nectar sources, and it’s important to provide plants that flower throughout the year so monarchs have sources of energy during both the breeding season as well as during their migration south in the fall. Aside from milkweed, black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta), beebalm (Monarda didyma), mountain mint (Pycnanthemum), goldenrod (Solidago), blazing star (Liatris), ironweed (Vernonia), and smooth aster (Symphyotrichum) are just a few of many native pollinator plants that could be included in monarch gardens to attract a variety of pollinators. The Kentucky Native Plant Society maintains a list of native plant vendors across the state to help those who are looking for plant resources: https://www.knps.org/native-plant-nurseries/.

What can you do if you don’t have the space for a garden? Participating in community science initiatives aids in spreading awareness and education about the current challenges faced by the monarch butterfly. There are opportunities to track monarchs along their migration route (visit monarchjointventure.org and journeynorth.org to learn more). A monarch you help tag in the fall could be recorded in Mexico! Follow us on Facebook at “Kentucky Monarchs” as we share information and links related to monarch butterflies in Kentucky, and remember that no effort is too small to help conserve monarchs!

Sandra Elliott is an at-risk species technician with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

KNPS Native Plant Stewardship and Biodiversity Awards 2021

The Kentucky Native Plant Society recently began formally recognizing individuals by honoring their work with Native Plant Awards in association with the annual Kentucky Botanical Symposium. These individuals are recognized for their outstanding contributions in advancing KNPS’s mission: to promote education, preservation and protection of Kentucky’s Native Plants and Natural communities. The recording from the Kentucky Botanical Symposium awards session is included below.

2021 Native Plant Stewardship Award – Jeff Nelson and Liz Neihoff

Jeff and Liz among the natural areas in western Kentucky, among the bald cypresses of Metropolis Lake SNP and their woodland restoration.

The recipients of the 2021 Native Plant Stewardship award are Jeff Nelson and Liz Neihoff. Jeff and Liz are most deserving of this award for numerous reasons. First, they both have worked over the past 30 years on an inspiring restoration project in McCracken County, Kentucky, converting their 10 acre property from farmland to native woodland. The stewardship of their property serves as inspiration to the many small scale landowners across Kentucky and the Country. They have documented and shared many of the interesting native plants on social media that have been restored on their property, educating and inspiring thousands of people with their actions and knowledge of our native plants. Their dedication and perseverance in removing invasive species and promoting the return of native plants is notable and reminds us all even the actions of just a few can make an significant impact on restoring our native plants and communities. Beyond their own restoration projects, they serve as preserve monitors at Metropolis Lake SNP, helping out the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves in rare plant monitoring, invasive species management, and trespassing issues. They are also active in rare plant monitoring and surveying in western Kentucky, documenting rare grassland remnants and rare plants along roadsides in western Kentucky and working with folks to ensure they are protected. Last, their work with the Kentucky Native Plant Society, in particular Jeff’s work as website master, general IT guru, board member, membership chair has been instrumental in the success and advancement of the Kentucky Native Plant Society and its mission.

Where’s Liz? Jeff sometimes shares photos of their restored native woodland with Liz hiding somewhere in the background. We love trying to find Liz, and also enjoy her poetry that often accompanies their native plant posts.

Jeff Nelson was born in San Francisco, CA, and grew up in Sunnyvale, CA. He received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Liz Neihoff was born at home in rural McCracken Co, KY. She received a B.A. in Sociology from San Jose State University in San Jose, CA. Jeff, Liz, and their son Aaron moved from California to McCracken Co., Kentucky, in 1987. After building their house on their 10 acres, the family has spent the last 30+ years restoring the property from farmland to a native woodland. Jeff was employed as the IT Director of the Paducah Independent School District for 15 years, retiring in 2008. Liz was self employed for many years as a gardener and landscape designer and has spent much of the past 30+ years removing exotic invasive species from their 10 acre restoration. They have been members of the Kentucky Native Plant Society since the early 1990s and Jeff has been on the Board of KNPS since 2017. Since 2019, they have shared responsibilities as Nature Preserve Monitors at Metropolis Lake SNP in McCracken Co. As lifelong amateur naturalists, Jeff and Liz love exploring Kentucky and learning about the rich diversity of the Commonwealth’s many ecosystems.

Jeff’s educational posts on social media and the Kentucky Native Plant Societies’ Facebook page, always sharing their knowledge and interesting native plant finds to other native plant enthusiasts in the region.

2021 Native Plant Biodiversity Award – Anne Milligan and Stephen Brown

Anne Milligan and Stephen Brown’s “yarden” in Jefferson county and Anne Milligan displaying their new book “Let the Earth Breath.”

The recipients of the 2021 Native Plant Biodiversity award goes to Anne Milligan and Stephen Brown for their work on converting their backyard “yarden” into a native plant oasis, starting a seed swap movement in the Louisville area, and chronicling their work in a new book and website.

Anne Milligan and Stephen Brown currently reside in semi-rural southeast Jefferson County, Kentucky. Anne is an oil painter and Stephen Brown is an author and historian. Over the past 12 years, they have transformed their yard into a native plant sanctuary and have inspired thousands of folks along the way. Many of you all know of Doug Tallamy’s work promoting native plants and gardening (https://homegrownnationalpark.org/tallamys-hub-1). We in Kentucky are just as proud of the work of Anne and Stephen, they are so inspirational and passionate about using native plants in our yards and serve as a reminder of how the power of just a few individuals can start a movement and inspire others to join them. Due to the tremendous success of their backyard native plant gardens, and realizing the amount of native seed they were producing, they decided to share their love of native seeds by starting Facebook groups and social media campaigns for native seed swaps in Jefferson county. This has been so inspirational to watch this movement grow as they brought together 100s of folks in the region to participate in their native seed swaps gatherings and start native plant restorations projects in their own yards. They have chronicled their work in a new book and non profit organization called Let the Earth Breath http://www.lettheearthbreathe.org/, and we encourage everyone to visit their website, read their book, and join in the native plant gardening and native seed swap movement.

http://www.lettheearthbreathe.org/

Native seed swaps and social media pages and posts help inspire thousands of people to use native plants in their gardens.

Presidents Message

As we send out our last newsletter of the year, I wanted to give thanks to all our membership for supporting Kentucky Native Plant Society over the years and to all of the new members who continue to give me hope for our growing organization. We have been able to accomplish a lot this year as an organization, from organizing several virtual meetings, hosting a few in person hikes as well as contributing to native plant documentation through our inaturalist projects and plant atlas and distribution efforts. Our grants program continues to fund important native plant research conducted by students at universities and has expanded to include rare plant restoration efforts. The ladyslipper continues to be a monthly resource to find the latest native plant news and our website is continually improving as we provide compile native plant resources such as native plant sales, nurseries, herbariums and general native plant information . Our last organized event of the year, the annual Kentucky Botanical Symposium, is next Wednesday, December 8th, 9am-11:30am EST, and I encourage everyone to join in and learn about some current native plant projects programs occurring across our state and also learn from nearby state partners on existing programs that we could network or model here in Kentucky. I hope that everyone has had time to see the beautiful fall colors and the first glimpse of the frost flowers here in Kentucky, I know my family has enjoyed the first frost flower finds! Please check our website for any updates, upcoming planned events, visit our gear shop for gifts for friends and family, and visit a nearby natural area to view all of our wonderful native plants as they transition into winter. One of my favorite winter native plant activities is moss and lichen hunting, native plant wreath making, and reviewing the bud and bark characters of our many native trees.

Have a great December and upcoming Holiday fellow native plant enthusiasts!

For the love of Kentucky Plants,

Tara Rose Littlefield

**^{Littlefield Berry Family Enjoying the first frost flowers (from wingstem, Verbesena occidentalis) of the year in Anderson County, Kentucky,} ^2021-11-06.**

Virtual Field Trips Page

Starting on Saturday, April 10, through Saturday, April 17, we will be posting a daily Virtual Field Trip on this page. Bookmark this page and check back each day.

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.

Kentucky Plant Conservation Alliance

“Collaborative conservation of rare plants and natural communities in Kentucky and the greater region”

What is the Kentucky Plant Conservation Alliance (KYPCA)?

The Kentucky Plant Conservation Alliance (KYPCA) is a public private partnership of state and federal agencies, land managers, academic researchers, botanical gardens, conservation horticulturists, non-profits, conservation groups, private sector/consultants, community scientists, and volunteers committed to protecting native plants and natural communities of conservation concern with a central goal of preventing plant extinctions. The Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves and Kentucky Native Plant Society both recognized the need for a greater focus on rare plants and formed this alliance in 2016 in order to facilitate collaboration amongst existing conservation groups in the state by providing a framework to bring together the botanical community on focused priority plant conservation projects across the commonwealth. Priority projects are coordinated primarily by botanists and conservation staff at the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves (OKNP) and collaborative meetings/field days/work days, outreach and volunteer building has been organized primarily by the Kentucky Native Plant Society (KNPS). The KYPCA is also linked with national, regional, and state alliance initiatives like the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance that help us learn how to most effectively build plant conservation in Kentucky. We seek to prevent plant extinctions and preserve natural heritage for future generations by better leveraging resources of existing partnerships as well as building new partnerships to expand the collective capability of plant conservation in Kentucky.

KYPCA coordinators attended the SE partners in Plant Conservation meeting in Georgia in early 2020 (pre pandemic). Overview article of the meeting can be found here.

Why do we need the KYPCA?

“Plants are the foundation of most life on Earth”

Kentucky is a very diverse state floristically, from the Cumberland Mountains in the East to the swamps of the coastal plain region in the west. The diversity is due to the topography and position on the landscape, the variety of geology and soils, the lack of recent glaciation and the history of natural disturbances such as fire and grazing. However, the landscape of Kentucky has changed dramatically since European settlement. Development and agriculture resulted in the dramatic loss of our old growth forests in the east, the grasslands of the interior plateau and the wetlands of the coastal plain. Over 2000 native plants have been documented in Kentucky. Unfortunately approximately 20% of our plants are rare, threatened or endangered. Kentucky has 11 federally listed species and an additional 40 or so plants are globally rare and declining. But there are still plant diversity hotspots scattered in remnant natural areas across the state. 65% of rare plants and 80% of rare natural communities in Kentucky are associated with grasslands, barrens or woodlands that need some level of disturbance (fire, browsing) or edaphic control (rock outcrops) to persist and all of our rare plants and communities need invasive species management. Only a handful of professional staff are able to devote their time to monitoring and managing these rare plants due to limited resources. In order to more effectively conserve these rare species and communities, we need to work collaboratively with partners and volunteers across the state to increase in situ and ex situ conservation of our rarest plants.

What kinds of projects does the KYPCA work on?

We work with our partners to prevent plant extinction and extirpation through in situ and ex situ conservation projects with a central goal of preventing local extinctions. Projects activities can include surveys, monitoring, direct management (invasive species removal/prescribed fire), restoration, seed banking, propagation, introductions, research and outreach. Projects are focused on rare plants that are in most need of immediate conservation action in order to prevent extinction from the state. The rare plant priority list was created by Kentucky Rare Plant Committee, continually updated, and is also the proposed list to add to the Kentucky State Wildlife Action Plan in the next few years. Plants are prioritized by rarity, lack of site protection or appropriate management, and other threats. Since rare plants are a part of larger natural communities, management and restoration of natural areas and partnerships with land managers is key to all projects. Some recent projects include rare plant propagation, native clover conservation, white haired goldenrod community science monitoring and management, roadside rare plant surveys, wood lily and Pine Barrens restoration, rare plant listing and prioritization working groups, and working with partners to add plants to Kentucky’s state wildlife action plan.

How does the KYPCA connect?

The KYPCA connects to partners by coordinating rare plant and community focused meetings and symposiums; coordinating workshops and field work days; providing updates to the KNPS monthly Ladyslipper newsletter and the OKNP quarterly newsletter; through OKNP, KYPCA, and KNPS social media pages; and through our websites www.kypca.knps.org and www.naturepreserves.ky.gov.

How to get involved?

If you would like to get involved with these efforts, contact us at KYPCA@knps.org and formally join our alliance! Please join the Kentucky Native Plant Society and sign up for the KNPS and OKNP newsletters to find out about volunteer opportunities and updates from recent projects. The KNPS is offering small grants to directly help with the KYPCA efforts such as rare plant propagation, and inventory/monitoring of natural areas. Please contact us if you are interested in applying for a grant. If you are an organization and are interested in formally joining, please send us your partnership logo and website info so we can add you to our partner page. Projects that we need particular help with include volunteer coordination, conservation horticulture projects, as well as monitoring and management projects on public and private lands.