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What’s blooming on the Wolf Haven prairie in early April

kinnikinnick

Kinnikinnick

The nice weather of spring has brought beautiful wildflowers to the South Sound prairies. If you come by Wolf Haven International in the next couple weeks you will be in for quite a show on the prairie.

Buttercup

Buttercup

As you walk along the trail, you might first notice the shining yellow Western Buttercups (Ranunculus occidentalis) or the low white flowers of the Virginia Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana). Make sure you take a closer look

Strawberry

Strawberry

between the green Camas shoots coming up, because the striking Henderson’s Shooting Star (Dodecatheon hendersonii) is in full bloom for a while longer. This flower is sort of built inside out, with the pink-purple petals sticking backwards towards the stem, leaving the stamens and pistil to be pointed straight out of the flower.

shooting star

Shooting Star

Some mounds are covered in a dark green plant called kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) which is just starting to get its light pink bunches of bell-shaped flowers. Make sure not to step off of the trail, as kinnikinnick is a host plant for the caterpillars of the rare Hoary Elfin butterfly.

When you get closer to the Grandfather Tree, you will be between two areas that have had prescribed fire applied to them in the past few years, one of which was burned in 2013. These areas will have some new and easier to see flowers. The Early Blue Violet (Viola adunca) is sprouting up in deep purple patches near the trail.

early blue violet

Early Blue Violet

Careful not to leave the trail, you can look on the North side of the trail, before the Grandfather Tree, to try and spot some Golden Paintbrush (Castilleja levisecta) coming up. Golden Paintbrush is federally listed as threatened, and state listed as endangered, so if you see it, do not disturb it. All paintbrush species are hemiparasites, which means that they have some chlorophyll with which to make some food, but they get most of their nutrients by stealing it from nearby plant’s roots. The brilliant colors associated with

golden paintbrush

Golden Paintbrush

paintbrush plants are not their flowers, but rather colorful leaves. Golden Paintbrush has inconspicuous green flowers between the bright yellow leaves.

Trillium

Trillium

Other flowers in this area are the very small blue flowers of Blue Eyed Mary (Collinsia parviflora) and the tall stalks with freshly blooming white flowers of Wholeleaf Saxifrage (Micanthes integrifolia). Off in the forest at the edge of the prairie, there is still a Pacific Trillium (Trillium ovatum) or two in bloom. The famous Common Camas (Camassia quamash) buds have been shooting up, and will start blooming within the next few days, but expect them to cover the prairie in large purple flowers in May.

Tree Swallow in bird box

Tree Swallow in bird box

Many of the plants from last month’s blog are still blooming, and all of the same animals are out, to be joined by many more butterflies and other insect pollinators. Most of the Bluebird boxes are still empty, but it seems that a pair of Tree Swallows is going to nest in the bird box that has a Washington Fish and Wildlife live webcam in it. Most days I see a bird or two in it, and there are more sticks appearing in it every day. You can watch the live bird box cam here: http://wdfw.wa.gov/wildwatch/bluebirdcam/video.html

 

 

Anne Schuster,

Center for Natural Lands Management AmeriCorps,
Wolf Haven Outreach and Restoration Technician

Speak Up for Wolves in Alaska

“If we leave wolves alone, we’ll be the ones to benefit.” Marybeth Holleman

This guest Call to Action is by Marybeth Holleman, co-author of the book Among Wolves – Gordon Haber’s Insights into Alaska’s Most Misunderstood Animal. Ms. Holleman has also written a wonderful opinion page –  Just Like Us, Wolves Need Family to Thrive- which painstakingly recounts the fatal flaws in the US Fish and Wildlife proposal to delist the gray wolf.

“Wolves go to great lengths to stay with family; when important members are lost, families can disintegrate and remaining individuals often die.”

Among Wolves: What You Can Do by MaryBeth Holleman

Ask State of Alaska and U.S. Department of Interior to work together to create a     permanent protective buffer for Denali’s wolves on state lands along the northeastern borders of Denali National Park. Ask for this “win-win” solution: that the State of Alaska transfer a permanent no-take wildlife buffer conservation easement east of the national park to the federal government, in exchange for the federal government transferring a like-valued easement, or federal surplus property, or purchase value, to the State of Alaska.  A no-take buffer northeast of the park is the only way to rebuild and then sustain Denali’s wolf populations.

Write to:
Governor Sean Parnell: governor@alaska.gov
Don Striker, Denali National Park Superintendent Don Striker: don_striker@nps.gov
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell: secretary@ios.doi.gov

copy:
Jon Jarvis, National Park Service Director in DC: jon_jarvis@nps.gov
Joel Hard, NPS Alaska Deputy Regional Director: joel_hard@nps.gov
Cora Campbell, Commissioner, Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game: cora.campbell@alaska.gov
Joe Balash, Commissioner, Alaska Dept of Natural Resources: joe.balash@alaska.gov

“Whenever an alpha wolf was shot or trapped, it set off a cascade of events that left most of the family dead and the rest scattered, rag-tag orphans.”

Ask Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell to condition the annual transfer of federal funds to state wildlife agencies – through the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act – upon the state cooperatively managing wildlife around federally protected areas, such as national parks and wildlife refuges.  Alaska received $49 million from the Dept. of Interior just this year, most of it going to the ADFG Game Division, which conducts “intensive management” (predator control) that subverts national goals of wildlife conservation and restoration.

Write to:
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell: secretary@ios.doi.gov, feedback@ios.doi.gov

copy:
Jon Jarvis, National Park Service Director in DC: jon_jarvis@nps.gov
Joel Hard, NPS Alaska Deputy Regional Director: joel_hard@nps.gov