Rally Information

Thank you for your interest in the annual Mount Rogers Naturalist Rally. Every year the Naturalist Rally Committee assembles a wide variety of excellent field trips with leaders who are experts in their field. Their goal is to make the Mount Rogers area ecology understandable and interesting for everyone, from inquisitive amateurs to accomplished naturalists.

The 2009 Rally will be May 8 & 9. This year's Friday night speaker will be Theresa Dellinger, PhD, of Virginia Tech. She is a research associate, conducting chemical trials on hemlocks, testing different formulations and application methods for control of the hemlock woolly adelgid. The entomology department at VT is part of a large scale effort to manage the hemlock woolly adelgid in the eastern U.S. Their work emcompasses the complete spectrum of biological control activities including foreign exploration, quarantine evaluation, mass production, release, and evaluation of approved insect natural enemies. You can read more about the work at http://www.vt.edu/resmag/2007summer/bugs.html.

Directions:

From I-81, take exit 35 (Chilhowie), go south on Rt 762, passing Hardee's. Follow this for 3.6 miles to the flashing light at intersection. Keeping straight the road becomes Rt 600, crosses Iron Mountain (disregard "Old 600" signs)and in 7.6 miles turn left at intersection, staying on Rt 600. From here go 2/10 miles and the Konnarock community center is on the left.

Schedule of Events:

Friday, May 8

5:00 p.m.- Registration begins - Konnarock Community Center. Fee is $5 for each person 12 or older. PLEASE TRY TO BRING CORRECT CHANGE. This registers you for Friday evening and Saturday field trips
5:30-6:30 p.m. - Chicken dinner prepared and served by the Konnarock Community Club at the center. PREPAID RESERVATIONS FOR DINNER ARE ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. The cost is $10. This total fee goes to the community center.
7:00 p.m. - Welcome & introductions of field trip leaders
7:30 - Featured speaker, Dr. Theresa Dellinger

Saturday, May 9

7:00 a.m. - Continued registration if you missed us on Friday-$5
8:00 a.m. - Morning field trips depart the Konnarock community center. We try to carpool as much as possible.
11:30 - Lunch break-$2 hot dog lunch offered by the Friends of Mount Rogers.
1:00 p.m. - Afternoon field trips depart the Konnarock community center.

Below are the scheduled field trips for the 2009 rally. Other trips may be added by rally time.

Saturday morning (Starting at 8:00 a.m.):

All-Day Hike to Top of Mount Rogers - Dr. Phil Shelton will lead this popular trip for HARDY HIKERS to the highest peak in Virginia. Along the way, he will discuss the flora and fauna of the mountain. Bring food, water, raingear, clothing appropriate for high altitude weather. Tough hike - about 9 miles roundtrip. Limited to 10 participants.
Disappearing Hemlocks - Steve Lindeman, Nature Conservancy, and Beth Merz, USFS, will take you to visit an old-growth hemlock stand in the national forest. Then take a look under the forest canopy at some shrubs and invasives with an emphasis on ecological processes. (NEW)
Measuring Community Structure of a Deciduous Forest - John Kell, Radford University, will lead a group to Grindstone where you'll explore methods of surveying a forest to see how many trees there are per acre, what trees are present, what percentages, etc. and do simple calculations to see what species seem most important
Birding - Alan Boynton, VDGIF, will lead this bird identification trip starting around the community center, then stopping at spots along Laurel Valley Road toward Grindstone campground. Bring binoculars and field guides.
Birding by Ear - Randy Stanley and Betsy Grossman will lead this walk for birders who are beginners in identifying birds by sound. Bring binoculars and field guides.
Small Mammals of the NRA - Dr. Karen Francl, vertebrate biologist - Radford University, will check pre-set live traps in hopes of examing a sample of the small mammal diversity in this area. (NEW)
Wildflowers - Dr. Pat Mikesell, Radford University, will lead his group on the nature trail at Grindstone campground. Bring field guides and be prepared to see, identify, and learn about lots of interesting plants!
Salamanders - Slippery, slimy, but oh, so beautiful, the many salamanders of our Mount Rogers area are some of nature's most interesting animals. Kevin Hamed, Assistant professor of biology at VHCC will be leading this walk. Learn what salamanders can tell us about the state of our own environment.
Wilderness Walk - Dick Moose will lead this walk through the Lewis Fork Wilderness and back.About 9 miles. Moderate to difficult. Bring food and water. Prepare for weather changes.
Invasive Weeds - Lindsay Majer will lead a trip to explore the serious threat of invasive weeds to the Appalachian environment and discuss what can be done about such pests as garlic mustard, Russian olive, colts foot, multi-flora rose and other non-native plants. Bring gloves and cutters to actually practice plant control and removal.
Geology of the Virginia Highlands - Once upon a time the Appalachians were taller and more rugged that the Rockies. Find out what happened and why we have the green and gently rounded peaks we know and love today with Leslie Bright or another geologist with the Virginia Division of Mined Land Reclamation.

Saturday morning (Starting at 8:30 a.m.):

No Child Left Inside - Naturalist Mary Alice Hardin and Carrie Sparks - will help children learn about nature's food webs and habitats through nature games and a close examination of owl pellets. Adults must be accompanied by a child.

Saturday afternoon (Starting at 1:00 p.m.):

Writer's Roundtable - Need help putting your outdoor stories in writing? Jim Minnick, Dan Stryk, Fred First, Rick VanNoy and Bob McKinney are here to encourage you. These writers will have their latest books available. Bring writing supplies.
Raising Mussel Babies - Take a tour of Virginia's Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Center at Buller Fish Hatchery near Marion. Join Nathan Eckert and Joe Ferraro as they show you how they produce stocks of rare and imperiled species of freshwater mussels to be released back to the wild. Carpool or meet at the site. Limit 20 participants. Sign up in advance.
Geology of the Virginia Creeper Trail - Fred Newcomb, Marion Senior High School will lead this exploration of the cuts along the Creeper trail. It's an easy walk considering you're going back millions of years in time!
Whitetop Mountain Hike - Eleanor Grasseli will lead a hike DOWN from the summit of Whitetop Mountain back to the parking lot at Elk Garden, a distance of about 2.5 miles. Lots of wildflowers and birds. Bring field guides.
Stream Quality - Regina Donour, our biology teacher from Kentucky, will take you in the creek to find and identify aquatic insects to determine the water quality of Big Laurel Creek.
Appalachian Woodland Wildflowers - Become acquainted with spring wildflowers as Claude Greever leads this easy stroll that includes both lower and higher elevations. Bring field guides and hand lens.
Fly Fishing at Creek Junction on the Virginia Creeper Trail - Justin Laughlin, VDGIF, invites you to join the Trout Unlimited group for fly fishing instruction while he identifies all the water bugs for you. Virginia fishing license, trout stamp and national forest permit required if you fish.
Spring Walk at the Saltville Well Fields - Doug Ogle will lead this nature exploration along the Helen Barbrow Interpretive Trail through the well fields in historic Saltville. Leave community center at 1 p.m. or meet at trailhead in Saltville by 1:30 p.m.
Young People in the Forest, Field and Stream - Naturalist Mary Alice Hardin of Nature's Powers introduces children (must bring a parent) to a close look at nature with activities in the forest, field and stream on the tree farm near the community center. Wear creek shoes.
Trees - Joel Keebler of VHCC brings the unique insights of a horticulturalist to this tree appreciation and identification trip. His focus will be on native trees and shrubs that are appropriate for landscape use.
Fencerow Flora - Carrie Sparks will lead this easy walk to explore and identify plants near the community center. Participants will gather plants and prepare some natural remidies, teas and spring greens.

A new focus this year will be to offer a writing workshop. Several writers who have attended the rally for years will read from some of their work and encourage us to write about our own natural encounters. This is a great opportunity to learn to put your thoughts into a written form--essay, poetry, etc. Leaders for this will be Fred First - Slow Road Home (A Blue Ridge Book of Days), Rick VanNoy - A Natural Sense of Wonder (connecting kids with nature through the seasons), Dan Stryk - Dimming Radiance (Poems & Prose Parables), Jim Minick - Finding a Clear Path and Burning Heaven, and Bob McKinney - If you Like Us, Talk About Us: The Life and Times of Robert H. Porterfield.

All five writers have newly published books and the books will be available for purchase so bring extra money this year. Also, you will be able to learn about solar energy as Jack Mason will have his Solar Collector Demonstration set up beside the parking lot on Friday evening and Saturday.

All of our field trip leaders volunteer their time for the naturalist rally so let them know you appreciate their sharing their time and knowledge with us.

The Friends of Mount Rogers will be offering some items for sale that you would find in the visitor centers in the Mount Rogers NRA: T-shirts, sweatshirts, caps, maps, identification books, nature books. Be sure to bring extra money if you'd like to purchase any of these items.

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Dinner & Registration

Dinner is by pre-paid reservation ONLY. There will be no dinners sold at the door. Registration for the rally events and dinner is due by May 1, 2009. You can register online here or download and print the registration form and send it to:

Carrie Sparks
301 Look Avenue
Marion, VA 24354

Please make all checks payable to:

Mount Rogers Naturalist Rally

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How to Take a Field Trip

All field trips leave from the parking lot of the Konnarock Community Center unless otherwise indicated or announced on Friday evening. All times listed are actual departure times. Please allow extra time if you still need to register and to sign up with the field trip leader. (Some leaders take sign-ups on Friday evening and some trips fill quickly.) All trips will go out regardless of weather conditions. Come prepared with good boots or shoes, a sweater or jacket, raincoat or poncho.

Lodging

Two Forest Service campgrounds - Grindstone (VA Route 603) and Beartree (US Route 58) are within 10 miles of Konnarock. To reserve a site, call 1-877-444-6777 or online at www.ReserveUSA.com. There are numerous bed and breakfast inns and rental cabins in the area. Try www.virginiablueridge.org for information. Motels are available in Abingdon, Chilhowie, Glade Spring, Marion, all with places to eat.