Roan Mountain Naturalists' Rally

Join Friends of Roan Mountain on Saturday, February 11th at Roan Mountain State Park for a winter celebration of the Roan Highlands!
For 10 years the Winter Naturalists’ Rally has drawn hardy nature enthusiasts from far & wide to Roan Mountain on the Saturday closest to Valentine ’s Day. Top naturalists volunteer their time and energy to make the event both enjoyable and educational for people of all ages. Bring the kids! The 2017 Winter Rally continues this celebration of our natural world by providing top speakers on topics concerning the environs of the Roan Highlands. If you are not already a member of Friends of Roan Mountain, please consider joining. Members get free admission to all naturalists’ rally events and a copy of our quarterly newsletter. In addition to sponsoring the naturalists’ rallies throughout the year, Friends of Roan Mountain also provides support for research and restoration projects on the Roan. Richard Broadwell – Director
 
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Saturday, February 11, 2017 Roan Mountain State Park, Conference Center
9:00 A.M. REGISTRATION
9:30 A.M. PROGRAM BEGINS
Jamey Donaldson: GREAT GRAMINOIDS! Quantifying vegetation on Roan Mountain’s Western Balds over the last 80 years (1936-2016)
10:25 A.M. Cindy Barrett: Range-wide Prevalence and Impacts of the Lily Leaf Spot Disease on Gray’s Lily with an Assessment of Turk’s Cap Lily and Michaux’s Lily as Disease Reservoirs
10:50 A.M. Break
11:05 A.M. Jay Franklin: Late Prehistoric Towns and Cherokee Archaeology in the Upper Reaches of the Tennessee Valley
12:00 P.M.LUNCH Bag lunches available by pre-paid reservation. Deadline for reservations is Wednesday, February 8. Lunchtime Presentation, Bob Estep: Flint Knapping Demonstration A typical winter scene near the Roan summit.
1:00 P.M. HIKES The hikes will leave from the Roan Mountain State Park Conference Center.
 Hike option #1. Jamey Donaldson of the Baatany Goat Project will lead a hike to the alder balds on the ridgeline of Roan Mountain. Dress warmly for this one! (Str, W)
 Hike option #2. Marty Silver, Ranger with Warriors’ Path State Park, will lead a wildlife tracking and animal signs hike down near the Doe River in Roan Mountain State Park. (Mod, Kf, W)
 Hike option #3. Dr. Frosty Levy, Professor Emeritus of Biology at East Tennessee State University, will lead a winter tree identification hike in Roan Mountain State Park. (Ea, W)
 
SATURDAY MORNING PROGRAM  Jamey Donaldson: GREAT GRAMINOIDS! Quantifying vegetation on Roan Mountain ’s Western Balds over the last 80 years (1936 -2016) * The Appalachian Trail first brought Jamey to Roan, where he began doing balds restoration in 1992, botanizing in 1993, leading Naturalists’ Rally hikes in 1994, and goat herding in 2008. He has been a botanist since 1992, the ETSU John C. Warden Herbarium Adjunct Curator since 1999, an instructor for the Smoky Mountain Field School since 2004, Baatany Goat Project leader since 2008, Roan ’s resident botanist since 2009, and is a lifetime member of Friends of Roan Mountain. Work done by Dr. Dalton Milford Brown, who did the first quantified plant ecology on Roan, is a special interest of his.
 Cindy Barrett: Range -wide Prevalence and Impacts of the Lily Leaf Spot Disease on Gray ’s Lily with an Assessment of Turk ’s Cap Lily and Michaux ’s Lily as Disease Reservoirs * Cindy received two bachelor ’s degrees from Tusculum College in Biology and Fine Art. She is currently a master’s of Biology candidate at East Tennessee State University. Cindy ’s research focuses on the Lily Leaf Spot Disease and its effects on four regional lily species: Canada lily, Gray’s lily, Michaux’s lily and Turk’s Cap lily. Her work will characterize the overall disease burden of the Lily Leaf Spot Disease acting on Gray’s lily throughout its range and investigate whether other Leaf Spot Disease. Cindy ’s study is comprised of studies of each species in the field and experimental inoculations in the lab.
 Dr. Jay Franklin: Late Prehistoric Towns and Cherokee Archaeology in the Upper Reaches of the Tennessee Valley Jay Franklin is a Professor of Archaeology in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at East Tennessee State University. He is also Curator of Archaeology at the ETSU Natural History Museum in Gray and Curator of the ETSU Valleybrook Archaeological Education and Curation Center. He was awarded his BA, MA, and PhD from the University of Tennessee. His research interests include the prehistory of Southern Appalachia, cave and rock shelter archaeology, stone tool and pottery technologies, and French Paleolithic and Medieval archaeology. Dr. Franklin ’s program description A 1958 TVA report held that the upper reaches of the Tennessee Valley along the Holston, Watauga and Nolichucky rivers were not suitable for permanent Native American villages. However, archaeological research conducted by East Tennessee State University from 2006 to the present indicates that our region contained dozens of large, vibrant Native American towns from at least AD 1350 to 1650. Jay will discuss his recent work at several of these sites. His research suggests that the upper reaches of the Tennessee Valley were not marginal hinterlands but rather newly discovered and well -connected cultural centers. It appears that at least some of these communities came into direct contact with early Spanish explorers. 16th century Cherokee house floor, Nolichucky River, Washington County, TN.
LUNCHTIME PROGRAM  Bob Estep: Flint knapping demonstration Bob has always had a fascination with Stone Age cultures worldwide, especially the skills they used to live and thrive. One of these skills is flint knapping, the art of making tools from stone. From this fascination he began flint knapping 24 years ago.