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The 63rd Roan Mountain Spring Naturalists Rally will be held the weekend of April 22-24 and will feature naturalist guided tours in the Roan Mountain area, including the Roan Mountain State Park and up to the Appalachian Trail.
Events get underway Friday, April 22, at the Roan Mountain State Park Conference Center with a buffet dinner at 6:30 p.m., which is by reservation only. The program following dinner will be presented by Kris Light on Monarch Migration.
Two events are planned Friday at 9 p.m., and include Night Sky Viewing led by Gary Henson and Moth Viewing by Larry McDaniel.
The Saturday schedule is jam-packed with field trips and a buffet dinner later in the day at the conference center.
Among the field trips scheduled Saturday include:
– Early Birds at 6:30 a.m. conducted by the Herndon Chapter TOS. Participants will meet at the Visitors Center.
Field trips at 8:30 a.m. will meet at the field adjacent to the park cabins entrance. They include:
– Hike to Jones Falls led by Marty Silvers
– Birds of Roan Mountain by Herndon Chapter TOS
– Salamanders by Doug Bond
– Wildflowers by Guy Mauldin
– Birding for Beginners by Joe McGuiness
– Talking With Nature by Cade Campbell
– Yellow Mountain Gap Hike with Cory Franklin (bring lunch and rain gear)
– Hiking for Observations by Philip Hylen
At 11 a.m., Mick Whitelaw, ETSU Dept. of Geology and GeoScience, will present a program on Fossil Casting.
Bob Estep will present a program on Flint Knapping, demonstrating the ancient method of fashioning tools from stone.
At noon, there will be bag lunches at the Conference Center. Prepaid reservations for the bag lunch must be made by April 19. Or, you may bring your own lunch.
The lunch program includes a nature slide show by Tracy Campbell.
Also, Kenny Light will show the film at 1 p.m. “Leonardo da Vinci: Artist and Engineer.”
Field trips at 2 p.m. include:
– Plants and their Pollinators by Kris Light
– Mosses and Liverworts by Jim Goldsmith
– Plants by Jamey Donaldson
– Aquatic Insects as Water Quality Indicators by Gary Barrier and Anna Gizzard
– An Appalachian Trail Hike (4.8 Miles) led by Richard Broadwell
– Snakes of Roan Mountain led by Philip Hylen
– Butterflies led by Park Greer
– Geology/Paleo-ecology Hike (5 miles) led by Jeremy Stout
A buffet dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. at the Conference Center with reservations pre-paid by Tuesday, April 19.
The program at 7:30 p.m. will be presented by Dr. Diane Nelon on Tardigrades (water bears).
A night walk is planned at 9 p.m. led by Cade Campbell, and Larry McDaniel will do Moth Viewing.
Sunday’s activities will include field trips at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The morning field trips include Birds of Tiger Creek led by the Herndon Chapter TOS and the Ed Schell Memorial Hike at Doe River Gorge on Wildflowers and Geology led by Grabrielle Geiger, Mike Whittled and Don Holt. This is an all-day hike, so bring water, lunch, and rain gear.
The afternoon field trips will include Salamanders by Lance Jesse and Tree Identification by Adrianna Nelson.
At 11 a.m., Dr. Diane Nelson will present a Tardigrade Microscope Workshop at the Conference Center.
Meals will be catered by City Market and will include Roast Beef or Chicken Friday night and Lasagna Saturday. Meals will include a salad, side items, drink and dessert.
Registration for the rally and meals can be done at www.friendsofroanmountain.
The spring rally director is Larry McDaniel and he can be contacted at 773-9234 or at larrycmcd@hotmail.com