BioBlitz at Emiquon Field Station

WHAT: University of Illinois Springfield BioBlitz at Emiquon

WHEN: Saturday, October 10, 2009
(October 7th – Registration deadline)

WHERE: Emiquon Field Station

ADDITIONAL INFO: Each year members of the UIS community, as well as students from surrounding high schools and colleges, gather at Emiquon to do biological sampling. In other words--playing detective, trying to find different examples of the biological life that is present at Emiquon.

Space is limited to the first 80 participants who sign up, and will be asked to make a $10.00 cash donation on the day of the event to help defray the cost of the lunch and supplies.

For more information on times, transportation and to register for the event log onto: https://illinois.edu/sb/sec/1839369

The deadline to register is October 7, 2009.

If you have questions please contact Dr. Jim Bonacum at 217/206-6035 or Bonacum.James@uis.edu.

UIS Emiquon Field Station display and more at the Illinois State Fair

WHAT: The UIS Emiquon Field Station will have a display at the Governor’s Innovation Tent

WHEN: August 14th through August 23rd from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

(Illinois County Fair Queen Morgan Metz, Governor Pat Quinn, and Emiquon advisory board member Michael Purnell - photo by Jeremy Wilburn)

WHERE: The Governor’s Innovation Tent is located near the intersection of Main Street and Brian Raney Avenue. (Come in Gate One, go straight, and the tent is on the right just pass Ethnic Village. There is a Governor’s Tent and a Governor’s Innovation Tent.)

ADDITIONAL INFO: The UIS display will contain information on the Emiquon Field Station and The Nature Conservancy. There will be a BioBingo game for kids, erosion/wetland demonstration, computer presentations and more. For additional information, contact Keith Miller at 217-206-7327 or kmill2@uis.edu. To learn more about Emiquon, visit
http://www.uis.edu/emiquon/

Emiquon hosts meteor shower event

A late evening star-gazing event called “Meteors and Thompson Lake – 2009,” will be held at Thompson Lake on The Nature Conservancy’s Emiquon Preserve, located between Havana and Lewistown, from Tuesday, August 11, at 8 p.m. until Wednesday, August 12, at 1 a.m.

This program is free and open to the public and is presented by the University of Illinois Springfield’s Emiquon Field Station in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy. UIS professor Dr. John Martin will be the guest lecturer, and members of the Sangamon Astronomical Society will also be present to share views of the night sky through their telescopes.

The event will take advantage of the peak display of the Perseids Meteor Shower, the annual mid-August display of “falling stars.” As the sky becomes dark after sundown, the meteor showers should be readily visible.

Martin, assistant professor of Astronomy/Physics, will help guide sky-watchers as they view the meteor shower. Dr. Michael Lemke, associate professor of Biology and director of the Emiquon Field Station, will be available to share information regarding the station and associated wetland ecological research.

Participants should gather after 8 p.m. at the lakeside entrance to Thompson Lake, located directly off Illinois Rts. 97/78, approximately one-half mile north of the Dickson Mounds turnoff. A sign will be posted at the entrance. Visitors are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and/or blankets.

Everyone entering the property will be asked to sign a liability waiver. Participants younger than 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult and must have their waiver signed by a parent or legal guardian.

For more information, contact Dr. Michael Lemke at 217/206-7339 or lemke.michael@uis.edu.

Emiquon to hold Walk and Talk lecture at Morton site

This month’s Emiquon Field Station Walk and Talk lecture will convene on Wednesday, July 1 at 6 p.m. at the Morton site to explore the excavations of the Morton Village. This is the second year of excavations at the Morton Village, a prehistoric Native American site that dates to about 1300 A.D. The excavations are a joint venture of Dickson Mounds Museum and Dr. Jodie O’Gorman of Michigan State University, with the cooperation of The Nature Conservancy.

The site is located on the west side of Illinois Route 78/97 0.4 miles south of the junction of Illinois Route 24 and 78/97, or if traveling from the south, at the top of the Illinois River bluff.

The Morton Village contains evidence of use by two groups that archaeologists refer to as Mississippian and Oneota. Natives of the Mississippian culture lived in the area for several centuries starting about 1000 A.D.; their living sites and cemeteries are common in the region around Dickson Mounds. Oneota is a cultural tradition centered in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and northern Illinois. However, in the last 25 years, several large villages and cemeteries belonging to the Oneota tradition have been identified in the area.

The research at Morton Village seeks to understand why Oneota groups expanded into the region, how they adapted to the new setting and the nature of the relationship between Oneota and Mississippian groups.

The excavations, which began on May 26 and will run through July 3, are being conducted by the Michigan State University Archaeological Field School and Dickson Mounds staff. The remains of several houses and numerous storage and cooking pits have been found as well as artifacts such as pottery, arrow points and stone hoes.

Emiquon to host two presentations about fish and aquatic species

Two public lectures, “Restoring the Thompson Lake Fish Community” and “Aquatic Invasives in the Upper Mississippi River Basin,” will be presented on Wednesday, May 27 at 6 p.m. at the University of Illinois at Springfield’s Emiquon Field Station. The program is free and open to the public; reservations are not required.

The first lecture, “Restoring the Thompson Lake Fish Community,” will be presented by Nerissa N. Michaels, Emiquon Project Coordinator for The Nature Conservancy. The program will include an overview of the Thompson Lake/Emiquon history starting from the early 1900s to the present. Additionally, information relevant to the Thompson Lake fish community, including stocking efforts, monthly monitoring and additional research, as well as information pertaining to the Thompson Lake aquatic vegetation community, will be shared.

Greg Sass, director of the Illinois River Biological Station, will present the second lecture, “Aquatic Invasives in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.” Sass will discuss the establishment of aquatic invasive species in the Upper Mississippi River Basin as well as their effects on native species.

The Emiquon Field Station is at The Nature Conservancy’s Emiquon Preserve, located between Havana and Lewistown. Entrance to the field station is on Prairie Road, located off Illinois Rts. 97/78, approximately one-and-a-half miles north of the Dickson Mounds turnoff. A sign will be posted at the turnoff. A map is also available online at: www.uis.edu/emiquon/about/images/mapToTNCEmiquon.jpg.

For more information, contact Mike Lemke, Emiquon Field Station Director, at lemke.michael@uis.edu or (217) 206-7339.

Emiquon hosts lecture on bird migration

“Spring Migration by the Numbers,” a public lecture and nature walk, will be presented at the University of Illinois at Springfield’s Emiquon Field Station beginning at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 29. The program is free and open to the public; reservations are not required.

The program will be led by Jim Herkert, director of conservation science for The Nature Conservancy. Heckert will explore the phenomenon of migration in birds, discussing how many species of birds migrate through Illinois each year, how birds navigate while migrating, Emiquon’s role in migration and more.

“Emiquon is a great place to observe bird migration because it contains a wide variety of habitats, including woodlands, prairie and wetlands, and therefore provides habitat for a wide range of migratory birds,” Herkert noted. “Because of its large size, Emiquon allows for very large concentrations of birds to use the site during their annual migrations.”

The Emiquon Field Station is at The Nature Conservancy’s Emiquon Preserve, located between Havana and Lewistown. Entrance to the field station is on Prairie Road, located off Illinois Rts. 97/78, approximately one-and-a-half miles north of the Dickson Mounds turnoff. A sign will be posted. A map is also available online at www.uis.edu/emiquon/about/images/mapToTNCEmiquon.jpg.

The program will start with a presentation and then follow with a walk on the nearby trails.
Everyone entering the property will be asked to sign a liability waiver. Participants younger than 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult and must have their waiver signed by a parent or legal guardian. All are encouraged to wear walking or hiking shoes and to bring binoculars.

For more information, contact Mike Lemke, Emiquon Field Station Director, at lemke.michael@uis.edu or 217/206-7339.

Emiquon Field Station presents "Spring Mushrooms and Morels" lecture and nature walk

“Spring Mushrooms and Morels,” a public lecture and nature walk, will be presented at the University of Illinois at Springfield’s Emiquon Field Station on Wednesday, March 25, beginning at 6 p.m. The program is free and open to the public; reservations are not required.

The program will be led by Dr. James Veselenak, UIS associate professor of Clinical Laboratory Science and Public Health. Veselenak is an experienced mycologist, which is a scientist that studies fungus and mushrooms.

“We will offer a primer on hunting spring mushrooms including the elusive morel,” Veselenak said. “We will learn about the varieties of spring mushrooms seen in this area. Discussed will be tips for hunting - where, when, and more - and the basics of identification.”

The Emiquon Field Station is at The Nature Conservancy’s Emiquon Preserve, located between Havana and Lewistown. The entrance to the field station is on Prairie Road, located off Illinois Routes 97/78, approximately one-and-a-half miles north of the Dickson Mounds turnoff. A sign will be posted, and a map is also available online at www.uis.edu/emiquon/about/images/mapToTNCEmiquon.jpg.

For more information, contact Mike Lemke, Emiquon Field Station Director, at lemke.michael@uis.edu or 217/206-7339.

Emiquon Field Station holds annual Emiquon Science Meeting

The University of Illinois at Springfield’s Emiquon Field Station, in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy and Dickson Mounds Museum, is holding the second annual science meeting titled “Emiquon Science 2009: The Rebirth of Emiquon.” The event will be held on Thursday, March 12, at the Dickson Mounds Museum, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Emiquon Project is one of the largest floodplain restoration projects in the nation and was started in 2007. UIS established the Field Station at Emiquon in 2008, which is used for many research and learning opportunities for both the UIS community and general public.

Bill Mitsch, internationally-known wetland ecologist and professor at The Ohio State University, will be the keynote speaker for the annual meeting. His talk, “Restoring the Mississippi River Basin: Wetlands, Rivers, Floodplains and Delta,” will focus on how the Mississippi-Ohio-Missouri river basins contribute to Gulf Hypoxia and how restoration may pave the way toward fixing this problem. Mitsch has received numerous awards in the field of ecology, including the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Wetland Scientists and the 2005 Theodore M. Sperry Award from the Society for Ecological Restoration International.

The meeting will be comprised of both oral presentations and poster presentations related to ecology or research at the Emiquon Preserve. Morning topics include water quality at Emiquon, wetland and waterbird monitoring and more. The afternoon is comprised of poster sessions, and the event will conclude with a tour of the Emiquon Preserve and Field Station. For a complete schedule, go to https://edocs.uis.edu/mlemk1/www/Emiquon2009_final.pdf.

A complimentary lunch buffet will be served. Space for attendees is limited to 130, and advance registration is required. To register, go online to https://edocs.uis.edu/kmill2/www/emiquonScienceInvite09.htm.

For more information, contact Dr. Mike Lemke, Emiquon Field Station director, at lemke.michael@uis.edu.

UIS Emiquon Field Station to host lecture on "Deep Views of the Past"

The University of Illinois at Springfield's Emiquon Field Station will host a public lecture titled "The Emiquon Archaeo-Geological Project: Deep Views of the Past" at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 18, at the Field Station, which is at The Nature Conservancy's Emiquon Preserve, located between Havana and Lewistown. The program is free and open to the public; reservations are not required.

The featured speaker will be Alan Harn, assistant curator of anthropology at Dickson Mounds Museum.

In 2004, before water returned to the historic floodplain, the Ameren Corporation worked to anchor a gas pipeline that stretches across parts of the Emiquon Preserve. The excavations that resulted provided an opportunity for Harn and Sally McClure of The Nature Conservancy to gain new insights into paleo climates, bottomland geomorphology, and their relationships to past human civilizations at the site.

In this talk, Mr. Harn will describe the excavations and interpret the complex array of subsurface information that was revealed. Deep sediment profiles indicated that today's Thomson Lake is only the most recent in a series of Illinois river paleochannels to have occupied the bottomland. Archaeological remains distributed along these water courses allowed researchers to determine when the paleochannels and their associated landforms developed and died away. Uniquely preserved deposits of paleo vegetation on the lake beds also provided botanists with new information about climate more than 10,000 years ago.

Entrance to the field station is on Prairie Road, located off Illinois Rts. 97/78, approximately one-and-a-half miles north of the Dickson Mounds turnoff. A sign will be posted at the turnoff. See a map.

For more information, contact Mike Lemke, Emiquon Field Station director, at lemke.michael@uis.edu or 217/ 206-7339.

UIS Emiquon Field Station will host lecture on "Migratory Waterfowl and the Illinois River"

The University of Illinois at Springfield's Emiquon Field Station will host a free public lecture on "Migratory Waterfowl and the Illinois River," at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 28. The Field Station is at The Nature Conservancy's Emiquon Preserve, located between Havana and Lewistown.

The speaker will be Dr. Josh Stafford, waterfowl ecologist with the Illinois Natural History Survey and director of the Forbes Biological Station in Havana, Illinois. Dr. Stafford will cover a variety of topics, including a brief history of Illinois River wetlands and waterfowl research in the region, trends in migratory duck populations, chronology of migration, and results of recent waterfowl studies at the Emiquon Preserve.

Entrance to the Emiquon Field Station is on Prairie Road, located off Illinois Rts. 97/78, approximately one-and-a-half miles north of the Dickson Mounds turnoff. A sign will be posted at the turnoff. See a map

For more information, contact Mike Lemke, Emiquon Field Station director, at lemke.michael@uis.edu or (217) 206-7339.

UIS Emiquon Field Station to host discussion of "Electronic Teaching"

A lecture and discussion on "Electronic Teaching, Online and Offline" will be presented at the University of Illinois at Springfield's Emiquon Field Station beginning at 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 21. The program is free and open to the public.

The discussion will be led by Dr. Keith W. Miller, UIS professor of Computer Science. Dr. Miller is also associate director of the field station.

The Emiquon Field Station is at The Nature Conservancy's Emiquon Preserve, between Havana and Lewistown. Entrance to the field station is on Prairie Road, located off Illinois Rts. 97/78, approximately one-and-a-half miles north of the Dickson Mounds turnoff. A sign will be posted.

UIS is a recognized leader in online education, and Dr. Miller, one of UIS' "early adopters" of electronic learning, has used computers in his teaching for over 30 years. In this presentation, he will give a brief description of his experiences in online learning and will suggest ideas for designing opportunities in Internet learning.

Following the lecture, a discussion session will allow members of the audience to share their own experiences and questions about how to use the Internet to enhance teaching and learning, for both face-to-face and online classes.

For more information, contact Keith Miller at miller.keith@uis.edu or call 217/206-7327.

See a map to Emiquon.

Bioblitz 2008

Third annual Bioblitz
Saturday, October 11, at the UIS Emiquon Field Station

For members of the campus community who care about biodiversity and want field experience

• Learn to collect biological samples
• Work with experts to identify them
• Picnic lunch provided
• $10 per person covers lunch and transportation
  

Space is limited. Sign up in the Biology Department office, HSB 223.

UIS Emiquon Field Station to host "Stalking the Wild Mushroom"

"Stalking the Wild Mushroom," a public lecture and nature walk, will be presented at the University of Illinois at Springfield's Emiquon Field Station beginning at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 30, at the Field Station. The program is free and open to the public; reservations are not required.

The program will be led by Dr. James Veselenak, UIS associate professor of Clinical Laboratory Science and Public Health.

The Emiquon Field Station is at The Nature Conservancy's Emiquon Preserve, located between Havana and Lewistown. Entrance to the field station is on Prairie Road, located off Illinois Rts. 97/78, approximately one-and-a-half miles north of the Dickson Mounds turnoff. A sign will be posted.

See a map to Emiquon.

The program will start with a short discussion and slide show and then proceed to a mushroom hunt in the nearby woods. "Fall is the best time to hunt and photograph the elusive mushroom," said Veselenak. "There are more varieties in autumn than any other time of the year. Plus, the recent rain and moderate temperatures should provide ideal growing conditions for mushrooms."

Everyone entering the property will be asked to sign a liability waiver. Participants younger than 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult and must have their waiver signed by a parent or legal guardian.

In case of rain, the program will be rescheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 7.

For more information, contact Mike Lemke, Emiquon Field Station Director, at lemke.michael@uis.edu or 217/206-7339.

Emiquon Field Station Picnic & Open House

11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m., Sunday, October 5

Activities include lunch, tour of the Field Station, various family activities, canoe trips, and tour of the Dickson Mounds Museum

Transportation available -- leaving from the PAC teardrop entrance at 10 a.m. and returning after the event

The Emiquon Field Station is located on route 78/97, just north of Havana.

See a map to Emiquon and get updated information about the event.

To RSVP for transportation and/or attendance, contact Mike Lemke at 6-7339 or lemke.michael@uis.edu.

Dark-skies star party planned at UIS Emiquon Field Station

The University of Illinois at Springfield and the Sangamon Astronomical Society will host a dark-skies star party at the Emiquon Field Station on Saturday, September 6, at The Nature Conservancy's Emiquon Preserve, located between Havana and Lewistown. The program is free and open to the public; reservations are not required.

Co-sponsors are UIS' Emiquon Field Station and The Nature Conservancy.

The event will begin at 8 p.m. in the Field Station with a short lecture on the night sky, presented by Dr. John Martin, UIS assistant professor of Astronomy/Physics. Star gazing will be from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m.

Many nebula, galaxies, and star clusters are too faint to be seen from urban and light-polluted areas and this event presents an opportunity to enjoy the stars under one of the darkest skies remaining in Illinois.

Members of the Sangamon Astronomical Society will be on hand with several telescopes to share their knowledge and views of the sky. Participants are also welcome to bring their own binoculars and telescopes.

Entrance to the field station is on Prairie Road, located off Illinois Rts. 97/78, approximately one-and-a-half miles north of the Dickson Mounds turnoff. A sign will be posted at the turnoff. A map is also available online at www.uis.edu/emiquon/about/images/mapToTNCEmiquon.jpg.

Everyone entering the property will be asked to sign a liability waiver. Participants younger than 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult and must have their waiver signed by a parent or legal guardian.

If the skies are overcast on September 6, the event will be cancelled. To determine if the weather is suitable for viewing, call David Hedrick at The Nature Conservancy office at 309/547-2730 after 7 p.m. that evening.

For further information, contact Hedrick or send an e-mail to dhedrick@tnc.org.

UIS Emiquon Field Station to host early morning event

"Asteroids and Thompson Lake," an early morning star-gazing event, will be held beginning at 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday, August 13, on recently restored Thompson Lake at The Nature Conservancy's Emiquon Preserve between Havana and Lewistown.

This program is free and open to the public and is presented by the University of Illinois at Springfield's Emiquon Field Station in cooperation with the Nature Conservancy.

The event will take advantage of the peak display of the Perseids Meteor Shower, the annual mid-August display of "falling stars." Then, as morning light washes out the meteor shower, participants can experience the awakening of the marsh as a wide variety of wetland plants and animals begin their day.

John Martin, UIS assistant professor of Astronomy/Physics, will help guide sky-watchers as they view the meteor shower. Michael Lemke, associate professor of Biology and director of UIS' Emiquon Field Station, will be available to share information regarding the station and associated wetland ecological research. Nature Conservancy staff will be on hand to discuss the Emiquon project, which is transforming more than 7,000 acres along the Illinois River from farmland to its natural floodplain state.

Participants should gather at 3:30 a.m. at the lakeside entrance to Thompson Lake, located directly off Illinois Rts. 97/78, approximately one-half mile north of the Dickson Mounds turnoff. A sign will be posted at the entrance.

Everyone entering the property will be asked to sign a liability waiver. Participants younger than 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult and must have their waiver signed by a parent or legal guardian.

Visitors who plan to witness the event from shore are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets. Experienced boaters may bring canoes, kayaks, or row boats to watch from the water; however motor boats are prohibited.

If the sky is overcast on August 13, the alternate date will be Saturday, August 16.

For further information, call The Nature Conservancy office at 309/547-2730 or send an e-mail to dhedrick@tnc.org.