From t he P resident N ews - sabinonaturalists.org · 2013 has volunteered to revive the Gneiss News newsletter. All SCVN membersare ... been interviewed by the VP's. New training

Gneiss News October 2017

Gneiss News is a regular publication of the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists to provide members

with news and information related to their volunteer work at Sabino Canyon.

From the Editor

The original Gneiss News ran from 1984 to 2013 almost continuously, providing news, information, and photos about SCVN. This all-volunteer group of 150+ naturalists grew from a handful of committed volunteers, with the help of imaginative Forest Service personnel, to become a nationally recognized environmental education organization. Gneiss News has been revived to keep members in touch with each other and their activities, to share news about the organization and its partners, and to share our love of nature in Sabino Canyon. Letters and submissions are always welcome.

[email protected]

From the President

President Ricki at the Mt. Lemmon lookout

Change is a Fact of Life - Let’s Embrace it!

Change can be good, or sometimes not! Several years ago SCVN changed the way we communicate with each other by implementing the use of Member Tracks on our website as a communication tool. The problem has been that many of us didn't do the required sign-up to receive notifications when something new was posted to Member Tracks by fellow SCVN members, so we have been missing out on important or interesting news. The current SCVN board has taken a step back to look at what has worked well for our organization in the past as far as communicating with all of our members. We have a wonderful website which has made our lives easier in so many ways, but we feel that we need another way to keep in touch with ALL of our members. Many of you who have been SCVN members for more than five years will probably have fond memories of our monthly newsletter "Gneiss News." This newsletter was started in 1984 during SCVN's infancy and was mailed to all members until December 2006 when it was then digitally sent to everyone by email. It was discontinued in 2013 and replaced by Member Tracks. I am so pleased that Dan Granger, our previous editor from 2006 until

Gneiss News October 2017 O1

2013 has volunteered to revive the Gneiss News newsletter. All SCVN members are encouraged to submit material to Dan for future issues. Since Gneiss News is a monthly newsletter, we will still want to use Member Tracks for more urgent or timely news postings. Change can also be difficult! Many of us have visited the SCVN Gneiss Memories Garden which is located behind the Forest Service offices and is accessed from the Bajada Nature Loop. What started out as one large "headstone" type rock with engraved names of deceased SCVN members has now spread out to many small engraved rocks along the path. For various reasons, the Forest Service has asked us to abandon this memorial garden. They have suggested that we create a beautiful tile plaque similar to those used by The Friends of Sabino Canyon for donors. Alison Maricic who has been the coordinator for the Gneiss Memory Garden and I will design the new Gneiss Memories tile plaque. We will list the names of our deceased members and add names as needed. We have been offered a nice visible wall spot near the front entrance to the Visitor Center to display the plaque. In this particular case change is a little sad, but I feel that the tile plaque will be an appropriate and more manageable option for our future. Change can be fun ! As the new president, I'm finding myself amazed at how many different and new things are going on within SCVN at any given time by so many volunteers. Much of this involves change:

● New potential SCVN members have been interviewed by the VP's.

● New training coordinators and training committee members have been preparing.

● New VP Public Interpretation has been busy with a team to create a new public activity.

● New website ideas are being studied by the technology committee.

● New Gneiss News newsletter will be published each month.

Ok, you get the idea. Let’s enjoy these changes and have fun!

VP Elementary

Marge Kesler

“If nothing ever changed there’d

be no butterflies.” -- Unknown

Can you feel that change in the air? Do you notice the school buses back on the roads? Are you thinking of spending time with exuberant, inquisitive children in a beautiful place? Then you must be a Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalist! I welcome all of you back from a hot but wet and lush summer. Isn’t our desert amazing? Very soon you will notice the trainees in the 2017 class. Please welcome them. They are a crucial part of our program, as are our veterans, which enable us to continue our 5-day a week teaching field trips.


CHANGES : What’s the buzz about? Fred Heath, Carol Otto, Jeff Hahn, Deb Judin, Louise Kaufman, Alison Maricic and Bob Veranes have taken on the job of designing a new elementary activity. They will use some pieces of our retired kits, Green Scene and Wings Over Sabino, to help implement a new kit about plants & pollinators of the Sonoran Desert. I’d like to thank them for donating their time and talent in taking on this huge project. Updates, review lectures, advanced training and walks will be held this spring so all naturalists will be comfortable teaching this kit next fall. If you have any suggestions for them they would love hearing from you. ==========================

KIT REVIEWS VISITOR CENTER CONFERENCE

ROOM Tuesday, 9/12, 9:30-11:00 AM, CSI Thursday, 9/14, 1:30-3:00 PM, BTTP Monday, 9/25, 1:30-3:00 PM, WEB Wednesday, 9/27, 1:30-3:00 PM, NYSI Friday, 9/29, 9:30-11:00, SIR See important Spiffenkitz info, p. 12

============================== MORE CHANGES : Many naturalists have been working on different pieces of our program over the summer. We have a new and revised “Spiffenkitz Committee.” Thanks to Peggy Wenrick, Charlotte Bramblett, Roy Marshall and Gwen Swanson for working on procedures and protocol for kit changes submitted by naturalists. You have already read some information from this committee in Member Tracks. Stay tuned for more information from them as the year progresses. One of the committee members will be at each kit review to explain these new procedures and answer any questions. Look for the “Spiffenkitz Suggestion Box” in the SCVN office.

DIFFICULT CHANGES: Many of you know that the USFS Law Enforcement Officers have limited the number of private vehicles in Sabino Canyon to 7 for each program. This means our Day Coordinators will have to work closely with the teachers to see that this restriction is met. Classes will have the option of parking in the visitor center parking lot for free and walking in to the teaching area with the naturalists. The FS will provide us with a log to record the magnetic strips in and out. I have sent out notes to all the teachers scheduled to come by cars to make them aware of this restriction. The schools I have heard back from are cooperative and willing to work with us on this restriction. If you have any suggestions I welcome hearing from you.

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX: We have received an opportunity for a field trip that is “outside the box.” A teacher from the Southeast Regional Cooperative School District: Arizona Schools for the Deaf and Blind will bring a group of hearing impaired-students for a field trip. We have had hearing-impaired students before you say…but these students range from elementary through high school. They will be coming together from far and near throughout SE Arizona. They attend school in their home district and also part-time at the SE Regional Cooperative. They are requesting Web of Life for the elementary age students and a different activity for the


middle & high school students. It will not be a large group but we may ask for volunteers to help with the secondary level students. Sarah Corning is pleased we are offering this field trip. Our elementary calendar is filling up fast. As of the first of September, we are over 80% booked. Jane Hunter, our scheduler, has been very busy. And she has sent out October field trip information to the Day Coordinators. Thanks Jane! I know it’s a big job. What we do in our children’s programs is so important. Our dedication to share nature with children hopefully will convey an appreciation and desire to protect our natural resources and influence many lives for the better. Have a great “teaching” year in the Canyon!

VP Kindergarten Mark Blew

I would like to thank everyone for co-operating in order that we could fill every group and have a different day co-ordinator for each month of our program. Several people made schedule changes so that this could happen.

Thank you to Pam Roberts and Terry Frost who contacted teachers and administrators this past spring about our program. We have moved the start date forward to October 3/17 in anticipation of the schedule filling sooner. In addition the program was opened to first semester first grade classes of which there are 1 ½ added to our schedule. A huge thank you to Gretchen McFarren who worked 10-12 hour days assisting with the teachers’ scheduling. All of this has resulted in our Kinder schedule being over 85% filled by mid August. Again thank you to Pam Roberts who has organized and refreshed the kits. The geology kit has been revamped making it more user friendly with a “tackle box” replacing the Tupperware containers. Sept. 14/17 at 9am we will have a Nature Walk cut back as the summer rains have resulted in overgrowth infringing on the pathway. Sept. 25, 2017 will be the welcome back/informational meeting for day coordinators at 9am and for all kinder volunteers at 9:45am. Everyone can be helpful by taking responsibility in replacing the kits in proper order when each session is finished. Also, each person is responsible for finding their own substitute if they are needed elsewhere and unable to attend a session. Lastly, thank you to all who have helped with these first learning months. Marge Kesler has assisted greatly when joint elementary and kinder committee decisions have been needed. We have also cooperated in doing the interviews for the new training class. Susan Anderson was a great help initially until medical issues have forced her to take a leave of absence.


Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or suggestions to make this coming year a great success. I will look forward to seeing you on Sept. 14th &/or the 25th. Thanks to all for their continued support to the Naturalist program.

VP Public Interpretation Judi Pelster

Welcome back Gneiss News !! The Public Interpretation part of SCVN does not take the summer off. I know I speak for all of our members when I say “thank you naturalists” for these wonderful opportunities you provided for the public to enjoy the natural world this summer. We had to cancel a couple scheduled activities because of the fire but otherwise SCVN was on the job.

Summer Story Time was a huge success again. Marie Graninger and her crew planned 8 events in the cool VC Conference Room which were all very well attended. Each Thursday covered a different “desert topic” including a book and activity.

Summer on Mt. Lemmon

SCVN also provided opportunities to “rise above” the desert heat into higher

elevations. Ricki Mensching organized 13 Friday hikes on Mt. Lemmon. David Dean led 13 Wildflower Hikes on Mt. Lemmon.

This year he included some hikes on Wednesday which were geared to seniors over more moderate terrain and slower

paced.

Ricki Mensching also organized 3 Lizard Walks in the canyon, the last is scheduled for Saturday, October 14th.

SCVN’s Eclipse Display

We were also a presence on “eclipse day”. Nancy Carey set-up her Geology table and Lenore Lavelle presented the “Ask a Naturalist” table. They were busy all morning with interested “eclipse” watchers taking a break from looking skyward.

Phil Bentley’s granddaughter viewing the eclipse at Sabino


NEW - Ancient Connections – Hohokam Days and Modern Ways

A committee has been busy all summer organizing and preparing materials for this new display table which will be presented every Friday morning from 9-11 in front of the ramada outside the visitor center beginning in November. This table will be manned by different naturalists each Friday. if you are interested in helping out please contact me or Lois Eisenstein! We want to have enough naturalists so you would only have to be there one Friday a month.

Walter Coe, an SCVN Naturalist who has since moved from Tucson, developed many materials on the Hohokam that he displayed for the public. He donated all his well researched information, pottery shards, etc. to SCVN which was the inspiration for this new table.

Public Interpretation Volunteer Opportunities

The Panning for Garnets (Family Activity) is changing its day from Thursday to Wednesday this fall. They would like more volunteers to help with this very popular activity. They are visible from the tram and attract many visitors – adults and children. Please contact Tim Ralph for details about this activity.

As always, if you have an idea for a public interpretation activity, please contact me. 1

1 New Kinder Puppet Ramada by FOSC

Friends of Sabino Canyon

Paul Marques

During the past year, FOSC completed the final phase of construction on the educational shade ramadas in the Cactus Picnic Area. Together with last year’s work, on behalf of our donors, we have now erected or capped 7 ramadas, and upgraded one of the restrooms. Moving forward into next year, we will work with the USFS to help with the costs to re-roof 4 restrooms.

An important accomplishment in spring of 2017 was playing a coordinating role to help encourage the Forest Service to open the bid process for a new Shuttle concession, rather than allowing a simple first right of refusal to the current operator. Working with influential local businesses, elected politicians including our congresswoman’s office, and many regular Sabino users, we helped the Forest Service recognize the depth of sentiment for a cleansing change by inviting new competition for the concession permit. FOSC has long advocated for a cleaner, quieter, and safer Shuttle operation. The new RFP (prospectus) will likely be released this fall. The permit awardee is expected to be in operation by July 1, 2018.

We have engaged with a local architect and surveyor to erect an arcing shade ramada at the end of the Sabino Rd at Tram Stop #9. Five posts will be set behind the existing bench-high wall. We still need final approval on the design before pricing and construction can begin. However, based on preliminary comments, we do not expect there to be significant archaeological or biological constraints on proceeding.


In collaboration with SCVP and SARA (Search and Rescue Assn) we have committed to paying for new signage in both the Bear Canyon and Sabino Canyon areas. SCVP and SARA members are eager to reduce the incidence of lost or ill-prepared hikers on our trails. There are several places where FOSC, SCVP and SARA agree that improved signage might help.

We are in early discussions with the Forest Service to spruce up some neglected areas near Sabino Dam, possibly including minimizing flooding at the bridges.

The FOSC Board meets again for its first Fall 2017 meeting on October 17 at 5PM.

Summer on the Desert Edi Moore

Ned Harris

June simmers. The desert seems to hold its

breath waiting for the rain. As the temperature builds, everything goes into survival mode. The desert creatures hunker down beneath the ground or look for some shade in the riparian areas. The cacti drink the resources saved from more moist times and begin to look shriveled and wizened. Only the lizards are happy – they enjoy the hot, hot weather, wagging their tails saying,

“Catch me if you can.” In the winter, I dreamt of being a lizard, now I am not so sure. As I gaze in the azure sky, I see the cumulus clouds beginning to form. Will it rain today, or is it just a tease? I can smell the moisture in the air, though I am walking the trails in clouds of dust. This place is a testing ground of patience. The 4th of July comes and goes – where is the monsoon? Then, finally, I hear the thunder bouncing off the Catalinas and watch the lightning

Mark Hengesbaugh

split the heavens in half. What a joy that first rain is. It is a release from the searing heat of June. I smell ozone as I sit and watch the swirling clouds and feel the stiff breeze heralding the coming rain. I am under cover near the swimming pool, having been caught in a sudden downpour. Watching the ebb and flow of it and feeling the energy of the storm, invigorates me. I wait until it abates and revel in the spicy smell of the creosote bushes. Nowhere else does the rain give us this earthy perfume. I look forward to being on the mountain looking for the treasures that the rains bring


– magnificent wildflowers, their elegance a wondrous sight to behold, huge bracken ferns, mosses and trickling creeks and streams. Each season is a joy – this desert is a place to discover so many things – but most particularly to note the cycles – nature will teach us about ourselves and our relationship to all life. What did you discover?

******************* SCVN SOCIAL

& SCVN Travels Fall Potluck

Oct 14 at the Hacienda Girl Scout Camp ( 3101 N. Sabino Canyon Rd) 5-7:30 pm Bring your favorite dish to share - along with your plate & eating utensils. Please RSVP [email protected]

Kino Bay ( Seri Indians) with Jesus Garcia

and Bob Scarborough Oct 21-24 email for more info [email protected]

Kitt Peak & Tucson Mts. with Bob Scarborough

Nov 11 email for more info: [email protected]

*************************

Critter of the Month Swainson’s Hawk

Buteo swainsoni

Ned Harris

Swainson’s Hawks are large buteos, similar in size to a Red-tailed Hawk, but with long tapered wings and long tails. Their wingtips extend just slightly beyond the tip of their tail when perched. There is a wide range of color morphs from very pale to very dark with an array of intermediate plumages. The sexes are similar but the females are larger. Light morph adults have flight feathers that are medium gray and contrast with the white underwing coverts. The wings have a two-toned appearance when viewed from below with the leading edge paler than the trailed edge.

Swainson’s Hawks spend much of their time aloft and almost a third of their life migrating between the prairies of western North America and the ecologically similar pampas of Argentina. These regions are about 6000 miles apart and each migration


takes about 2 months. Fall migration begins in late August and extends to late November. Beginning in late August in S.E. Arizona, Swainson’s Hawks gather in large flocks often in agricultural areas where they eat large numbers of grasshoppers to build up their fat reserves prior to their long journey south. They hunt both from a perch and from the air. I have often

observed them running on the ground in pursuit of grasshoppers.

Invertebrates comprise the bulk of the diet of breeding birds in order to supply adequate protein to the nestlings and fledglings. Insects, especially grasshoppers and crickets, dominate the winter diet.

This species’ increased focus on agricultural land, mostly alfalfa and other hay, renders it vulnerable to the

use of insecticides. In 1995, in Argentina, nearly 6000 Swainson’s Hawks were killed when an organophosphate insecticide was used. Some birds were killed by direct exposure to the spray, others by ingesting poisoned grasshoppers. Argentina totally banned the use of this insecticide in March of 2000.

Keep your eyes on the skies this

month and you will likely be rewarded by views of these long distance migrants. They frequently migrate in large flocks called “kettles” by hawkwatchers. Consider a late September/early October visit to one of the local agricultural areas to observe them feeding on grasshoppers. My two favorite locations are the Sulphur Springs Valley and the Santa Cruz Flats.


Sabino Canyon Volunteer Patrol

Marty Horowitz

Santa Catalina Volunteer Patrol members continued to staff both the Sabino Canyon and Palisades Visitor Centers (keeping Palisades VC open 7 days a week) over the summer. Trail patrolling during the hottest part of the summer concentrated in Sabino Canyon in the early morning hours and all day on the higher elevation trails on Mt Lemmon. Several months ago, the Forest Service put out a request to all of the Sabino-based volunteer organizations to staff the Lemmon Rock Fire Lookout (the Forest Service was unsuccessful in its effort to hire a lookout last spring…). SCVP’s Bob Turcotte led the effort to set up a scheduling calendar and generate a training manual for lookout duty. Over 50 volunteers stepped up, a majority from SCVP, but also several SCVN members as well! To date at least one “smoke” (a burning tree, most likely caused by a lightning strike) has been successfully spotted, identified, located, and communicated to Forest Service dispatch for potential mitigation. Near term, Gregg Sasek of the Forest service is providing training and certification September 14 for those interested in doing light trail maintenance. SCVP now has 50 candidates (and a 20+ person waiting list) for its next orientation in January. Our current

membership is over 240 patrollers, who have logged over 20,000 hours so far during 2017. The September 2017 SCVP Canyon Chronicle has just been posted to our website. It can be accessed by anyone and everyone at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzavUeqcgGh-SE1YVGJlZ3hzeXM/view It contains Jim Hunter’s 4th installment in the history of the patrol, as well as the regular features on Sabino Canyon climate, critters, and creek conditions put together by Warren Icke. On a sad note: Long time patroller Jan Nusbaum passed away on September 5th at age 77. She joined SCVP in 2005 and was president of the board of directors from 2009 to 2012. Some additional details about her contribution to the patrol while serving on the board are part of the board history segment in this month’s Canyon Chronicle.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzavUeqcgGh-SE1YVGJlZ3hzeXM/view

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzavUeqcgGh-SE1YVGJlZ3hzeXM/view

Plant of the Month

Whitethorn Acacia Vachellia constricta

Debbie Bird For this month’s plant, I thought I’d go with a plant that we see often and perhaps lend a new perspective or appreciation of it. Whitethorn Acacia ( Vachellia constricta) is ubiquitous in Sabino Canyon and most of Tucson. The term ‘constricta’ refers to the reddish brown, curved pods, which are constricted between each seed. They’re quite narrow too, only 1/8 inch wide. Vachellia constricta is in the Fabaceae or Pea Family. This family contains many familiar plants such as Mesquite ( Prosopis velutina), Fairy Duster (Calliandra eriophylla), and Desert Senna ( Senna covesii).

Vachellia constricta can sometimes be confused with other similar looking plants such as Cat-claw ( Senegalia greggii). To identify Vachellia constricta, look for ‘V’ shaped

straight white spines. Flowers are fragrant, golden-yellow, round clusters in conspicuous ball shapes arising from the leaf axils. The small leaves are even-pinnate (having leaflets arranged on either side of the stem, typically in pairs opposite each other), with each of the 3-9 pairs of pinnae made of 4-16 pairs of leaflets. The leaves are also drought and cold deciduous. Look for reddish-brown bark. Keep in mind that the spines or thorns may be absent in older plants. If there are no flowers, leaves, or spines on the plant, the persistent narrow and constricted seed pods are a good clue to the identification of this plant. Sometimes the old pods may be lying on the ground underneath the plant.

Vachellia constricta has a lifespan of about 70 years. Although the bright yellow flowers are attractive to many pollinators,

the flowers offer little reward. There is no nectar and sparse pollen. The plants are still pollinated nonetheless by insects and wind. Even so, Vachellia constricta has the redeeming feature of providing fodder in the form of seeds and protein for birds and rodents. As with many other plants in the ‘Pea’ family, colonies of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the roots help Vachellia constricta to absorb nutrients in the soil. The decomposing leaves also add nitrogen to the surrounding


soil benefitting nearby plants as well. The Seri (an indigenous group of people in Sonora) use the leaves and seeds in a medicinal tea for stomach problems.

I find it interesting that this plant, which blooms in the late spring, is blooming now as I write this. It’s mid-August and we’ve had some nice monsoon season rains. One of the adaptations of many desert plants is that they are opportunistic and can bloom when conditions are to their liking and become dormant when conditions are not. You can find Whitethorn Acacia ( Vachellia constricta) along any trail or roadside in Sabino Canyon. Be sure to take time to enjoy the lovely fragrance. Photos: Pods: Ned Harris, Thorns: Debbie Bird, Flower: Debbie Bird

Good SCVN Information

NOTICE: SCVN Library

Judi Pelster

As you may remember, our SCVN Library was moved to the small conference room behind the Visitor Center. It is a very nice, cool and comfortable space to enjoy browsing. However, it is not accessible at this time because of some remodeling going on in that part of the building. We have had many donations in the past year and I will share that information when our library is back in business.

Meet the New Spiffenkitz

In June the committee that ‘spiffed up’ the elementary teaching kits a few years ago was revived and re-purposed. Its mission now is to assure that each kit for the same curriculum is standardized with the others and to provide an orderly way for Naturalists to suggest additions or replacements to kits.

The committee will be made up of 4-5 Naturalists from the elementary program. Current members are: Charlotte Bramblett, Gwen Swanson, Roy Marshall, and Peggy Wenrick.

Meetings will be approximately every other month. The committee will review any forms submitted to the Spiffenkitz Suggestion Box in the SCVN office. Blank forms are in the box for your use. Please use them if you have suggestions.

Suggestions will be reviewed and evaluated, and a decision made about use of the submission. Every suggestion will be made available to the Naturalist community in one of the following manners: 1) added to the kit along with a how-to-use sheet, 2) in the Nature Walk cabinet, 3) in the SCVN library, 4) in Naturalist Notes on website.

For any material added to a kit, the how-to-use sheet will also be available on the website in Naturalist Notes under Spiffenkitz Changes.

The Spiffenkitz committee will integrate changes into the kits and notify the Naturalist community in Gneiss News , Member Tracks and with the assistance of Day Coordinators, kit reviewers, and the Training committee.


Gneiss News is published monthly except July by and for the members of Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists. Members are encouraged to contribute letters, articles, and photos. Submissions are due by the 15th for the following month’s issue. In addition to SCVN Officers, regular contributors to Gneiss News include Phil Bentley, Debbie Bird, Ned Harris, Fred Heath, Mark Hengesbaugh, Marty Horowitz, Bill Kaufman, Paul Marques, Edi Moore, Angie Perryman, Kenne Turner and Bob Veranes.

[email protected]

That’s all, Folks!


Documents

From t he P resident N ews - sabinonaturalists.org · 2013 has volunteered to revive the Gneiss News newsletter. All SCVN membersare ... been interviewed by the VP's. New training