Photos – Page 7 – South Fork Nature Center

Posted on March 21, 2018 by southforknaturecenter

FAMN Wind Cleanup

March Came into Arkansas Like a Lion……. and left trees down across the trails!

The Foothills Chapter of Arkansas Master Naturalists showed up at SFNC on March 6th to remove blow-down trees laying across the hiking trails at the nature center. Trail Maintenance Boss, Charles Thompson of FAMN, sent out the call for help in removing the trees. The call was quickly answered by FAMN members Bob Verboon, Larry Fliss and Paul Hugeness and SFNC Docent Bob Hartman. Armed with their saws they made short order of cutting up the three plus trees laying across the trails. Clearing the trails is an endless job at the Nature Center. South Fork Nature Center is extremely thankful for the support from, and partnership with, The Foothills of Arkansas Master Naturalists!

Posted on February 20, 2018 by southforknaturecenter

“Women of South Fork” Luncheon

Friday, February 2 the first “Women of South Fork” luncheon was held at the home of Janet Miron. Food, Fun and Fellowship were on the agenda as these great supporters of SFNC gathered to strengthen their friendships and collaborate on upcoming events sponsored by SFNC.

Our next meeting will be in April at Krissi Grahm’s house. We also want to note that we welcomed Sunnie Ruple from Vilonia as a new Member and docent of SFNC.
If you are interested in becoming a member of SFNC, please call us at 501-745-6444 or email grf@artelco.com.

Posted on February 19, 2018 by southforknaturecenter

The Not-so-Wildfire

We’ve just completed a round of control burns here at the Nature Center, with the help of some dedicated docents & the awesome team from The Nature Conservancy in Arkansas. Under the right conditions, carefully monitored burns help replenish and diversify a woodland habitat. This has been an exciting part of our forest management plan! Here are a few snapshots of our activities at the Nature Center at the end of January.

The Nature Conservancy team carefully assessed conditions before initiating a control burn contained in a 6-acre area, divided into 2 sections. The burn process takes nature’s cue and accelerates the decomposition process, finishing dead wood and branches to become part of the forest floor, and prevents quickly growing younger tree species from overwhelming the understory.

The team monitored the perimeter of the burn closely, assisted by our docents in cleaning the smoldering, ashy debris, and seeing the last of the burn to its smoky conclusion.

Stay tuned for more glimpses into our Woodland Management Programs at South Fork!

Posted on December 11, 2017 by southforknaturecenter

Part 2: A Healthy Forest is a Managed Forest

Meet Joe Krystofik, Fish and Wildlife State Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arkansas Field Office.

Joe has been instrumental in providing guidance and funding for SFNC’s recent Glade Restoration Project and our Monarch Butterfly Habitat restoration program. We are thankful for his expertise and never-ending support of SFNC.

The Southeast Region Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program provides technical and financial assistance to private landowners interested in improving habitat for migratory birds, endangered, threatened and at-risk species. They particularly emphasize projects with the potential to provide habitat for rare, threatened and endangered species. The “Partners” program is helping SFNC in their forest enhancement through mid-story management and prescribed burning.

According to the SFNC Woodlands Restoration Plan,

“The expected benefit to Federal Trust Species is to improve habitat conditions for the Northern long-eared bat, which is listed as a threatened species, several at-risk species including Monarch butterfly and Texas Frosted Elfin, as well as the species of greatest conservation need identified in the Arkansas Wildlife Action Plan: Bewick’s Wren, Eastern Whip-poor-will, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, and Slender Glass Lizard.”

Tree stand management is the latest development in our SFNC Woodland Restoration Plan. The Foothills Master Naturalists (FAMNs) and Clint Johnson with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission have worked hard keeping our trails and structures cleared of leaves, as these trails will serve as fire lines for the prescribed burns scheduled at SFNC. An attempt to burn was made in early November but was unsuccessful. The TNC Burn Team will try again when all the conditions line up for a perfect prescribed burn. Afterwards, forester Wade Hargrove will supervise a selected commercial harvest to improve the health of our tree stand and open our canopy to improve ground herbaceous growth, which improves the habitat for many native species.

Please stay tuned for our third article about this restoration project. We look forward to reporting on the latest progress.

Posted on November 28, 2017October 8, 2020 by southforknaturecenter

Gates-Rogers Outdoor Classroom Dedication

On October 20th, 2017 The Nature Conservancy hosted an event to dedicate the Sustainable Rivers and Forests Initiative (SRFI) funded outdoor classroom at South Fork Nature Center. The event focused on engaging the community and thanking the partners for their commitment to conservation in the Greers Ferry watershed. Gates Rogers Foundation is very grateful for the support of BHP Billiton through their generous grant to build the beautiful, 70’ outdoor classroom. The native stone pillars and northwestern red cedar beams insure the “pavilion” blends beautifully into the native environment. The building of this outdoor classroom will ensure a safe and beneficial location for our classes and organizations to meet. South Fork Nature Center will now, more than ever, be able to work towards their mission of providing enhanced, outdoor educational opportunities to our surrounding communities and schools.

The event started at 10:00 with remarks from Scott Simon and Joy Wasson from The Nature Conservancy. Judge Roger Hooper spoke on the community’s behalf. Doug Bannerman, Manager Community, Shale and Minerals, spoke for BHP Billiton and Janet Miron, President of Gates Rogers Foundation, spoke for South Fork Nature Center. The audience consisted for many community leaders and visitors from Texas and Louisiana. Jeff Weigal, Director of Strategic Initiatives Texas TNC, was present as were representatives from the Mayor’s office and Congressman Hill’s Office. After the informal outdoor ceremony, held in the outdoor classroom, the visitors participated in a ceremonial wildflower seed planting event.

At around 11:00 our visitors were invited to participate in an organized trail walk led by South Fork Nature Center’s Docents. There were approximately 30 hikers divided into three groups. They hiked to different glades and learned about our glade and woodland restoration project. At 11:30 the hikers returned to the pavilion to a beautifully decorated table of fried chicken and all the fixin’s offered by TNC. The visitors were encouraged to visit our information table, learn about SFNC and sign-up for membership and for the SFNC newsletter. The SRFI information was also available with maps and TNC employees available to answer questions. Docents, Marc and Suzanne Hirrel, also set up a “Conservation through Technology” display focusing on water resource conservation. After lunch, the event concluded.

We at South Fork Nature Center are so excited and grateful for our new partners The Nature Conservancy and BHP Billiton. The genuine care and expertise that they bring to our partnership is truly felt and appreciated. We strive to move forward in our mission knowing that we are working as a team to increase the awareness of the need to protect our natural environments!

Posted on October 22, 2017 by southforknaturecenter

The Batmen (& Batwomen!) of South Fork

Article & Photos by Joyce & Bob Hartmann

A Pre-Glade and Woodland Restoration survey was conducted at the Nature Center by Tommy Inebnit who works for the USF and Wildlife. Following this two-day session, he will return in the spring to conduct a “post” survey to see how the restoration affected the population.

Melissa and Thomas used four-wheelers to speed up the scouting process and look at more sites. It hadn’t rained for weeks; there was even a burn ban for the whole county. Then suddenly it started to rain…and rain…a real downpour. Three soggy people decided to continue to scout, and just set out the poles in several sites and put the nets up the next day. Everyone sure got soaked!

Mitch and Melissa set up a triple net across the old logging road as a second site. The poles had been set up the night before. Untangling and keeping the net free of leaves took a while. They attached the net to the clips and then raised it up to the top of the poles; the nets were invisible, practically, but with the bat’s sensitive echolocation systems, some could detect it. They set it up late in the afternoon but then a little before dark they lowered the net all the way to the ground, to prevent catching land mammals that would be out in the daytime.

Joe recorded the data, Tom (in the tee-shirt) is using calipers to measure a wing bone length, and Mitch (in plaid shirt) is holding a bag on the portable scale to weight the 2nd bat they brought in. Tom is displaying the wing; its “fingers” are connected by a web that appeared transparent in the bright lights. The portable lab consists of a simple table, data sheet, scale, calipers, bags to transport the bats in (each one gets their own, which is used only once), insect repellent. The bugs weren’t bad at all, though – that might have been not good for the bats…we did hear crickets and katydids galore, though…such a beautiful evening, so enjoyed visiting with all those biologists!