2024 ANNUAL MEETING
Prairies to Potholes
Camp Utmost, Greenough, MT
June 28–30, 2024
Explore the rich history, diverse lands and plant communities of the Blackfoot Valley, from alpine to forests to wetlands! This family-friendly weekend features workshops, learning, field trips, food and fun with friends old and new.
Agenda | Field trips | Lodging | Food | Sign up!
AGENDA
Friday, June 28
- 2:30-6:15 Arrive, Register, Sign up for field trips
- 3:00-6:15 Social and snacks
- 3:00-4:30 Workshops (sign up at registration)
- 6:30 Dinner (main hall)
- 7:00 MNPS Board meeting
- 8:00 Ethnobotany talk by Tim Ryan, who will share his experience with traditional ecological knowledge and ethnobotany in Montana. Tim is the department head of the Culture and Language Studies and the Indigenous STEM instructor at the Salish Kootenai College.
Saturday, June 29
- 6:30-8:00 Breakfast (main hall)
- 8:30-2:00 Optional chaperoned kids’ activities for ages 2-4 and 5-11: Swings, basketball, foosball, carpetball, ping pong, pool table
- 8:30-4:30 Field trips (don’t forget to pack & bring a lunch!)
- 4:00-5:30 Wayne Phillips Plant ID contest
- 5:30-7:00 Dinner (main hall)
- 7:00-8:30 General Membership Meeting
- 8:30 Field trip slide show
Sunday, June 30
- 7:00-9:00 Breakfast (main hall)
- 8:30-9:30 Committee meetings
- 10:00 Field trips & workshops depart
- 12:00 Break camp
Agenda | Field trips | Lodging | Food | Sign up!
FIELD TRIPS
Friday
Afternoon workshops
- Moss Identification with Joe Elliott Learn how to identify some of our common mosses and moss genera. Bring a hand lens and forceps if you have them.
- Wildflower Journaling with Kathy Settevendemie Bring your own journal if you have one, pen or pencil, small ruler, and a loupé. Bring a phone/camera and colored pencils or paints if you’d like to use photos & color.
Saturday
Half-day field trips
- Bandy Ranch Wildflower Journaling (moderate) with Kathy Settevendemie. Bring your own journal if you have one, pen or pencil, small ruler, and a loupé. A smartphone or camera would be helpful.
- Fawn Pond Trail (easy) Visit a wetland pond that is headwaters to Fawn Creek, surrounded by aspens and conifer forests. Leader: Alan Davis, Botanist: Jordan Meyer-Morey
- Kleinschmidt Flats (easy) Hike through grasslands with ephemeral wetlands on a Five Valleys Land Trust easement at the base of the Scapegoat Mtns. Leaders: Jenny Tollefson & Linden Beegle of FVLT
All-day field trips
- Bandy Ranch (moderate) A 3- to 4-mile hike up and down low hills in a mosaic of wetlands and prairie. Leader: Peter Husby
- Boyd Mountain Wetlands (easy) Do some hiking through fens and other with wetlands with Joe Elliott. Look at mosses and wildflowers. Expect to get your feet wet.
- Brown’s Lake (easy) Visit grasslands, wetlands and forested wetlands and look for birds along the lake with Dave Hanna of TNC. Expect to get your feet wet.
- Clearwater Lake (easy) Join John Pierce for a 1- to 2-mile hike around the lake shore and forest and a short bushwhack into nearby wetlands to see a bunch of wildflowers. Expect to get your feet wet.
- Blackfoot Community Conservation Area (moderate) Take a 3-mile hike through open forest, grasslands and some potholes on a community-owned and managed property. Leaders: Drake Barton, Elaine Caton
- Kleinschmidt Lake (moderate) Visit a national wildlife refuge with prairies and wetlands and a lake with numerous waterfowl Leader: Cedar Brant
- Lost Prairie (moderate) Visit The Nature Conservancy property with on-going camas restoration, Salish traditional-use areas, wetlands, small ponds & forests. Leaders: Scott Mincemoyer, Steven Kloetzel
- Monture Hill-Lahrity Lake (moderate) Join Peter Lesica hiking through forests and grasslands to visit wetlands and a large alkali lake.
- Morrell Falls National Recreation Trail (moderate) Rachel Feigley and William Schlegel of the USFS will lead a 5.5-mile hike (round trip) to visit to small lakes, wetlands, burned and unburned forests, and a waterfall.
- Morrell Ridge (moderate) Hike on a subalpine ridge between Morrell Lookout and Morrell Mountain, ~3-mile round trip with a 500-foot elevation gain, perhaps visit wetlands. Leader: Maria Mantas
- Primm Meadow (easy) Visit a classic old-growth Ponderosa pine forest with trees up to 800 years old, a grassland understory & an adjacent camas meadow. Leader: Jen McNew of the BLM
Sunday
Mid-day workshop
- Introduction to Vascular Plant Identification with Robyn Klein Learn how to key out unknown plants using the plant keys in local plant manuals.
Mid-day field trips
- Dendrites on the Blackfoot (easy) Take a 0.5-mile hike (one way) along the Blackfoot River upstream of Johnsrud Park. Check out the dendrites and wildflowers along the river with Peter Lesica.
- Lion Creek Trail (moderate) A 1- or 2-mile (one-way) hike with Maria Mantas to visit open slopes with bedrock plant communities and perhaps an old-growth forest. Trailhead is ~4 miles from Highway 83.
- Primm Meadow (easy) A 1-mile hike (one way) with Steven Kloetzel to a classic old-growth Ponderosa pine forest with trees up to 800 years old, a grassland understory, and an adjacent camas meadow.
- Rogers Pass (easy) Take a short hike with Scott Mincemoyer on the ridge crest north of Rogers’s Pass to see cushion plants growing in this wind-swept subalpine environment.
- Blackfoot Pathways – Sculptures in the Wild Park (easy) Learn about art from nature on your way home. Ecologist Steve Cooper and artist Rosella Mosteller share their perspectives. East of Lincoln on Highway 200.
Agenda | Field trips | Lodging | Food | Sign up!
LODGING
Lodging at Camp Utmost
- Bring your own bedding & towels.
- WIFI is available, but the cell coverage is poor.
- You can expect to get your feet wet on several of the field trips, so bring waterproof boots or wet shoes.
Four types of lodging are available — preference based on date of (paid) registration:
- Eight log cabins that each sleep up to 16 people in multiple bunk beds. There are 2 bath houses with multiple restrooms and showers (with stalls) nearby for those staying in cabins, tents, and RVs.
- Ten bedrooms in the 2-story dorm. Rooms have ensuite bathroom and showers, and are furnished either with bunkbeds or double beds. One room is ADA accessible. Assume 1 person per double-bed.
- Twenty RV spaces with electrical hook-ups. Additional spaces available for dry-docking.
- Tent camping is unlimited.
1) Camp Utmost asks that we avoid using alcohol, cigarettes and non-prescription drugs on the grounds.
2) Pets are not allowed on the grounds – nor at MNPS activities.
3) Register & pay online at mtnativeplants.org/annual-meetings/ –or– fill out a paper form, send the form and payment to: MNPS c/o Janet Simms, 910 Ronald, Missoula, MT 59801. Make checks payable to MNPS.
12901 Camp Utmost Way, Greenough, MT 59823
Agenda | Field trips | Lodging | Food | Sign up!
FOOD
Meals will be catered or provided by the Clark Fork Chapter with dairy-free and gluten-free options available.
You’re on your own for lunch on Saturday.
Friday dinner
- Meat – Pulled pork or turkey, baked beans, potato salad (from Notorious PIG), salad bar, dessert
- Vegetarian – Pan-fried tofu, cashews, bell peppers, carrots, scallions and onions, rice (from Rice Thai), salad bar, dessert
Saturday breakfast
Steel-cut oatmeal, Bagel Co. bagels with cream cheese, yogurt, granola, fresh fruit, coffee, tea & juice
Saturday lunch
On your own!
Saturday dinner
- Meat – Marinated baked chicken, baked potato bar, salad, apple crisp (ice cream optional)
- Vegetarian – Gourmet potato bar with protein, salad, apple crisp (ice cream optional)
Sunday breakfast
Breakfast casserole (sausage, cheese and vegetarian), pancakes, fruit, coffee, tea & juice
Agenda | Field trips | Lodging | Food | Sign up!
PETS ARE NOT ALLOWED ON MNPS ACTIVITIES
Annual meeting photos
Click on the captions to see photos from past annual meetings shared by generous participants. Please enjoy the pictures and respect the talents and work of the photographers – i.e. please don’t steal their work.