Vol. 17 No. 1 Long Island Botanical Society The Quarterly Newsletter Winter 2007 Eelgrass ( Zostera marina L.) on Long Island: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (Part I) Chris Pickerell Habitat Restoration Specialist, Cornell Cooperative Extension Although virtually unknown to most Long Is- landers, eelgrass ( Zostera marina L.) is probably the most significant sub tidal plant in local waters. Growing in un- derwater meadows that can best be compared to the grasslands that once covered the Hempstead Plains, eel- grass provides food and shelter to numerous species of fish and shellfish. In addition to the obvious commer- cial and recreational values in support of species such as the bay scallop, winter flounder, summer flounder, scup, and striped bass, eelgrass meadows contribute to overall species diversity, near-shore productivity, and protect beaches from excessive erosion. Although vari- ous macroalgae can provide some of these functions, this submerged marine angiosperm does it all and per- sists year round. For those with a taxonomical interest, Zostera is a member of the Zosteraceae family that includes three genera: Zostera , Hetero^ostera, and Phyllospadix. The Zos- teraceae are all monocotyledenous marine plants that have ribbonlike leaves and prominent creeping rhi- zomes. Zostera is believed to have originated during the Tertiary period in the Western North Pacific Ocean (McRoy, 1968; den Hartog, 1970). This species and a number of other marine organisms most likely invaded the North Atlantic Ocean through the Bering Strait and the Arctic Ocean during the late Tertiary (Durham and MacNeil, 1967). Zostera marina can be found on both coasts of the United States as well as throughout Europe. Although typically thought of as a coldwater species, it grows as far south as the Carolinas on the East Coast and the Baja Peninsula on the West Coast. In Mexico, Z. marina grows as an annual, possibly an adaptation to the heat of summer. The growth habit of Z. marina is much like that of a garden iris, just a little more involved. Leaves origi- nate from a meristem located at the end of a narrow rhi- zome. The meristem is hidden at the base of the leaves Anatomy of an eelgrass shoot (Mark Fonseca, NOAA). in a sheath that holds the leaves together. As the eel- grass shoot grows across the bottom, new nodes are formed each time a new leaf is initiated (approximately every 10—14 days during the summer). As a new leaf emerges from between the older ones, the outermost (usually heavily fouled) leaf is sloughed off, not unlike deciduous tree leaves in fall. In an elegant energy con- serving mechanism, the shoot resorbs a portion of the nutrients in the old leaf before it is allowed to float away. The roots of Z. marina grow in small bundles at the nodes and usually alternate successively from each side of the rhizome. (Continued on page 3) Page 2 Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 17 No. 1 Long Island Botanical Society Founded: 1986 Incorporated: 1989 The Long Island Botanical Society is dedicated to the promotion of field botany and a greater un- derstanding of the plants that grow wild on Long Island, New York. Visit the Society’s Web site www.libotanical.org Executive Board President Eric Lamont Vice President Skip Blanchard Treasurer Carol Johnston Recording Secretary Barbara Conolly Corresponding Secretary John Potente Committee Chairpersons Local Flora Steven Clemants Field Trips Skip Blanchard Programs Rich Kelly Membership Lois Lindberg Conservation Andrew Greller Education Mary Laura Lamont Hospitality Jane Blanchard Zu Proly Dorothy Titus Newsletter Editor Margaret Conover Newsletter Layout & Design William Krol Webmaster Donald House webmaster@hbotanical.org Society. News Members are reminded to submit their 2007 membership dues as soon as possible. If you have an e-mail address, please send it to Donald House (webmaster@hbotanical.org). That way we can notify you if a pro- gram has to be canceled in case of snow. Marilyn Jordan reported on the efforts of the Long Island Invasive Species Task Force to produce a hst of plants that should not be sold by nurseries in New York. The working hst includes 141 inva- sive plants. John Potente announced that Suffolk County has purchased the ScuUy Estate as a preserve and will manage it in conjunction with the Seatuck Environmental Association. Congratulations to John Potente, who was recently awarded the Dennis Puleston Conservation Award for 2006 from the Open Space Council in recognition of his “inspired and dedicated pursuit of protection and preservation of open space on Long Island.” John has contributed greatly to saving the Hauppauge Springs, one of the headwaters of the Nissequogue River, and fought to save the Grandifoha Sandhills, a globally rare dwarf beech forest in Bait- ing Hollow, Riverhead Township. Additionally, as a member of the Suffolk County Council on Environmental Quality, John has raised public awareness of the significant negative environmental impacts of digging deep ponds out of the county’s high salt marshes as a means of mosquito control included in the Open Marsh Water Management plan (see page 7). Carol Johnston and Bill Titus visited the herbarium at Planting Fields and report that work on rehousing the specimens is well along and that metal herbarium cabinets (see page 5) are available for purchase. Lois Lindberg and Eric Lamont expressed concern that bike paths are being planned through both the Garvies Point Preserve and the Long Pond Greenbelt. At the November meeting, Treasurer Carol Johnston summarized LIBS’s financial position. For the first 10 months of the year, reve- nue exceeded expenses by about $300. However, the cost of pro- ducing the newsletter averages $4 per issue per member, which re- mains a concern. Back issues of the LIBS Newsletter will be available on our Web site as soon as technical matters are resolved. Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 17 No. 1 Page 3 (Continued from page 1) Depending on environmental conditions, lateral branching can occur at the nodes (while they are still in the sheath) forming secondary shoots. In this way, there can be numerous individual shoots physiologically inte- grated by a single branched rhizome in one “clone.” Given this growth habit, vegetative spread is the most common means of meadow maintenance. Within a year, the lateral shoots normally break free from the parent plant and begin the whole process over again. It is not clear exactly how and when differentiation of flowering shoots occurs, but in early spring, a branched inflores- cence containing a series of alternating spathes begins to emerge from up to 10% of two-year-old shoots. Repro- ductive shoots are typically taller than the leaf canopy and are recognizable by their light green/yellow to white coloration. Pollination is not unlike terrestrial plants except that the threadlike pollen is adapted for transport in water. Negatively buoyant seeds are re- leased approximately one month following anthesis and usually fall to the bottom in the vicinity of the parent plant. Following the release of seeds, the reproductive shoot detaches from the parent plant and the meristem dies. It is interesting to note that the two-year life cycle of eelgrass, with reproduction occurring in the second year, is nearly identical to that of the bay scallop. Seed- lings begin to germinate in the winter when the water is cold and can grow into full size shoots with multiple lateral shoots by midsummer, only to repeat the cycle. The story of eelgrass abundance is a complicated one in that meadows have fluctuated wildly over the last century. Although we have no real documentation of the extent of eelgrass meadows around Long Island, an- ecdotal reports indicate that in some areas the species was considered a nuisance. An account of the first regu- larly scheduled side-wheeler ferry service between Oak Typical creeping habit of eelgrass showing rhizome exten- sion and lateral branching (Mark Fonseca, NOAA). Photo by Chris Pickerell Eelgrass growing at a restoration site in Long Island Sound. Note the small snails ( Lacuna vincta) grazing on epiphytes. Island Beach and the mainland of Babylon (1900-1911) indicates that the ferry had to negotiate the narrow, winding channels of Great South Bay through heavy beds of eelgrass (Meade, 1982). Aerial photos from 1930 hint at the magnitude of some of the meadows that surrounded Long Island prior to the wasting dis- ease. Although the photos are difficult to interpret in many cases, where they are clear it is apparent that eel- grass flourished in almost every cove and harbor and on most shallow sandy flats. According to one author, in the late 1930s “it became necessary for the ferries to have to reverse their engines two or three times during a crossing [Great South Bay] to clear their wheels of grass and weeds” (Meade, 1982). The extent of the problem was not lost on the engineers at Columbian Bronze Co. (formerly in Freeport, NY) when they created the “weedless wheel” designed to shed the masses of float- ing leaves that often choked the Bay in late summer. The same company produced strainers for inboard wa- ter intake lines to prevent grass from clogging the cool- ing system and overheating the engines. It is for this reason and the fact that the grass inhabited the flats where boaters are often grounded that many on the South Shore still harbor resentment for this species. As they did with almost all things in our natural environment, the first European colonists on Long Is- land looked at eelgrass as a resource to be utilized. The large windrows of dead leaves that washed up on the beaches during the summer and fall were gathered by farmers for use as bedding for farm animals, mulch for gardens, and as an insulation material in many early homes. The same characteristics that made eelgrass a good insulator in colonial homes, including its high sil- ica content that helped to retard fires, was not forgotten (Continued on page 4) Page 4 Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 17 No. 1 (Continued from page 3) some 100 years later when a young industrialist was looking for a use for the mounds of dead grass that were a nuisance to boaters and bathers alike. In 1893, Samuel Cabot (the founder of what is now Cabot’s Stains) created a prototype insulation with layers of eel- grass stitched between sheets of heavy paper. The prod- uct, Cabot's Quilt, quickly found a ready market in the Northeast (including Long Island) and became one of the company’s primary products until the mid-1940s. Between 1930 and 1933, Zostera almost com- pletely disappeared from the shores of the North Atlan- tic on a scale never before witnessed as a result of what has been called the “wasting disease” (Rasmussen, 1977). With the loss of the grass also came dramatic de- clines in migratory waterfowl populations, collapse of the bay scallop fishery and changes in near-shore sedi- ment texture (Rasmussen, 1977). Despite the near com- plete extirpation of Zostera from these areas, it is be- lieved that low-salinity areas (e.g., estuarine creeks and coves) may have provided refugia for persistent popula- tions allowing for a subsequent recovery of the species to many areas (Short et al., 1986). However, some re- gions such as the north shore of Long Island seem to have never recovered from this epidemic. This may be linked to propagule limitations. Following the initial epi- demic, there were several more outbreaks (Addy and Ayhvard, 1944) and in many areas, it was not until about 1960 that eelgrass beds began to truly recover (Blois et al., 1961; Rasmussen, 1977). It is of special interest to note that the decimation of eelgrass in the high salinity waters of the North Atlantic was so complete that it led to die first and only known post-pleistocene extinction of a marine invertebrate (Carlton et al, 1991). The eel- grass limpet (Lottia alveus) was so specialized that it fed exclusively on the epidielial cells of eelgrass shoots growing in saline waters. When die wasting disease killed off the eelgrass in these areas, so to went the lim- pet, never to be seen again (Carlton et al, 1991). The cause of the “wasting disease” is mostly blamed on a micro-organism, Tabyrinthula, which was often associated with the declines in the Atlantic, but other factors including water temperature, extremes in precipitation, and other factors have been suggested (Short et al, 1988). The true cause of the 1930s epi- demic may never be known, but is safe to say that the chronic stresses that may have exacerbated the epidemic continue to tiiis day. Following the wasting disease, there was a slow recovery of eelgrass into many areas of Long Island, but this rebound was coincidental with an upturn in coastal development, boating, and navigational dredging, all of which took a toll on recovery. The arrival of duck farms and all the organic matter and nutrients they brought with them in the early first half of the 20th century was another environmental insult. More recently, the “brown tide” ( Aureococcus anophagefferens) caused catastro- phic losses of grass to many areas in the Peconic Estu- ary as well as some areas of the South Shore Estuary Reserve during the mid to late 1980s. Not unlike the “wasting disease,” the true cause of the brown tide was never really established and may be another case of mul- tiple stressors affecting our fragile coastal environment. The most recent die-offs of eelgrass were noted by many baymen in the early to mid 1990s when many of our creeks, in the Peconics in particular, lost the last remaining grass. The grass that remains exists mostly east of Shelter Island in the Peconic Estuary, near Ori- ent Point and ringing Fishers Island in Long Island Sound and at several areas along in the South Shore Es- tuary Reserve from Hempstead to Southampton. During the later part of the 20th century, wide- spread losses of extant meadows, combined with an ap- preciation of the ecological and commercial value of this species, helped to foster a conservation ethic. In Part II of this article, the issues of eelgrass conservation and restoration will be addressed. References Addy, C.E. and Ayhvard, D.A. 1944. Status of eelgrass in Massachusetts during 1943. J. Wildl. Manage. 8:269 — 275. Blois, J.C., Francaz, J.M., Gaudichon, M., Gaudichon, S. and LeBris, L. 1961. Observations sur les herbiers a Zoserteres de la region de Roscoff. Cah. Biol. Mar. 2: 223-262. Carlton, J.T., Yermeij, G.J., Lindberg, D.R., Carlton, D. A., and Dudley, E.C. 1991. The first historical extinc- tion of a marine invertebrate in an ocean basin: The de- mise of the eelgrass limpet Lottia alveus. Biol. Bull., 180: 72-80. den Llartog, C. 1970. The Sea Grasses of the World. North- Holland Pubhshing Company, Amsterdam. Durham, J.W. and MacNeil, F.S. 1967. Cenozoic migra- tions of marine invertebrates through the Bering Strait region, in The Bering Land Bridge, D.M. Hopkins, editor. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA, pp. 326—349. McRoy, C.P. 1968. The distribution and biogeography of Zostera marina (eelgrass) in Alaska. Pac. Sci. 22:507- 513. (Continued on page 5) Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 17 No. 1 Page 5 (Continued from page 4) Meade, E.D. 1982. Oak Island Beach: The Early Days (unpublished manuscript). Rasmussen, E. 1977. The wasting disease of eelgrass ( Zostera marina ) and its effects on environmental factors and fauna, in Seagrass Ecosystems: Scientific Perspective , C. P. McRoy and C. Helfferich, editors. Marcel Dekker, New York, pp. 1-52. Short, F.T., Mathieson, A.C., and Nelson, J. I. 1986. Re- currence of the eelgrass wasting disease at the border of New Hampshire and Maine. U.S.A. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 29:88-92. Short, F.T., Ibelings, B.W., and den Hartog, C. 1988. Comparison of a current eelgrass disease to the wasting disease of the 1930s. Aquat. Bot. 30:295—304. To learn more about eelgrass ecology and onging res- toration efforts on Long Island, visit our Web site at www.seagrassli.org. Click on the "Current Projects" link to view recent photos of work in progress. Chris Pickerell can be reached at cp26@cornell.edu The Herbarium Collection at Planting Fields Vincent Simeone Director, Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park Since 2000, The Haybarn at Planting Fields has been undergoing major renovations to create a state of the art facility to better serve patrons who visit the park. This $8 million project is a partnership between New York State Parks, The Hoffman Foundation, and the Planting Fields Foundation. The new facility will include a new visitor center featuring exhibits, an information desk, gift shop, and a cafe. In addition, visitors will have access to two new classrooms and a renovated horticul- tural library. On the north end of the Haybarn, a secure and climate-controlled area will accommodate the Long Island Regional Archives and the herbarium collection. The archive area is equipped with new com- pressible shelving units and a reading room for research. The archives, featuring a photographic and written his- tory of Long Island State Parks and Robert Moses’s de- velopment of the parks, as well as Planting Fields Ar- chives, will be housed in a portion of the shelving units. A section of the archive facility has been reserved for the herbarium collection. The herbarium, the result of decades of work from members of the Long Island Botanical Society, has been transferred to acid-free ar- chival boxes and placed on the new compressible shelv- ing units. During the transition, careful attention has been paid to organixing the collection in proper taxo- nomic order. While the organixation of the collection is still in process, progress is being made thanks to the ef- forts of David Papayanopulos, herbarium curator. David has found that the new archival boxes hold the herbarium sheets much more securely than when they were stored in the metal cabinets. In addition, it is much easier to keep them sorted and to handle specimens in boxes rather than piles of loose and bulky sheets. Once the organixation of all of the collections is complete, the herbarium collection will benefit from the efforts of this collaborative project in several ways. The Herbarium specimens are housed in acid-free archival boxes and stored on compressible shelving units. herbarium collection, under David’s care, will be more accessible and better cared for in its new accommoda- tions. New security and fire alarms, as well as humidity controlled mechanical systems, allow for better mainte- nance and protection of the herbarium collections. This truly important resource for Long Island and New York State will have a safe and comfortable home in the ar- chives at Planting Fields. Also, the herbarium database will be integrated with the database for the New York State Parks Archives, which will make it more widely available to any and all interested parties. We look forward to welcoming our supporters and dedicated patrons to this new facility in Spring 2007, when the building reopens. There is no doubt that The Lloffman Visitor Center and Long Island Regional Archives will be a destination for horticulturists, nature lovers, researchers, and educators throughout the coun- try. Page 6 Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 17 No. 1 Plant Sightings Guy Tudor reported that colonies of Virginia stickseed (. Hackelia virginiana ) and spikenard ( Aralia racemosa ) are still extant at Forest Park, Queens, as well as two very tall individuals of European hogweed ( Heracleum sphondy- lium ), originally identified by Karl Anderson. From the North Channel Bridge parking lot in the Jamaica Bay area of Queens, Guy reported that a small population of prostrate vervain ( Verbena bracteata) continues to thrive and is actually spreading a little. Guy and John Law- renson found six plants of hoary vervain (Verbena stricta) in dry sandy soil adjacent to the LIRR tracks where they cross North Street in Manorville, Suffolk County; in 2005, Guy also observed V, stricta along railroad tracks in central New Hampshire. In early September 2006, Laura Schwanof located a population of broadleaved pepperweed ( Eepidium lati- folium) from the upper border of the salt shrub zone at West Meadow Beach on the eastern side of Smithtown Bay, Suffolk County. This plant is considered a serious invasive weed but has not yet become well established on Long Island. Betsy Gulotta led a tour of the Hempstead Plain Pre- serve on September 16. Sand plain gerardia ( Agalinis acuta j was in bloom. On November 3, 2006, Eric and Mary Laura Lamont revisited the Flanders site where Skip and Jane Blanch- ard had located in 2000 several hundred plants of au- tumn coral-root ( Corallorhi^a odontorhi%a)\ previously, this native orchid had not been reported from Long Island since 1932. In the early 2000s, many local field botanists visited the Flanders site and consistently counted over 300 individuals. In 2006, Eric and Mary Laura observed no C. odontorhi^a (but they did find 24 individuals of Epi- pactus helleborine). Guy Tudor reported that New York’s only known population of the crane-fly orchid (Tipularia discolor) in Moore’s Woods, Greenport, produced only two flower- ing stalks on July 24, 2006. Jim Ash and Eric Lamont reported that the South Fork’s only known population of white baneberry ( Actaea pachypoda) was still extant at the southeast end of The Great Swamp, just southwest of Sag Harbor. The population appeared to be stressed by deer browsing; plants were stunted and did not produce flowers in 2006. In the eastern white pine forest just north of The Great Swamp, Jim and Eric located (and removed) a small population of mile-a-minute weed (. Polygonum perfo- liatum). On September 30, 2006 during a LIBS and Torrey field trip to Caumsett State Park, Andy Greller and A1 Lindberg added three new species to the park’s flora: purple giant hyssop ( Agastache scrophulariaefolia ), bur- cucumber (S icy os angulatus ), and Quercus x saulii (a hybrid between Q. alba and Q. prinus) . Skip Blanchard reported water lettuce ( [Pistia stratioides) from Westbury Pond, Nassau County where he had seen it once before but presumes it will die over the winter. On the way to Cedar Beach on the North Fork’s Great Hog Neck (October 8, 2006), Guy Tudor stopped at a new Peconic Land Trust property, “Wolf Reserve,” on Bayview Road. He was “appalled to see that horrid in- vasive black swallowwort (Vincetoxicum nigrum) was com- pletely infesting everything ... in the fields, over nearby trees, everywhere!” Steve Young of New York Natural Heritage Program reported that Ralph Tiner of UMass Amherst has tenta- tively located wax-myrtle (Myrica/ 'Morelia cerifera ) from the west end of Long Island on a town conservation area. This southern species reaches its northern range limit in New Jersey, but has been repeatedly reported since the 1800s from Long Island; however, all previous reports have been based upon misidentifications of northern bayberry (Myrica/ Morelia pensylvanicd) . Join LIBS today! Annual Membership is $20 payable to: Long Island Botanical Society Mail your dues to: Lois Lindberg Membership Chairperson Letters to the Editor, Articles, and News items may be submitted to: Margaret Conover Long Island Botanical Society PO Box 507 Aquebogue, NY 11931 Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 17 No. 1 Page 7 Suffolk County Long-Term Mosquito and Marsh Management Plan ABSTRACT. The Suffolk County Department of Public Works Vector Control Management Plan includes the proposal for the ultimate ponding of thousands of acres of high tidal marsh along the coast of Suffolk County. It will be voted on in January by the Suffolk County Coun- cil on Environmental Quality. This summary of the issues surrounding the pro- posed technique of Open Marsh Water Management (OMWM) was prepared by LIBS member Karen Blumer, vice president of the Open Space Council. She based it, in part, on John Potente’s recent presentation to the Open Space Council. What is the efficiency of the Open Marsh Water Management (OMWM) technique? OMWM in- creases the amount of water on the marsh through ditch plugging and the introduction of artificial ponds and creeks. For the past 40 years, OMWM has been imposed upon many saltwater marshes along the Atlantic Coast to reduce the numbers of mosquitoes. While the Suffolk County Division of Vector Control claims that this tech- nique reduces mosquito populations on tidal wetlands, its efficacy was shown to be unsupported in the scientific literature. Moreover, a recent comprehensive study per- formed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service revealed that there is no difference in mosquito populations after OMWM. Does OMWM restore tidal wetlands? A pilot project was conducted by the Division of Vector Control at Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge. A comparison of historic aerial photographs from the 1930s against recent aerials taken after nearly two dozen OMWM ponds were dug in an 80-acre area of Wertheim shows little similarity between the original, largely unditched and intact salt marsh, and what would be considered a “restored” salt marsh that was fragmented by OMWM. The current condition of the ponded portion of the Wertheim marshes appeared, despairingly, to approach an un- healthy disintegrating system, comparable to the inun- dated marshlands of Gilgo Island that are being dimin- ished partially by past ditching and partially by a rising sea level. Does OMWM increase biodiversity? There is no evi- dence that either new species are appearing at OMWM sites, nor that existing species are thriving any better. Moreover, the issue of habitat alteration and fragmenta- tion by flooding for mosquito control was associated with the extinction of the dusky seaside sparrow in Flor- ida. The analogy caused concern for the uncertain fate of Long Island’s saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow and the seaside sparrow in OMWM treated sites. What is the response from the scientific community? On November 5, a group of concerned scientists sent a letter to Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy that reads in part: We, the undersigned estuarine scientists and bota- nists, have reviewed Suffolk County’s Long-Term Mosquito and Marsh Management Plan . . . and are writing to voice concern with regard to the pro- posed wetlands management scheme. We are intimately involved in efforts to research and restore coastal marshes on the eastern sea- board. Our experience teaches us that tidal wet- lands are inherendy complex systems with elabo- rate and often misunderstood hydrological regimes. Of particular concern to us is the plan’s reliance on the practice known as Open Marsh Water Manage- ment . . . especially the suggestion that it will “restore” Long Island’s coastal marshes. OMWM, which involves artificial pond excavation, unnatural creek construction and the leveling of high marsh terrain through back-blading ... is not synonymous with marsh restoration. . . . The fact is that despite the widespread application of OMWM, we know very little about its long-term impacts. The scientific literature contains no com- prehensive, scientific studies of OMWM. The only multiyear study of OMWM, a recent assessment of the technique on several national wildlife refuges, found mixed and less than persuasive results, even with regard to impacts on mosquito populations. Based on our current understanding of marsh hy- drology and ecology, there is nothing to suggest that OMWM restores lost ecological functions. In fact, there are concerns that the structural changes created by this technique lead to unnatural altera- tions of salt marsh ecosystem function. In the long mn, OMWM may even do more harm than good to your irreplaceable salt marshes. The letter is signed by Dr. Mark D. Bertness, Robert Brown Professor of Biology & Chair, Department of Ecology & Evo- lutionary Biology, Brown University; Dr. Michelle Dionne, Research Director, Wells National Estuarine Research Cen- ter; Dr. Caitlin Mullan Crain, Department of Ecology & Evo- lutionary Biology, Brown University; Dr. Patrick Ewanchuck, Assistant Professor of Biology, Department of Biology, Providence College; Dr. Ray Konisky, Program Manager, Gulf of Maine Council on the Environment; Dr. Richard Stal- ter, Professor of Biology, Dept, of Biology, St. John’s Uni- versity; Dr. Eric Lamont, Honorary Research Associate, In- stitute of Systematic Biology, New York Botanical Garden. Page 8 Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 17 No. 1 Thank You, LIBS Supporters! In June 2006, an appeal was sent to all LIBS members re- questing financial support for the Society’s activities, espe- cially publication of The Newsletter. The extremely gener- ous response of the membership is sincerely appreciated. A total of $6,000 was received. Thank you, everyone! (Official receipts for tax reporting purposes will be mailed in January 2007.) We especially thank Barbara Conolly and Andrew Sabin for their generous donations of $1000 each, and Ray Welch for his generous donation of $500. We also ex- press our sincere gratitude to Mary Mulvihill and Dolores Zebrowski for their generous gifts in memory of Bill Mulvihill, a long-time LIBS member and environ- mentalist (LIBS was very pleased to work with Bill in pre- serving The Great Swamp, a region of high biodiversity southwest of Sag Harbor.) Supporters: Jim Ash Betty Lotowycz Beth & Tom Backel Richard Machtay Susan & Jim Benson Mary Maran John Black Helen McClure Skip & Jane Blanchard Tom Meoli Lucille Blum Gunda Meyer Eleanor Burns Leonard Miller Ann Carter Mary Mulvihill Patricia Cassin Margo Myles James Clinton Carole & Richard llydc: Barbara Conolly David & Rosemarie Margaret Conover Papayanopulos Virginia Dankel John Potente Kim Harrow Kumkum Prabhakar Robert Dirig Zu Proly Aline Euler Vincent Puglisi Wei Fang William Redshaw Brian Frank George Rowsom Kathleen Gaffney Andrew Sabin Eileen Gerle Gigi & Don Spates Andrew Greller Richard Stalter Joseph Grupp Jr. Tom Stock Betsy Gulotta Paul & Barbara John Heidecker Stoutenburgh Dave Hinchliffe Dava Stravinsky Joyce Hyon Dorothy & Bill Titus Ann Johnson Guy Tudor Carol Johnston Jennifer Ulsheimer Marilyn Jordan Kathy Venezia & Richard & Patricia Kelly Lenny Librizzi Joann & Fred Knapp Kristine Wallstrom Daniel Kriesberg Peter Warny David Laby Ray Welch Eric & Mary Laura Lamont Richard Wines & Louise Lamont Nancy Gilbert Anthony Lauro Steve Young Gary Lawton Lois & Allan Lindberg Dolores Zebrowski Upcoming Programs January 9, 2007* Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. MEMBERS’ NIGHT: Members are welcome to bring slides, stories, specimens, and tales of peculiar sightings of favor- ite plants. A great opportunity to show what you have found while exploring on Long Island or elsewhere (no Newfoundland). Please call Rich Kelly in advance to ad- vise as to the approximate number of slides/images that you would like to show and preferred medium. Thanks. Location: Bill Paterson Nature Center Muttontown Preserve, East Norwich February 13, 2007* Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. STEVEN CLEMANTS: “WlLDFLOWER STORIES.” A discus- sion of the ecology and biology of wildflowers. Steve is VP of Science at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and first author of the Wildflowers in the Field and Forest. Location: Bill Paterson Nature Center Muttontown Preserve, East Norwich March 13, 2007* Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. Megan Sheremata: “The Heat Island Effect and the Role Plants May Play in Mitigation.” Megan is an Urban Forest Health Forester in the NYC Region of NYS DEC. This program will cover a project with NYSERDA, the energy research authority, on the impacts of green spaces in NYC on energy requirements. We may even get an Asian long-horned beetle update. Location: Bill Paterson Nature Center, Muttontown Preserve, East Norwich April 10, 2007* Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. John Potente: “The Carnivorous Plants of Long ISLAND.” John will give a preview of an inventory and photographic summary of insectivorous plants that he and Eric Lamont are working on. The program will cover slides and images of these unique plants in action. Atten- dees are warned not to get too close to the screen. John is the director of Native America, an LIBS Board member, and a member of the Suffolk County Council on Environ- mental Quality. Location: Museum of Long Island Natural Sciences Earth and Space Science Building Gil Hanson Room (Room 123) SUNY at Stony Brook, Stony Brook * Refreshments and informal talk begin at 7:30 p.m. Formal meeting starts at 8:00 p.m.