NEAL SMITH NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE FRIENDS of the PRAIRIE LEARNING CENTER PO Box 399 Prairie City, IA 50228 Phone: 515-994-3400 Web Site: www.tallgrass.org October 11, 2007 GENTLE BREEZES FROM THE PRAIRIE WIND Not only is this 2nd Saturday Stewardship, but also Ding Darling Day. There is a lot of activity at the refuge and many people are needed and many activities. While I do not have details I know that there is seed harvesting, seed cleaning, production plot harvesting, possibly planting, and heavy work to be done outside. A critical area is the hunting down and the destruction of an alien invasive. Below is extracted material from a message from Karen Viste-Sparkman. We need your help! We desperately need volunteers to help us combat this invasive in several ways:1. Search for sericea lespedeza in units of the refuge that we have not had a chance to visit, and re-visit areas that were sprayed to see if there are any survivors. Any sericea lespedeza plants found will be marked using GPS (we’ll provide training in identification of sericea lespedeza and use of GPS). 2. Assist us in using triclopyr to spot-spray any sericea lespedezaplants that can be found. Spraying with herbicide is the only method known to kill sericea lespedeza. Since we are a federal agency, applicators are required to take a written test to get certified as a chemical applicator by the state. We can provide you with more information on this process. See you there, Jonathan (Dances with Bison) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp