tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post8883024189050854220..comments2024-03-29T08:48:45.218-06:00Comments on In the Company of Plants and Rocks: Devils Tower—What’s on Top? (updated)Hollishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10788942181934895493noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-51889892845078875612023-11-04T09:50:20.593-06:002023-11-04T09:50:20.593-06:00Hello Anon. I have no idea regarding EMF, in fact ...Hello Anon. I have no idea regarding EMF, in fact had to look it up :) Maybe ask the Park Service?Hollishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788942181934895493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-14651009528272093712023-11-04T01:51:21.944-06:002023-11-04T01:51:21.944-06:00We visited the Tower in September this year. It wa...We visited the Tower in September this year. It was a magnificent site. And many beautiful species of plant ife. Has anyone had ever taken an EMF( electo magnetic field) reading there? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-81887629110996327552017-09-26T19:08:20.278-06:002017-09-26T19:08:20.278-06:00Great question, Jason ... meaning I don't know...Great question, Jason ... meaning I don't know the answer ;-) I asked the Chief of Resource Management at the Monument, as they've done quite a few small mammal projects there. But nothing on overwintering summit mammals. Her reply was the same as mine would be:<br />"I've seen chipmunks all up and down the Tower, on ledges and broken columns. So, my guess is that they don't stay on the summit all year, and instead come down to the base to weather the winter. They seem to have little trouble making the ascent (or descent), so for them it may be no big deal."Hollishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788942181934895493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-65419187858723182372017-09-25T20:23:20.676-06:002017-09-25T20:23:20.676-06:00About the animals at the top - chipmunks and such ...About the animals at the top - chipmunks and such - is there a stable, overwintering population or is it more likely to be replenished by climbing animals every year?Jason Estesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-70948569304307523552016-12-10T16:56:38.078-07:002016-12-10T16:56:38.078-07:00Thanks for the feedback, Amy. I really hope they i...Thanks for the feedback, Amy. I really hope they include botanical names. Seems more professional for one thing, and I know there are visitors who are interested. But for some reason I'm not optimistic ... past experience I guess.Hollishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788942181934895493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-38648950262032531482016-12-09T20:17:28.470-07:002016-12-09T20:17:28.470-07:00So glad I finally made it over to this post :) It...So glad I finally made it over to this post :) It's a very interesting discussion, but you certainly cover most of the questions that would spring to my mind. I'm glad to see you are recommending in favor of including botanical names. The needs of interested, educated, intelligent visitors should be kept in mind too... ;-)Amy@SmallSunnyGardenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02490564566463354419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-13312937315245396522016-11-26T14:48:21.081-07:002016-11-26T14:48:21.081-07:00Great timing Pat the Plant--right now I'm writ...Great timing Pat the Plant--right now I'm writing educational literature section of final report, and had just recommended including scientific names when your comment popped up as an email message. So I added US horseweed vs. UK fleabane as an example, thanks!<br /><br />I had to google tepui ... kinda looks that way doesn't it, but not so interesting. Based on veg, summit seems hardly isolated from its surroundings.<br /><br />Ponderosa pine seeds are not sticky and they are stashed by jays ... maybe small mammals too, beyond my expertise.Hollishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788942181934895493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-65800774094567195092016-11-26T13:57:37.038-07:002016-11-26T13:57:37.038-07:00Oooh, a mini tepui. No mini brontosauri?
I can se...Oooh, a mini tepui. No mini brontosauri?<br /><br />I can see some that are obviously going to be distributed by wind (Artemisia, dandelion, horseweed, salsify, ferns and Selaginella) or in faeces (Rhus, "lilies", Ribes, Opuntia) and others are burrs that could be carried by animals (stickseed, grasses such as Hesperostipa). It would be interesting to see how these categories are represented as proportions in the flora at the base and those that got to the top. <br /><br />Do pine seeds get carried deliberately to store them or are they sticky with pitch?<br /><br />Always offer the botanical names, people can ignore them if they want. What you call horseweed we call fleabane in the UK.Pattockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00741004991950391554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-12082703152783482312016-11-18T17:34:54.879-07:002016-11-18T17:34:54.879-07:00Good point, Beth, about foreign visitors. Thinking...Good point, Beth, about foreign visitors. Thinking about it ... there could well be more pines--seedlings and small saplings not yet visible to botanists. Thanks for the Comment.Hollishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788942181934895493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-85489063910591832072016-11-17T18:58:13.095-07:002016-11-17T18:58:13.095-07:00What a fun project! Oh, I would definitely include...What a fun project! Oh, I would definitely include the Latin names--for many reasons, but mostly because international visitors would have a better idea of what plants are present. One tree, huh? I'm surprised that there would be one tree and not more. Interesting.Beth at PlantPostingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10473637655960119672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-43978248016908273422016-11-17T17:31:49.085-07:002016-11-17T17:31:49.085-07:00Thanks, Ken. There's no indication it has chan...Thanks, Ken. There's no indication it has changed much, including disturbance. I'll send you an email message about it soon. Did you have chipmunk nightmares up there?Hollishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788942181934895493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-37746573490304627842016-11-17T17:29:33.771-07:002016-11-17T17:29:33.771-07:00Anonymous #3--I suspect cheatgrass has been on the...Anonymous #3--I suspect cheatgrass has been on the Tower for a long time. I found it there in 1982, and it was common then. It's been a pest in the western US at least since the 1930s, probably longer. It's tough--probably impossible--to eradicate in situations like the Tower summit, where the vegetation is naturally somewhat sparse.Hollishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788942181934895493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-56247578648006931672016-11-17T17:24:31.687-07:002016-11-17T17:24:31.687-07:00Anonymous #2--thanks for visiting! I think climber...Anonymous #2--thanks for visiting! I think climbers are rarely a source of seeds as they don't climb in the shoes they walk in. They carry them up to where the technical climbing starts. I would choose birds and especially wind as the most important vectors. I'm recommending that the Park Service investigate the spots where bindweed and Canada thistle were found (one very small population each). They should dig around a bit to see if roots or rhizomes are still present, and if so, get rid of them while it's possible. In my experience, mullein is easier to deal with, being a biennial. And it's not considered "aggressively invasive" like bindweed and Canada thistle.Hollishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788942181934895493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-21567700640998139852016-11-16T20:06:57.281-07:002016-11-16T20:06:57.281-07:00Fun post, Hollis. Do you think it's changed m...Fun post, Hollis. Do you think it's changed much since Don Roth and I did our surveys in the 90s? There was cheatgrass then, and lots of scary chipmunks.Ken Driesehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14800366287777780421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-74540966239917616742016-11-16T11:11:18.246-07:002016-11-16T11:11:18.246-07:00Bromus tectorum or Cheatgrass is a non-native. Kin...Bromus tectorum or Cheatgrass is a non-native. Kinda surprising that it is there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-77704858436873480032016-11-16T11:01:52.655-07:002016-11-16T11:01:52.655-07:00Are there any measures that need to be taken to pr...Are there any measures that need to be taken to prevent climbers from transporting noxious weeds or other seed to the top? Any need to treat noxious species up top? Looked like mullein and creeping jenny might be most aggressive. Such a cool blog! Looking forward to continued updates :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-83865925432474262502016-11-16T09:07:02.524-07:002016-11-16T09:07:02.524-07:00Great ideas, Anonymous ... you sound like an insid...Great ideas, Anonymous ... you sound like an insider! ;-) Most are in the project report. I'll see what I can pull out and make more easily digested.Hollishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788942181934895493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-26448502050784210622016-11-16T08:14:31.045-07:002016-11-16T08:14:31.045-07:00Thanks for sharing this, very interesting. I thin...Thanks for sharing this, very interesting. I think it would nice to know how many native versus non-native species there are. Including scientific names is always a good idea. Even though some people don't use them they can easily ignore them. You kind of suggest that even on the small area that makes up the summit that perhaps there are more than one plant community type up there. If so, you could talk about that and group the plants that belong to those separately and talk about why that is . Perhaps an illustration (top down view) of the summit with the plant communities drawn out. Maybe it would be cool to take up a Trimble and map out the different areas. Just throwing out whatever comes into my head. Again, great job and I look forward to reading more about it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-37774508666190775822016-11-16T07:57:31.916-07:002016-11-16T07:57:31.916-07:00Lyle--that's a neat idea. I was on the highest...Lyle--that's a neat idea. I was on the highest one about 35 years ago but wasn't looking at plants. I remember we could see a bit of the summit of Devils Tower--the high point of the butte is about 200 feet higher I think. Anyway, from what I remember, the "summit" is more limited--not as big an area before it starts to drop off. Do you know? Would be interesting to check it out. I believe it's on private land; we crossed a ranch to get there.Hollishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788942181934895493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-42408018566935465692016-11-15T17:06:53.911-07:002016-11-15T17:06:53.911-07:00Have you had a chance to do the same survey on top...Have you had a chance to do the same survey on top of the Missouri Buttes about 4 mi away from devils tower about as high but not quite as steep (and about the same total elevation)? Should be about the same but could be an interesting comparison lylenoreply@blogger.com