Twenty-two docents attended the reorientation on Saturday, 22 February 2014. Anita Springer opened the meeting at 10 a.m. with introductory remarks and asked that each person stand and, round-robin, introduce themselves. Anita yielded to Bob Hamilton who remarked that he knows Spring is soon here when the docents return to the prairie.
Bob’s slide presentation is reproduced here by slide number, with editorial embellishments. I did make an audio recording of the proceedings, but succinct reporting seems to be a better way to go than verbatim transcription or a blind kitchen-sink audio recording — we can safely omit the naughty bits; for that enjoyment you must be present in person.
variability in vegetation stature, composition, density, and biomass; this is the complete opposite of homogeneity as practiced by traditional land management techniques that strive to reduce everything to a uniform sameness, the idea being to make management easier by reducing the number of variables. Unfortunately, homogeneity reduces biodiversity which is fundamentally important to landscape function through its interconnectedness. A heterogeneous, biodiverse landscape is healthier and more resilient to variations in climate.
The natural forces we need to consider to maintain diversity in the Great Plainsare climate, grazing, and fire. Historically, the linkage between grazing and fire is what promotes landscape heterogeneity.
weaned calf crop.
The annualpercent weaned calf cropis determined by dividing the number of fall bison calves by the number of females that were of calving age (3yrs old and older) for that summer. The annual weaned calf crop has ranged from 58- to 80-percent, with the long-term or overall average being 71-percent.
By protecting/maintaining habitat necessary to sustain greater prairie chickens, the habitat needs of most prairie species in the area will also be protected.
when the landscape is quiet againit will recover aided by the efforts of The Nature Conservancy and staff of the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve.
Bob answered questions and then yielded to Anita who closed the meeting.
Beginning this year, we are putting the Docent Manual on-line. Note the entry in the index at the top of this page. Going on-line will be a work in progress due to the volume of information. You will see that the table of contents of the manual becomes progressively live each month, until it is complete.
Putting the Docent Manual on-line will make it easy to revise old and add new materials like text, audio, and video. As of this date, we have the table of contents and sections A & B active.
All Tallgrass Prairie Docents and friends who have experienced cabin fever during this cold winter will want to come out this spring for our optional outdoor work days. There is no need to bring along bottled water and granola snack bars, as those will be provided.
The Merlin is the avian equivalent of a fighter pursuit plane. They are small, fierce falcons that use surprise attacks to capture their prey of small songbirds and shorebirds. They catch their prey at high speed, Merlins have been clocked at 30 m.p.h. and during a determined chase they are probably exceeding this speed. They don’t swoop on birds from great heights the way Peregrine Falcons do, the Merlin attacks its prey horizontally or even from below, chasing the prey bird upwards until it tires.
Merlins utilize several different hunting tactics, like most raptors they will hunt from a perch and on the wing. Surprise is the chief weapon in their hunting arsenal; they are masters of concealment often using hills and other landscape features to hide their approach from prey. The best time to watch Merlins hunt is in the early morning or late afternoon.
Merlins have a long history of human interaction. In medieval times Merlins were considered a lady’s gaming bird, they were called Lady Hawks and noble women used them to hunt Skylarks. It has been historically documented that both Catherine the Great and Mary Queen of Scots used Merlins in pursuit of Skylarks. Even today both European and North American falconers hunt with Merlins.
The name Merlin does not come from Arthur’s sorcerer Merlin
;
rather it is a derivative of its French name for the species esmerillan. Colloquially, the Merlin is called a pigeon hawk not because it feeds on pigeons, which it
does, but because in normal flight it looks like a pigeon. Even the
Merlin’s Latin name Falco columbarius can be
roughly translated as pigeon falcon.
Merlins are found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Worldwide there are nine recognized subspecies, three are found in North America, and six are old world subspecies. In Oklahoma and the interior of western North America we are seeing the Merlin subspecies Falco columbarius richaedsoni. The other two subspecies Falco columbarius columbarius is an east coast resident while Falco columbarius suckleyi is a west coast resident. They do not migrate through the interior of North America. However, Falco c. richardsoni does migrate from its central Canadian breeding grounds. These Prairie Merlins are partial migrants. Many migrate to the southern United States and Central America, but others, especially individuals breeding in urban areas, where songbird prey is common in winter, remain on their breeding grounds. Here in Oklahoma and especially at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve we are most likely to see the Merlin during its migration. E-bird has documented Merlins at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve starting in November through the end of April. Typically you will see Merlins perched on the power lines along preserve roads. Scanning treetops and low perches at forest edges and grasslands will also turn up Merlins, but remember not every small falcon is a Merlin. The American Kestrel, a year-round Oklahoma resident, and the Prairie Falcon, another migrant which can be seen from November through the end of March, are both similar in size and shape.
Color patterns are the best identifying feature, remember that the male Merlin has a blue-gray back, and its underparts are buff to orange-tinted and heavily streaked with black to reddish brown with narrow black tail bands, while the male Kestrel has a reddish-brown back and slate gray wings and two fore and aft vertical eye lines and a black tail band at the end of its tail.
Prairie Falcons have a variable banned brown back wings and tail. The head has a brown crown and clear white eyebrows and white underparts. The Prairie Falcon can be confused with female and juvenile Merlins, which both lack the male’s state gray back. This color difference between males and females of the same species is called sexual dimorphism. The key to distinguishing female and juvenile Merlins from the Prairie Falcon is the heavily streaked underparts on the Merlin and the complete brown bands on the Merlin’s white tail. In flight the Prairie Falcon has distinct dark armpit patches underneath its wings that are lacking on Merlins. If you keep these differences in mind and remember the species overlap appearance times you will increase your chances of making a correct identification. Merlins are not common on the Preserve, this past years Christmas Bird Count only listed two Merlins and the fifteen year average is 1.6.
Merlins mainly prey on small ground birds to include larks, sparrows, finches, ptarmigans and grouse. It has been estimated that they consume 900 birds in a year. About 80-percent of the Merlin diet consists of birds, insects make up 15-percent of its diet mainly composed of dragon flies and grasshoppers, while 5-percent of its diet is made up of small mammals, lizards and snakes.
With the ban on DDT insecticides the Merlin has made a significant recovery from their declines in the 1960s and 70s. Merlins are now considered stable or increasing throughout their range. They have been able to adapt to decreasing habitats by populating suburban and urban habitats taking advantage of the large number of House Sparrows and European Starlings as a food source.
Keep an eye out for Merlins as you go to and from your docent shifts in November, December, March and April. If you are lucky you may see a Merlin performing some magical aerial displays.
The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve hosts about 6,000 visitors each year. While the majority of visitors come from Oklahoma and surrounding states, a surprisingly large number come from almost all of the other States of the Union and from Countries all over the World. The Preserve is not on many people’s normal travel routes, so those who come must come because they have heard about it from some source. They must want to see the prairie at its finest — the way it was before most of it was turned into farmland and cities. They must want to know more about it; to know why having a preserve is important; and to support the idea of preserving fragile and declining ecosystems. The Docent’s role at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve is to greet those visitors and relate the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve Story to them. The interesting part is that as we try to educate and assist the visitors, we find that they are, in turn, educating us. I have encountered hundreds of visitors, and each of them has an interesting story. Let me share some of the stories that I have heard or experienced.
One not so busy day at the Preserve, a Toyota Prius drove up to the
Visitor’s Center, and three older men extracted themselves from the small
car. I greeted them as they stepped onto the porch and found out that they
were from Connecticut and were on a Prairie Bucket List
trip. They had
a list of all of the prairie parks, study areas, and preserves from
throughout prairie country and were on a trip to visit as many of them as
they could. They already knew about the prairie vegetation, the Bison, and
the decline in the Prairie as an ecosystem, but they were interested in
how the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve was being managed. They shared some of
their experiences in finding the prairies
and what they had seen at
these other prairies, so as is usual, I learned from our visitors. From
the Preserve, their next destination was the Tallgrass Prairie National
Park in Kansas. I was impressed by their knowledge and willingness to
undertake such a journey.
On another day, Fran and Roman drove up in a 20-year-old Buick station wagon. They were from Switzerland and had flown into the United States, bought the car, and began touring the U.S. They planned to end their trip in Denver in about a month. There, they would sell the car and fly back to Switzerland. I don’t remember where they had been in the U.S., but they were very interested in the Tallgrass Prairie. They knew about the Preserve before they came and had purposely included it as a stopping point on their trip. They spent the day, driving around, hiking the trails, and marveling at the Bison and the wide-open spaces. They seemed to be having a great time and said that they had learned a lot as well as enjoyed the day. They were a breath of fresh air in that they were so eager to see and learn about the prairie. And I learned a little about Switzerland from them.
Then there were the four high-school boys that were on a road trip
from Chicago — no parents, just the four teenagers. They were all
science types and were very knowledgeable about ecology and had come to
the Preserve on purpose to see the last remnant of the once extensive
prairie ecosystem. I was fascinated with their interest in learning, but I
couldn’t help being concerned about them. They seemed to be
confident in their ability and had no concerns about their safety. After
all, they had gotten from Chicago to the Preserve without incident. I am
sure they had the experience of a lifetime.
And speaking of science types, we have had a steady stream of college students, mostly graduate students, who are at the Preserve working on research projects. One in particular stands out. Matt was here most of the summer in 2012 and was out every day collecting seeds for a project to preserve native plant seeds for the future. That summer, almost every day the temperature was above 100°F, but he was out there finding the plants, harvesting seeds, and keeping records. Not only was he persistent and thorough, he was always cheerful and pleasant.
The Preserve attracts naturalists, both amateur and professional. They come from far and near to see the prairie — often looking for specific items such as the Henslow’s Sparrow. They often have lots of questions, but they also have lots of information to share.
A high percentage of our visitors are relatively local people out for a day’s drive in the country. They come in all manner of cars and trucks, and occasionally on a motorcycle; I learned that the gravel roads — especially with fresh gravel — are treacherous for motorcyclists. A typical profile might be a couple in their 60’s with two grandchildren along with them. Their main interest is in seeing the Bison, but the children often had a great time looking at the exhibits in the Visitor’s Center. They usually leave with several items purchased from the Gift Shop.
On another quiet day, a large pick-up truck arrived and the lady driver
got out. I greeted her on the porch and we visited for a while about the
prairie and the preserve. As we were visiting, we heard a loud question
yelled from the truck, Where are the cows?
I saw an older man
sitting in the truck and told him that we had no cows but we had about
2,500 Bison. He responded that we should be using the land for cattle. He
then got out of the truck, hobbled into the Visitor’s Center, and
settled into one of the wooden chairs that we had in the book corner. We
proceeded to visit for about an hour, talking about why and why not the
preserve needed to be here and why and why not we needed to have Bison
rather than cattle. It turns out,
he was a fairly well-known actor known for playing grumpy old men in
movies. He was in the area to be in a program at Bartlesville, and
he and his wife were just out for a drive before the program. I think that
without the soothing effect of his wife, he would have been difficult to
get along with. Ann Whitehorn was in the Visitor’s Center that day,
and before long she and the actor were in a detailed conversation about
various people that both of them knew and had known. I was glad that she
was there. I don’t know whether we ever were successful in
convincing him that the Preserve was a good thing, but we tried.
Another category of visitor is the tour group. They may be school groups, scout groups, garden clubs, photography clubs, birders, native plant societies, and even some foreign tourist groups. They usually come with cameras and walking sticks and are bound to see the prairie close-up no matter what the conditions are. I have found these visitors to be eager to see and learn (well maybe not all of the school groups). They are usually interesting to interact with, and we get to spread our knowledge and enthusiasm with lots of people.
Well, I am looking forward to a new season and a whole new set of visitors. No telling who will show up and what kind of stories they will have.
Primary purpose of the newsletter is to keep the docent community informed about activity at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. Via the Internet, readership of the newsletter has broadened beyond the small group of docents. Another aspect of The Docent News is to engage readers with the prairie, and conservation generally, through storytelling based in fact and fiction. All forms of writing are about the telling of a story, whether that writing is a scientific paper or whimsical fiction.
Once upon a time, the docent newsletter was delivered to the docents by the postal service. When email became prevalent, it transitioned to distribution as a file in Portable Document Format (PDF). Beginning in December 2007, we changed from PDF to delivery of the newsletter as a web-browser link in an email, so that anyone with a connection to the Internet could read the news on-line in full color with, on occasion, audio and video. Through electronic distribution, we conserve resources. reduce costs, and have the potential to reach a global audience.
The newsletter consists in static web-pages maintained on George
Pierson’s www.oklanature.com web-site.
These pages are built by hand using a context sensitive text editor. If
you want to see what the raw hypertext markup language (html) looks like
then select the view source
option in your web-browser pop-up menu
that should appear after right-clicking on this page, or press Ctrl+U, if
you are using the FireFox browser.
The newsletter depends on its contributers. Everyone is a potential contributer to The Docent News. If you think you have something to say then put the plain text in an email and send it to me at awd.shead@gmail.com, attaching any digital pictures to the message. Pictures should be as they come from your camera or phone; emails at least 20-Mbytes in size should pass unmolested. All pictures included in the newsletter are manipulated; it is easy to discard information and impossible to restore missing information. If the pictures you send are too low-quality, I won’t use them and then will need to go looking for an unrestricted replacement.
My experience is that people are reluctant to contribute because of their fears of appearing foolish or because of some other psycho-drama playing in their heads. My job as editor is to make you look good in print. As editor, I will try to retain your distinctive voice and meaning while making small stylistic changes and corrections to spelling where needed.
Every person has a unique history, experience, and interests. If appropriate, consider sharing with the rest of us. Long time readers will know that the newsletter is open to anyone with an interest in the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. You can see the range of interests listed in the Selected Topics Index.
Even if you have nothing to say, you can help by looking through the Back Issues, backwards from July 2006. Let me know of any articles in those back issues that you think would benefit from being listed in the Selected Topics Index.
When you meet visitors, some of them will be more than usually interested in the Preserve and the work in progress. When this happens, I sometimes ask if they would like to receive The Docent News and solicit their email address for addition to the distribution list. You can do the same, sending me their address for inclusion. I have added several interested visitors to the distribution.
One interested visitor by telephone is Caryl Pearson who lives in California and contributed her essay on coyotes to The Docent News last month. This month we are going to try something different with a short fiction of hers for younger readers. Read on below about The Coyote Who Wouldn’t Eat Meat.
We’re trying something new for younger readers
with this short fiction. We have a venerable precedent in the tales of
Beatrix Potter who supported early efforts in
conservation.
—Editor.
Carlos the coyote trotted along the meadow trail one fine fall morning, enjoying the sounds and smells. The beautiful golden grasses with their scattering of purple asters danced in the cool breeze. A flock of geese flew honking overhead, signaling that winter was on its way. Carlo’s sharp eye spotted a young ground squirrel, sunning herself on a flat rock.
Good morning!
he shouted to the startled creature. Wait,
don’t run away!
The ground squirrel said, I have to run away, ’cause my mamma says
coyotes have ground squirrels for breakfast.
Carlos replied, Well, I don’t — why would I, when my
favorite food is all around on easy-to-reach bushes?
The ground squirrel, curious, asked, What is
your favorite food?
Carlos answered, Why, berries, of course.
He sat down with a
smiling face and ears perked up as the ground squirrel considered his reply.
She said, I didn’t know coyotes like berries — that’s
very odd, isn’t it?
She sat up on her hind legs on the rock.
Carlos said, Not really — my whole family and most of my friends
are big berry lovers.
Well I do declare! By the way, my name’s Greta, what’s yours?
Carlos, and I’m very pleased to meet you. I’m just on my
way to look for some berries now — would you like to come along?
Greta said, Yes, that would be fine
, and Carlos took the lead as they
headed off down the shining morning trail.
In a little while, Carlos, being taller and able to see over most of the
meadow grasses, spotted a handsome young jackrabbit. At almost the same
instant, the jackrabbit saw Carlos’s pointed ears and shiny nose,
looking at him. The rabbit tensed the muscles of his powerful hind legs,
ready to run away. But just then Greta stood on her hind legs and peered
over the waving grasses at the rabbit. The rabbit did a double take and
said, And just what might you two be up to on this beautiful autumn
morning?
Carlos cordially replied, We are going to look for berries for
breakfast.
And right away Greta said, Would you like to come with us? The more the
merrier!
The rabbit replied, Yes I would actually… but say, don’t
coyotes sometimes have jackrabbits and ground squirrels for breakfast?
Carlos quickly replied, I don’t, I only like berries, mesquite
beans, and prickly pear apples, when I can get them.
Do you mean to tell me you are a vegetarian coyote?
said the
astonished rabbit.
Well
, said Carlos, puffing out his chest, I guess I am.
In that case, I’d be happy to join you. By the way, my name is
Jacob.
As they all exchanged names, the warm sun smiled down upon the unusual trio of animals. As they trotted, hopped, and trundled down the trail together, their flanks were tickled by the plants they knew so well.
Soon they came to a patch of juniper berries, and Carlos began eating them with gusto. Greta and Jacob watched in amazement as the coyote deftly plucked berry after berry from the twigs and chewed them briefly before swallowing. They decided to try some too, and were surprised at the tangy yet delicious taste.
Wow, these are really good!
exclaimed Greta.
Not bad at all
, agreed Jacob.
After munching the juniper berries for awhile, Carlos said, I know
where we can find our second course — follow me.
And once again,
Carlos led the way as the three animals trotted, hopped and trundled
through the meadow, over some rocky ground, through some scrub oaks, and
onto a sagebrush flat. Suddenly Carlos made a left turn and headed into a
ravine. Look
, he shouted happily, here are some lote
berries.
Greta and Jacob looked at each other and both said at the same time,
Lote berries?
Yes, try some, these are my mom’s favorite.
And once again
Carlos began merrily plucking the juicy morsels with his sharp teeth and
swallowing them with a contented look on his face. As the three animals
enjoyed this unusual treat, they noticed a crow flying low overhead,
looking down at them with a curious expression on his face. Jacob shouted
up, Hey Crikey, good morning to you.
The crow immediately wheeled
and landed on a boulder in the ravine. And a good morning to you. Just
what are you three up to?
Greta replied with her mouth somewhat full, Carlos is showing us his
favorite berry bushes. His family and friends all love to eat berries.
Jacob nodded happily in agreement, his mouth stained a bit blue with the juice from the berries.
Crikey said, Well, I heard these lote berries were good — mind if
I join you?
and they said of course, please do.
, and they all
introduced themselves.
As the nimble crow moved here and there, nipping the berries off the
stems, he sometimes stood on Carlos’s back to reach one he particularly
wanted. After awhile Greta said she should probably get back home because
her mom might be wondering where she had gotten to. The four critters
decided to meet on the grassy meadow again the next morning and go on
another berry-picking adventure.
Over the next few weeks brisk mornings and warm afternoons, Carlos, Greta,
Jacob and Crikey became great friends, and had many wonderful times
searching out berry bushes and enjoying breakfast together. Other animals
would sometimes join them on their little journeys; it was quite a sight
to see the friendly four
accompanied by one or two deer, a raccoon,
or perhaps an opossum. Sometimes a tree squirrel or even a badger would
come along. One lovely afternoon as the group was feasting on some
particularly delicious loganberries, Crickey cocked his head and said,
Listen! Hear that noise?
and the others stopped in mid-chew, ears
up…they could hear the sound of an old truck in the distance,
grinding its gears, on a dirt road not far away. Crikey exclaimed, I
think that might be the watermelon truck.
He became very excited,
jumping up and down and flapping his wings.
Jacob said, what is a watermelon?
Carlos and Greta stepped nearer to
hear what Crikey had to say. Crikey looked at them all in astonishment. I
can’t believe you guys don’t know what a watermelon is.
lt’s like the biggest berry on earth. But you have to peck
through the hard green outside to get to the pink inside; that’s the
part you eat.
Carlos said, My dad used to eat them — he said they were delicious. But
he said sometimes it’s hard to get through to the inside.
Greta said, If one of these giant berries fell off a truck, maybe it
would break open.
Jacob said, Let’s see if we can catch up to the truck, in case
one falls off.
Everyone loved this idea. Carlos said to Greta, Why don’t you
ride on my back? Then we can go really fast.
So, while Crikey flew
ahead to see if he could spot the truck, Greta climbed on a rock and
jumped onto Carlos’s back, and held onto the long guard hairs on his
shoulders.
OK, here we go.
Jacob took off like a rocket, and Carlos began to
lope swiftly after him, Greta hanging on like a little rodeo rider. Crikey
soon came zooming back to them, and swooping low, shouted, it’s
not far, this way.
They slowed down as they came to a small hill
overlooking the road, and sure enough, there was the old truck lumbering
along, loaded with gorgeous green watermelons.
Jacob said to Crikey, Do you think you can land on top of them, and push
one off?
Crikey considered this, saying, I don’t know, they’re
pretty heavy.
Greta piped up and said, maybe there’ll be a
bump in the road and one will bounce off the truck.
Carlos thought for a moment and a gleam of intelligence began to sparkle
in his eyes. Maybe we can make a bump in the
road.
All of the animals said How?
and Carlos replied, I can
drag a big stick with my teeth, and put it in the truck’s path.
Crikey said, Hey, that’s a great idea. We’ve got to get ahead of the
truck — let’s go.
Crikey pushed off and began flying low over the ground,
the others following him 1ickety-split. In a few minutes they found a
place where branches were lying around near the road. Carlos said, OK,
Greta, jump off now and I’ll make our bump,
and he layed down so the
ground squirrel could easily slide off. Quickly he grabbed a medium-sized
branch in his strong jaws, and backing up, dragged it into position while
the others watched intently.
Carlos leaped back across the road and all four animals hunkered down behind a boulder to await the coming of the truck. They jostled each other and whispered their excitement, and in no time at all the heavily loaded truck rounded the bend, bumped over the log and continued on its way — but not before a nice plump watermelon fell off the top of the load and rolled to a stop right in front of them.
Wow, it worked.
shouted Carlos, and they all joined joyously in
congratulating each other on their success. They quickly gathered around
the beautiful fruit, and Jacob said, Look, there’s a crack in it — it
must've happened when it fell.
Crikey said, this is awesome, it’ll be so
much easier now to get to the good part
and he began pecking at the crack
with his strong beak to enlarge the opening. Soon Carlos was able to get a
grip with his teeth and tear off a big piece of the rind, exposing the
bright pink interior. Carlos, Greta and Jacob then took their first bites
of the succulent, ripe watermelon, while Crikey watched with approval. All
of them closed their eyes in bliss as they chewed. Well, what do you
think?
he demanded, his beak full. Was I right? Isn’t it
fantastic?
All three nodded happily, and Carlos, swallowing, said,
This is the best berry I’ve ever eaten.
The End.
Here we provide some links to other places worth visiting.
Here is the latitude and longitude of the Visitor’s Center that you can give to visitors for entry into their GPS navigation device.
Some printed back issues of the Docent Newsletter, to February 2009, can be found in the two green and one blue-black zip-binders, stored in the Perspex rack by the file cabinet in the office of the Visitor’s Center.
All back issues are available electronically via the links shown below. All newsletters prior to December 2007 are available in Portable Document Format (PDF), which means that you will need Adobe Reader installed on your computer to read these files. All newsletters from December 2007 onwards are in HTML format that is easily read using your web-browser.
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2001—January
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2000—January
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1999—January
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1998—January
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1997—January
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1996—January
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1995—January
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This persistent index of selected topics should make finding articles of interest easier. The list will grow as I move further into the past and it will grow as I add interesting topics from each new newsletter. Iris McPherson lent me the paper copies of the newsletter from the very early years of the docent program; I ran them through a scanner equipped with a document feeder, saving them as PDF files, then added them to Back Issues section above. Let me know of any dead links that you discover. Also, please lend me any paper copies of the newsletter that are missing so that I can scan and add them to the list of back issues.
Deadline for submission of articles for inclusion in the newsletter is the 10th of each month. Publication date is on the 15th. All docents, Nature Conservancy staff, university scientists, philosophers, and historians are welcome to submit articles and pictures about the various preserves in Oklahoma, but of course the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in particular.