If you do not mind swinging a bit south of Seattle, to the South Puget Sound region, there are "Puget Prairies," i.e. glacial outwash plains formed at the end of the last glaciation. Historic burning by Native American peoples allowed them to retain their distinctive prairie flora in a region that is otherwise largely forest. Some of the Puget Prairies also have an unusual topography of regular mounds, approximately circular and of similar size, the formation of which is not yet adequately explained. Mima Mounds is one open to the public; there are others managed by the Washington Department of Natural Resources, such as Scatter Creek Natural Area Pereserve, Rocky Prairie Natural Area Preserve, and Glacial Heritage Preserve.
Date: Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:05:25 -0400 From: Cory Teshera-Sterne <[email protected]> Subject: Know any great plant places for our botanical/ecology-focused roadtrip? My friend and I, a couple of post-undergrad ecologists, are heading out this summer on the Great American Roadtrip. We've gotten some great suggestions of campsites, hikes, etc - but have realized something important is missing: neat plants. We're both fascinated by interesting/endangered ecosystems, plant/animal mutualisms, and just plain strange plant species; I'm also interested in broadly "useful" plants (wild species used as food/medicine, feral crop species, etc). So, we thought we'd send an inquiry out to ecolog, and would be incredibly grateful if any of ecologists/botanists along our route might be willing to share your favorite places/species! Especially looking for: remnant grasslands/prairies/pre-agricultural pockets, endangered ecosystems, unusual agricultural areas, unusual/rare plant species. Examples are the Lost 40 pines in Chippewa Nat'l Forest (MN), and the "pocket deserts" of the Okanogan Valley (WA/BC). Our route: I-90/94 from Boston to Seattle, through MA, NY, northern Great Lakes region, North Dakota, Montana/Idaho/WA. We're also doing the requisite travel blog, and I do some freelance science writing, so we're also interested in places that don't get as much protection/conservation-focused attention as they might deserve (or that, contrarily, shouldn't be visited in order to protect them). Thanks so much! -Cory Teshera-Sterne -- Cory Teshera-Sterne Programmer, Web Developer, Natural Sciences Research Assistant www.linkedin.com/in/corytesherasterne
