Lost 40 Self-guided Bioblitz 2020's Journal

Awesome work everyone, and a huge thanks to all our participants for the final SNA Self-guided Bioblitz for 2020 at the Lost 40 SNA ! A total of 11 people participated in this self-guided Bioblitz by visiting the SNA and making observations, with 281 observations of over 140 species. This is wonderful! We hope you enjoyed the Bioblitz and a little fall color as well.

SNA staff will be helping review and identify observations over the next few weeks. Once observations have been identified to the highest level they can be, we’ll add the research grade observations to our plant species lists on our website. Thank you all for helping us accomplish this!

Congratulations to @eknuth for submitting the most observations! Great work. Your prize (an SNA water bottle) will be on the way.

We'd like to thank all of you who participated in this Bioblitz by sending you an SNA sticker! I will be reaching out to you individually, but you can email me directly at kari.wallin@state.mn.us and include your name and address, and I will send it to you.

@eknuth @figaro @knotweedpie @danieljones2 @hansviren @gretchencrook @kacyleah @paddlinmadeleine @jwattrus @nwattrus @naturegeek168

Keep your eye out for a feature on your participation and observations on our SNA Facebook page tomorrow!

This was our last self-guided Bioblitz of the year! Thank you all for your enthusiasm and participation in this series. Stay up to date with future events by checking our Events Calendar and subscribing to our Event Reminders Calendar on the top of the page. If you have questions or feedback on this Bioblitz or any of the others held this year, please contact Kari Wallin, SNA Volunteer Outreach Specialist at kari.wallin@state.mn.us.

Thank you all!
SNA Staff

Today is the last day of our last self-guided Bioblitz of the season at Lost 40 SNA! Be sure to get all your observations uploaded today! Thank you to all of our participants so far, we have so many great observations and a wonderful range of organisms documented. Stay tuned for the final results and prizes, which will be posted here in the journal as well as on the SNA Facebook page this Saturday!

Thanks all!
-Kari

Happy National Public Lands Day, everyone! Exploring and making observations at the Lost 40 this Saturday, September 26, is a great way to celebrate your public lands!

National Public Lands Day is the largest single-day volunteer event for public lands. It was established by the National Environmental Education Foundation in 1994. The day celebrates the connection between people and natural areas in their communities. It is meant to encourage the use of public lands for education, recreation, and health benefits.

This year’s theme is “More Ways to Connect to Nature", which is fitting for a community science project like this Self-guided BioBlitz! We really appreciate your engagement at the SNA and hope you've been able to connect to nature through it.

Thank you all!
Kari Wallin, SNA Volunteer Outreach Specialist

Hello BioBlitz Participants!

Exciting news: our NE region SNA Naturalist, Arika Preas, will be at the Lost 40 SNA on Sunday, 9/27, from 10am-noon! She will be available to help answer questions about this fantastic site, the plants and animals there, and using iNaturalist. So, if you haven't had a chance to get out to the Lost 40 and participate in this BioBlitz, Sunday from 10-noon is a great opportunity!

Thanks!
SNA staff

Hello BioBlitz participants! We’re half way through our two-week self-guided BioBlitz at the Lost 40 SNA! We have 231 observations of 114 species, 42 identifiers, and 10 observers! This is wonderful, thank you for helping document the biodiversity of this site and keep up the great work! You've been doing a great job of documenting the site's diversity in both the SNA and the Chippewa National Forest Unique Biological Area across the road. We appreciate your explorations throughout the site!

A few fun finds so far are a Red-bellied snake observed by @hansviren, a single bright red Bog Cranberry , observed by @danieljones2 , and a young red maple starting to showing some beautiful fall colors, observed by @knotweedpie. Thank you all!

We have one more week left to get out and explore this special place! Let's make the most of the nice weather and enjoy those fall colors!

Have questions or want more information? Email Kari Wallin, SNA Volunteer Outreach Specialist, at kari.wallin@state.mn.us.

Welcome to Lost 40 SNA Self-guided Bioblitz 2020, the final SNA Bioblitz of the year! We’re excited to have your help recording the biodiversity of this site and enhancing our species list! We welcome observations of all taxa. Please take some time to read the information below before visiting the SNA to make observations. To learn more about Minnesota Scientific and Natural Areas, check out the website and visiting guidelines . For more information on how to use iNaturalist, check out this video tutorial from SNA naturalist, Arika Preas. And don’t forget to spread the word, using #SNABioBlitz 2020!

Keep in mind, this is a self-guided Bioblitz, which allows individuals and household groups to get outside and contribute to community science while practicing safe social distancing. See more information on the DNR response to COVID-19.

Visiting Lost 40 SNA to make observations, Know Before You Go:

o Brief description: Welcome to Lost 40 SNA! The result of a mapping error in 1882, this old-growth forest was missed by loggers because surveyors mistakenly mapped the area as Coddington Lake, and is now preserved within the Chippewa National Forest. The literal crowning feature of this SNA is its nearly 32 acres of designated old-growth white pine – red pine forest. A study found the oldest individual trees within the SNA to be red pines 230-240 years old. Check out the webpage for more information on this site.

o Visiting guidelines and rules for this site: Scientific and Natural Areas belong to us all; treat them with care. They protect the last remaining habitat for Minnesota's rarest plants and animals. Recreation is limited to protect this habitat and natural diversity. Be light on the land: don’t litter, don’t disturb wildlife, and don’t pick or collect any natural features. Leave only footprints, take only photos!
-Follow all site rules. Allowed: Hiking, bird and wildlife watching, photography, dogs (on leash only), hunting. Not allowed: Motorized vehicles, biking, camping. See the full list of rules on our webpage.

o Recommendations for where to hike and make observations:
-This site has an interpretive trail (with some great new interpretive signs!), but we encourage going off-trail to explore the SNA!
-We have partnered with Chippewa National Forest for this Bioblitz and welcome observations in the Forest Service-owned Unique Biological Area across the road (see map for details). Site map here.
-While it is late in the season for many plants, now is a great time to find and document herbaceous evergreen species, such as wintergreen.

o Map of site.

o Directions, parking and access: From Alvwood, 11 miles E on Co Hwy 29, then 2 miles N on Co Hwy 26, then 0.8 mile W on Forest Rd 2240 (Lost 40 Rd). Parking in lot on S. Lat/Lon: 47.766171, -94.084421. Map it. Please note: there is an outhouse on site, but the nearest facilities are in Northome or Blackduck, which are both about half an hour away. Please come prepared and plan accordingly as this is is a remote site.

o What to bring and wear:
-Please wear blaze orange on site, as it is hunting season and this SNA does allow all hunting
-Dress for the weather, and also to prevent tick bites and poison ivy contact (wear long sleeves and long pants tucked into socks, wear lightly colored clothing to spot ticks more easily)
-Snacks and water
-A hand lens, binoculars, a notebook, field guides, anything you like to use to observe!
-Sun screen, bug spray, a hat if needed
-A boot brush, if you have one, to clean off your boots before and after your visit to prevent the spread of invasive species

o Have questions or want more information? Email Kari Wallin, SNA Volunteer Outreach Specialist, at kari.wallin@state.mn.us.