How many attending: 8

Name: 2012 MSA Annual Meeting Foray
Location: Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Start: 2012-07-15
End: 2012-07-15

Event Description: The 2012 MSA Foray will take place the morning of Sunday July 15 in West Rock Ridge State Park, just west of the city of New Haven. Anyone interested in participating in the foray itself is welcome. Those who have not paid for the foray through the Mycological Society of America will need to provide their own transportation, and meet the MSA busses at the entrance to the park at 8:30 AM. See maps.

The park is a 7-mile long ridge of north-south orientation, composed of extrusive volcanic basalt (also known as "trap rock"), the southern terminus of the Metacomet Ridge system that extends north for 100 miles through the Connecticut River Valley, terminating in Massachusetts at the Vermont/New Hampshire border. The ridge system comprises a variety of microclimates unusual for New England. On the warmer and drier upper ridges one finds oak savannah, with an abundance of chestnut oak (Quercus montana), bear oak (Q. ilicifolia), and relict populations of post oak (Q. stellata), and an understory of grasses and ferns. Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) is common on the barren cliff edges, where one also occasionally finds prickly pear cactus (Opuntia humifusa). Peregrine falcons nest on the west facing vertical ridges, and northern copperheads can also be found here. The wetter and cooler ravines of the east-facing slope support oak-hickory and northern hardwood forest types.

Among the network of trails that run through the park is the ridge-top Regicides Trail, named after the two judges who, having signed the death warrant of King Charles I of England in 1649, sought refuge from arrest on this part of the ridge in 1660, after the crown was restored to Charles II. The Regicides trail is now part of the newly designated 250-mile New England National Scenic Trail. The southern terminus of the ridge includes an overlook with expansive views of the surrounding area and Long Island Sound.

After the foray, participants will gather at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station at the edge of New Haven for a pizza or salad lunch. After the foray display tables will be available for participants to share their collections and local mushroom experts will be available to help with identification and tallying records from the foray. Everyone will depart by 3:00PM.

Everyone must register if they plan to partake of the catered lunch at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (but you are welcome to bring your own). The default option for the catered lunch will be pizza, unless you specify salad with chicken or salad with cheese. The cost for the catered lunch will be $12 per person, to be paid at the lunch time.

Register

Created At: 2012-05-19
Updated At: 2012-06-18