I just received word from Dr. Joydeep Bhattacharjee that the BioBlitz flooded out last spring has been rescheduled Saturday, Oct. 6! Here’s hoping some Master Naturalists will be able to participate.
The ULM Biological Station, Charles Allen Nature Trail is near Columbia, La. It is a wonderfully diverse habitat ranging from a low-lying cattail pond along the east side bordered by Fischer Road, to high bluffs overlooking the Ouachita River, and down again to very low ground next to the river.
Several ULM faculty members will participate in the BioBlitz. Details are not yet set, but typically hikes begin about 7 a.m. Graduate students will go down the night before to set live traps in the pond.
Birds, trees, herbeceous plants, reptiles, aquatic life and more will be on the agenda. I will be looking for the crane fly orchid locations I marked a couple of years ago! Of course, the orchids are past blooming, but I might be able to locate the sites that still have spent flower stalks.
This will be a great opportunity for a family-fun outing, so bring kids and grandkids who are old enough to do a little hiking. This 100-acre site is a great place to introduce them to the great outdoors, as the trails are wide and relatively easy to walk. Some are a bit steep but not rocky, and you can stay on gentle grades all day if you prefer.
This will be a great opportunity to practice what we’ve been learning in our certification workshops. Not only will we contribute our observations to a BioBlitz Species list, but we can generate one for our group’s observations, and we can add them to the iNaturalist project I started for this location some time ago.
Louisiana Master Naturalists - Northeast 
Reblogged this on Wild Open Eye – Natural Vision, News from Wild Open Eye and commented:
This sounds like a very interesting open event! A rare opportunity to explore the ULM Research station with its dramatic topography and sample some of its biodiversity in this season.
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