Pat Mayse WMA bioblitz -- May 12 - 14 -- plans and schedule

Hey good friends,

So, this weekend is the bioblitz! Again, my apologies that I haven't been a better planner in all of this, but I think it'll still be quite fun -- last minute fun! The weather looks pretty good -- potential for rain on Thursday and a bit on Friday. The rest of the weekend looks good right now.


Ok, here are my general plans. On Friday late afternoon, at like 4 or so, I'll be at this location (https://www.google.com/maps/place/33%C2%B048'42.4%22N+95%C2%B041'02.3%22W/@33.811778,-95.686171,908m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d33.811778!4d-95.683977) -- by the intersection of Farm Road 1499 and County Road 35650. There is a bit of a pull in where we can call it "headquarters." :) If you want to come early, you totally can -- I hear that some folks are coming out on Friday morning to do some exploring. That's cool.

I hear there is a really good fish fry place in Paris, so at like 6 pm or so, if you want, you can join me there:
https://cityseeker.com/paris-tx/946342-fish-fry

Sunset is about 8:00, so I predict coming back to 'headquarters' a bit before to set up some stuff. Michael Fox is bringing a generator, and I'll have some moth gear, so hopefully we'll have some mothing success on Friday night.

Saturday morning, I'm thinking about meeting at the same 'headquarters' location... I'll be up there at like 8:30 or so (depending on how successful...er...late we stay up mothing on night one). I'll bring some Peanut Butter and Jelly and sandwich stuff on Saturday for lunch, and I'll bring extra for those that need some food. It'll be lots of exploring on Saturday.

Saturday evening, I'll bring some hot dog stuff, and hopefully we can find a place to grill. If anyone has a portable grill and would be able to bring it, please do so (and let us know if you can do this!).

Saturday night, we'll do some more mothing, but maybe at another location -- we'll see what sort of different areas might be good to do this.

Sunday morning, perhaps closer to the lake, like right here:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/33%C2%B049'00.5%22N+95%C2%B039'02.7%22W/@33.816813,-95.6523158,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d33.816813!4d-95.650762
This is at the end of County Road 34775 and next to the lake.

For lunch, I'll have whatever we don't scarf down of the PBJ sandwiches. If you want to bring some food for the group, by all means do so! :) I don't expect too much fine dining out in the field while we're out collecting data.

Oh, if at any point you have to leave or won't be able to show up until Saturday or Sunday, that's totally cool. :)

I'll bring some of the left over iNat shirts if you want to pick one up -- let me know if you need one, and I'll check to see if I have a size left. If you got one last time, hold on -- if there are extras, I'll let you know. If you have 10 bucks for the shirt, cool, if not, just write me an IOU or identify like 100 of my observations, and we'll call it even.


There are places to stay in Paris -- Elizabeth and I will be at Days Inn on Friday and Saturday night. We'll go to the hotel before meeting up at like 4 at 'headquarters.' There are several hotels in Paris to stay.

If you want to camp, you can do so anywhere at Pat Mayse WMA, or there are places at the nearby Pat Mayse West Campground, just north of the lake -- these have electricity and water:
https://www.recreation.gov/camping/pat-mayse-west/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=73333


A few notes: no facilities at all in Pat Mayse -- this will be roughing it, so if you need to use the restroom, there's a gas station towards Paris about 10 miles south of the WMA. Be sure to bring LOTS of water and sunscreen and snacks and stuff. Chiggers and ticks are likely out too, so if you'd like, bring some bug spray. You can bring some waders if you want to collect some stuff in the ponds or lake.

Right now, there are just 18 iNat observations around Pat Mayse WMA... So, please make lots of observations of anything and everything! This data will really help out the biologists and managers of the WMA.
http://www.inaturalist.org/projects/pat-mayse-lake-and-surrounding-areas

You can bring any sort of collecting equipment except spear guns. No spear guns. ;) Actually, bring anything you need to get a photo-voucher of the critter/plant, but we don't want to make any physical collections.


If you have any questions or need any more info or anything, toss me a text: 817 771 8793 -- you can also save that number in your phone if you need me or have any concerns.

I really do hope that you're able to come. But if not, that's ok -- I'm thinking we'll do these sort of things at least once a year. It should be a blast!!!

Posted on May 9, 2017 01:10 AM by sambiology sambiology

Comments

I think I may be in for at least an overnight.

Posted by tadamcochran almost 7 years ago

@sambiology Can you bring extra sweep nets? I have one but yours finds better stuff! :)

Posted by kimberlietx almost 7 years ago

I've got a moth light I can bring if there's an extra outlet.

Posted by tadamcochran almost 7 years ago

I reserved site A02 of the campground. If anyone else wants to camp, I can carpool and/or share the campsite.

Posted by gaberlunzi almost 7 years ago

I so wish that I could join everyone this time around! Have fun, and keep me posted on the next iNaturalist BioBlitz! 🐝🐛🐞🌼

Posted by laurenjansensimpson almost 7 years ago

Just booked a room at the America Inn & Suites. I'm in!

Posted by tadamcochran almost 7 years ago

The regional biologists told me about the regular burns on 8A and 8B, some nice ponds/tanks, and some sweet riparian zones. :) Here's a map to plan out some exploring:
https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/hunt/wma/images/pat_mayse_topo.pdf

What fun this will be! :)

Posted by sambiology almost 7 years ago

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