The Spring Field Meeting at Lake Eufala is coming up! We always have lots of good field trips and it is always good to see our colleagues again. All information, and the registration form, is available at the OAS homepage, in particular at this link for information and this one for registration.

In recent field meetings, we have noticed that spring budburst has been coming earlier and earlier. We had spring field meetings at Sequoyah State Park about 2003 and again in 2012. In 2003, the buds were just opening; in 2012, the leaves were already fully expanded. I have found, in my own database, that buds of many tree species opened 1-2 days earlier every year from 2006 to 2012. I presented these results last fall at the Phenology 2012 conference in Milwaukee. This year has seen a reversal, but not (thus far) a complete one: the buds are still opening earlier this year than in 2008, and much earlier than a decade ago. Whatever happens, there will be plenty of biological activity going on at the field meeting.

Consider offering extra credit for your students to participate. They will have to register, of course. I am offering quite a bit of extra credit to my students in botany courses, but to make sure they pay attention I am requiring that they turn in a brief summary, including the major species that they see.

See you there!
Stan Rice
President-elect