Annual Meeting

The ABLS annual conference will be at the Riverside Hilton, New Orleans, Louisiana 

27 July - July 31, 2013 

Registration for the conference, workshops, field trips, and ticketed events can be found here

To submit an abstract for the conference, click here

The society has a field trip planned for Sunday, July 28th to the Barataria Preserve, Jean Lafitte National Historical Park. 

The Barataria Preserve contains three major plant systems: hardwood forest, swamp, and marsh, and is a good place to see over 400 species of plants. This is encompassed in an elevation change of a little over half a foot -  not much to humans but making all the difference to the park's flora.  Lichens and bryophytes are abundant mostly on tree trunks and canopy branches.

Our field trip will be led by Park Naturalist Aleutia Scott, and Jim Bennett and Roger Rosentreter of ABLS. Please bring comfortable hiking shoes, and bug spray (mosquitoes!). Water will be provided. Restrooms are available at the Visitor’s Center.  Note that collecting will NOT be permitted, although we will look at lots of lichens and bryophytes.  This is a great opportunity to see habitats and plant communities that will be unfamiliar to those coming from more northern regions.  Do come and explore with fellow ABLS enthusiasts!
If time and the weather permit it, we will make a short stop at Jefferson Davis Parkway to view the lichen lines on the live oaks.

National Park website:  http://www.nps.gov/jela/barataria-preserve.htm
List of plants: http://www.nps.gov/jela/naturescience/plants.htm

Don't forget to register for the Monday morning ABLS breakfast!

Note: For information about previous annual meetings, please see the archive.

Workshops, Classes, Seminars, and Forays

about Bryophytes and Lichens

Bryophytes

Courses at Eagle Hill Field Institute
Steuben, Maine

Bryophytes and Bryophyte Ecology (June 2 - 8) Nancy G. Slack & Jeffrey G. Duckett

Liverworts and Liverwort Ecology (June 9 - 15) A. Jonathan Shaw & Blanka Shaw

Bryophylous Fungi (July 7 - 13) Peter Döbbeler 

SO BE FREE 18
Tuesday - Friday, March 26 - 29, 2013 
In the Cuyamaca Mountains near Julian, San Diego Co., California

The 2013 SO BE FREE will be held in the Cuyamaca Mountains near the historic gold mining town of Julian, CA.  Palomar, Laguna and Cuyamaca Ranges and Anza-Borrego Desert will provide diversity for our bryophyte searches from mixed conifer forests and oak woodlands all the way down to the Colorado Desert.  Registration is due by Jan. 15th, 2013; see details at http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/SO_BE_FREE_18-Final.pdf 

2013 Crum Workshop
July 1 - 6, 2013 
In Parc National de la Gaspésie on the Gaspé Peninsula of Québec

The 2013 Crum Workshop will be held on the Gaspé Peninsula of Québec. Expect an bryophyte flora with significant arctic elements. Remember that the first volume (Hepaticae) of Jean Faubert’s beautiful Québec bryoflora is already published and the first moss volume may be out about the time of our workshop. At least some of the Société québécois de bryologie will join us. Our local representative will be Jean Gagnon with the Québec Parks Department. If you have specific queries about the site, you can reach Jean at jean.gagnon[at]mddep.gouv.qc.ca. He is arranging all collecting permits.  See more details about this event at 2013 Crum Workshop.pdf 

Lecideoid Lichens: Saxicolous and Corticolous (June 16 - 22) Alan Fryday

Lichens and Lichen Ecology (June 23 - 29) David H.S. Richardson & Mark R.D. Seaward

Lichens, Biofilms, and Stone (July 14 - 20) Judy Jacob & Michaela Schmull

Calicioid Lichens and Fungi and Old Growth Forest Ecology (July 21 - 27) Steven Selva

How to use Spot Tests and TLC to help in Lichen Identification (August 4 - 10) Scott S. LaGreca & H. Thorsten Lumbsch

Also check out our information on academic university classes on lichens and/or bryophytes.