Don Holt will be the opening night speaker when the 44th Annual Roan Mountain Spring Naturalists Rally gets underway Friday (May 3) in Roan Mountain, Tennessee! Another exciting spring event is planned with fascinating guest speakers, knowledgeable field trip leaders, and wonderful meals for Friday and Saturday night, in addition to box lunches Saturday at noon! Holt will speak on "Bugs through Binoculars: East Tennessee Leps and Odes" and will focus on E. Tennessee Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) and Odotiata (dragontlies and damseltlies). Comparable in variety and beauty to the birds of the region, their behavior and interactions with other tile forms are endlessly interesting, and make them valuable indicators of the health of the environment. Holt's program will introduce you to these winged wonders and their unusual ways! Holt is a lifelong resident of the Central Community in Carter County, Tennessee. He received his bachelor's degree in biological sciences at ETSU in the early 1980s. Through the 1990s he worked as a camp counselor and environmental science instructor at Cedar Creek Learning Center in Greene Co., TN. He was the assistant naturalist at the Steele Creek Park Nature Center in Bristol, Tennessee for more than a year before recently taking a position with Camp Explore at the Clyde Austin 4-H Center, Davy Crockett Lake in Greene County, Tenneessee The Saturday evening program will feature Jack Carman, author of "Wildflowers of Tennessee". A 1963 Mississippi State University graduate, with BS and MS degrees in Aerospace Engineering, Jack is employed as a Senior Engineer Specialist and Test Team Manager by Sverdrup Tech., Inc. at Arnold AFB in Tennessee. His new book, "Wildflowers of Tennessee," is the first comprehensive, statewide, full-color wildflower identification field guide for the great Volunteer State! The book also contains excellent floral coverage for most of the eastern United States, particularly the Central and Southern Appalachians; and the Ohio. Tennessee and mid-Mississippi River valleys. The 785 outstanding color photographs and more than 1100 species described, including most of the state s showier, non-woody, vascular plants, make it a great addition to the collection of every wildflower enthusiast! Carman's knowledge of the subject is seen in his continued participation in events such as the Wildflower Pilgrimage in the Great Smoky Mtns. National Park, Wilderness Wildlife Week in Pigeon Forge, and as a trip leader for several wildflower societies and photography workshops. In addition, his photographic work has received numerous awards and has appeared in the Tennessee Conservationist and Tennessee Wildlife magazines. Most of this copy is taken from the event brochure and prepared by Jennifer A. Bauer, rally director. Wallace Coffey Bristol, TN ************************************************* BRISTOL BIRDS NET LIST This is a regional birding list sponsored by the Bristol Bird Club to facilitate communications between birders and bird clubs of Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee. It serves the Russell County Bird Club, Herndon Chapter TOS, Greeneville TOS Chapter, Blue Ridge Birders Club, Butternut Nature Club, Buchanan County Bird Club, Bristol Bird Club, Clinch Valley Bird Club and Cumberland Nature Club. -------------------------------------------------- You are subscribed to Bristol-Birds. To post to this mailing list, simply send an email to: bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe, send an email to bristol-birds-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the one word 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. -------------------------------------------------- Wallace Coffey, Moderator jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx (423)764-3958