Fill In the Blanks
Looking at the map of iNaturalist observations in Manitoba, it's clear some areas get a lot of attention while others get comparatively little. In this post, I want to highlight an area that could use some iNaturalist love.
The area I'm thinking of includes the Pembina Hills/Manitoba escarpment on the east, the Tiger Hills (along Hwy 2) in the north, and up to about Hwy 18 to west. The Pembina River runs through the middle of this area.
The Pembina Hills and the Tiger Hills represent some really interesting topography - and therefore some interesting habitats - to explore, yet aside from a few small pockets of observations, much of this area has not been the subject of much exploration by iNatters. Much of this area has not been extensively studied by professional botantists since the time of William Cody in mid-1900s, so there's very few recent plant records for this area despite some uncommon species known from here. Uncommon plants known (at least historically) from the area include spring bloomers such as Sessile-leaved Bellwort (Uvularia sessilifolia) and Round-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica americana). Other plants to watch for are Canada Honewort (Cryptotaenia canadensis), Hop-hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), Plains Cymopterus (Cymopterus glomeratus), and Canada Tick-trefoil (Desmodium canadense).
Not into plants? There's lots of birding opportunities, especially along the escarpment, and of course real potential to find Western Tiger Salamanders near wetlands - St. Leon even has a salamander museum and statue!
Much of this area is privately owned, so be sure to stick to public areas (such as provincial wildlife management areas) or contact landowners for permission to access their land. Hopefully a few people can find their way to this unique area, and if all goes well, I might even get out of the office and see it for myself!
