The saying “March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb” has held true this year. The month of March started out with the last snow storm, and cold weather. As the month progressed, signs of spring emerged. Flowers began to bloom. Since this is my first winter and spring in a region that has seasons (ie not Florida), it’s truly wonderful to see all the colors emerging and have the ability to wear shorts on the weekend!

At work, I have spent most of the past month continuing work on the Florida lichen database. All the corrections have been made, and now I am in the process of shipping off more than 800 specimens to herbaria across the world. It has been great to see the fruits of my labor. I know that this work will significantly enhance the lichen collections of many Florida herbaria. As I continue to ship off more collections, I also intend to rewrite a few dichotomous keys of Florida lichens, and publish a few short papers on my findings.

In late March, the Northwest Scientific Association and the Northwest Lichenologists held their yearly conference in Boise. It was great to meet other lichenologists and to network and learn about current research. It was personally satisfying, since I helped organize many aspects of the NWL meeting and presented my first academic paper!

Barry Kaminsky

Idaho State Office