Native Plant talk at Wagon Box Fight Site to be Held

On Thursday, June 6, beginning at 5 p.m., at the Wagon Box Fight Site, there will be a guided wildflower walk led by Mae Smith the Director of Agriculture and Rangeland Management instructor at Sheridan College. She will talk about the native plants that can be found at the site.

There will be a scavenger hunt for the plants, and there are at least 20 different species that participants should find and identify in the area around the Wagon Box Fight monument. The pasture where the many of the wildflowers can be found is only open to the public once a year.

In 2022, Smith said she identified 42 different plant species in the area. She will give a talk before the hike on how to identify the various wild flowers, grasses and shrubs.

Some of the species that might be found include shrubs such as Wild Roses, Western Snowberry, hawthorn and Fringed Sagewort. There are grasses such as Sandberg Bluegrass and Idaho Fescue. Larkspur, Purple Mustard and Golden Banner are some of the flowers that are in the area.

Everyone is welcome and the event is free.

The second event in 2024 at the Fort will be a hike up Pilot knob on June 8 starting at 10 a.m. Everyone is welcome and the usual site fees apply. On May 30, around 12 people attended the Women’s Hike around the fort and up Pilot’s Knob.

The visitor center is slated to open soon, and everyone is invited to come and visit Fort Phil Kearny this summer.