Brice Prairie Conservation Association

Brice Prairie Conservation member and artist Laurie Stiers recently completed a mural depicting a number of BPCA projects on location in typical Black River bottoms habitat. The original artwork is 4 feet by 8 feet and now hangs in the BPCA lodge. A digital reproduction of the mural replaces the BPCA "welcome" sign at the junction of County ZN and Z. Stiers took several months to complete painting, which incorporates wood duck and bluebird houses, an emergency shelter, and swamp white oaks in planting "tubes". Lotus, river birch, wild rice, wild celery, pickerel weed and arrowhead are among the other typical flora represented in the mural. The BPCA mural is her largest work to date, though she has sketched biological illustrations for many years, beginning with illustrations for her biologist father's publications at Santa Barbara City College. Besides her artistic talent, Stiers is an accomplished folk guitarist and soprano, when she isn't working her medical "day job", where she is a licensed nurse practitioner, herbalist, and intensive care nurse.

The frame for the large mural was made by Matt Schultz, with some help from his father, Marc Schultz, using wood moulding salvaged from a dumpster. Much woodworking creativity was applied by Matt to clamp the oversize frame! Many thanks also to Leif Marking and Howard Kelly for digital photography and advice about reproductions of the original.