Be Bold, Be Native: Speak for the Plants!

Be Bold, Be Native: Speak for the Plants!

The election is over, now let’s vote for Colorado’s native plants and habitats! The CoNPS is collaborating this year with the Colorado Gives Foundation in our annual fundraising effort and we are reaching out to our members and friends for their support. The...

Wetlands Restoration at Rocky Mountain National Park

It’s hard to overestimate the importance of wetlands in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, where for millennia both humans and wildlife have been relying on them as a source of food, shelter, and clean water. In Rocky Mountain National Park, (RMNP) a concerted effort is...
The Alpine Sublime

The Alpine Sublime

When the lowlands are sweltering, savvy Coloradans make tracks to the Alpine Sublime. Up in the higher elevations they find relief from the heat and also revel in a stunning display of wildflowers that are only found on the lofty peaks. Frigid temperatures, heavy...
Nature’s Best Hope: Young Reader’s Edition

Nature’s Best Hope: Young Reader’s Edition

Hope is right! Here is a book that gives kids reasons for hope and steps they can take to make positive contributions right where they live, a wonderful way to counteract the ‘doom-and-gloom’ side of conservation and climate change issues. The original edition of...
Collecting, Saving, and Sowing Native Seeds

Collecting, Saving, and Sowing Native Seeds

Here are tips you can count on! Denise Wilson has been a Seed Collection Project Manager for the National Park Service in eight western National Parks, including here in Colorado at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site...
Serviceberry: A Shrub for All Seasons

Serviceberry: A Shrub for All Seasons

Serviceberry flowers have distinctive long narrow petals and clustered in racemes, leaves are oblong to rounded, with teeth mostly at tip. Late May is a special time of year for many of us.  It’s the beginning of the gardening season, and a good time to have outdoor...
Fireweed: the Fire Follower

Fireweed: the Fire Follower

On a summer hike in a burn area, people point to pink-purple understory patches and ask, “What’s that?” After a fire, this native perennial re-carpets our land in striking stands. Fireweed, Chamerion angustifolium, was one of the top-producing plants re-colonizing...
Growing Native Plants in Containers

Growing Native Plants in Containers

Yes, you can plant natives in containers! You can attract birds, butterflies, and native bees with them, too. And as you build your container garden you will also be contributing to the corridors of connectivity that environmentalists are trying to encourage...