CoNPS Blog
News, Events & Nature Updates
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...
October 27, 2024 Board of Directors General Session Minutes
The Third quarter Colorado Native Plant Society Board of Directors’ meeting was held on June 23, 2024 virtually on Zoom. The minutes of the general session can be accessed here. October 27, 2024 Board of Directors General Session Meeting Minutes
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...
2023 John Marr Grant Recipients
Sabrine Dritz, Ph.D. student at UC-Davis, “The functional response of bumblebee pollination in diverse floral landscapes”: $1000 Kyla Knauf, Ph. D. student at Northwestern University and the Chicago Botanic Garden, “It’s not just flower power: the importance of seed...
2023 Myrna Steinkamp Grant Award Winners
William Petry, Assistant Professor NC-State, “Fusing data sources across spatial scales for holistic demographic monitoring of the Avery Peak Twinpod (Physaria alpina)”: $1000 My-Lan Le, Master’s student at UC-Denver and Denver Botanic Garden, “Environmental Variation...
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...
Solomon’s Seal: A Good Native Plant for Shady Gardens
People often ask what native plants can be planted in the shade, since most native plants sold in nurseries are adapted to full sun and tolerate hot dry conditions. But most people have some spots in their yard or garden that have some shade, such as under trees or on...
June 23, 2024: Board of Directors General Session Minutes
The second quarter Colorado Native Plant Society Board of Directors’ meeting was held on June 23, 2024 virtually on Zoom. The minutes of the general session can be accessed here. June 23, 2024 Board of Directors General Session Meeting Minutes
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
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 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
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...
Pollinator Districts: Communities Conserving Pollinators
Conservation is fun! Residents celebrate progress by holding Pollinator puppet parade at Manitou Springs’ Pollinator Party. Photo by Amy Yarger Pollinators play a critical role in the food supply for wildlife and people, making pollinators keystone species in most...
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...
February 25, 2024 Board of Directors General Session Meeting Minutes
The first quarter Colorado Native Plant Society Board of Directors’ meeting was held on February 25, 2024 virtually on Zoom. The minutes of the general session can be accessed here. February 25, 2024 Board of Directors General Session Meeting Minutes
Grateful for the Colorado Native Plant Society
The year 2023 did not always carry good news, but one star always shone brightly for me, and that was the activity of the Colorado Native Plant Society. Throughout our beautiful state there were opportunities to hike, to learn, to write, to gather seeds, and to help...
December 10, 2023 Board General Session Meeting Minutes
The fourth quarter Colorado Native Plant Society Board of Directors’ meeting was held on December 10, 2023 virtually on Zoom. The minutes of the general session can be accessed here. December 10, 2023 Board of Directors General Session Meeting Minutes
October 22, 2023 Board General Session Meeting Minutes
The fourth quarter Colorado Native Plant Society Board of Directors' meeting was held on October 22, 2023 virtually on Zoom. The minutes of the general session can be accessed here. October 22, 2023 Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
August 27, 2023 Board General Session Meeting Minutes
Minutes General Board Meeting of the Colorado Native Plant SocietySunday, August 27, 2023 4:00 - 5:00 pm, via Zoom Attachments - all files in CoNPS Official Files > Board of Directors > Board Ops and Committee Mtgs > 2023. If you do not have access to these...
June 25, 2023 CoNPS Board General Session Minutes
General Board Meeting of the Colorado Native Plant SocietySunday, June 25, 2023, 4:00-5:00pmVia ZoomDRAFT Minutes Attachment - all files in CoNPS Official Files > Board of Directors > Board Ops and Committee Mtgs > 2023. If you do not have access to these...
June 17, 2023: CoNPS Comments on the BLM Landscape Health Rule
On June 17, 2023, Brad Klafehn joined forces with the Arizona and New Mexico Plant Societies to file comments on the Proposed BLM Landscape Rules. In their comments the three societies said that it seemed that the new Conservation Leasing initiative would be...
CoNPS Comments on Bears Ears Fuel Reduction Plan
In reviewing the Project and Documentation (PAD) for this project, Brad Klafehn notes that there is no mention of relevant documents produced by Colorado’s only comprehensive source of information on the status and location of Colorado’s rarest and most threatened...
First Hints of Spring – Willow Trees in Flower
Flowers on willow trees are usually dioecious, or with female flowers on one tree and male flowers on others. The male flowers as pictured here can be quite colorful.In our snowy and variable spring this year the bright yellow and orange colors of willow twigs were...
April 23, 2023 General Board Meeting
General Board Meeting of the Colorado Native Plant SocietySunday, April 23, 4:00-5:00pmDRAFT MinutesPresent: Alex Crochet (at large), Alex Smith (at large), Amy Yarger, Ann Grant (OC/ Northern Chapter),Barb Valenti (SE Chapter), Deryn Davidson (at large/ OC), Gwen...
A Unique Native Shrub for Shade: Creeping Barberry
When talking about native plants for landscaping or restoration we normally think of colorful flowers that can grow well out in the sun in dry landscapes. But ecologists learned long ago that diversity and ecological function in most places is tied to a diversity of...
Challenges of Being a Wildflower in Early Spring
By Paul Alaback, Professor Emeritus of Ecology, University of Montana How can early spring wildflowers produce seeds when it is so cold and pollinators are scarce? I have been following the parade of flowers that emerge each spring for many years. It is usually quite...
CoNPS Comments on Clinton Gulch Reservoir Expansion
April 7, 2023 Benjamin Wilson, Senior Project ManagerUS Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque District400 Rood Avenue, Room 224Grand Junction, CO 81501-2520 Re: PUBLIC NOTICE: SPK-2014-00518 Clinton Gulch Reservoir Expansion Project Dear Mr. Wilson, Thank you...
Great Galls!
This time of year exploring around our grasslands and forests you can see many interesting things relating to native plants even before the official growing season starts. For example the other day I saw these galls on a bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) that are called...
Peatland Seeps in Northwest Colorado
This article is re-printed here from The Bog Blogger, with the kind permission of Grant McKown, author, and Sarah Dodgin, blog owner. Great photos all by Mr. Mckown. My crew and I were expecting a nice graminoid meadow – one that had been flooded early on in the...
Yes, You Can Prairie Up!
You’ve been yearning to design a garden, yard, or meadow space but can’t seem to get a grip on which plants to include or how to design the site. Or maybe you’re in the middle of planning one of those spaces but myriad choices have you frozen with indecision. Help has...