CoNPS Blog

News, Events & Nature Updates

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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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Grateful for the Colorado Native Plant Society

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...

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First Hints of Spring – Willow Trees in Flower

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...

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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...

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A Unique Native Shrub for Shade: Creeping Barberry

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...

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Challenges of Being a Wildflower in Early Spring

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...

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Great Galls!

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...

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Peatland Seeps in Northwest Colorado

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...

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Yes, You Can Prairie Up!

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...

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