Native plant society looks for rare species at Glade site

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

The Colorado Native Plant Society is not typically a political powerhouse. The volunteer group spends most of its energy on education about native species and promotion of those plants in Colorado landscapes.

However, the society is also concerned about conservation of Colorado native flora and their habitats, so members have recently taken an interest in the Glade Reservoir issue. The area north of the Poudre Canyon turnoff that could become habitat for fishes may harbor a few rare and threatened plant species.

On May 19, the group inventoried plants at the site of the proposed reservoir. The information will be turned over to the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, which is coordinating the reservoir project, and local environmental groups. The society hopes the plant inventory will be useful in the Glade decision-making process. A second trip to the Glade site is planned for August.

The environmental impact statement for the Northern Integrated Supply Project, of which Glade is a part, is slated to be ready this July, and public hearings will be scheduled later in the summer. According to Denise Culver, chair of the Colorado Native Plant Society's northern chapter, CONPS has not taken a stand about the Glade project but it may in the future. The plant inventory, she said, is "a good opportunity to participate in local conservation."

On the May trip, CONPS members found an abundance of wildflowers at the Glade site. They were looking particularly for Bell's twinpod, a rare plant that occurs on dry tallus slopes and blooms in the spring, but it was not found in the area they surveyed because the necessary rock formation was not present. On the August trip, the group will search for two threatened species, the Colorado butterfly plant, which likes damp swells; and Ute Ladies' Tresses, an orchid that grows in riparian areas and moist meadows. Both bloom in late summer.

Culver noted that it is more difficult to protect threatened and endangered plants than animals with the same designation. "The Endangered Species Act should really be called the endangered mammals act," she said, because the legislation doesn't have much clout for plants or invertebrate animals. Most protections for listed plants apply only to public lands. In Colorado, the only plant that receives state protection is the state flower, the Colorado columbine.

Culver works with native plants in her day job, too, as an ecologist at the Colorado Natural Heritage Program. This nonprofit organization, which is affiliated with Colorado State University, maintains a database on rare and imperiled plants and habitats.

Society has deep roots

When it isn't delving into politics, the CONPS is dedicated to increasing appreciation for an important part of Colorado's heritage, the plants that have adapted and thrived in this state's semi-arid environment. There are currently about 600 CONPS members statewide, with 150 in the northern chapter. The society was formed in 1976 in response to another development threat, the attempt to mine oil shale deposits on the Western Slope.

The summer season is a busy one for CONPS members. Numerous field trips are in the works, including outings this month to the Denver Botanic Gardens on June 11, the sand hills and sandstone bluffs of northeast Colorado on June 19, Peaceful Valley for a native orchid hike June 24 and the Boulder County Native Seed Collection on June 27. A complete list of summer field trips is posted on the CONPS web site, www.conps.org.

CONPS also hosts informational workshops about plants. The group meets monthly during the fall and winter months, and new members are always welcome.

Culver noted that interest in native plants has increased in recent years with the drought and greater emphasis on waterwise landscaping. Native plants, she pointed out, have adapted both to Colorado's climate and to the clay soils that are prevalent here.

The CONPS web site includes lists of native plants, and there are plenty of other resources for local gardeners who would like to include more Colorado natives in their landscapes. Cooperative Extension can help, and most local nurseries have staff who are experts on the subject, as well as special areas within the nurseries that feature Colorado natives.

Culver also recommends the following books for native-loving gardeners: "Native Plants for High Elevation in Western Gardens" by Janice Busco and Nancy R. Morin; "Waterwise Landscaping with Trees, Shrubs, and Vines" by Jim Knopf; and "Xeriscape Colorado, the Complete Guide" by David Winger and Connie Ellefson.