Welcome to the botanical news page. Here you will find news about recent botanical books, jobs, local and national legislation, rare plant action, research, conferences, etc. Click here for a list of links to web sites with additional Colorado botanical news.
If you have botanical news or news sources, please email the webmaster.
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Featured News
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The 2008 Colorado Native Plant Society Annual Meeting will be in Montrose, September 5-7.
The focus of the annual meeting will be on
The Flora of the Adobe Hills.
Click the Annual Meeting link at top left for details.
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Do you have questions about Colorado native plants? Would you like to share information about Colorado native plants? Join the Colorado botanical discussion group for amateurs and professionals. Send in photographs of your mystery plants for identification, discuss key issues about conserving Colorado's native plants, discuss growing native plants in your garden, learn about field trips, etc. Enter your email address below and click here for the group's web page.
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Looking for guided Colorado wildflower trips in 2008?
1) Colorado Native Plant Society chapters have free wildflower trips. See chapter web pages on this web site for trips throughout Colorado.
2) The Colorado Trail Foundation has weeklong trips near Silverton.
3) Redwood Llamas has San Juan Mountain trips.
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In November of 2007, Dr. Bill Weber turned 89 and for his 90th year the Colorado Native Plant Society Newsletter, Aquilegia, will have a series of interviews with Bill conducted by Al Schneider. The first interview is now printed and you can click to read it on this web site. The interview is on pages 8 and 9 of Aquilegia.
If you have additional questions for Dr. Weber, please email them to Al Schneider. Click for the additional questions already submitted.
Photo by Jan Turner
Beaded lanyard by Betty Schneider
Knowing smile by Bill Weber
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DAILY BOTANICAL NEWS
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Posted July 1, 2008:
The new Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research is available on-line. Click for the Journal.
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Posted June 9, 2008:
The Boulder Chapter of the Colorado Native Plant society has new Co-Presidents, Pamela Smith and Cathern Sherman. Outgoing President, Deby Stabler, provided great service to the Society for several years and led the Boulder Chapter in its hosting of the 2007 Annual Meeting. Thanks Deby.
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Posted June 5, 2008
The Center for Native Ecosystems is featured in this week's Newsweek cover story about the politics of endangered species. Entitled "The Race for Survival," the story covers native species in peril, the safeguards built in to the Endangered Species Act to protect those species, and attempts by Bush administration officials to base endangered species decisions on politics rather than sound science. Click to read the article.
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Posted June 5, 2008
Join the American Horticultural Society for its Garden School, "Gardening with Native Plants," on June 19 and 20 at Denver Botanic Gardens. Click for details.
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Posted May 12, 2008
The 12th Biennial Mid-States Cactus & Succulent Conference will be hosted by the Chinle Chapter of the Colorado Cactus & Succulent Society. June 12-15, 2008 in Grand Junction, Colorado.
The Mid-States Conference will feature speakers, vendors, and an auction of unusual plants and other donations. Field trips will allow participants to view cacti in habitat and in gardens. The club maintains two demonstration gardens that have received widespread acclaim for their magnificent collections of many dozens of species. Chinle Chapter members are actively involved in testing an increasing number of species for cold-hardiness and tolerance of the area's high desert climate. Click for details.
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Posted May 12, 2008
The Utah Native Plant Society will host the next Southwest Rare Plants Conference, March 16-20, 2009 at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Keynote speaker will be Noel Holmgren. Details will be on a new southwest rare plants web site presently being worked on.
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Posted April 29, 2008
See the Field Studies page for exciting new educational service trips. The Colorado Native Plant Society annually collaborates with various agencies, academic institutions, and other partners in field studies to promote the conservation and management of Colorado’s rare plants.
Participants conduct field studies, such as, performing general plant inventories in rare habitats, counting or monitoring rare plants at known sites, assisting Master’s or PhD students in collecting field data about rare plants they are studying, or performing focused field surveys for a particular target species.
This is a special chance to assist with valuable research and see very unusual plants. Click the Field Studies link at upper left.
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Posted April 23, 2008
The Center for Plant Conservation has available an annotated bibliography on "Genetic Considerations in Ecological Restoration". Click for the bibliography.
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Posted April 23, 2008
The USDA Woody Seed Manual is available on-line. Click for the Manual.
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Posted April 23, 2008
Mary E. Barkworth of the Intermountain Herbarium, Department of Biology Utah State University, has posted a pdf file of a guide to the ferns of Utah, Nevada, and adjacent regions. Click for the guide.
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Posted April 17, 2008
Congratulations to the Kurzels on the birth of the newest Colorado botanist,Sophie. Board member, Brian Kurzel assures us that Sophie will be ready to lead field trips in 2020.
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Posted April 17, 2008
The "2007 Endangered Species Bulletin" is available free on-line. Click for the Bulletin.
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Posted April 11, 2008
Researchers at the University of Virginia created a mathematical model of how the scents of flowers travel with the wind. The scent molecules produced by the flowers readily bond with pollutants such as ozone, which destroys the aromas they produce. So instead of wafting for long distances with the wind, the flowery scents are chemically altered. Click for details.
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Posted April 11, 2008
The Western Governors Association recently convened a Science Committee to provide guidance on how to identify and map crucial habitats and important wildlife corridors across the West. The draft report of the Science Committee (as well as the other four WGA Policy Committees) is available for public comment. Click for the report. Unfortunately the comment period is only two weeks long and ends April 17, 2008, but even after that you may want to read and comment on the document.
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Posted April 11, 2008
On March 26, 2008 the University Board of Utrecht University, The Netherlands, informed the employees of the Utrecht Herbarium that as of June 1, 2008 the Herbarium is to be closed and, with immediate effect, access to the collections, from national as well as international workers, is to cease. Click for more information and to sign a petition against this closure.
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Posted April 9, 2008
For a list of expected or suspected Wild Bees (Apoidea) in Colorado Springs click to see Adalbert Goertz's web site.
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Posted April 9, 2008
Colorado Native Plant Society Grant Donations Yield Great Rewards
Congratulations to Linda Kothera! Her research on Physaria bellii, funded in part by a CONPS research grant, has resulted in a publication in a scholarly journal. “Assessing the Threat from Hybridization to the Rare Endemic Physaria bellii Mulligan (Brassicaceae)” by Linda Kothera, Sara M. Ward, and Shanna E. Carney was published in the prestigious journal, Biological Conservation (volume 140, 2007, pages 110-118). Click for a summary of Linda’s project.
The Colorado Native Plant Society and its Grants Committee thank all who have contributed to the Marr and Steinkamp funds. As you can see, your donations make a difference. Click for information about the funds.
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Posted April 9, 2008
For information on Colorado roadless areas, see http://roadless.fs.fed.us/ .
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Posted April 9, 2008
Colorado Springs plant enthusiasts: Join Jeff Jones for his weekly Hewlett-Packard Bird/Plant/Nature Walks in Colorado Springs. Jeff leads the walks every Tuesday from noon to 1 p.m. through September, 2008. Meet at the extreme southeast corner of the CX01 building (which is 301 Rockrimmon Blvd) on the HP property. The hour is spent walking the various undeveloped habitats on the 300 acre property identifying all matter of life (birds, plants, mammals, reptiles, etc). Jeff keeps a formal database of all things seen and identified. Questions? Email Jeff.
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Posted April 9, 2008
The Grand Canyon National Park Vegetation Program needs summer help to assist the Horticulturist. STEP employee will assist park horticulturist in vegetation projects at the Grand Canyon National Park Native Plant Nursery and in locations throughout the park. Duties include developing nursery protocols, plant care, propagation, seed collection, nursery production, plant salvage,and supervising individual volunteers and volunteer groups. Full-time summer work will include 40 hr/wk with wages dependent on experience and education. Contact Jan Busco at the Grand Canyon National Park Vegetation Program; 928-638-7782, Janice_Busco@nps.gov.
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Posted March 26, 2008
From Forestry, An International Journal of Forest Research:
"Possibilities for Harmonizing National Forest Inventory Data for Use in Forest Biodiversity Assessments" Click for details.
"Forest Site Productivity: A Review of the Evolution of Dendrometric Concepts for Even-aged Stands" Click for details.
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Posted March 21, 2008
The 12th Annual Mid-States Cactus and Succulents Conference will be held in Grand Junction June 12th-15th. Space is limited, so register now. Click for details.
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Posted March 20, 2008
Read research linking Wolf presence and Aspen growth in the Gallatin Elk winter range of southwestern Montana. Click for details.
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Posted March 20, 2008
You can now access the living and preserved collections at Denver Botanic Gardens online. This catalog of over 45,000 preserved plant and fungal specimens and over 34,000 living plant collections can be searched by common or scientific names. Provenance and collection information is viewable as well. It is hoped that this resource will provide valuable information for both naturalists and gardeners in Colorado and beyond. The Kathryn Kalmbach Herbarium and Herbarium of Fungi are open to the public Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. For assistance with identification, please call in advance to make an appointment as staff are often in the field. Kathryn Kalmbach Herbarium: 720-865-3597, Herbarium of Fungi: 720-865-3651.
Click for the Denver Botanic Gardens online catalog.
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Posted March 17, 2008
Click to read the first of Dr. William Weber's "Biographies of Forgotten Naturalists".
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Posted March 17, 2008
The Union of Concerned Scientists 2007 Annual Report is available on line. Click to read.
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Posted March 15, 2008
Federal program pays for wildflower plantings on farms. Click for details.
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Posted March 14, 2008
City life changes seed strategies. Click for details.
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Posted March 11, 2008
The Colorado Native Plant Society has numerous field trips for 2008 and has just added special Field Studies trips. Click the links at upper top left of this page.
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Posted March 10, 2008
The Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS) is preparing to shine the national spotlight on science in 2009 and beyond. Established in 2007, COPUS is making plans now to celebrate the Year of Science 2009 (YoS09). The goal of this national, year-long celebration of science is to engage the public and improve public understanding about the nature and process of science. COPUS is a grassroots network composed of more than two hundred participating organizations representing universities, scientific societies, science centers and museums, government agencies, advocacy groups, media, educators, businesses, and industry formed in response to recent concerns about national scientific literacy.
For more information about COPUS and the Year of Science 2009, please visit: www.copusproject.org
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Posted February 27, 2008
The University of California and the Jepson Herbaria, University of California Berkeley, are hiring a Bioinformatics Specialist to curate and digitize their world class collections and archives. Click for details on job #7647 .
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Posted February 27, 2008
A new study shows that implementing the Australian Weed Risk Assessment Program in the United States would save billions and reduce process time. Click for details.
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Posted February 27, 2008
The U.S. Forest Service has abandoned a restructuring of its environmental planning that would have pulled its biologists and other specialists out of national forests, according to an internal agency memo released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, PEER. Click for details.
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Posted February 21, 2008
The first seeds have been placed in the arctic global seed vault. Click for details.
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Posted February 21, 2008
The Weed Science Society of America announced a new peer-reviewed, quarterly journal, Invasive Plant Science and Management. The journal will focus on fundamental and applied research about invasive plant biology, ecology, management and restoration of invaded non-crop areas, and educational, sociopolitical, and technical aspects of invasive plant management. Click for details.
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Posted February 21, 2008
MAJOR NEWS:
The Forest Service is releasing a final directive on the use of native plant materials. The directive was initially issued as 'proposed' in the Federal Register and was available for a 60-day review and comment period. With the exception of reforestation policy there was no previous policy for the use of native plants.
This new policy will increase the production and use of native plant materials in restoration, revegetation, and rehabilitation projects on the lands managed by the Forest Service. Click for details.
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Posted February 21, 2008
The Cheyenne Botanic Gardens was recently awarded a $250,000 grant by the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation to build a new children's discovery and learning center. Click for details. And click for the Garden's Home Page.
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Posted February 20, 2008
Click for the newsletter of the Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science.
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Posted February 18, 2008
Fire retardant dropped from aircraft on forest fires may enable certain noxious weeds to spread. Click for details.
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Posted February 8, 2008
The New Mexico Biodiversity Collections Consortium protects New Mexico's natural history collections and makes the information stored in them available to the scientific community and the general public. The Consortium has integrated museum data from the University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University, Western New Mexico University, and Eastern New Mexico University into a searchable format accessible via the Internet. Click for details.
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Posted February 6, 2008
Botanists at the Imperial College London and the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew report that they have found the gene in plants that identifies species. This "barcode" gene can be used to distinguish between the majority of plant species. Click for details.
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Posted February 1, 2008
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has unanimously approved legislation to implement the federal share of the Platte River recovery implementation plan. The measure has already been approved by the House of Representatives. Click for details.
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Posted February 1, 2008
Some Ecologists are now urging that conservation strategies should take into account environmental change. Click for details.
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Posted January 30, 2008
In this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: The hydraulic significance of leaf venation. Click for details.
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Posted January 26, 2008
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has a web page for training volunteers and seasonals to assist in the management of invasive plants. Click for details.
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Posted January 22, 2008
The Denver Botanic Gardens has launched a major fund drive to improve and expand the Gardens. Click for details.
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Posted January 18, 2008
The United States Forest Service and the Colorado State Forest Service recently released the "results of the 2007 forest health annual aerial survey today. Survey results reveal that the bark beetle infestation affected about half a million new acres in 2007, bringing the total number of acres of infestation up to 1.5 million since the first signs of outbreak in 1996." Click for details and maps.
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Posted January 16, 2008
Tree Genetics Unlocked, Giving New Hope For Pine Beetle Defense. "University of British Columbia researchers have discovered some of the genetic secrets that enable pine and spruce trees to fight off pests and disease, uncovering critical new information about forests' natural defense systems." Click for details.
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Posted January 11, 2008
Two articles from Ecology and Society:
"A Toolkit Modeling Approach for Sustainable Forest Management Planning: Achieving Balance between Science and Local Needs" Click for details.
"The Conservation and Restoration of Old Growth in Frequent-fire Forests of the American West" Click for details.
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Posted January 7, 2008
The U.S. Forest Service and the timber industry have abandoned their appeals of a federal court decision that invalidated the Bush administration rule which had removed environmental protections for the 192 million acre National Forest System. Click for details.
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Posted January 7, 2008
Several evolutionary biologists at Duke University have experimental evidence showing that "species interactions can influence selection on morphological traits and drive phenotypic divergence". Click for details.
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Posted January 5, 2008
The Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point has just issued Wildflowers of Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest. With over 2,000 photographs and 300 line drawings, the book covers almost all wildflowers of Wisconsin. Click for details.
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Posted January 3, 2008
Click for details of the Denver Botanic Gardens' "Bonfils-Stanton Lecture Series".
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Posted January 1, 2008
A new book on wildflowers of our area is receiving very favorable reviews. "Mountain Wildflowers Of The Southern Rockies" by Carolyn Dodson (University of New Mexico General Library) and William W. Dunmire (Associate in Biology at the University of New Mexico) can be purchased through the CoNPS Bookstore. Scroll down the Bookstore page to the "Recent Additions" section.
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Posted January 1, 2008
Click to read about the "The Life and Legacy of Lady Bird Johnson" on the National Wildflower Research Center web site.
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Posted December 29, 2007
The Center for Native Ecosystems newsletter is available on-line. Click to read it.
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Posted December 27, 2007
Cornell researchers have established exactly how plants transport sugars from their leaves to the rest of the plant. Click for details.
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Posted December 27, 2007
The federal government has enacted a bill directing the National Institutes of Health to provide the public with open online access to findings from its funded research. Researchers will now be required to deposit electronic copies of their peer-reviewed manuscripts into the National Library of Medicine’s online archive, PubMed Central, no later than 12 months after publication in a journal. Click for details.
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Posted December 27, 2007
Wildflowers of Nevada and Placer Counties, California has just been published by the Redbud Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. Click for the rave reviews and ordering information.
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Posted December 27, 2007
Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have discovered a gene in plants that disrupts fertilization only when mutations in the gene are present in both the female and male reproductive cells. Click for details.
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Posted December 22, 2007
The Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science has many ideas for the 2009 'Year of Science' which has as its goals to engage the public in science and improve public understanding about the nature and processes of science. Click for details.
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Posted December 20, 2007
The Silverton, Colorado based Mountain Studies Institute will host the 2008 " Mountain Climate Research Conference" in Silverton June 9-12, 2008. Click for details.
Also click to see the Mountain Studies Institute Winter 2007 Newsletter.
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Posted December 20, 2007
The University of Colorado at Boulder (UCB), Fort Lewis College (FLC), and the Mountain Studies Institute (MSI) have developed a new collaborative effort for integrated, interdisciplinary studies on the Western Slope of Colorado. Click for details.
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Posted December 20, 2007
Synthesis of the North American Flora
John Kartesz of the Biota of North America Program (BONAP) has indicated that the final version of the Synthesis on a DVD will include about 150,000 images, over 4,000,000 county records, family keys, and much more. The DVD will be for sale by late 2008.
BONAP of the North Carolina Botanical Garden at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, was founded in 1969 by Dr. John Kartesz. The program's goal is to develop a unified digital system for assessing the North American biota. The BONAP database now includes data for all vascular plants and vertebrate species (native, naturalized, and adventive) of North America, north of Mexico.
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Posted December 20, 2007
Major Botanical Work on the Flora of the Four Corners
The Four Corners Flora is nearing completion after over eleven years of field work. The book will be available in the summer of 2008.
For details about the project see Bolack San Juan Basin Flora Project (scroll down the page) and Project Details.
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Posted December 12, 2007
Visit the Sustainable Sites Initiative, an interdisciplinary partnership between the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, the United States Botanic Garden and other organizations to develop guidelines and standards for landscape sustainability. Click for details.
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Posted December 12, 2007
Researchers at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, England have discovered that cells at the margins of leaves and petals secrete "a mobile growth signal" that plays a particularly important role in setting their size. Click for details.
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Posted December 12, 2007
The Shrub Research Consortium is sponsoring its 15th biennial symposium June 17-19, 2008 in Bozeman, Montana. The importance of wildland shrubs to wildlife habitat will be the symposium theme. Click for details.
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Posted December 11, 2007
The Denver Botanic Gardens has received a $30,000 grant to begin work with Colorado State University, the University of Colorado, and the University of Wyoming in the development of an on-line herbarium of plants of the Rocky Mountain area.
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Posted December 7, 2007
Colorado Native Plant Society Workshops Available On-line
The text and photographs of some Colorado Native Plant Society workshops will be available on this web site after they have been presented. We thank the authors for their generosity in making these materials available. See the bottom of the Workshop page.
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Posted December 7, 2007
In the Journal of Experimental Biology: "From Primary to Secondary Growth: Origin and Development of the Vascular System". Click for details.
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Posted December 7, 2007
The first genetic repository for medicinal plants is being set up in the Bent Creek Institute, a part of The North Carolina Arboretum. The repository is being set up with the help of a grant from Mission Health and Hospitals. Click for details.
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Posted December 7, 2007
Become a Colorado Native Plant Master
Is that wildflower useful for landscaping? Learning which native plants are suitable for landscaping is just one of the skills that participants learn in the Native Plant Master™ program, sponsored by Colorado State University Extension. The field-based courses are held on local open space parks and other public and private lands in various counties across Colorado. Courses focus on plant identification, ecology, ethnobotany, landscaping, and other human uses.
Registration is limited. Applications are due for all county programs by March 15, 2008. There is a fee for each course and each course consists of three, four-hour sessions. The cost is reduced for participants who agree to teach at least 20 people per year per course about Colorado plants. Participants who pass three courses and satisfy the teaching requirement become certified Native Plant Masters.
Click for more information or call the following Colorado State University Extension offices:
Boulder - (303) 678-6238
Custer - (719) 783-2514
Eagle and Garfield - (970) 328-8630
El Paso - (719) 636-8920
Jefferson and Gilpin - (303) 271-6620
Larimer - (970) 498-6000
Logan, Morgan, Kit Carson, Yuma, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington - (970) 522-3200
Mesa, Delta, Ouray, E. Montrose - (970) 244-1841
Montezuma, Dolores, La Plata - (970) 565-3123
Pueblo - (719) 583-6579
San Miguel, W. Montrose - (970) 327-4393
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Posted November 29, 2007
An article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science indicates that an evolutionary big bang gave rise to flowering plants. Mike Moore at Oberlin College in Ohio and colleagues sequenced entire chloroplast genomes for 45 flower species from all major groups and found that five sister groups split off nearly simultaneously. Click for details.
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Posted November 29, 2007
New book: Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens, by Douglas Tallamy. Tallamy shows the unbreakable link between native plant species and native wildlife. When native plant species disappear, or are replaced by alien exotics, the insects disappear, thus impoverishing the food source for birds and other animals. Click here and here for details.
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Posted November 29, 2007
A team of researchers, led by the University of Sheffield and Queen Mary, University of London, has discovered how plants protect their leaves from damage by sunlight when they are faced with extreme climates. The new findings, published in Nature, could have implications both for adapting plants to the threat of global warming and for helping man better harness solar energy. Click for details.
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Posted November 27, 2007
The US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Center for Invasive Plant Management announced a new e-learning, science-based Web site aimed at engaging volunteers and the public in invasive plant issues and management. Five self-study modules address the purpose and history of the refuge system, how volunteers help in invasive plant management, how refuges manage invasive plants, and tips for community outreach.
The Web site is part of a larger program carried out by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in conjunction with partners such as the National Wildlife Refuge Association, to engage volunteers in managing invasive species on National Wildlife Refuges. Click for details.
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Posted November 27, 2007
The 2008 annual meeting of the American Institute of Biological Sciences will be held 12 and 13 May on the theme of "Climate, Environment, and Infectious Diseases. Click for details.
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Posted November 23, 2007
From "High Country News" comes an excellent article on the results of the use of Diorhabda elongata, the Kazakhstan Tamarisk leaf beetle, in the control of Tamarisk. Click for the article.
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Posted November 20, 2007
The new book, Gardening with Altitude, tells us how the Denver Botanic Gardens creates floral displays and how we can use their techniques in our own high altitude garden. Click for details and to purchase .
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Posted November 20, 2007
Colorado State University researchers have found that invasive plant species such as spotted knapweed are not only taking a toll on native plant species, but are also having a detrimental effect on the biodiversity of microbes in the soil. The research will soon be published in the "International Society for Microbial Ecology Journal." Click for details.
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Posted November 18, 2007
Click to read a book review of David Beerling's, The Emerald Planet, How Plants Changed Earth's History. To purchase, click here to enter Amazon from the CoNPS Bookstore.
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Posted November 18, 2007
The thirteenth World Forestry Conference sponsored by the United Nations will be held October 18-25, 2009 in Buenes Aires. The relevance of every type of forest and its contribution to the planet’s sustainable development will be stressed. Internationally renowned speakers, academic institutions, producers, environmentalists, indigenous and rural people, forest managers, technical experts and policy makers will share ideas on forestry and offer a global view on the future of world’s forests. Click for details.
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Posted November 17, 2007
Apply now for the 2008 International Diploma in Botanic Garden Education. Botanic Gardens Conservation International is joining forces with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, to offer the International Diploma in Botanic Garden Education from Sept. 15-Oct. 17, 2008. Scholarships are available. The course aims to equip participants with skills and strategies to communicate effectively with their varied audiences. See the BGCI website for full details. The deadline for applications is June 30, 2008. Applications for the scholarship program must be in by January 31, 2008.
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Posted November 14, 2007
Whitecap Books has recently published Wildflowers of the Rocky Mountains by Scotter and Flygare. This revised and expanded version of their 1986 Wildflowers of the Canadian Rockies now covers the Rockies from British Columbia to New Mexico. Click for details.
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Posted November 6, 2007
NatureServe has announced that Colorado is one of five states selected to pilot a $5 million project to implement LandScope America, an online conservation and educational guide for the land protection community and the public. LandScope Colorado will be headed by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program. Click for details.
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Posted October 25, 2007
Why don't people notice plants? Click to read, "Toward a Theory of Plant Blindness" from the Plant Science Bulletin.
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Posted October 18, 2007
The Colorado Native Plant Society has a new chapter, the San Luis Valley Chapter. If you live in the San Luis Valley area and would like to meet with like-minded plant folks for hikes, native plant studies, programs about native plants, service projects, etc., call Cindy Beaver: 719-256-5291 or email her. Click to take a look at the Chapter's new web page.
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Posted October 17, 2007
Harvesting of trees. Consuming of oil for transportation. Polluting of air. These are major costs of the catalogs and other unsolicited mail we receive daily. Want to help a bit by stopping some of this mail from coming to you?
Catalogs: Visit Catalog Choice and opt out of catalogs that you no longer want or can find on-line.
Credit card solicitations: Call 1 888 567-8688 and follow the prompts. Takes a minute and really works.
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Posted October 17, 2007
From the latest email news from Botanic Gardens Conservation International: "Planting Science". The Botanical Society of America and the American Society of Plant Biologists have teamed up with educators and science education researchers to create "Planting Science". This online education outreach program involves student teams in designing and conducting plant investigations in the classroom, while working with online scientist mentors.
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Posted October 15, 2007
Fire, grazing, Cheatgrass, and the future of western lands in this weeks High Country News. Click for details.
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Posted October 15, 2007
NEW LAW FORGIVES SOME STUDENT LOAN DEBT FOR NON-PROFIT WORKERS. The Higher Education Access Act of 2007, signed into law (PL 110-84) on 27 September, HR 2669, includes a provision establishing a direct loan forgiveness program under which "borrowers who, after October 1, 2007, have made 120 payments under income-based or standard repayment plans while employed in certain public service jobs may have 1/10th of their outstanding loan forgiven for each year during which they earned $65,000 or less."
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Posted October 13, 2007
We hear daily about global warming but seldomly about the root cause: over population. If human population were one/sixth of what it is now, and we remained the polluting individuals that we presently are, we would have few, if any of the massive environmental problems we now face. Says Science Newsletter, "One species--Homo sapiens--consumes nearly a quarter of Earth's natural productivity. Some people may live lightly on the land, but the demands of the world's population as a whole consume nearly a quarter of Earth's total biological productivity". Click for details.
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Posted October 12, 2007
Version 2 now available: Neil Snow's "Checklist of Vascular Plants of the Southern Rocky Mountain Region" is now available. It covers nine counties in southern and eastern Wyoming (Albany, Carbon, Converse, Goshen, Laramie, Niobrara, Natrona, Platte, Sweetwater), all of Colorado, and eight counties from northcentral New Mexico (Colfax, Los Alamos, Mora, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, San Miguel, Santa Fe, and Taos). The checklist includes 127 families, 795 genera, and 3,400 species. Click for the checklist in PDF format.
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Posted October 12, 2007
The Colorado Natural Resources Conservation Service has recently funded 10 Conservation Innovation Grants proposals totaling approximately $618,000. Click for details.
Also from NRCS: Funds for invasive plant control. During fiscal year 2008, the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Colorado will utilize a Call for Proposal process to offer up to one million dollars of Environmental Quality Incentives Program funding targeted for the control of invasive plant species. Click for details.
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Posted October 5, 2007
From the Journal of Experimental Biology, "From Primary to Secondary Growth: Origin and Development of the Vascular System". Click for details.
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Posted October 2, 2007
How weeds and invasive plants develop and interact in their new environment, and how people can manage and control them, are addressed in a newly revised book, Ecology of Weeds and Invasive Plants. Click for details.
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Posted September 11, 2007
Recent research indicates that carbon dioxide enrichment alters plant community structure and accelerates shrub growth in the shortgrass steppe. Click for details.
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Posted August 15, 2007
In the Annals of Botany: "Are Petals Sterile Stamens or Bracts? The Origin and Evolution of Petals in the Core Eucidcots". Click for details.
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Posted August 6, 2007
Check the American Institute of Biological Sciences web site for their new Education Events Calendar. Click for details.
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Posted July 16, 2007
See The Center for Native Ecosystems web site for information about their Front Range field trips and for general Colorado botanical news.
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Posted June 21, 2007
The Mountain Studies Institute in Silverton has education series that includes films, lectures, and hikes. Click for details.
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Posted June 21, 2007
Click for brief extracts about three book reviews:
Plant Roots. Growth, Activity and Interaction With Soils
Wild Orchids of the Prairies and Great Plains Region of North America
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Posted May 24, 2007
The Xerces Society has redesigned its series of pollinator conservation fact sheets. Each sheet provides a simple overview and basic guidance on providing a different aspect of pollinator habitat. The sheets cover choosing plants for bees (there are three sheets: Pacific Northwest, California, and a general sheet for North America), providing nests for native bees, and butterfly gardening. Click for more details .
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Posted May 14, 2007
The Lady Bid Johnson Wildflower Center has just put the finishing touches on an invasive species brochure and poster that educates gardeners and homeowners about best management practices to prevent harmful invasive plants from invading parklands and natural areas. The material was developed in cooperation with the National Park Service, The Garden Club of America, the National Invasive Species Council, and many others. It is free. To request copies, email Lynda Brick with your address and quantity requested. Click to see the brochure. Click to see the poster.
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Posted April 28, 2007
New on-line: A Guide to the Mosses of North America. Click for details.
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Posted April 26, 2007
New book on invasive species: Invasive Plants: A Guide to Identification and the Impacts and Control of Common North American Species. Click for details.
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Posted April 15, 2007
The Nature Conservancy's Report, "An Ounce of Prevention: How to Stop Invasive Insects and Diseases from Devastating U.S. Forests", is now available on-line. Click for the report.
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Posted April 5, 2007
Nature Serve, The Nature Conservancy, and the National Park Service now have on-line: AN INVASIVE SPECIES ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL: EVALUATING NON-NATIVE PLANTS FOR THEIR IMPACT ON BIODIVERSITY. The Protocol was developed "as a tool for assessing, categorizing, and listing non-native invasive vascular plants according to their impact on native species and natural biodiversity in a large geographical area such as a nation, state, province, or ecological region". Click for details.
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Posted April 3, 2007
The Journal of Experimental Biology "Flowering Newsletter Bibliography for 2006" is now available. Click for details.
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Posted March 30, 2007
The North American Pollinator Campaign pollinator curriculum for children is now
available online. The web site provides a curriculum for grades 3-6.
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Links to web sites with additional
Colorado, regional, and national botanical news
The American Institute of Biological Sciences
The American Society for Plant Taxonomists promotes research and teaching of taxonomy, systematics, and phylogeny of vascular and nonvascular plants.
Botanic Gardens Conservation International
Botanical Electronic Information Sites
Botanical Post-doctoral, Fellowship, and Career Opportunities
The Botanical Society of America promotes botany, studying and inquiring into the form, function, development, diversity, reproduction, evolution, and uses of plants and their interactions within the biosphere. The objectives of The Society are to: sustain and provide improved formal and informal education about plants; encourage basic plant research; provide expertise, direction, and position statements concerning plants and ecosystems; and foster communication within the professional botanical community, and between botanists and the rest of humankind through publications, meetings, and committees.
Boulder County Nature Association
Bureau of Land Management, Colorado
The Center for Native Eco-Systems, based in Denver, works to protect and recover all of the native plants and critters, and their homes, in the Greater Southern Rockies ecosystem.
Center for Plant Conservation News
Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts promotes and supports land conservation efforts in Colorado.
Colorado Conservation Trust is a statewide non-profit organization that protects special places of Colorado.
Colorado Department of Natural Resources News
Colorado Natural Areas Program, a division of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, protects areas that contain at least one unique or high-quality natural feature of statewide significance.
Colorado Natural Heritage Program tracks and ranks Colorado's rare and imperiled species and habitats and provides information and expertise on these topics to promote the conservation of Colorado's valuable biological resources.
Colorado Open Lands is a non-profit land trust dedicated to protecting working farms and ranches and the diminishing natural heritage of Colorado.
Colorado State University Cooperative Extension Current Topics in the uses of plants.
Colorado State University Research
Colorado Weed Management Association Newsletter
Employment: Botanical Post-doctoral, Fellowship, and Career Opportunities
Endangered Species Coalition speaks for several hundred organizations and works to ensure that the Endangered Species Act and endangered species are preserved.
The Grand Canyon Trust is committed to protecting and restoring the Colorado Plateau.
Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) Trust Fund dedicates a portion of state lottery proceeds to projects that preserve, protect, and enhance Colorado's wildlife, parks, rivers, trails, and open spaces.
High Country News
High Country News Listing of Conservation Conferences, Events, and Education.
Horticulture on-line from Colorado State University Cooperative Extension
International Association for Plant Taxonomy
Jobs: Environmental Jobs in Colorado