Newsletter of the Colorado Native Plant Society . . dedicated to the appreciation and conservation of the Colorado native flora” Volume 26 Number 1 January - February 2002 THE YEAR IN REVIEW Compile and edited by Alice Guthrie, CoNPS Secretary Twenty-five years! And what better way to advance our mission during our twenty-fifth year than to continue doing what we do best. From the successful Annual Meeting through the well- attended workshops and field trips to the numerous Chapter activ- ities , the Society again provided a diversity of activities for mem- bers, coupled with an increasing advocacy for Colorado native ’ant species. It is truly humbling to see the^ energy, enthusiaism, "^^^d activity of our Society and chapter officers ; committee chairs and members; workshop and field trip leaders and coordinators; speakers; and numerous volunteers, who work in a variety of capacities, .^^le reading this review summarizing the activities marking our anniversary year, consider volunteering in some capacity, contributing to one of pur endowments, or giving a gift of membership in the Society. Annual Meeting 2001 CoNPS celebrated its 25*^* Anniversary at the Annual Meeting on September 29, 2001 with a program entitled “Conserving Colorado’s Flora: A 25- Year Retrospective,” hosted by the Fort Collins Chapter, the first Society chapter. Dr. William Weber received an official CoNPS field vest in honor of his hfetime ded- ication to Colorado’s Flora. A poster contest was held to com- memorate the anniversary with the winning artists being Ronnie K. Anthony (sand cherry, Prunus besseyi), Jdn Baucum (white evening primrose, Oenothera caespitosa), and Connie Sayas (Wright’s verbena. Verbena wrightii). Dr. Sue Martin led the pro- gram with an informative and humorous review of CoNPS activ- ities entitled “The Colorado Native Plant Society. What A First Twenty-five Years!” Other speakers included Carol Brandt, Renee Rondeau, Dr. Dieter Wilken, and Larry Schlichenmayer. Chris Pague, past president of the Society, concluded with thoughts on the future of native plant conservation from a landscape approach, nety members attended and contributed to over $6,000 in book ^^d merchandise sales. Thanks to Fort Collins Chapter members, the Annual Meeting Committee, our esteemed speakers, the book sales crew, and moderator Alice Guthrie. News from Chapters The Boulder Chapter began the year with Carolyn Crawford’s botanical photo tour of several eastern Colorado counties; Dick Yeatts covered Fibonacci Numbers in Nature; and Lani Lamming (Ewe-4-ic Weed Control Service) discussed weed control with goats. Jim Borland reviewed Native Plant Gardening and Propagation and members staffed CoNPS booths at Earth Day celebrations in Louisville and Boulder held in the spring. Ann Ruggles and Lynn Reidel led a spring hike in the South Boulder Creek State Natural Area. Fall presentations included a photo tour of Big Bend National Park by Carolyn Crawford and Bill Jennings, a discussion of the management challenges at Dinosaur National Monument by Tamara Naumann, and an inspiring pre- sentation on the Sandhills of Nebraska by local naturalist and author Stephen Jones. Field trips included a weed pull around Harper Lake in Louisville and a trip led by Claire DeLeo to view the results of post-fire revegetation efforts at Walker Ranch (Boulder County Open Space). Chapter members participated in a service project on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) campus along with several other groups. Clumps of big bluestem salvaged from the construction site of the David Skaggs Building were transplanted into a landscaped area honoring the natural heritage of the site. The Chapter thanks Caryl Shields for two years of service as President and Carolyn Crawford for organizing a fabulous slate of presentations. Kathy Damas assumed the office of President in August. '‘The Year in Review"" continues on page 2 Contents About the Society . . . .9 Announcements . .3, 4, 5, 6, 7-8 Articles . . . . .1-3, 4, 5 Calendar ... .... . .10 Chapter News and Announcements . . . . .7-8 Membership in the Society ....... . . .9 Page 2 Aquilegia VoL 26 No. 1 “The Year in Review” continued from page 1 The Denver Chapter had a wonderful year with many interesting lectures, a successful weed-pull, and increased member participa- tion. In the spring. Dr. Neil Snow provided a broad overview of the Australian flora, emphasizing Queensland; Dr. Carol Dawson presented addressed the ecology and reproduction of the federally endangered milkvetch. Astragalus osterhoutiv, Jody Nelson dis- cussed the incredible biodiversity found at Rocky Hats; and Dr. Lois Brink described the collaborative effort to re-create a prairie garden at BfomweU Elementary Garden. In early summer, mem- bers pulled weeds in a small remnant of native grasslands along Cherry Creek. In the fall, Andy Cole talked about using fire to control weeds at Roxborough S tate Park, Dr. Vickey Trammel discussed real life detective sto- ries from her work as a forensic botanist, and Dr. Shanna Carney reviewed her research on hybridization of Oxytropis sericea and O. lambertii. If you are not already on our e-mail list, please con- tact Leo P. Bruederle at lbruederle@earthhnk.net. The Fort ColUhs Chapter had six meetings and several field con- servation activities in 2001 Annette Miller succeeded Don Hazlett as Chi^ter President. Speakers were Susan Mead on herbal medicine. Dr. Walt Fertig of Wyoming on the status of Gaura neomexicana ssp. coloradensis (Colorado butterfly plant), and Dr. Gil Fechner (CSU, Professor Emeritus) on the trees of Colorado. In the fall, Dave Anderson talked about rare plants of El Paso County, while David Weber discussed purple loosestrife. Chapter members searched for, relocated, and recorded plants of several rare species in Larimer County, including: Aletes humilis, Aquilegia saximontana, Isoetes setaceq ssp. muricata, several Botrychium species, and Dryopteris eJpansa. More rare plant hunting is planned for 2002, as well as two field trips on private land, the pmpose of which is to prepare plant lists. Plateau Chapter members enjoyed a diversity of courses and workshops in 2001. Drawing the most interest from members and non-members alike was a xeriscaping and native gardening work- shop held in conjunction with the Montrose Botanical Society. Also well attended were workshops on area plant famihes pre- sented by Robin Bingham, a beginning grass identification course by David Buckner, a workshop on area thistles led by Gay Austin and Peggy Lyon, and a noxious weed workshop given by Jude Sirota. Summer field trips began with Jeanne Wenger leading an outing on Pinyon Mesa, which contains a population of Artemisia cana. On the hike, participants reviewed plant family characteris- tics from an earlier workshop and identified trifhra, Corallorhiza spp., Goodyera oblongifolia, and Penstemon uta - hensis. Other field trips included a willow hike led by Hoyd Reed and a field trip on Grand Mesa led by Bob Clarke to conduct an inventory of a fen where Don Sullivan has been conducting his core sampling — they reported finding many Carex spedeP Vinnie Rossignol led the Crested Butte High Altitude Fiei>^^ Studies trek, where we found Astragalus molybdenus and Eriogonum coloradense along with stuiming wildflower displays. At our meeting in November at which Jeanne happily agreed to stay on as Chapter President, we ouflined an interesting schedule of events for 2002. Gretchen Van Reyper is organizing an e-mail list to notify members of upcoming events. To be included on this list, contact Gretchen at gretchv@juno.com; and contact Jeanne Wenger or Lori Brummer with field trip or workshop ideas. The newly formed Southeast Chapter took a few first steps this year. We had an informal meeting in May, where we discussed the future of the Chapter and then hiked through the open spaces of Sonderman park, and enjoyed the wildflowers. The first chapter meeting was held in August, at which Rosemary Landon present- ed a slideshow on Colorado Springs area wildflowers. In September, George Cameron gave a well-attended program on how to use a key. Judy von Ahlefeldt hosted the November meet- ing, an “Eat Your Favorite Hora” potluck, where members enjoyed camaraderie, good food, and a hvely discussion of the plant families that made up our meal. Society Committees The Education Committee placed the CoNPS display at five events in 2001: the ProGreen Show in Denver in January, the Colorado Home and Garden Show, Earth Day Fairs in Boulder and Louisville, and the Greeley Home and Garden Show. 0^ 400 contacts were made, resulting in several new memberships The display won an award at the Colorado Home and Garden show. One outcome from the ProGreen Show was a presentation to the Southeast Colorado Chapter of the Society for Landscape Architects in July. A packet of native seeds will be available in January 2002 as a promotional give-away for outreach events. The packet contains seeds representing eight species suitable for the plains and foothills area of the Front Range. CoNPS offered 13 Field THps in 2001. These varied in length from half-day wildflower hikes to three day backpacking trips. Trip locales were geographically diverse, ranging across the state, from 4000 feet to over 13,500 feet elevation and even to the Chuska Mountains in the Four Comers area. Some trips were edu- cational and enjoyment oriented, while others put participants to work pulhng weeds and hunting for new or long-lost populations of rare plants. Trip highlights included a spectacular wildflower display in North Pole Basin (Gunnison County) and unique short grass prairie blooms at Chico Basin (Pueblo County). On average, trips involved 12 members and guests as participants, ranging from three (due to inclement weather) to 21. In all, over 100 peo- ple walked, hiked, botanized, learned about their native flora, and had a good time. The Horticulture/Restoration Comiiiittee continued to fill requests for Native Plants for Horticultural Use on the Front Range of Colorado. Gay Austin is developing a similar fist for f Western Slope. In the coming year we anticipate updating the hof^ ticultural list of those plants to avoid using. The committee repre- “The Year in Review” continues on page 3 Vol. 26 No. 1 Aquilegia Page 3 ''The Year in Review” continued from page 2 sented CoNPS at the Central Rockies Chapter of the Society for "Ecological Restoration (CeRSER) conference in April, which was S^^ntitled “Restoring the Rockies: Restoration and Conservation Strategies in the West” Numerous CoNPS members attended the conference and participated in the extremely successful sales of books and CoNPS merchandise. The 25- Year Commeinoratiye Poster Contest was a success. Students from the Denver Botanical Gardens Botanical Illustration class submitted 17 drawings, of which three were chosen for the ccanposite poster. The artists were awarded prizes at the Annual Meeting where their original ^ was displayed alongside the poster. One-quarter of the posters were sold during the meeting. Special orders are available on watercolor p^jer and in various sizes. This was a record year for the Sales Comihittee, grossing over $26,000, due to sales of $6,000 at the Aimual Meeting, new edi- tions oi Colorado Flora (Weber and Wittman, 2001), and strong sales at the CeRSER conference. Velma Richards and Rick Brune are going out on a high note, to be succeeded in this capacity by Ann Armstrong, Sue Kama!, Laurel Potts, and Pat Murphy. Thanks for all of their hard work over the years. The East Slope Worikshop Committee completed its 17* season in April 2001, conducting 13 classroom sessions covering six top- ics with over 210 attendees. Most were from the Front Range urban corridor, but some came from Wyoming and Texas. The Grass Family workshop was the biggest hit of the year, with tlnee sessions. Workshop leaders did a great job and we thank them for 'leir hard work in preparation and instruction: Dr. Thomhs ^^'iWanker, Caryl Shields, Mary Damm, Dina Clark, Carolyn Crawford, Bill Jennings, Dr. David Buckner, Susan Spackman, Bev Baker, Pat Butler, Dr. Ronald Hartman, and Dr. Joe Cepeda. Handouts for many workshops are available at a small charge (copying and mailing) by calling Workshop Committee Chair Bill Jennings at (303) 666-8348. The 2001-2002 season is also off to a good start widi six topics scheduled. The Milkweed Family and Weeds of the Front Range workshops were held in November and December, 2001, respectively. Grasses and Willows, always high- demand topics, are now scheduled for fliree sessions each in January and February, 2002. Senecio and Vegetative Characters are scheduled for two sessions each in February and March, In addition, during the 2001 - 2002 season, workshops will be held not only at Foothills Nature Center in Boulder, but also at Jefferson County Open Space Operations Center in Golden and Lookout Mountain Nature Center west of Golden. Thanks to the enthusiastic support of our membership, workshop programs con- tinue to be one of the Society’s most popular activities. The Newsletter Committee was very busy in 2001, thanks both to the increasing Society membership and the large number of submissions to Aquilegia. li has become clear that our newsletter is now seen as a valuable outlet for Society business, announce- ments, requests for volunteers, and dissemination of information that will reach a large number of readers, both locally, and region- ally. Volume 25 comprised six issues for a total over 60 pages, J erebv exceeding expectations of the Board. The Editor wishes to thank the Board, chapter presidents, conunittee chairs, and many contributing writers for their patience, support, and written con- tributions. PRIVATE CONTRIBUTIONS SUPPORT RESEARCH ON NATIVE PLANTS On March 24, 1990, the Board of Directors of the Colorado Native Plant Society estabhshed the John W. Marr Fund for the awarding of small giants in support of research in plant biology. The Fund honors the late Dr. John Marr, Professor at the University of Colorado and the first President erf the Colorado Native Plant Society. The Fund was established to encourage, through the provision of small grants-in-aid, research on the biol- ogy and natural history of Colorado native plants. On September 22, 2000, the Board of Directors similarly estabhshed the Myrna P. Steinkamp Memorial Fund to honor Dr. Myma P. Steinkamp, who passed away earlier that year. Like the Marr Fund, this fund has been designated to support research on rare Colorado native plants, through the provision of small grants-in-aid. Myma was a founding member of the Society, and served many years, both as Treasurer and Chair of the Membership Committee. She also served on the Conservation Committee, helping to estabhsh the Society’s role in Colorado plant conservation and public lands planning; and participated in the preparation of Rare Plants of Colorado. Contributions to both funds (specify John W. Man- Fund or Myma P, Steinkamp Memcaial Fund) may be made to: Colorado Native Plant Society P. O. Box 200 Fort CoUins, CO 80522 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS The Colorado Native Plant Society supports research projects in plant biology from the John W. Marr and Myma P. Steinkamp funds. These separate funds honor the late Dr. John Marr, Professor at the University of Colorado and the first President of the CoNPS, and Myma Steinkamp, a founding member of CoNPS who worked on behalf of the Society for many years in a variety of capacities. Both funds were established to support research on the biology and natural history of Colorado native plants by means of small grants. The Steinkamp Fund is targeted specifical- ly towards rare species and those of conservation concern. Both field and laboratory studies are eligible for funding. Most awards will not exceed $500. Recipients of the awards must agree to sum- marize their studies for publication in Aquilegia. The Board of Directors is now soheiting proposals for a February 15, 2002 (postmarked) deadline. Information on guidehnes and requirements for grant proposals may be obtained by contacting Board member Dr. Neil Snow at nsnow@bentley.unco.edu Or (970)351-2650. DEADLINE APPROACHES Subm'rt Xquifegia Contributions by February 15 Submit contributions for Vol. 26 No. 2 of Aquilegia on or before February 15, 2002. Articles not exceeding 1000 words are especial- ly welcome. Previously pubhshed articles submitted for reprinting require permission. Include author’s name, address, and affihation; anonymity may be requested. Follow the format from previous issues closely. Spell check. Submit via e-mail or on disks — MAC, preferably — as an MS Word or rtf (rich text format) document Aquilegia 1=^age 4 Vol. 26 No. 1 The Colorado Native Plant Society is pleased to report that it has obtained the rights to pubhsh and sell the Manual of the Plants of Colorado by H.D. Harrington. This article documents the process of obtaining these rights and adds some fuel to the flame of a wor- thy long-term goal. Or pipe dream? Botany is easy for some, but hard for most. And nobody knows everything. We all need as much help as we can get, and we were at risk of losing the exceptionally complete descriptions of the species that Harrington provided. The Manual has been out of print since about 1978 and the publisher was not hkely to repubhsh it, as the original plates had, in fact, been lost Although the Weber and Wittmann floras are terrific at getting you to a species quickly, the descriptions sometimes leave you uncertain about a possible wrong turn in the key. Although few of us are likely to carry the large Manual into the field, it is stiU nice to have it at the car, camp, or house for later reference. My goal was to make sure that the Manual remains available, especially to new students of Colorado botany. The copyright procurement was not easy, but could not have hap- pened easily without the internet. I searched the copyright office and found that the copyright, renewed in 1982, was held by Dorothy Laupa and Mary Kaiser, No address or phone number was available at the web site, and when I called the copyright office they said I would have to pay $65 to get a complete report. I got the report, which stated that no address or phone number was available, but Ohio University Press (Swallow Press) had submit- ted the application. I counted on pure dumb luck and did a search for the name Laupa in Fort Collins; the query returned a number for Thomas Laupa, who said that his mother and her sister were the holders of the copyright, but he wasn’ t quite sure about the sta- tus of the Manual. An internet search and some phone calls con- nected me with Ohio University Press, where I found the copy- right had reverted to Dorothy Laupa and Mary Kaiser when Ohio University Press failed to republish in 1978. Dorothy Laupa and Mary Kaiser are the daughters of Lawrence Durrell who, along with Harrington, were professors at Colorado State University and held a joint copyright bn the Manual. After a few rounds of explaining the goals of the Society and the purpose for obtaining the copyright, they agreed to allow' CoNPS to publish and sell the Manual without royalties for five years. I had the binding of my venerable eopy of the Manual cut and the document scaimed to produce an Adobe pdf file that can be read on IBM, Mac, and Unix. The resulting CD sells for $15 — my original Manual cost $17.95 in about 1972 Our objectives are to get the Manual into a true text document, a true database format, and ultimately a polyclave key, with line drawings and complete descriptions that fit in a device the size of a hand calculator. Big goals - little steps. Actually, with a million dollar budget this could all be accomplished in a year. Contrary to what you may have read in the newspapers, I haven’t escaped the loony farm and know that this will be a long tedious process. But considering the work Harrington put into this Manual., it will probable take about the same level of effort. The first step is to get a true text document. Right now the Adobe THE HARRINGTON PROJECT Patrick Murphy .pdf file is a graphic file that has the original image (with a litti^*^ imperfection), but it is not actual text. For example, you can’t do a word search on the document. There is a text document that was derived from the original using Optical Character Recognition software; however, with an accuracy rate of about 95 percent, there are numerous errors on every one of the more than 660 pages. As such, I am seeking volunteers to correct bits of the doc- ument. The good news is that it is possible to split the computer screen, making correction fairly convenient. If you are interested, contact me at (303) 444-4358 or phmurphy@aol.com. Just do the sections in which you are interested and I will patch it together. What is the big deal about a true text document? There are many, but here is my pet for starters. Once the document is true text, the font can be reduced and the text can be wrapped to pages of any size. I want to have a copy of Harrington that is reduced to field manual size. Of course the type will be so small you have to read it with a hand lens, but hey, we can do that! Use your hand lens on the fol- lOWmg. HownHiiyplaiitjiiiC3oloraiiohareorangeflo»reri,howiiBiiyarena