Castilleja A Publication of the Wyoming Native Plant Society www.uwyo.edu/wyndd/wnps/wnps_home.htm May 2001 Volume 20, No. 2 Gala 20 th Anniversary Issue In this issue: WNPS News 2 In Quotes 2 Pie (and Lichvar’s Mid-Section) Are Round - the Early Years of WNPS 3 Twenty Years of Wyoming Botany and WNPS . . 4 Botany Briefs BLM Sensitive Species List Approved 11 Wyoming Locoweed ( Oxytropis nana) served as the mascot of the Wyoming Native Plant Society from 1982-1994. Bob Dorn discussed this Wyoming endemic in the October 1985 issue of the newsletter: “this is another spring-flowering legume with a tight raceme of pink-purple flowers. The plants normally are about 8 inches high and grow on rocky slopes and ridges. [Wyoming] locoweed was first collected by Thomas Nuttall in 1834 on the “plains of the Platte in the Rocky Mountain range” probably in either Converse or Natrona county. It was described by him in Torrey and Gray’s Flora of North America in 1838. It is now known from Converse, Natrona, Carbon, and Fremont counties”. Illustration by Jane Dorn. WNPS NEWS Membership Renewal/WNPS Elections : Enclosed with this issue is a renewal notice and ballot for Society officers. Members with a 99, 00, or 01 on their mailing label need to renew to remain in good standing, while those with a 02 are paid through the year. The following individuals have agreed to run for the WNPS Board: Joy Handley (President), Nina Haas (Vice- President), Walter Fertig (Secretary-Treasurer), and Claire Leon (2-year Board member). As always, write-in votes are welcome. Please also nominate sites for next year's annual meeting/field trip on the ballot. Summer 2001 Field Trips : Bighorn Range - The WNPS annual meeting/field trip is scheduled for the weekend of June 23-24, 2001 in the Bighorn Mountains. Plan to meet at the Story Fish Hatchery at 8 AM on Saturday (23 rd ) for a brief business meeting, before exploring the vicinity of the hatchery for Yellow and Mountain ladies slippers and other unusual wildflowers of this atypically moist forest site. From Story, we will then proceed to Buffalo and US Hwy 16 to the Bighorn National Forest. We will stop at Sourdough Creek to observe the beautiful Northern blackberry (. Rubus acaulis) and other wetland plants (plan to bring footwear for crossing the small creek). We will then proceed along the highway to the McLain Lakes area (site of a potential Research Natural Area) to observe subalpine plants and communities. Our last stop will be in Tensleep Canyon to observe Hapemann’s sullivantia, an uncommon saxifrage found on limestone boulders in the spray zone. We will spend the night at The Nature Conservancy’s Tensleep Preserve, where we can also observe Cary beardtongue ( Penstemon caryi) and a beautiful sunset. It will cost $10 per person to stay at Tensleep, but the Preserve does offer the enticements of a kitchen, showers, and wall tents (each person will be responsible for their own dinner and breakfast however). On Sunday morning, we will visit the Hyattville area to observe one of only two known occurrences of Hyattville milkvetch (Astragalus jejunusv ar. articulatus) and other spring desert wildflowers. The field trip is open to all members and the public. If you wish to RSVP (not required), contact Walt Fertig at 307-766-3020 or by e- mail (clyde@uwyo.edu). Sierra Madre - Our second trip will be to the Sierra Madre on Saturday, July 14. We will meet at the Medicine Bow National Forest parking lot in Encampment at 9 AM (on west side of WY state Hwy 70). We plan to complete a loop, following Hwy 70 to the Sage Creek and Jack Creek roads and back to Saratoga. Along the route, we will stop at sites for subalpine plants near Quartzite Peak, Clustered ladies slipper orchids on Deep Creek, and other summer wildflowers. If you wish to RSVP for the trip (not required), contact Walt Fertig at 307-766-3020 or by e-mail (clyde@uwyo.edu). New Members ! Please welcome the following new members of WNPS: Philip Kenney (Littleton, MA). Treasurer’s Report : Balance as of 21 May 2001 : General Fund $463.55; 2000-2001 Student Scholarship Fund $210.00; Total funds: $673.55. Wyoming Native Plant Society PO Box 3452, Laramie, WY 82071 President: Amy Roderick Taylor (Broomfield, CO) Vice President: Joy Handley (Laramie) Secretary-Treasurer: Walter Fertig (Laramie) Board Members: Steve Laster (Pinedale) Jim Ozenberger (Jackson) Newsletter Editor: Walter Fertig (307) 766-3020 (wk)/ e-mail: clyde@uwyo.edu . WNPS Webmaster: Rebekah Smith (Laramie) Teton Chapter: PO Box 82, Wilson, WY 83014 (Joan Lucas, Treasurer). Bighorn Native Plant Society: PO Box 21, Big Horn, WY 82833 (Jean Daly) Contributors to this issue: Jane Dorn, Walter Fertig (WF), Robert Lichvar, and Phil White. In Quotes Periodically, we will insert quotes from the writings of early explorers and plant collectors who visited Wyoming. One or two plant names that commemorate the person will also be listed. Robert Dorn, Cheyenne Botanist and Naturalist Physaria dornii Wyoming Native Plant Society Newsletter, May 1983. “I was not on vacation and was collecting in the Ferris Mountains in 1981 with R. Dorn, who was on vacation. The temperature was about 90 Q and the following happened: After several hours of hiking ridge after ridge we stopped to look at the next upcoming ridge when Dorn said “We can take our time now, no need killing ourselves”. I replied “That’s right, you’re on vacation”. He responded, “You’re not!” RWL 2 Pie (and Lichvar’s Mid-Section) are Round - The Early Years of the Wyoming Native Plant Society By Phil White Bob Lichvar thinks it had something to do with the Dutch apple pies being served in 1981 at the Mercy Farm Pie Shop across the street from the Majestic Building in Cheyenne. “Every afternoon we’d start hearing this birdcall around the office,” he recalled. “El P El P El P - first from one room and then another - and soon we’d be heading over to the pie shop.” During one of those discussions over pie, Lichvar says, he suggested forming a native plant society for Wyoming. Lichvar, a Vietnam vet and graduate of the University of Wyoming with a Master’s degree in plant taxonomy, was the first botanist for the fledgling Wyoming Natural Heritage Program in Cheyenne. His associates, plant ecologist Don Shute and zoologist Mark Stromberg, liked the idea. “And so we talked to “da man” (Robert Dorn of Cheyenne, author of the definitive keys to the Wyoming flora) and to Ron Hartman and Ernie Nelson, who were both from the UW Herbarium, and started putting it together,” Lichvar recalls. On March 2, 1981, Lichvar penned a letter to interested parties announcing that Dorn, Hartman, Nelson, and Lichvar had met in early February and agreed that the Wyoming Native Plant Society “should begin as a small and low keyed group and expand into an organization with political clout.” The letter said Dorn had compiled draft by-laws which were being circulated for comment with the letter, in hopes of formally beginning the organization by June. The letter asked recipients to volunteer to serve in an office. “I think Dorn took the initial by-laws from some group like the National Window Washers Association and modified them,” Lichvar recalls. On April 1, 1981, Lichvar sent out another letter with a list of 17 people who had already shown an interest. Everyone who responded to the first letter, he said, had volunteered to serve on the Board of Directors, but volunteers for offices were scarce, so he asked for nominations for President, Vice-President, and Secretary- Treasurer, along with the $4 membership setup fee and the $3 annual dues. The letter expressed appreciation to Dorn for drafting the by-laws, and proposed adding “and their ecosystems" after “of Wyoming” in the Purpose clause: “The Purpose of the Society is to encourage the appreciation and conservation of native plants of Wyoming by educational programs, research and inventory work, advising government agencies responsible for management affecting the plants, exchange of information with other interested groups, and such other methods as may be deemed appropriate by the membership.” On May 18, 1981, Volume 1 # 1 of the Wyoming Native Plant Society Newsletter rolled off the presses listing the following 23 people as the first paid members of WNPS: Ann Aldrich, Francis Current, June Haines, Larry Morse, Theresa Rooney, Richard Scott, Jennifer Whipple, Ray Umber, Patrick Boles, Erwin Evert, Robert Lichvar, Ernie Nelson, Phyllis Roseberry, Don Shute, Phillip White, Andrew Youngblood, Tim Clark & D. Casey (apparently counted as one person), Ronald Hartman, Dave Martin, Maribeth Patrick, Maryln J. Samuel, Mark Stromberg, and Linda Williamson. The first officers were Robert Lichvar (President), Ronald Hartman (Vice President), Don Shute (Secretary- Treasurer), and Mark Stromberg and Dick Scott as Board members. Under “PLANT NEWZ”, the newsletter noted that five botanists from Wyoming sent petitions to the US Fish and Wildlife Service regarding the proposed listing of Sphaeromeria simplex and Agrostis rossiae as Endangered species. The newsletter announced that the first annual meeting would be at Castle Gardens in Fremont County on June 27-28. In August, the second newsletter emerged from the offices of the Wyoming Natural Heritage Program, reporting on the first meeting: “We spent a lot of time discussing our goals for the society. Everybody saw the society as a way to keep in touch with others and facilitate their own work, rather than an instrument for political action. There was a shared concern about conservation and maintaining Wyoming’s good qualities, but as a society we have neither the time nor money to do that. We agreed the best we could do was to route requests for information about plants and potential disturbances to the appropriate member(s). Our society will be, for the present, an informal network of concerned botanists and ecologists.” Hartman remembers some casual discussion at the meeting about whether Heart Mountain near Cody had ever been botanized. “After the meeting I headed right to Heart Mountain and roamed the west side looking for plants,” he says. “Later I learned that Erwin Evert had worked the east side at the same time, but neither of us knew the other was there.” The second newsletter announced that “six more people have joined our society”: Don Despain, Bob and Jane Dorn (counted as one person), Keith Dueholm, Scott Findholt, Hugh House, and A.L. Mickelson. Ten members who joined in the first six months are still members today, including Despain, the Dorns, Evert, Hartman, Morse, Nelson, Scott, Stromberg, Whipple, and White. 3 The Society’s founders are pleased with the WNPS’s progress through 20 years. Lichvar, now an ecologist with the US Army Corps of Engineers in Post Mills, Vermont, says he is "happy to see it is still going. It seems very vibrant after all these years.” Dorn, an independent biological consultant and taxonomy guru who served as WNPS President in its second year and later as Secretary-Treasurer for seven years, still lives in Cheyenne. “The Society has worked out better than I expected,” he said recently. “I thought it would be a struggle to keep it going in the early years but we got through that without much problem. We didn’t have a lot of people involved then, but there seem to be many people interested now." For many years Mark Stromberg has been manager of the Hastings Natural History Reservation at Carmel Valley California, a biological field station of the University of California-Berkeley. The second newsletter in 1981 announced that Shute had accepted a job with Woodward-Clyde Consultants in San Diego. His current whereabouts are unknown. [Laramie attorney Phil White has been an “umbel servant” of WNPS for 20 years, serving twice as President (1986/87 and 1993/94). White was also a “field ichnologist” with the WY Natural Heritage Program in the early 1980s] Twenty Years of Wyoming Botany and the Wyoming Native Plant Society By Walter Fertig Twenty years ago this month, the first edition of the Wyoming Native Plant Society Newsletter was sent to two dozen charter members of the Society. From these humble beginnings, WNPS has grown into Wyoming’s leading statewide organization dedicated to promoting the appreciation and conservation of our native flora. The Society’s existence has corresponded with two of the most active decades of botanical research and exploration in the state’s history. Through it’s newsletter, WNPS has helped chronicle this history and disseminate information to professional and amateur botanists alike. The following section contains a chronology of the noteworthy events and discoveries of the past 20 years, as gleaned from the Society’s archives. 1981 Ronald Reagan had just been inaugurated as the nation’s 40 th President, James Watt was making headlines as the new Secretary of the Interior, Governor Ed Herschler was advocating economic development on "Wyoming’s terms”, and a group of plucky, pie-eating biologists met in Cheyenne to found the Wyoming Native Plant Society. The inaugural, 2- page issue of the Wyoming Native Plant Society Newsletter appeared on May 18 and was sent to 23 members. By the end of the year, membership would grow to 41 and the Society’s bank account would reach $220. Much of the efforts of the Society in 1981 were directed at recruiting new members, establishing the by-laws, and promoting education and plant conservation. During its first year, the newsletter featured short articles on efforts to list two Wyoming endemics (Laramie false sagebrush and Ross’ bentgrass) under the Endangered Species Act, threats to the rare Meadow pussytoes from proposed gold mining in the South Pass area, and the first installments in a series of articles on the early botanical exploration of Wyoming. Above: Antennaria arcuata (Meadow pussytoes), subject of early conservation advocacy by WNPS. Illustration by Walter Fertig. 1982 The Society continued to grow modestly in 1982, ending the year with 58 members. The January issue featured WNPS’s new mascot, Oxytropis nana (Wyoming locoweed), a state endemic first collected by Thomas Nuttall on his journey across Wyoming in 1834. Jane Dorn provided a drawing of the plant to serve as the Society logo on the newsletter masthead and stationery. The newsletter continued to serve as a forum for the exchange of information, including reports of new and unusual state records by Erwin Evert, Dave Martin, Ann Aldrich, Robert Lichvar, and Robert Dorn. Among the noteworthy reports from the year were three new species for science: Sboshonea pulvinata (representing a new, monotypic genus) by Evert and Lincoln Constance, Penstemon gibbensii, a narrow endemic described by Dorn, and Arabis pusilla, a narrow endemic from South Pass described by Reed Rollins. In 4 January, WNPS published a list of rare plants for the state organized by county. Throughout the year, the newsletter reported efforts to protect the habitat of Ross’ bentgrass in Yellowstone National Park, Colorado butterfly plant on F.E. Warren Air Force Base, and Laramie false sagebrush near the Monolith limestone quarry outside Laramie. The Society's annual meeting/field trip was held in the Black Hills and attracted 16 members. The group visited the botanically rich Dugout Gulch area and discovered that the area was being staked for a new logging access road. Society members agreed to adopt the cause of Dugout Gulch and began working with the Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy to seek Research Natural Area status for the watershed. 1982 was an unusually bountiful year for new plant discoveries. Twenty new state records were reported from the Black Hills, Bighorns, and Cody area by Dorn, Evert, Lichvar, and Ernie Nelson. Erwin Evert discovered an unusual sphagnum bog at Preacher Rock in the Bighorns and described a rare vernal rocky seep community from the North Fork Shoshone River valley. University of Wyoming graduate student Hollis Marriott completed a floristic survey of Devils Tower National Monument and began a 3-year survey of the Wyoming portion of the Black Hills. 1983 The Society continued its role of promoting botanical discovery, education, and conservation, while facing sharp growing pains and a severe drop in membership. Thanks to the efforts of several members, the US Forest Service initiated a review of the Dugout Gulch area for potential protection. The report from USFS Botanist Barry Johnston endorsed some kind of natural area designation for the site, although Johnston did not recommend any of the rare plant species from the Gulch for potential Sensitive designation. New WNPS President Erwin Evert used the November 1983 issue of the newsletter to advocate the creation of a statewide network of important natural areas, comparable to the one in his home state of Illinois. On the education front, Lichvar and Dorn continued their series on the history of botanical exploration in the state and the newsletter printed several features on uncommon vegetation types (North Fork clover patches by Evert and bogs and fens by Heritage ecologist Ellen Collins). The annual field trip/meeting was held in the South Pass area. Discussion focused on the future direction of the Society and whether the group needed to abandon its function as a network for data exchange and adopt a more active role in land and plant conservation. Membership was also becoming a serious concern, with less than 25% retention of 1981 members. Ron Hartman, Ernie Nelson, and their students from the Rocky Mountain Herbarium continued or initiated new floristic studies in the Black Hills and southeast Absaroka Range in 1983. Lichvar and Collins began a floristic inventory of Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in conjunction with a vegetation study by Dennis Knight. Evert published the first of several new endemics from the Absarokas, Lomatium attenuatum. Native Wyomingite Reed Rollins from Harvard continued his studies of western mustards and described Descurainia torulosa as a new species (first collected in the mid-1960s by Dick Scott of Central Wyoming College). Lichvar continued his taxonomic studies of the genus Physaria and described P. dornii from Rock Creek Ridge west of Kemmerer as a new species. Dorn described Thelesperma pubescens from Hickey Mountain as a new taxon. 1984 Protection of important natural areas in Wyoming received unprecedented attention in 1984, culminating in the state's first “Natural Areas Needs” workshop in Riverton in November. Spearheaded by The Nature Conservancy, this meeting attracted over 100 plant taxonomists, ecologists, wildlife biologists, geologists, planners, academics, and agency personnel. The meeting resulted in documentation of a network of important biological areas in Wyoming, many of which have since been protected or received greater management attention. Several WNPS members played key roles in the Conference, including Society Secretary/Treasurer Ellen Collins who edited the final workshop “Proceedings” report in 1985. The newsletter helped spread the word about the conference and advocated protection for several key botanical areas, including the Sawtooth fen paisa on the Beartooth Plateau, Preacher Rock Bog, and Dugout Gulch. Swamp Lake joined the roster of important botanical areas of Wyoming in 1984, thanks to the efforts of WNPS President Erwin Evert. While scoping out the route for the Society's annual field trip in the Beartooth Range, Evert stopped at this floating bog on the south side of the Chief Joseph Highway and quickly documented a half dozen new state records for widely disjunct boreal species. Among the noteworthy discoveries was Arctostaphylos rubra, a low-growing shrub that had not previously been reported in the contiguous 48 states. The Swamp Lake stop more than satisfied the desire of many of the Society's professional members for a “working” field trip. Other significant discoveries in 1984 included new taxa to science ( Sisyrinchium pallidum , Physaria saximontana, Cymopterus williamsii, Pen stem on absarokensis. and Antennaria aromatica) and the resurrection of Aster mollis from the abyss of synonymy. Fifteen new state records were documented from Swamp Lake, the Wind River Range, Black Hills, and F.E. Warren Air Force Base. 1985 1985 saw a change in the management and direction of WNPS. By May, the Society’s top three officers were all residing out of state, and the Society was no longer being housed in the Wyoming Natural Heritage Program offices in Cheyenne (its only home since 1981). Robert Dorn began his long tenure as Secretary/Treasurer and newsletter editor, and WNPS moved to its new home, PO Box 1471 (where it would remain for the next seven years). The focus of the Society also changed from one of conservation advocacy to botanical education. In 1985, the newsletter featured stories on floristic surveys of the Black Hills, Medicine Bows, Absarokas, and Bighorn Range, the history of Yellowstone botany, pine bark beetles, a new series on endemic plants, and noteworthy collections. Gone from the pages were the calls for activism that had marked earlier issues. However, plant conservation efforts did continue to advance in the state. Four new Wilderness areas were created in late 1984 on Medicine Bow National Forest. Additional protection was afforded to Medicine Bow Peak, Libby Flats, Cinnabar Park, Battle Mountain, Ashenfelder Basin, and Dry Park in the 1985 Medicine Bow NF land management plan. Preacher Rock Bog was formally protected as a Special Botanical Area by Bighorn National Forest. The US Fish and Wildlife Service issued a revised list of candidate species for protection under the Endangered Species Act which included 26 Wyoming plants. 5 The Society’s annual field trip/meeting was held in Yellowstone National Park. The highlight of the trip was the discovery of Adder’s-tongue ( Ophioglossum vulgatum), an unusual fern that had not previously been recorded for the state. At the business meeting, the Society agreed to establish a student scholarship fund in the amount of $100. Although membership still hovered near 30, the Society topped $400 in its treasury for the first time. Above: Ophioglossum vulgatum (Adder’s tongue) was first discovered in Wyoming by WNPS members on the Society field trip to Yellowstone National Park in 1985. Illustration by Jane Dorn. 1986 m 1986, the Newsletter entered its “green” period, being printed on legal size, light-green paper. The content of the newsletter remained educational, with articles on new state records and other notable collections, more endemic plants, botanical nomenclature, the flora of the Black Hills, the flora on top of Devils Tower, and sagebrush. Perhaps inspired by the new green color, membership increased to 41, the highest total in 4 years. The annual field trip was held at Flaming Gorge and participants were treated to a variety of uncommon Great Basin taxa, including Draba juniperina, Ephedra viridis, and Pin us edulis. After a short hiatus, the state natural heritage program was revived in 1986 under the direction of Hollis Marriott of The Nature Conservancy. The program was renamed the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database (WYNDD) to avoid possible confusion with the Wyoming Heritage Society, a group not otherwise known for its advocacy of plant issues. Marriott launched a series of status surveys for several high profile candidates for possible federal listing, including Arabis pusilla, Antennaria arcuata, and Trifolium barnebyi. Several new protected areas were established, including the Swamp Lake Special Botanical Area on Shoshone National Forest and the Raymond Mountain Area of Critical Environmental Concern in the BLM Kemmerer Resource Area. Robert Dorn documented at least 10 new state records, including the first report of Autumn willow ( Salix serissima) in the state in an unusual spring-fed peatland in the Laramie Range. Ron Hartman and Rob Kirkpatrick described a new species of umbel, Cymopterus evertii, naming it in honor of the intrepid Erwin Evert Grant and Wilken described a new scarlet gilia from Wyoming and Colorado ( fpomopsis aggregata ssp. weberi). UW graduate student June Haines completed the first major floristic survey of the Wind River Basin. The long-anticipated Flora of the Great Plains was published, providing keys for much of Eastern Wyoming. 1987 Continuing in its educational role, WNPS awarded its first student scholarship in May to UW graduate student Neil Snow for his research on the flora of the southwestern Absaroka Range. In other firsts, the newsletter printed its first cover picture (a drawing of Townsendia nuttallii by Jane Dorn) and first photograph (Phil White’s composition of annual meeting attendees). Membership continued to climb (hitting 53) and the treasury surpassed $600, thanks to new contributions to the scholarship fund. The annual meeting, held in the Laramie Range, attracted 19 members (a new record). Natural area conservation efforts continued in 1987, with the establishment of several new ACECs on BLM lands in the Lander and Pinedale areas. Among the most significant was the Beaver Rim ACEC, created for the benefit of endemic desert cushion plants and unusual plant communities. Relevant new floras continued to appear in 1987. Stan Welsh and colleagues from Brigham Young University published A Utah Flora , which provided keys for much of the desert flora of southwest Wyoming. Greg Hallsten, Alan Beetle, and Quentin Skinner of the UW Range Department printed the revised third edition of Grasses of Wyoming , which included illustrations, range maps, and keys to vegetative grasses. 1988 WNPS mainstay Bob Dorn made the largest contribution to Wyoming botany in 1988 with the publication of his 1 -volume Vascular Plants of Wyoming. Dorn’s previous flora, the 2-volume Manual of the Vascular Plants of Wyoming had long been out of print and was becoming badly outdated, as nearly 200 new species had been documented for the state since its appearance in 1977. Dorn’s book included 94 new taxonomic combinations and descriptions of 5 new taxa to science (all narrow endemics): Astragalus jejunus var. articulatus, A. gilviflorus var. purpureus , Phlox pungens, Carex luzulina var. atropurpurea, and Artemisia biennis var. diffusa. Other noteworthy developments of 1988 included the establishment of the Spanish Point Karst ACEC by the BLM Washakie Resource Area, protection of important habitat for one of Wyoming’s rarest plants (Gaura neomexicana ssp. coloradensis) in the Colorado butterfly plant Research Natural Area on F.E. Warren Air Force Base, and the initiation of a floristic survey of the Sierra Madre by UW student Nancy Kastning. Wyoming also made headlines due to large fires in Yellowstone National Park and adjacent national forests. WNPS continued its emphasis on education. Neil Snow was awarded the Society’s scholarship for the second consecutive year, this time earning $300 due to WNPS’s rosier financial 6 situation. Newsletter articles focused on basic botanical awareness, with features on Wyoming cacti, ferns, and state endemics. Louis Williams treated readers to a 4-part series on Wyoming botany in the 1930s when he was a UW graduate student under Aven Nelson and working as a ranger in Grand Teton National Park. The Society did break with tradition by offering an official WNPS T-shirt for sale, featuring a drawing of Cary's beardtongue ( Penstemon caryi) by President Hollis Marriott. Another break came at the annual meeting in the Sierra Madre, where not enough paid-up members were present for a quorum, resulting in the business meeting being cancelled in favor of more botanizing. 1989 1989 featured “the return to Swamp Lake”. The WNPS annual field trip/meeting was held at Swamp Lake and in the adjacent Absaroka Range (Rattlesnake Mountain). Unfortunately, no new state records were documented at Swamp Lake. Nancy Kastning received the WNPS scholarship ($200) for her continuing floristic studies of the Sierra Madre and Park Range of Colorado. The WNPS newsletter featured educational articles on Wyoming conifers, grasses, aquatic plants, and endemics, results of Neil Snow’s floristic study in the Absarokas, and features on 2 rare plants: Colorado butterfly plant on F.E. Warren Air Force Base and the detective work behind the rediscovery of Parthenium alpinum in central Wyoming in the 1940s. In other news, US Forest Service Region 4 (covering Bridger-Teton, Ashley, Wasatch-Cache, Targhee, and Caribou National Forests in western Wyoming) released its first Sensitive plant species list. Nine rare Wyoming plants were included on this initial list and afforded greater management attention as a result. The Nature Conservancy established its Wyoming Reid Office (later renamed The Wyoming Nature Conservancy) in Lander and began its program of private land purchase and easement for conservation. Wyoming First Lady Jane Sullivan announced the establishment of “Wildflowers for Wyoming”, an organization promoting the use of native plants in revegetating roadside areas. 1990 Additional areas came under ACEC designation in 1990, with the completion of the BLM Great Divide (Rawlins) and Cody Resource Management Plans. Among the areas receiving attention were Carter Mountain in the southern Absarokas (an area noted for endemic plants and rare alpine species), Little Mountain and Rve Springs on the west side of the Bighorns, and the Sand Hills and Shamrock Hills near Baggs and Rawlins. Two new species in the sunflower family were described: Green River greenthread ( Thelesperma caespitosum) from chalky shales in the deserts of SW Wyoming and Utah, and Pink agoseris [Agoseris lackschewitzii), a wetland species from Idaho and Montana that would be documented in Wyoming the following year. Walter Fertig, a graduate student from the Rocky Mountain Herbarium, discovered 3 new state records in the Wind River Range, including Erigeron lanatus, a rare, limestone-loving alpine daisy. Ron Hartman and Ernie Nelson of the RM initiated a multi-year floristic inventory of the Wyoming and Salt River ranges, two areas that had previously received little attention. WNPS held its annual meeting in the Bighorn Range with visits to Shell Canyon (home of several endemics) and Preacher Rock Bog. Tim Evans and Erik Hamerlynk of the University of Wyoming split the annual student scholarship. Evans received funding for his biosystematic work on Section Oonopsis of the genus Haplopappus [ Asteraceae) and later would discover unusual evidence of rapid morphological change in the group without accompanying genetic divergence. Hamerlynk’s study focused on the ecophysiology of Glacier lilies ( Erythronium grandiflorum) as they emerge from deep snow in the Spring. Bob Dorn initiated a new series in the newsletter on Wyoming’s 20 largest families of vascular plants, starting with Asteraceae and Poaceae. 1991 New botanical discoveries continued to be made in 1991. Bob Dorn described the Desert yellowhead ( Yermo xanthocephalus) as a new species and genus to science. This odd, leathery -leaved, yellow-flowered composite was known only from a 6 acre area near Beaver Rim in Fremont County Dieter Wilken and Ron Hartman described a new endemic taxon in the Ipomopsis spicata complex from the Absaroka Range, naming it for Rob and Ruth Kirkpatrick who conducted a floristic survey of the southeastern Absarokas in the early 1980s. Stuart Markow of the University of Wyoming began a 2-year floristic study in Targhee National Forest. At least one dozen new state records were documented for the state by Jennifer Whipple in the poorly-studied Bechler region of Yellowstone National Park and Bob Dorn in the Laramie Range and vicinity of Cheyenne (many of which were exotics). Erwin Evert released a checklist of the vascular plant flora of the North Fork Shoshone River drainage based on over 15 years of study. Weeds of the West was published in January. This all-color guidebook to common weed species in flower and seedling stages was co-edited by Ernie Nelson, long-time WNPS member. The Society held its annual field trip at Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. Robin Jones of UW was awarded the Society scholarship for his study of the flora of the Owl Creek and Bridger ranges. The Teton Chapter of the Society was founded with over 30 initial members. John “Barney” Baxter (the bard of Burns, WY) made his memorable debut in the newsletter with his rendition of “Botanical Dragnet". Membership reached a new high at 79. 1992 After seven years, Bob Dorn retired as WNPS Secretary/Treasurer and newsletter editor, passing the baton to Hollis Marriott in October. Hollis moved the Society's “office" to the UW Botany Department and, after running out of green paper, changed the color of the newsletter to pumpkin orange (apparently, Kinko’s had a special). Without the burden of running the Society, Dorn managed to publish the revised second edition of Vascular Plants of Wyoming, which included descriptions of two new taxa ( Grsium arldum and Phlox opalensis). Dorn also published the new species Townsendia microcephala (an endemic of the Cedar Mountain area of SW Wyoming) in the journal Madrono. Ginny Moran, botanist with the US Rsh and Wildlife Service in Cheyenne, initiated the Wyoming Rare Plant Field Guide Project in cooperation with botanists and biologists from several federal and private agencies (the group would later form the Wyoming Rare Plant Technical Committee to oversee the project). Moran would later leave for greener pastures in Alaska, turning over the project to Walter Fertig, new botanist with the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, Jennifer Whipple of Yellowstone National Park, and Charmaine Refsdal, photographer/botanist from Green River. 7 The Society’s annual field trip was held in the South Pass area. Bob Dorn took the group to see Desert yellowhead and other rare or endemic plants of the Beaver Rim area. Thanks to an aggressive arm-twisting campaign, membership surpassed 100 for the first time (107) and the treasury nearly reached $700. 1993 After one year as newsletter editor, Hollis Marriott passed these duties on to Walter Fertig in October. The newsletter received a major facelift, changing from legal to letter size, increasing to 8 pages, shedding its orange skin in favor of plain white, and gaining a new masthead. The newsletter also changed its emphasis from strict education to being a forum for breaking news relating to Wyoming’s flora. The October issue announced the discovery of Agoseris lackschewitzii in Wyoming, the creation of a Sensitive species list in US Forest Service Region 2 (Bighorn, Black Hills, Medicine Bow, and Shoshone National Forests), newly published botanical books (including the revised Handbook of Rocky Mountain Plants ), and the centennial celebration for the Rocky Mountain Herbarium. The Wyoming Rare Plant Technical Committee sponsored the first Wyoming Rare Plant Meeting in Riverton in March in an effort to foster greater communication among agency, university, and professional botanists in the state and gather new information on important botanical discoveries. The US Fish and Wildlife Service released its revised list of candidate species for potential listing under the Endangered Species Act (including 51 taxafrom Wyoming). The Nature Conservancy purchased the Red Canyon Ranch, one of the only known locations for Barneby’s clover ( Trifolium barnebyi) and several other locally endemic plants of the SE Wind River Range. George Jones and colleagues at WYNDD began a multi-year inventory of potential Research Natural Area sites on National Forest lands in the state. The annual meeting/field trip was held in the Black Hills. Members visited Devils Tower and Dugout Gulch before camping at the Alva Summit (home of the famous “Outhouse Selaginella). At Dugout Gulch, the group observed 3 individuals of Yellow ladies slipper ( Cypripedium calceo lus var. pubescens), the first record of this species in Crook County. 1994 Wyoming gained its first listed plant species under the Endangered Species Act in 1994, with the discovery of the Ute ladies tresses ( Spiranthes diluvialis) in SE Wyoming. Ernie Nelson of the Rocky Mountain Herbarium made the discovery in August 1993 while working on a floristic inventory of public lands in the SE Plains, but did not identify his specimen as the federally Threatened S. diluvialis until March 1994. Other important botanical discoveries of 1994 included the relocation of Northern blackberry (Rubus acaulis) in the Bighorn Range after a 94 year absence. Stephanie Mills and Kathy Zacharkevics of Bighorn NF made the discovery during a routine clearance survey associated with a proposed dam project. Bob Dorn and Ernie Nelson discovered 4 new plant species for the state (dutifully reported in the newsletter) and John Baxter announced his discovery of 9 new state records for rust fungi and powdery mildews. New floristic projects were launched by Ron Hartman in the Gros Ventre Range and Mount Leidy Highlands on Bridger-Teton National Forest, Tom Cramer in the upper Green River Basin, Charmaine Refsdal in the lower Green River Basin and Uinta Range, and Laura Welp in the Great Divide Basin. n The Newsletter of the Wyoming Native Plant Society December 1996 Volume 15, No. 4 In tfiislssua' WNPS News ... 2 Botany Briefit 2 1997 Wyoming Rare Plant Workshop WUdscapes Brochure Available Forests Beneath Your Feet . ... 3 Exploring the Plants of Rendezvous Mountain . 4 Pmry'sPrirarosc 5 Additions and Deletions to the Flora of Wyoming 6 Deep Creek, a Botanical Treasure of the Sierra Madre 7 The Botany Songbook 8 Bebb willow (Salix bebbiana) is one of the common willow species in the mountains and foothills of western and northeastern Wyoming. By willow standards, it is also one of the more easily recognizable specie* ttebb willows typically are multi-branched shrub* or trots that otian have a mushroom-like growth Jana. The older stems have cracked bark, giving them a charactomtic white- streaked appearance. Whan in fruit, Bebb willow can be recognized by its fine-hairy, long-beaked capsules borne on long stalks. Illustmion by W Fertig, Above: Starting in 1993, The Wyoming Native Plant Society Newsletter evolved into its new format and adopted the new name Castilleja. Dennis Knight, Professor of Botany at UW (and WNPS member), published Mountains and Plains , a synthesis of ecological knowledge on the state of Wyoming. Several changes occurred in the Society's newsletter. Following a “name the newsletter” contest, Castilleja narrowly defeated Artemisia and Bouteloua as the choice of the membership. At the suggestion of Society President Phil White, a new membership category was created for Scholarship supporting members in which $10 was allocated specifically for the annual scholarship fund. The Society also did away with the pesky $7 initiation fee for new memberships, changing the rate to a flat $5. For the first time in the Society’s history, the number of issues of Castilleja increased from 3 to 4, and starting with the February issue, artwork became a standard feature on the cover. Irene Thien joined the volunteer production staff (doubling its size) and initiated changes in layout and design. Also for the first time, WNPS sponsored 2 field trips in 1994. The annual meeting was held in Grand Teton National Park and attended by more than 40 individuals over 2 days (a record turnout). A second trip was held in the Ashenfelder Basin area of the Laramie Range. 1995 After nearly 3 years of preparation, the Wyoming Rare Plant Technical Committee (in cooperation with the Wyoming BLM) published the Wyoming Rare Plant Field Guide. This book contained drawings and color photographs of 91 of the state’s rarest plants, including all species considered Category 2 candidates for potential federal listing under the Endangered Species Act, all USFS Sensitive species, and selected globally rare plants determined by the state natural heritage program. The book was entirely funded through grants from several federal agencies and distributed free to the public (copies still are available). The Society's annual meeting was held in the Red Desert on the coldest, rainiest day of the summer (several members had to make a 2 AM evacuation from our campsite due to inclement weather). Survivors on Sunday were treated to a lovely cushion plant community and sunshine on the slopes of Pacific Butte. Thanks to generous contributions to the Society’s revamped scholarship fund, the WNPS treasury broke the elusive $1000 barrier for the first time. Charmaine Refsdal Delmatier received the WNPS scholarship for her floristic study in the lower Green River Basin. Castilleja continued to print stories on new species for the state, interesting botanical areas, profiles of plant species, botanical humor, and news items, but also added features and editorials on more serious conservation issues. The December issue featured an editorial advocating the establishment of a state BLM Sensitive plant list and an article on the negative impacts of Russian olive in the west. With this change, the newsletter was returning to its earlier roots. 1996 Weeds were a major topic of discussion in the pages of Castilleja in 1996, prompted in part by the December 1995 feature on the perils of Russian olive. In the March issue, Bob Dorn presented a contrasting view, emphasizing the benefits of Russian olive to certain bird species for food and cover. Bill Schneider followed with a lengthy article on the many negative environmental effects of non-native species in the May edition. The newsletter also addressed concerns from the Teton Chapter about expansion of a ski area on Rendezvous Mountain near Jackson. Articles by Katy Duffy and Stuart Markow extolled the botanical significance of the area and the potential changes that could occur. The Teton Chapter was also busy with the production of a brochure on landscaping with native wildflowers that was featured in the October issue. The US Fish and Wildlife Service issued a revised Candidate Species list containing only 3 Wyoming plants {Arabis pusilla, Gaura neomexicana ssp. coloradensis, and Yermo xanthocephalus) . The previous summer, the Service announced the cessation of the Category 2 candidate list, which previously identified nearly 50 Wyoming species with potential for listing under the Endangered Species Act, but for which additional field surveys and research were needed. Fortunately, efforts by a network of Wyoming botanists (facilitated by annual or biennial state rare plant meetings) helped ensure that agencies would continue to pay appropriate management attention to those species truly in need. The Society's annual field trip was held in the Snowy Range. The best discovery of the day was the relocation of Alpine lady fern at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain by Bob Dorn. This large, handsome fern had last been documented in the Snowies in the 1930s. Dorn located the plants with his binoculars from a distance of several hundred feet. Other new discoveries for the year included a series of floating mat peatlands in the Beartooth Mountains containing numerous rare boreal sedges and cottongrasses by Sabine Mellmann- Brown and Walt Fertig, new state records for Braya humilis and Arnica angustifolia (both arctic and alpine species) on Arrow Mountain in the NE Wind River Range by Fertig, and a state record for Astragalus platytropis on Rattlesnake Mountain by Ron Hartman. New floristic studies were initiated in the Washakie Basin by Beth Ward (Burkhart) and Absarokas and Wind River ranges by Dave Rosenthal, both from the Rocky Mountain Herbarium. 1997 One of the more significant botanical discoveries of the year was the state's first report of Large round-leaf orchid ( Platanthera orbiculata) at two sites in the Black Hills. The plant was found by Ted Toombs, a seasonal botanist working on a timber clearance for Black Hills National Forest. Several other state records were reported in Castilleja based on surveys of the Camp Guernsey area by the Center for Ecological Management of Military Lands From Ft. Collins, Colorado, the National Elk Refuge by Walt Fertig and Jennifer Whipple, and various sites in eastern Wyoming by Bob Dorn and Jim Orpet. Don Hazlett, a private consultant from Colorado, discovered the state's fourth population of the federally Threatened Ute ladies tresses. The Society awarded a new record of $600 in scholarships in 1997, thanks to generous support of WNPS members. Funds were provided for a floristic study of the Laramie Range by Barb Packer, a paleobotanical study of Bighorn Range lakes by Mark Lyford, and a shrubland and grassland vegetation classification study in the upper Wind River valley by Lynn Kinter. WNPS member Dick Scott published Volume 1 of The Alpine Flora of the Rocky Mountains, which focused on the high mountains of Wyoming and adjacent Montana and Utah. Other valuable new books of the year included new volumes in the Flora of North America and Intermountain Flora. The BLM Rock Springs District released its Green River Resource Area management plan, which included ACEC protection for 900 acres of important habitat for 4 rare, locally endemic plants {Arabis pusilla, Descurainia torulosa, Astragalus proimanthus, and Thelesperma pubescens) in the South Pass, Cedar Mountain, McKinnon, and Quaking Aspen Mountain areas. These ACECs were the first ever designated specifically for rare plants in the state. Former WNPS President and Rock Springs BLM botanist Barbara Amidon helped shepherd these protections through a multi-year planning process. 1998 For the first time in over two decades, a Wyoming plant was formally proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act. In March, the USFWS proposed the Colorado butterfly plant for listing as Threatened. Later in October, the Service also proposed Desert yellowhead ( Yermo xanthocephalus) for Threatened status. The newsletter printed illustrated "fact sheets” for both species as an effort to increase public awareness and solicit new information. The Society also promoted public education through stories on the botanical values of the Red Desert (just beginning to be tapped as a major new natural gas field), the ecological significance of standing dead trees, and the growing threats to native populations of Echinacea from over-harvest for its medicinal values. Ron Hartman and Ernie Nelson of the Rocky Mountain Herbarium published a major review of newly described plant taxa in North America over the previous 20 years. Their findings indicated that botanical discoveries were still being made at an impressive rate in a flora as supposedly well-known as that of the United States. Hartman and Nelson's work would be featured in a number of popular magazines during the following year, including US News and World Report, Science News , and National Wildlife. The Society sponsored 3 field trips in 1998, visiting the South Pass and Shirley Mountain areas, the NW Wind River Range, and the National Elk Refuge. Castilleja unveiled its new masthead in May, featuring a drawing of our namesake plant 9 by Thermopolis artist Ellen Hand Galligan. Amy Roderick was awarded the Society scholarship for her floristic work in the North Platte watershed. Following several years of new recruitment, WNPS membership topped 175 for the first time. 1999 i n July, BLM biologist Frank Blomquist led an expedition to the Seminoe Mountains to identify a mystery Penstemon species thought to be a new taxon for the state. Frank’s plant was indeed Blowout penstemon (P. haydenii), a federally Endangered plant that was previously thought to occur only in the Nebraska Sand Hills, over 300 miles to the east. Survey of the surrounding area by Blomquist, Amy Roderick, Ernie Nelson, Courtney Ladenburger, and Walt Fertig revealed a population of 300-500 plants on steep, wind-blasted shifting sand dunes. Stephanomeria fluminea was described as a new species by Leslie Gottlieb in the journal Madrono. This species is apparently endemic to gravel bars along the Snake River and Shoshone River in NW Wyoming, although additional field surveys are still needed to determine its true abundance. Above: Stephanomeria fluminea (Teton wire-lettuce), a new, endemic species from northwestern Wyoming described in 1999. Illustration by Walt Fertig. At least 12 other new species were documented for the state in 1999, including first records for Sensitive fern ( Onoclea sensibilis) by Bob Dorn and the second continental record for Suaeda linifolia by Walt Fertig and Jim Glennon. Most of the new species for the state were non-natives escaping from cultivation or uncleaned seed. The growing spread and ecological impacts of exotics was featured in a special, 12-page May issue of Castilleja (the longest issue in the history of WNPS). The issue included a 4 page list of non-native plants that have become naturalized in Wyoming. The December issue also had a special theme, focusing on the centennial of the landmark Aven Nelson expedition to Yellowstone. The Society’s annual field trip was held in the Flaming Gorge country, and a second trip visited the scenic Beartooth Range, Swamp Lake, and Bald Ridge (a potential Research Natural Area site). WNPS was able to award a record $800 in scholarships for projects on alpine ecophysiology and biosystem atics of Ross’ bentgrass. 2000 The Society survived the Y2K scare and even launched a new and improved web site, thanks to the efforts of volunteer webmaster Rebekah Smith. The new site features past newsletters, semi-monthly features on interesting plants, archives of old articles, information on field trips, and an index of past issues. WNPS held its annual field trip in the Black Hills in conjunction with the Great Plains Native Plant Society. The May newsletter was dedicated to the Black Hills, containing 12 pages of Black Hills history, vegetation, conservation, and a word jumble by legendary Hills botanist Hollis Marriott (who also provided musical entertainment on the field trip). Several WNPS members helped organize a new Bighorn Native Plant Society in March. Although not officially part of WNPS, the two groups share a large pool of members and a common interest in the native flora. After nearly a quarter century of deliberation, the Colorado butterfly plant ( Gaura neomexicana ssp. coloradensis) was finally listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act in October. Listing action on the Desert yellowhead was postponed for at least a year due to budget constraints on the USFWS . The BLM continued to develop a conservation strategy for this species in hopes of affording real protection without the need for formal listing. Using computer modeling and air photos, Frank Blomquist and Walter Fertig discovered the world’s largest population of Blowout penstemon near the Ferris Mountains in July. With 3500-5000 plants, this site nearly doubles the total world population. 2001 While the year is not quite half over, it is already memorable for the establishment of an official BLM state Sensitive plant list in April. The Sensitive list (a decade in the making) covers 40 state and regionally endemic plant species and 38 animals. Sensitive status ensures that the habitat needs of listed species will be considered during resource management planning and development and the BLM will take steps to ensure that these plants do not become increasingly rare and listed under the Endangered Species Act. 2001 also brings to a close the first score of years in the Society’s history. Much has changed since pie-crazed botanists founded the Society in 1981. Taxonomists have described over 30 plant species from Wyoming as new to science. Field botanists have tallied over 160 new state records and over 200,000 specimens for the Rocky Mountain Herbarium, making Wyoming one of the most densely sampled states in the country. Tens of thousands of acres of wildlands have been protected, including some of the most significant botanical hotspots discovered during the past two decades (such as Swamp Lake, Dugout Gulch, Red Canyon, Beaver Rim, Preacher Rock Bog, and many more). Most importantly, interest in native plants and their conservation has grown tremendously. What began as a society primarily of professional botanists has grown more than 10-fold and contains a broad mix of both amateurs and professionals who share a common appreciation for Wyoming and its flora. 10 Wyoming Native Plant Society Officers Year President Vice President Secretary- Treasurer Board Member Board Member 1981/82 Robert Lichvar Ron Hartman Don Shute Richard Scott Mark Stromberg 1 982/83 Robert Dorn Ann Aldrich Robert Lichvar Richard Scott B.E. Nelson 1983/84 Erwin Evert Mark Stromberg Virginia Wheeler Ann Aldrich B.E. Nelson 1 984/85 Ann Aldrich Tom Wolf Ellen Collins Don Despain Phil White 1985/86 Don Despain Erwin Evert Robert Dorn Ann Aldrich Phil White 1986/87 Phil White B.E. Nelson Robert Dorn Ann Aldrich Hollis Marriott 1987/88 Hollis Marriott B.E. Nelson Robert Dorn Neil Snow Erwin Evert 1 988/89 Hollis Marriott Neil Snow Robert Dorn B.E. Nelson Erwin Evert 1989/90 George Jones Neil Snow Robert Dorn B.E. Nelson Hollis Marriott 1990/91 Neil Snow Robert Dorn Mary Neighbours Hollis Marriott 1991/92 Nancy Kastning Richard Scott Robert Dorn Mary Neighbours Walter Fertig 1992/93 Walter Fertig Hollis Marriott George Jones B.E. Nelson 1993/94 Phil White Barbara Amidon Walter Fertig George Jones Jennifer Whipple 1994/95 Barbara Amidon Mary Neighbours Walter Fertig Diana Osuna Jennifer Whipple 1995/96 Barbara Amidon Jennifer Whipple Walter Fertig Diana Osuna Jean Daly 1996/97 Jennifer Whipple Charmaine Delmatier Walter Fertig Katy Duffy Jean Daly 1997/98 Charmaine Delmatier Richard Scott Walter Fertig Katy Duffy Jennifer Whipple 1998/99 Charmaine Delmatier Jim Ozenberger Walter Fertig Nina Haas Jennifer Whipple 1999/00 Jim Ozenberger Amy Roderick Laura Welp Nina Haas Steve Laster 2000/01 Amy Roderick Taylor Joy Handley Walter Fertig Jim Ozenberger Steve Laster Botany Briefs Wyoming BLM Designates Sensitive Plant Species: On 9 April, 2001, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wyoming State Office announced the establishment of an official BLM state Sensitive plant and animal list and Sensitive species policy. This new program (the first of its kind for the BLM in Wyoming) provides increased management emphasis for 40 state and regionally endemic plants and 38 animals. The intent of the Sensitive species program is to prevent agency activities from further endangering these plants and animals and contributing to their potential listing under the Endangered Species Act. Under the program, new management activities are required to avoid or minimize impacts to these species and their habitat. The Sensitive list is determined by the BLM state director under authority of BLM Manual 6840, based on input from BLM Resource managers and field staff. The 40 state Sensitive plants are listed below, followed by the acronym for the BLM Field Office in which they occur (B = Buffalo, CA = Casper, CO = Cody, K = Kemmerer, L= Lander, N = Newcastle, P = Pinedale, RA = Rawlins, RS = Rock Springs, and W = Worland). Antennaria arcuata (Meadow pussytoes) L, P, RS Aqullegia laramiensis (Laramie columbine) CA?, RA Arabis pusilla (Small rock cress) RS Artemisia biennis var. diffusa (Mystery wormwood) RS Artemisia ported (Porter’s sagebrush) B, CA, L Astragalus gilvif torus var. purpureus (Dubois milkvetch) L Astragalus jejunus var. articulatus (Hyattville milkvetch) W Astragalus nelsonianus (Nelson's milkvetch) CA, L, RA, RS [synonym = A. pectinatus\iax. platyphyllus ] Astragalus racemosusvax. treleasei (Trelease’s milkvetch) K, P Astragalus proimanthus (Precocious milkvetch) RS Qrsium aridum (Beaver Rim thistle) L, P, RA, RS Cirsium ownbeyi (Ownbey’s thistle) RS Cleome multicaulis (Many-stemmed spider-flower) CA Cryptantha subcapitata (Owl Creek miners candle) L Cymopterus evertii (Evert’s wafer-parsnip) CO, W? Cymopterus williamsil (Williams’ wafer-parsnip) B, CA, W Descurainia torulosa (Wyoming tansymustard) RS Ipomopsis aggregata ssp. weberi (Weber’s scarlet-gilia) RA Lepidium integrifolium var. integrifolium (Entire leaved peppergrasss) K Lesquerella arenosa var. argillosa (Sidesaddle bladderpod) N Lesquerella fremontii (Fremont bladderpod) L Lesquerella macrocarpa (Large-fruited bladderpod) K, P, RS Lesquerella multiceps (Western bladderpod) K? [Continued on page 12] 11 Wyoming BLM Designates Sensitive Plant Species [continued from page 11] Lesquerella prostrata (Prostrate bladderpod) K Penstemon absarokensis (Absaroka beardtongue) CO Penstemon acaulis var. acaulis (Stemless beardtongue) RS Penstemon caryi (Cary beardtongue) B, CO, W Penstemon gibbensii (Gibbens' beardtongue) RA Phlox pungens (Beaver Rim phlox) K, L, P, RS Physaria condensata (Tufted twinpod) K, P, RS Physaria dornii (Dorn’s twinpod) K Physaria saximontana var. saximontana (Rocky Mountain twinpod) L, W Rorippa calycina (Persistent sepal yellowcress) CO, L, RS, W Shoshonea pulvinata (Shoshonea) CO, L? Sisyrinchium pallidum (Pale blue-eyed grass) RA Sphaeromeria simplex (Laramie false sagebrush) CA, RA Thelesperma caespitosum (Green River greenthread) RS Thelesperma pubescens (Uinta greenthread) RS Townsendia microcephala (Cedar Mountain Easter daisy) RS Trifolium barnebyi (Barneby’s clover) L The BLM Sensitive list does not include plants that are already listed under the Endangered Species or are proposed for listing (such asYermo xanthocephalus), as these species are already protected under more stringent USFWS rules. WF The Wyoming Native Plant Society, established in 1981, is a non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging the appreciation and conservation of the native flora and plant communities of Wyoming. The Society promotes education and research on native plants of the state through its newsletter, field trips, and annual student scholarship award. Membership is open to individuals, families, or organizations with an interest in Wyoming’s flora. Members receive Castilleja, the Society’s quarterly newsletter, and may take part in all of the Society’s programs and projects, including the annual meeting/field trip held each summer. Dues are $7.50 annually. To join the Wyoming Native Plant Society, return the membership form below to: Wyoming Native Plant Society PO Box 3452 Laramie, WY 82071 Name: Address: $7.50 Regular Membership $15.00 Scholarship Supporting Member ($7.50 goes to the annual scholarship fund) Wyoming Native Plant Society PO Box 3452 Laramie, WY 82071 12