The Colorado Native Plant Society Newsletter will be published on a bimonthly basis. The contents will consist primarily of a calendar of events, notes of interest, editorials, listings of new members and conservation news. Until there is a Society journal, the Newsletter will include short articles also. The deadline for the Newsletter is one month prior to its release.https://epublications.regis.edu/aquilegia/1011/thumbnail.jp

Eaman, Tom

Evans, Gail

Goodwin, Libby

Harmon, William

Olmsted, Charles

Vories, Kimery C.

English

ePublications at Regis University

()alorado l\lativePlan' Soc.lety ''DEDICATED TO THE ApPRECIATION AND CoNSERVATION OF THE CoLORAOO NATIVE FLORA" NEWSLETTER Vol ume II No. 6 November-December 1978 JFFICERS 1978/1979 President: Bill Harmon Vice President: Tom Eaman Secretary: Charles Olmsted Treasurer: Kimery Vories BOARD OF DIRECTORS David Buckner Bi 11 Harmon Miriam Denham Karen HollwegVirginia Dionigi Cha rl es 01 ms ted Tom Eaman Mark Phill ips Gail Evans J. Scott Peterson Hugo Ferchau Jim Ratzloff Libby Goodwin Kimery Vories CORRESPONDENCE All correspondence and inqulrles regarding activities of the Society should be addressed to Charles Olmsted, Box 1195, Boulder, CO 80306. COMMITTEES Endangered Species Bi 11 Harmon Education Bill Harmon Environmental Documents Hugo Ferchau Funding Kimery Vories Horticulture & Rehabilitation Mark Phillips_egislative Libby Goodwin Membership Sue Martin Publications J. Scott Peterson MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS AND INFORMATION Sue Martin, USDA Crops Research Lab, Colorado State University. Ft. Collins. CO 80523. SCHEDULE OF MEMBERSHIP FEES Life $250.00 Supporting 50.00 Society 25.00 Family 12.00 Individual 8.00 Student &Retired 4.00 The CONPS Newsletter is sent to all other Native Plant Societies in exchange for theirs. Nonmem­bers may subscribe to the Newsletter for $4.00. NEWSLETTER EDITOR: Dieter H. Wilken. Dept. of Botany & Plant Pathology, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins. CO 80523. The editor seeks articles of interest to all as­pects of Society activities. Such articles should not generally exceed 4 typewritten. dou­ble-spaced pages. although consideration will be given to longer articles if space permits. Deadlines for the 6 bimonthly newsletters are the last day of January, March, May, July, Sep­tember, and November. LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES The committee will continue to work closely with other Society committees during 1979, keeping an eye on pending legislation and offering sugges­tions for appropriate legislation. The Federal Endangered Species Act. which was in jeopardy shortly before the congressional recess, was reauthorized and funding was r:-estored. Accor-. ding to the "Audubon Leader". October 27. 1978, "The fi na1 act; on on the bill came duri ng the Congress's hectic wrap-up marathon. In the ear­ly morning hours of Saturday. October 14th, the House passed a bill that would have been disas­trous for the Act. Senate conferees held out for a stronger bill. however. and a compromise was accepted Sunday,a few hours before adjourn­ment." As passed. the Wyoming GrayrocksBam tmd the Tellico Dam (of SNAIL DARTER fame) must be considdred within 90 days of the date the bilT is signed. rather than completely exempted as the House wanted. In addition, there will be a 7 member review committee for all potential ex­emptions and the bill is reauthorized only for 18 months. Strong citizen support is needed to keep the Endangered Species Act from becomingendangered! At the state level. individuals and organizations have been working since last May to broaden the legislative protection of native plants. Presently, the Colorado State Forest Service has the responsibility for protecting forest resources from fi re. insects and di seases. The State Agriculture Department protects plants useful to man (i.e. crops). The Wildlife Com­mission and the State Parks Board have power to adopt rules for the preservation of vegetation.Several wildlife statutes cover protection of wildlife "environment" and "ecosystems". Unus­ual examples of vegetation and habitats of rare and endangered plants are among the factors con­sidered when natural areas are designated under the new Natural Areas Program. What is now pro­posed are amendments tol'itl e 33"1)f the Colorado Statutes. which would place the responsibilityfor research and protection of threatened and endangered native plants under the jurisdictionof the Wildlife Commission and the Division of Wildlife. The CONPS Board of Directors recently voted to endorse these amendments and will work for their passage. Please contact Libby Goodwin if you would like a copy of the proposal or would be available to write letters or speak at hearings. Libby Goodwin may be reached at 449­6227 (Boulder) before 7:00 AM or after 7:00 PM. Her address is 2885 17th Street, Boulder, CO 80302. ---Libby Goodwin .... A COLORADO STATE GRASS? Do you think Colorado should have a State Grass? Grasses, more than any other single group of plants in Colorado. are sufficiently importantto deserve a representative place with our State Tr:e, Flower, Wild Animal and Bird. To do some­. thlng about this lack_Of gratitude or recogni­tion for the plants that do so much to stabilize and develop soil. grow forage and providescenery, the Colorado Section. Society for Range Managem~nt. has taken action to get a State Grass designated for Colorado. M:mbers of ~olora~o Nativ: Plant Society are in­vlted to mall thelr favorlte candidates for State Grass to: Walter Jacubowski 415 Macon Canon City, Colorado 81212 No special ground rules have been written for what the State Grass should be but the species would be ex~ected to have attributes for forage value, erOSlOn control, wide distribution and-­a respectable ~mage or reputation. It's impor­tant too, I thlnk. that the grass be a native of Colorado. ---Tom Eaman GROWING A COLORADO NATIVE SHRUB, KINNIKINNICK or BEARBERRY (ARCTOSTAPHYLOS UVA·URSI) KINNIKINNICK is a low, evergreen, prostrateshrub with tiny. leathery leaves. The leaves are reddish when young, glossy dark green when mature, and bronze in the Fall. The branches tend to root wherever they touch the ground. KINNIKINNICK forms a low mat from 6 - 12 inches high and spreads slowly. The flowers bloom from April to June, depending on the plant'slocation. The tiny, waxy. pink to white urn­shaped flowers are disposed in a short. few­flowered raceme. The fruit is a berry with 4-10 hard seeds. The berries are about ~ inch in diameter and red when mature. The seeds are presumably dispersed by birds and mammals which eat the fruits. The number of seeds per pound ranges between 26,800 and 58,000. Seeds may mature from June through early Fall. Fruits may be collected by hand or picked off the ground but only after they are fully mature. Seed can be separated from the pulp by macera­tion in water, followed either by flotation (theseeds sink) or by fanning when dry. Seed can be stored for 1 year in dry, airtightcontainers, followed by stratification and planting the following year. The seeds have very hard coats and germinate erratically. even with pretreatment. Several methods may' be used to help break dormancy. For field planting it is best to soak the seed in concentrated sulfur­ic acid for 2 - 5 hours. CAUTION: concentrated sulfuric acid is dangerous and should be judi­ciously used. Wash all containers and seeds in water after treatment and keep acid away from skin. For stratification following the acid treatment: (1) warm stratify at 25° C for 60 ­120 days followed by (2) moist stratification at 3° - 5° for 60 - 90 days. Seed can be strati­fied in a medium of sand. peat or a mixture of peat, loam &perlite. The type of stratifica­tion may have an effect on the biological acti­vity within the seeds particularly during Warm strati fi cati on. Both softwood and hardwood cuttings will root somewhat easily and many nurseries prefer this type of propagation over seed germination for KINNIKINNICK. A high degree of hybridizationwith other species of Arctostaphylos, largely on the western slope of Colorado, allows the selection of certain desirable horticultural forms only by this type of propagation. KINNI­KINNICK survives well in direct sun and drysoils as well as on moist, shaded sites. It grows best where the soil is coarse and sandy or rocky. well-drained and slightly acid. Avoid planting this shrub on heavy, clay or alkaline soil s. KINNIKINNICK has had many uses. Berries were used by pioneers to make ciders and jellies.Indians used parts of the plant for medicinal purposes, teas and a type of tobacco. Extracts of the leaves have been used to cure leather and as a lotion for ameliorating the effect of POISON OAK or SUMAC. Seeds are available locally from: Hardi Gardens, 6506 South Broadway, Littleton,CO South Denver Evergreen Nursery, 1534 South Broadway, Denver, CO More distant sources are: Lawyer Nursery. Route 2, Box 95, Plains, MT 59859 (also seedlings) North Plain Seed Producers, P.O. Box 9107. Moscow. ID 83843 The information contained within this article has been extracted from several articles and the personal experiences of the authors. Mor~ de­tailed information may be obtained from Klm ories, Range Science Dept., CSU 80523. ---Gail Evans & Kim Vories ____________________________________ __ ITEMS OF INTEREST An article entitled "The Return of the Native" by Carol Smyser appears in the December issue of Organic Gardening and contains information of interest to the landscape gardener. The author is also offering $ 25 for stories acceptable for use in a forthcoming book on native plants. The next general membership meeting of the Society is planned for Saturday. April 7 at the Denver Botanical Garden. Details will appear in future issues of the Newsletter. FINANCIAL REPORT OCTOBER 15, 1977 - OCTOBER 14, 1978 INCOME Membership dues $ 1438.50 Interest 73.75 Total $ 1512.75 EXPENSES Newsletter $ 453.24 Meetings 244.18 Rehabilitation Committee 65.81 Colorado Open Space Council dues 50.00 Endangered Species Committee 41.25 Local Chapters 19.20 Miscellaneous 20.00 Total $ 893.68 CliRRENT ASSETS Savings $ 1340.12 Checking 461.53 Total $ 1801.65 ---Kim Vories, Treasurer COLORADO STATE PARKS PASS The annual pass is now available by mail. Passes ordered by mail will be sent by the Divi­sion of Parks &Recreation registration unit within 2 working days after receiving the mail request. The annual pass allows admission to 32 state parks and recreation areas. Costing $ 10. the pass is valid from January l-December 31. 1979. Cars with annual passes on their windshields may enter state parks and recrea­tion areas an unlimited number of times during the year. whereas a daily admission without the pass is $ 2.00. Colorado residents aged 64 or over may request the Aspen Leaf Passport. which is a lifetime pass for $ 2.00. Annual passes are also available at all parks, recreation areas and offices of the Colorado Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation Please mail me an annual parks pass. I understand that only the original pass, costing $10 can be sent by mail, but that I can buy the $1 multiple for other vehicles registered in my name at any park or OPOR regional office after receiving my original pass. PLEASE PRINT: N~E ADDRESS______________________ LICENSE NO.___---_______________ (Pass cannot be issued witnout license number.) I bougnt an annual pass last year: 0 Ves 0 No. Fill out and mail with $10 check payable to Colorado Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation to: OPOR Registration Unit, P.O. Box 231,littleton, CO 80160. Colorado residents aged 64 or over should not use this form, but should Inquire about the $2 Aspen Leaf Passport. 

Colorado Native Plant Society Newsletter, Vol. 2 No. 6, November-December 1978

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Colorado Native Plant Society Newsletter, Vol. 2 No. 6, November-December 1978

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