By Bernadette Kuhn, CNHP Botanist
Our group walked gingerly over the lichen-encrusted soil to get a closer look at a plant species known only from gypsum outcrops in Mesa, Montrose and San Miguel counties. Cryptantha gypsophila (Gypsum Valley cat’s-eye), a species described in 2006, dotted the low hills of Big Gypsum Valley, one of the field trip sites for the latest in a series of Conservation Action Planning (CAP) meetings. Our timing was impeccable – the plants were in full bloom.
Photo by Bernadette Kuhn.
The CAP workshop and field trip, held May 4-6, convened in the town of Norwood, with field trips to the Big Gypsum Valley and Dan Noble State Wildlife Area. A CAP workshop is an iterative and adaptive process that looks at conservation targets at multiple spatial scales in order to be as effective as possible with the knowledge and resources available. The participants for this meeting consisted of county officials, land managers, land trust representatives, botanists, and planners. Susan Spackman Panjabi (CNHP), Betsy Neely (The Nature Conservancy) and Peggy Lyon (CNHP) led the workshop.
Photo by Bernadette Kuhn.
The priority action areas for the workshop are Big Gypsum Valley, Miramonte Reservoir, and Lone Mesa State Park. These areas are ranked by CNHP as having Outstanding Biodiversity Significance (B1). The following rare plant species are found at these sites: Cryptantha gypsophila (Gypsum Valley cat’s-eye), Gutierrezia elegans (Lone Mesa snakeweed), Physaria pulvinata (cushion bladderpod), Puccinellia parishii (Parish’s alkali grass) and Sporobolus neallyi (Neally’s dropseed).
Our group worked together to identify stresses to the rare plants (current, future and potential), then developed strategies to address them. We also identified the knowledge gaps and monitoring needs for the rare plant species.
Photo by Betsy Neely, The Nature Conservancy (used with permission).
This is the sixth CAP meeting held by the Rare Plant Conservation Initiative. Future meetings are slated for the following locations: Gateway, North Park, Middle Park, the Middle Arkansas Valley, Piceance Basin, and Pagosa Springs.
