V12-1, Fall 1998 – “Ute Ladies’ Tresses Shows Up Again in Gallatin County: And Puts Airport Expansion Project on Hold,” by Judy McCarthy includes detailed discussion on the identification of this threatened orchid and its evolutionary background; an accompanying excerpt from the Bozeman Chronicle explains how a “Protected Flower Stymies Airport Plans”; “Research Natural Areas Program has change in Leadership,” announces the departure of Angela Evenden and assumption of duties by Steve Shelly; in “The Complex Web of Life Underground,” Peter Lesica desribes the variety of native species that make their living at least in part through parasitism; “Landscaping with Native Plants: Why Should You?”; field trip reports for Storm Lake, Bottle Point, Ninepipes Refuge and Indian Meadows; a Big Sky Sketch with Bonnie Heidel covers Primula alcalina, alkali primrose; Jill Davies reviews Plants of the Southern Interior British Columbia by Parish, Coupe, and Lloyd 1996; and a list of other publications of interest.
V12-2, Winter 1999 – “USFWS Finally Moves on Listing Spalding’s Catchfly” by Shannon Kimball gives notice of progress in an eventually successful listing petition; Susan Palermo describes the “Natives are Nice” curriculum for grades 3 through 5 that she developed with help of the MNPS small grants program; Bonnie Heidel follows up on the previous issue’s information in “Update on Ute Ladies’ Tresses”; Robyn Klein describes the reasons and solicits support for a proposed bill to govern “Wildcrafting Native Plants,” with special concern for Echinacea angustifolium; a field trip report on “Coal Ridge Lookout;” Jean Pfeiffer describes work to restore the UM Native Plant Garden in “Diversity on Campus: Native plant Garden at U. of M. Preserves Samples of Montana’s Native Flora”; Shannon Kimball offers an update on “Water Howellia Conservation”; Big Sky Sketches describe Oregon grape and Serviceberry in “A Plant for All Seasons” by Carol Mackin and in “Bountiful Berries” by Lois Olsen; Al Joyes reviews Plant Use by Early Montanans, published by the Montana Historical Society Press; and a version of a poem for which Wayne Phillips has become a noted reciter: “Them Botanists” by Forrest Marsh.
V12-3, Spring 1999 – In “Legislation Passed for the Sustainable Harvest of Wild Plants,” Dennis Nichols, with information from Robyn Klein, reports on the difficult path followed by a bill before the Montana Legislature to protect certain native plants from rampant commercial harvesting; Bonnie Heidel described what may have been the first ever online field guide in “Montana’s Rare Plants on the Internet,” a description of the NRIS guide to Montana plants of special concern; Peter Lesica described the celebration in “UM Herbarium Celebrates 100th Anniversary”; Linda Iverson edited a longer version by Helen Atthowe on “Growing Echinacea”; and “Xeric Garden of the Montana Native Plants Garden” by Sheila Morrison and Roberta Walsh; as well as society news and other notes.
V12-4, Summer 1999 – Not published