V30-1, Fall 2016. Western At-Large representative Jon Reny reports on another Fabulous Field Trip in the “Exploding Car Battery” series of hikes, this one to Geiger Lakes; Annual Meeting news includes articles on the Mount Haggin Extavaganza, Outstanding Service Award to Dave Hanna, and 2016 election results; Steve and Karen Shelly report on an extra field trip at the Annual Meeting to the Cattle Gulch Research Natural Area; Rachel Potter introduces an appreciation of University of Washington Botany Professor and Washington Native Plant Society founder Arthur Kruckenberg written by Dick Olmstead of UW; Small Grants Reports include “A Place for Buzzing Minds” by Trinity Pierce of the Montana Audubon Center, and “Pollination and Wildfire” by Michael Simanonok, PhD candidate, Department of Ecology, Montana State University; Gretchen Rupp describes a “Plant Foray Out of Montana” into Yellowstone Park with park botanist Heidi Anderson; Mark Shiltz and Clare Beelman submitted a report, “Small But Important,” about a visit to a Water howellia site including information about the blooming biology of the plant; and Peter Lesica describes a range of “Sticky Plants” that can be found in Montana. There is also the normal share of Society news to be found.
V30-2, Winter 2017. A 2016 Small Grant Report by Lisa Bickell of the Montana Natural History Center describes the Nature Adventure Garden built with the financial assistance of the Montana Native Plant Society; in a Conservation Update, Peter Lesica describes the work of a coalition of Western Native Plant Societies to encourage the USDA Agricultural Research Service to develop native solutions for grassland restoration; a reprint article discusses “The Redeeming Value of Weeds”; in a “New Glacier Field Guide,” Rita Braun reviews Trees and Flowering Shrubs of Glacier National Park by MNPS members Shannon Kimball and Peter Lesica; and a review of Consider the Seed by Ellen Kehlmann of the Washington Native Plant Society is reprinted from the Douglasia; another reprint – this time from the Montana Natural History Center’s “Field Notes” series – is “Gotta Like Those Lichens” by Kevin Murray of the University of Montana; and the Society and Chapter News of note.
V30-3, Spring 2017. This edition’s opening article is a Small Grant Report by Andrea Pipp, Botanist with the Montana Natural Heritage Program, entitled “Exploring Mosses and Lichens in Musselshell County.” The article details how the author assembled an impressive team of experts to document the populations of mosses, liverworts, and lichens on the Milton Ranch in Montana’s Musselshell County. The article describes the 40-year Milton Ranch program to foster biodiversity on their land and how cataloging these species adds greatly to the understanding of this part of the ecosystem, as well as increasing scientific knowledge for both the ranch and central Montana prairie country; Betty Kuropat of the Small Grants Committee documents the 4 awards for 2017; announcement of an upcoming book, Montana’s Pioneer Botanists: Exploring the Mountains and Prairies edited by Rachel Potter and Peter Lesica; in “Sagebrush Talk,” Peter Lesica reports on recent research into protective chemical communication in sagebrush populations; a new book by Cathy L. Cripps, Vera S. Evenson, and Michael Kuo, The Essential Guide to Rocky Mountain Mushrooms by Habitat, is reviewed by Frank Dugan, USDA-ARS Plant Introduction at Washington State University; and news of the Society and Chapters.
V30-4, Summer 2017. In “Beautiful Nuisance: Yellowflag Iris,” Monica Pokorny, Jim Jacobs, and Jane Mangold describe this invasive wetland weed and discuss possible control measures; Gretchen Rupp reports on field trips taken by Valley of Flowers members to private lands conserved by the Montana Land Reliance and the interesting species observed there; Peter Lesica reviews “Thirty Years of Native Plant Conservation” efforts undertaken by the Montana Native Plant Society; and, as always, the newsletter includes other chapter news and events and some inspiring words from our outgoing President Kathy Settevendemie.
