V31-1, Fall 2017. Catherine Cain tells about the challenges and rewards for the Calypso Chapter’s median garden in Dillon, in “Reflections on Developing an Urban Native Plant Garden; in “On the Edge,” Libby Knotts reviews the successful annual meeting held south of Lambert in June; this year’s “Exploding Battery Hike” to the Cody Lake Fen and nearby areas is described by Jon Reny; in her “President’s Platform” essay, new Society President, Gretchen Rupp, sets a theme for bolstering Society Membership, especially the need to continue to attract younger members; in “Cushion Plants: Community Status Report,” Peter Lesica describes recent results from observations of permanent plots established cooperatively between the Missoula Parks and Recreation Department and the Clark Fork Chapter in 2007 to monitor the condition of native cushion plant communities found there; Peter Lesica also reports on “A Lifetime of Achievement: Brian Martin Receives 2017 Award”; the issue also includes a review of Montana’s Pioneer Botanists by Patricia Holmgren and A Window into the Steppes by Madeline Mazurski; and a reflection on the life of Jerry DeSanto, 1928-2017 that appeared in the Hungry Horse News on July 26, 2017 is reprinted in this issue along with a personal remembrance of gratitude to Jerry by MNPS board secretary, Rachel Potter.
V31-2, Winter 2018. In the issue opening article, Jesse Salix tells about how her interest in “Dying with Native Plants,” has led to a series of Calypso Chapter workshops sharing these skills; in the “President’s Platform” column, MNPS Board President Gretchen Rupp winter message is to get out there and enjoy native plants in the winter, attend chapter events, and use your imagination to create some events of your own – great advice on a cold winter day; in their Small Grant Report, Christine McManamen and Cara Nelson report new information they discovered regarding native plant germination on restoration sites following pesticide use in an article called, “Fine-Tuning Native Plant Community Restoration at Weedy Sites”; in “New Books,” Matt Lavin serves up a detailed positive review of Intermountain Flora Volume 7: Potpourri: Keys, History, Authors, Artists, Collectors, Beardtongues, Glossary, Indices; in an article reprinted from the Chinquapin, the Newsletter of the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society, Lytton John Musselman describes, “Cattail Cuisine” and gives instruction for preparing male and female inflorescences into food treats; and chapter news and events for winter.
V31-3, Spring 2018. In “Lichens under the Lens,” Denise Montgomery of the Valley of Flowers Chapter reviewed in great detail information presented in a hands on program by Andrea Pipp, program botanist for the Montana Natural Heritage Program; in “Congratulations to 2018 Small Grant Winner,” Betty Kuropat announces the 2018 grantee; Society President, Gretchen Rupp, presents a detailed report on this year’s Plant Conservation Conference in her monthly “President’s Platform” column and urges even nonprofessional members to become plant sleuths and promising future information on the basics of doing that; Peter Lesica sorts out complexities of monoecious and dioecious characteristics in a fun rundown on, “The Sex Lives of Plants: A Primer; in a small grant report, Mirabai McCarthy, Associate Professor of Plant Biology, Flathead Valley Community College tells about, “Promoting Botanical Literacy in a Mountain Community”; and in another Small Grant Report, Heidi Fleury, Conservation Coordinator for the Lake County Conservation District documents the “Lake County Rainbow Drive Park Restoration Project.”
V31-4, Summer 2018. This issue’s lead story is a Small Grants Report by Valley of Flowers Chapter member Jeff Copeland, “Appraising the Crown Jewel,” which describes the historical and ecological background of Bozeman’s Burke Park and vegetation surveys showing changes over the years. This report certainly has implications for all Montana urban wildland parkland to which we might be all advised to attend; Andrea Pipp asks, “Does Montana Need a Statewide Rare Plant Strategy?” with an article that outlines the background of the question and documents a process just beginning to address the question in detail; Society President Gretchen Rupp shares her, “Thinking about Plants and Fire” with an appeal for looking at the outcome with a more scientific approach that the more common view of a coming apocalypse; Joe Elliott, “aspiring” Montana bryologist, offers a primer on “Montana Peat Mosses” to get you started on sphagnum sensibility; and Kelseya editor Caroline Kurtz begins a new regular feature column on native gardening with a piece about gardening with Wild hollyhock, Illiamna rivularis.
