Mission
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to foster an understanding and appreciation of native flora and its habitats in the panhandle area of North Idaho,
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to advocate the conservation of this rich natural heritage for future generations,
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to encourage the responsible use of native plants in landscaping and restoration,
- to educate youth and the general public in the value of the native flora and their habitats.
About our logo: Marilyn McIntyre, naturalist and artist, has created our colorful logo depicting the flower, leaves, and the fruit of the kinnikinnick plant.
Current Newsletter:
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KNPS Presentations
The Kinnikinnick Native Plant Society in conjunction with Sandpoint Parks and Recreation have monthly presentations. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, KNPS’s meetings and programs will only be offered online via Zoom. The meetings are held on the 4th Saturday of each month, January through June and September through November.
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***********Whitebark pine: Current status and threats that led to proposed protections under the Endangered Species Act
When: Friday, January 22 at 10:00 am (Due to speaker scheduling, this program will be on Friday, but a recording of it should be available by our regular meeting time on Saturday, Jan. 23rd at 10 am.)
KNPS’s January 2021 program on Friday, Jan. 22, will only be offered online via Zoom (registration info below). There will be NO in-person meeting at Sandpoint Community Hall. Our guest speaker will be Christy Cleaver, US Forest Service Plant Pathologist. This program will be a live webinar, co-sponsored by Sandpoint Parks & Rec. There will be opportunity to ask questions via Chat. It will also be recorded for later viewing on the Kinnikinnick Native Plant Society’s YouTube Channel.
About the speaker: Since 2015, Christy Cleaver has been a Plant Pathologist in Coeur d’Alene with the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Health Protection, which monitors forest diseases and insects, conducts forest health evaluations, and provides management guidance, training, and conservation education. Christy received B.S. degrees in Forest Biology and Natural Resource Management and an M.S. in Ecology, with an emphasis in Forest Pathology, from Colorado State University. She has worked in forest pathology for 11 years in Colorado, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho with emphasis on white pine blister rust and high elevation white pines.
Summary of Christy’s presentation: Whitebark pine, a critical component of high elevation ecosystems in the western U.S. and Canada, was recently proposed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The normally long-lived, stress-tolerant pine is declining throughout most of its range due to a combination of the introduced disease white pine blister rust, mountain pine beetle, fire, and climate change. Restoration efforts are ongoing and include a National Whitebark Pine Restoration Plan. Learn how you can help protect whitebark pines.
We are fortunate to have the opportunity this month to learn about this iconic, high-elevation native pine species, as comments on its listing as “threatened” under ESA are due by Feb. 1. Comments in favor of this listing are encouraged and may be submitted through the American Forests Action Alert at: https://www.americanforests.org/action-alerts/action-alert-protect-whitebark-pines-from-extinction/
Registration (required for attendance):
When the live webinar will occur?: Jan. 22, 2021 10:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
To register for the live webinar, go to this link or paste it into your web browser: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYtfumhqDgtHNKVVsRHcEbgsIY7Br4_vUxb
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about how to join Zoom on January 22nd.
If you have questions about this or other KNPS programs, please contact Preston Andrews, Programs Coordinator, at programs@nativeplantsociety.org.
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KNPS Online Programming Announcement, April 2020
With Kinnikinnick Native Plant Society programs cancelled for May and maybe even June, we thought we’d offer up some enticing online program options for our members and others interested in native plants and their landscapes. Here are four options on a wide range of interesting topics, including videos on soils, mushrooms, and native plant landscaping, and a digital exhibition about Rachel Carson and her revolutionary book, Silent Spring.
Friends of Scotchman Peaks WIlderness new weekly podcast series: Your Wild Place! https://www.scotchmanpeaks.org/podcast/
Dirt: The Erosion of Civilization by David Montgomery <https://www.dig2grow.com/>, Professor of Geology, Univ. Washington; lecture presented at Univ. British Columbia (2011) <https://youtu.be/sQACN-XiqHU> (57:41)
How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World by Paul Stamets <https://fungi.com/>, visionary, inventor and owner of Fungi Perfecti; lecture presented at Bioneers Conference (2006) <https://bioneers.org/paul-stamets-how-mushrooms-can-help-save-the-world-bioneers/> (26:39)
Bringing Nature Home with Doug Tallamy <http://www.bringingnaturehome.net/>, Professor of Entomology, Univ. Delaware and Rick Darke <http://www.rickdarke.com/> , native plant horticultural and landscape consultant; presented on Growing a Greener World with host Joe Lamp’l <https://www.growingagreenerworld.com/bringing-nature-home-doug-tallemy/> (25:34)
Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, a Book that Changed the World by Virtual Exhibitions, Mark Stoll (2012, updated 2020) http://www.environmentandsociety.org/exhibitions/rachel-carsons-silent-spring
Click Here for FUTURE PROGRAMS
Landscaping with Native Plants in the Idaho Panhandle, a publication by the Kinnikinnick Native Plant Society, is available at the following area retailers for $19.95 (see link below). First published in 2011, it is the resource for any home garden or large landscape project where the many benefits of native plants are desired. In addition to detailed material about the listed plants there is extensive information included to accomplish successful results. This book has been made possible with grant support, largely from the Inland Northwest Community Foundation."
Books can be purchased here:
Landscaping with Native Plants in the Idaho Panhandle
Addendum Now Available Online Here
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