This excruciatingly rare plant has been documented in only one place: along a basalt ridgetop at the Hanford Reach National Monument.
Read more »Protecting a Washington Rarity, the Endangered Desert Buckwheat
Rare Plant Profile: Basalt Daisy
Basalt daisy (Erigeron basalticus) is a cliff dweller, found exclusively along the Yakima River Canyon and Selah Creek. There you will find it tucked into crevices and cracks of the basalt cliffs formed in the late Miocene (5 to 11 million years ago). There are six known populations in Washington State. Over the past few years Rare Care has made a concerted effort to re-monitor all known occurrences, and we only have one left to visit!
Read more »Rare Plants and a Changing Climate
By Maya Kahn-Abrams Over the past five months I have been immensely privileged to work on several of Rare Care’s projects restoring our beloved native rare plants all over Washington state. From hot July afternoons helping map shimmering meadows of pink Wenatchee Mountains checkermallow (Sidalcea oregana var calva) and purple Wenatchee larkspur (Delphinium viridenscens), to epic early mornings counting baby seedlings of White Bluffs bladderpod (Physaria douglasii ssp.
Read more »How alpine views helped me feel renewed
By Jaileen Merced It is hard to believe that summer is over, and Allie and I have gone on 7 backpacking trips and 2 camping trips. Each of them very unique and special. From beautiful forest walks to steep crumbling slopes. We have covered so much ground and been to places I never thought I could reach. Working for Rare Care this year has been a privilege and a challenge.
Read more »Rare Care: Notes from the Field
2021 was a jam-packed and prolific year of rare plant conservation for both Rare Care volunteers and staff. Safety remained a top concern, with care given to evolving COVID-19 protocols, and the wildfire season affecting access to many east side locations. Despite the extra challenges, we successfully completed research fieldwork and rare plant monitoring assignments, and added new collections to the seed vault.
Read more »Habitat Scouting from the Sky
By Drew Foster It’s late in the hotel room and every outlet is precious- lamps and clocks are abandoned for a plethora of plugs and cords. Everything is plugged in and charging: smartphone, tablet, laptop, power station, and batteries for the drone and sensor, check! Memory cards have plenty of space, data are backed up, and extra batteries and cables are in the bag, check!
Read more »13th Annual Rare Plant Monitoring Weekend
Each year the Rare Plant Care and Conservation Program (Rare Care) hosts a weekend to monitor rare and threatened plants of Washington State. Trained monitoring volunteers, Rare Care staff, and National Forest staff work together to collect data on rare plant populations. This year’s monitoring weekend was held in the Colville National Forest. Based at Frater Lake, we camped below the stars and woke to the chattering of red squirrels busy with their daily chores.
Read more »Staff Spotlight: Stacy Kinsell
Stacy Kinsell is the Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator for the Rare Plant Care and Conservation Program (Rare Care), but it hasn’t been a straightforward path to get there. Kinsell’s undergraduate work was in social work and urban studies. After school, she packed up for an adventure in a new city far away from her native Georgia and moved to Seattle. She quickly fell in love with the city, but not the career and after a few years of working in her new field, Kinsell was feeling burnt out.
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