The Utah Native Plant Society (UNPS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the appreciation, preservation, conservation and responsible use of the
native plant
In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equ ...
s and plant communities found in the state of Utah and the Intermountain West. Its goal is to foster public recognition of the spectacularly diverse flora of the state.
UNPS advocates the use of local, native plants in the landscape and in revegetation projects as well as for the preservation of endangered and threatened plant species and native
ecosystems
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syst ...
.
History
The organization was founded in 1978. W. Richard ("Dick") Hildreth was the primary founder (then director of the
State Arboretum of Utah and later the first director of
Red Butte Garden and Arboretum
Red Butte Garden and Arboretum consists of a botanical garden, arboretum, and amphitheatre operated by the University of Utah, in the foothills of the Wasatch Range in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It is open year-round to the public. Red ...
). UNPS recognized Hildreth with a lifetime achievement award in March 2005. The first president was botanist N. Duane Atwood.
Projects
Since January 1982, the Sego Lily, named for the plant ''
Calochortus nuttallii
''Calochortus nuttallii'', also known as the sego lily, is a bulbous perennial plant that is endemic to the Western United States. It is the state flower of Utah.
Distribution and habitat
The plant is native to a number of western states, b ...
'', has been the official newsletter and primary publication of the organization. From its inception, rare plants (particularly those under consideration for listing under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973 as amended) and the horticulture of native plants have been the primary areas of focus. The Sego Lily newsletter has been a reference source for various Federal Register and other publications. The Sego lily is the state flower of
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
.
Under the leadership of Susan Meyer, the society embarked on an ambitious "heritage garden program" that led to the creation of numerous native plant gardens typically in association with educational institutions in the 1990s. The organization has regularly provided grants to others related to activities associated with rare plant research and other native plant related work. One of the society's first grants was in connection with the endangered dwarf bearclaw poppy, ''
Arctomecon
''Arctomecon'' is a genus of the poppy family Papaveraceae commonly called the bear poppies or bear-paw poppies, after the distinctive appearance of the leaves. The three species occur only in the northeastern part of the Mojave Desert of North ...
humilis''.
UNPS hosted annual rare plant conferences throughout the 1980s. It resumed that role in 2000, and since 2001 has co-hosted rare plant conferences with Red Butte Garden. In 2003 the society completed the initial phase of digitizing and updating the Utah Endangered, Threatened, and Sensitive Plant Field Guide (by Duane Atwood et al., 1991) which was funded in part by a
Bureau of Land Management challenge grant. This led to the publication of the Utah Rare Plant Guide.
References
Utah Native Plant Society homepageUtah Rare Plant GuideRed Butte Garden
Native plant societies based in the United States
Environmental organizations based in Utah
Flora of Utah
1978 establishments in Utah
{{Horticulture-stub